nfreeman

Now THAT is my preferred top 6. The contract year thing is really a nice factor. As is the downside protection of being able to trade him at the deadline for a reasonable return if needed, as noted upthrea Got it a link on the Kings item? Not too many guys say no to LA but yes to Buffalo. Maybe it’s a Dahlin butterfly effect. Great post. Holy mackerel I am psyched for this season And while JBott may or may not have been truthful with his statement about contract talks, I don’t think they would’ve given up a good prospect and 3 picks if they weren’t going to try to sign him.

I like it, although they dropped a Pu for someone who is likely a 1-year rental (Skinner is a UFA after this year).

Welcome Broken Ankles!

We have a very sweet, kind-hearted, upbeat young woman working in my office who is great for atmosphere but whose work is lousy and hasn't gotten any better despite repeated exhortations and support. I think we're going to need to let her go. I feel awful about it and I'm dreading having to do it.

Both of these are pretty obnoxious.

I don’t think JBott is planning on Bogo staying healthy. I think it’s likely that JBott and Howie have decided that they’d rather shift one of their other depth defenseman to his off hand if and when Bogo gets hurt than bring in someone from outside the organization. E.g. they think someone like Guhle, McCabe or Pilut can win the opportunity to move over and into the top 6.

Good man.

My son got his driver's license today (passed his road test on his 2nd try -- like his old man!). This means that I no longer have to drive him to his summer job, which has a 6:00 AM starting time. Halle-freakin'-lujah!

I'll note that it's pretty easy to get sucked into a youtube binge of "Game of Thrones" scenes.

Out of camp: Bailey Baptiste Zemgus Pommer Vodka TT Down the stretch: Baptiste Vodka TT Nylander CJ Smith DOR

IMHO, 3 out of duda's 4 scenarios argue in favor of giving him a 2-year deal. - both "settle into 50-point" scenarios mean that he's plateaued already and isn't going to get any better than the decent but not great player we've seen so far. That is not a guy I'm remotely interested in giving a long-term deal. - I'm also fine with a bridge deal where he he turns into a 65-point guy, even though his next contract will be more expensive, because I don't think he'll turn into that player unless he has the motivation of being told that his team doesn't think he's worth a fat contract yet but it's there for him in 2 years. Separately, my gyro sandwich has collapsed into a greasy mess, notwithstanding its deliciousness.

#1 RW ain’t “KO’s spot.” KO was dropped to the 4th line on more than 1 occasion last season. Again, KO might return to form, but that’s just a hope at this point.

I’m not concerned, but as I mentioned a week or so ago, I think the fact that there’s no deal yet likely means that they are pretty far apart — and I hope that means that JBott isn’t interested in giving Reino a long-term deal yet.

I certainly didn’t watch him enough to develop any kind of informed opinion. But I’ve seen plenty of KO, and JBott did trade for Berglund.

Well, Berglund had 17 goals in 57 games last year, while KO had 15 in 76 and looked terrible most of the season. I'm far from married to Berglund, and I'd love to see KO reassert himself as one of the top 2 RWs, but I don't see how anyone could be confident that it will happen.

Predicted top 2 lines starting the season: Sheary - Eichel - Berglund ERod - Mittelstadt - Reino My hoped-for top 2 lines by New Year's: Sheary - Eichel - Thompson ERod - Mittelstadt - Reino

I agree with much of this. I’ve seen most of the superhero and Star Wars movies and I generally enjoy them alright, but fluff and vapid both are dead on.

Am I the only one who finds the marvel, DC and Star Wars movies more or less the same level of meh?

Excellent response. I didn’t realize Berglund played fewer minutes than Vodka.

No indeed.

Not active in training camp due to "non-football-related injury" or something like that.

What a freaking debacle Zay Jones is turning into.

...despite promising up and down that all of these would be limited to the club.

There are a number of guys who have shown enough flashes such that they are contenders to be legit 2nd pair NHL defensemen by the 2nd half of this season. I am including McCabe, Bogo and Pilut in that group, along with Dahlin of course and Guhle too if you like. The top 3 are, come HOHW, going to be Dahlin, Scandy and Ristolainen. I think Dahlin is going to be great and a major force by the 2nd half. Ristolainen and Scandy will be #2 and #3. Those are 2 legit good NHL defensemen in those slots. The other guys are going to compete to participate in, and for ranking in, the rotation. They need someone like Guhle or Pilut to break out, or a big bounceback from McCabe or Bogo, or really a couple of those guys to come through. And Flagg is right that every team has guys in similar situations. But it’s also true that every year there are a number of teams that take a leap. A lot could happen if they get good goaltending.

I’m right there with you sir. Flagg’s soul has been eaten by the White Walkers. Dahlin will have to save him.