Taro T

An additional benefit of this contract besides the value it'll be down the road is, when this contract is due to end, another long deal likely won't have 5 years of buyers remorse written in standard at the end of it. He should still be able to earn what he's paid over the majority of, if not all of, that next deal.

Thought you hated the idea of Jokiharju on the 3rd pairing because he's a legit top 4 guy at this point in time. Personally don't want him paired w/ Power because don't want Power having to cover for his defensive zone gaffes while Power is a rookie. (And yes, Joker is a 4/5 that may become a 4 (hopefully) but he isn't there yet.

Anderson WAS more than competent. But the person that we have not seen any competence from on the providing actual current NHL starting goaltending front to date is Adams. Comrie might finally demonstrate that Kevyn can be & is competent in this aspect as well. But so far, we are still in hopeful mode rather than we have hard data to support the contention that he in fact is competent in this regard.

Have said it in another thread, always want the GM locked up for at least 2 more years & the coach for at least 1 more year. (Ideally a year or 2 more than that on each.) There is absolutely no downside to this other than Mr. & Mrs. Moneybags eventually being a few extra $'s out of pocket should they eventually decide to go in another direction. Which isn't our concern. This is a good morning. Do we get any other announcements today?

Adams gets it. Just wish he could give us actual proof he can get a real goalie actually between the pipes during games. Maybe Comrie will do that for him. That's the 1 piece that we still don't have any proof of competence (or ideally much better than that). Am very pleased Samuelsson will be a Sabre for at least the next 8 years. Love his game & the potential of what he can become.

The Okposo line will likely go out against Tkachuk. If not, it'll be the Thompson line. The only way Cozens line (as presently constituted) is out for any significant time against Tkachuk is after an icing.

Expect the bolded is correct. But would much rather we see Jokiharju getting pulled up onto the 2nd pairing when they're down a goal late rather than pulling Lybushkin up to protect a lead late. Because, expect we'll be protecting a lead late far more often if Jokiharju is running the 3rd pair than otherwise. And, while personally much prefer the concept of the Power Lyubushkin pair over the reality of the Power Joker pair, could see a reason to go with Power - Buusch at home & Power-Joker on the road to make sure we don't see Bryson-Joker out against the MacKinnon or Bergeron lines.

But if they can't follow their reptilian overlords' commands, it might lead to their issues. Quick's tin foil hat has gaps in back, so he might still be compliant.

Maybe they're having trouble focusing with all the tin foil helmets?

Anybody know if the computer generated ads are going to just be a national TV thing or are the local broadcasts going to go to them as well? Can't believe the advertisers with actual ads on the boards are happy about this development. Unless, of course, those computer generated ads are of the same advertisers; in which case 'nevermind.'

Waaaaaaay better than the other Wyatt Earp themed movie that came out around then.

You sure? Thought he dies in a Parisian tub at the end after singing about Skeet Surfing and then turning a house into a giant Jiffy Pop. 😉

No one's missed with 120. Hey, maybe ... You don't care, but yet are belaboring it. 😉 NHL 0.600 is easy to track in season. Played 10 games? Yep. Got at least 12 points? Yep. Cool. Keep up the good work. Nope? Better find some more points the next 10 so you've got 24 after 20. 98 is the closest you can come and cross that 0.600 threshold after the full year.

Coaching is a blast. You pretty much get to spend all your time time at the rink with the kids and your manager has to deal with the adults. And if you're the head coach, you get to tell other people where to put the cones. 😉 What's not to love?

And, again, teams (within the last 50 years) have missed w/ 96. Since the very unusual '70 season where literally every good team was in the Eastern Conference, nobody at or above NHL 0.600 has missed the playoffs. That should be the goal (6 points every 5 games, or if that's too many increments then 12 points every 10). Ensuring they're in, not hoping they're in.

Expect Bjork would've been waived. The more interesting question is would Pilut have been waived over Bjork had Okposo been 100% and the team not heading for a long road trip after their 2nd game in 3 days to start the season. Still believe it makes more sense to carry 8 D, but they aren't going to do that if it means possibly only carrying 12 healthy F's on a long road trip.

Loafs with the best team through 82 & winning 3 series? If Dom had them w/ the best record through 40 & winning 0 series, that would seem more plausible.

Krebs current lack of an NHL shot is why Quinn will likely get his spot. With Krebs penchant for still forcing passes, his passing isn't significantly better than Quinn's but Quinn's shot is light years further than Krebs' at this point. Agree that Okposo's PP status would seem tenuous, but it is clear they want a big body down low & unless Murray gets a callup, he's next behind Tuch from that metric. ( @lgr4gm likely going insane as both units appear to be set for the puck movement to start from the blue line.)

Could actually see the 2PP being as, if not more, effective than PP1. Not a fan of having Skinner in the middle of 1PP, but there are playmakers all around him so it shouldn't be crippling. Really like Cozens in Skinner's spot on 2PP & w/ Power behind him & teams having to stay honest with Olofsson out there he could absolutely thrive. Also wouldn't be surprised if Quinn takes Krebs spot on unit 2 by (US) Thanksgiving.

But Josh McDaniel is a horrible coach, so even if the analytics suggested it was the right move, it wasn't because McDaniel made the decision. 😉

The only reason Fitzpatrick got a hand on it is Davis brought the ball to Minkah as he caught it 1 handed. If Davis gets both hands on that ball initially, it's a completely clean catch & Gabe doesn't have to rip it away from him. Had that turned into an INT or a drop that was totally on Gabe (& a great effort by Fitzpatrick).

2 goal scorers already on PP1 (Skinner & Thompson). This way there's a goal scorer on 2PP & possibly 2 if Cozens can continue his tournament play. Both units are very balanced but mirror images w/ a power forward, a set up man, 2 goal scorers (1 of which is also good at setting up) and a QB to keep everything moving. Power absolutely should be the 2PP QB. Glad to see Granato moved on from the Jokiharju experiment.

Like that Asplund is the C on his line. Girgensons can play C, but he's so much better at W, he should never be C unless neither of his linemates can handle it.

Or someone inevitably breaks.

98 is the lowest full season point total over the NHL 0.600 which has pretty much always guaranteed a playoff spot. ('70 Habs are the only exception that immediately springs to mind.) Angled slope seems fine. Personally prefer it. Regardless of flat or angled, on/above the line is on a playoff pace, below they need to do better.