LGR4GM

Helenius would be a great pickup at 11. He's only 1 year away and he already has a 200ft game that could slot him into an NHL 3/4 line in 2025.

My issue is the list of "coming up" while also including Skinner as locked up. Dude has 3 years left and Tuch has 2... so my point is Skinner is not locked up and after this season is probably being bought out so that's only 5. My hope is they trade Jeff this offseason but probably Forton and Pegula like him so they will put up roadblocks or some such shenanigans. Tuch doesn't have to be signed long term. UPL shouldn't be. Byram hasn't shown he should be. Levi hasn't shown he should be. That leaves Quinn, Peterka, and Benson. Benson has 2 years left at least. So is having 8 guys locked up for 5+ years really a massive problem? I suppose it depends on the contracts but my point is UPL, Levi, Tuch, and to this point Byram don't need to be locked up long term. We have fallen into this habit of viewing everyone as needing a 7+ year deal and they simply don't. IMPO anything 5 years or less is not long term. Levi and UPL shouldn't get 5+ years because goalies. Tuch shouldnt because age. Byram shouldnt because he hasn't been good yet.

maybe forcing fans to have 6 different TV subscriptions to watch games is bad? Or making tickets to random Wednesday games on November 90$ plus fees isn't a great busy model?

I guess we'll see what happens. If Karmanos goes though, we're at DEFCON 1.

He's 6' 186lbs. I wouldn't call him small. No, I think he'll go top 10 as several scouts noted they came away more impressed with Zeev than Levshunov. That said, nhl scouts are notorious for having set definitions based on player size. So could be fall to 11, yes. Should he, no. He might be the best defender in the class and he's only going to get better with age. If I were Buffalo and he's there, draft him. Worry about who of Byram and Power your trading next year.

What a ***** joke. I hope Terry sells the team.

Sennecke is going top 7 most likely IMPO. Will be interesting to see what happens with Connolly. Iginla and Lindstrom also well represented here.

One last thing, we might need 9million to get Benson under contract in another 2 years. Zach Benson is going to be an absolute stud and if he adds 20% more speed, one of the best to ever play in the blue n gold. Also very true. We could always bridge them past skinner if needed or closer to the end of Tage or Cozens deal if they need trading etc...

I want to say this is not a post disagreeing per say with the gist of what you have here. We need to add talent and figure out next year next year. As you note we shouldn't do it recklessly. I just wanted to note JJP is going to earn a bigger contract unless he falls completely flat on his face which seems unlikely. He had 50pts last year including 28g on a 12.4sh% which is very sustainable. His possession metrics show he generated more than what was generated against him. Still none of the numbers seem like massive outliers but instead a steady progression from his first season to the second. This isn't Dakota Joshua outshooting his career sh% by 10 or Reinhart doing the same by 9%. I think we realistically need to think about JJP in the 6-7 range. Now some think that Jack Quinn is harder to predict but I disagree. Quinn's injuries seem to be the concering factor and that is something to account for, it may just help us out. If they are the flukes they seem (the achilles one is crazy unlucky) than that is a guy who coming back from injury managed to increase his gpg from 0.19 to 0.33 and his apg from 0.31 to 0.37 and keep in mind Cozens was snake bitten while shooting last year. That's 27g and 30a or 57pts over an 82 game season. Once again we have a player that realistically is in that 6-7mil range. I don't think we are waiting on anything to occur is my point. Both players are at the 2nd line range of player already and for a 23yr old 25g scorer with solid metrics all around on the open market (yes they can't become UFAs) you are talking 6-7mil this summer. I want to add to the team for sure but I would be focusing on either adding a center like Ek or finding a big winger (not Tkachuk, I don't think its possible) that changes the mix. Lindholm as an example, is neither of those things and was bad last year for a guy asking for something like 8milx7yrs. The key is finding a player that fits the now and is good while also not totally ruining things going forward because the goal is not making the playoffs, it is winning the cup. JJP, Quinn, and Benson are the types of players you win cups with and I would hate to see them pushed out just as they enter their prime because we signed a 30yr UFA to a 6year deal where he is overpaid but several million.

Sam Reinhart to Evan Rodriguez right now:

He's not my cup of tea and I'd pass on him at 11 because I don't believe his offense is going to be first pairing level. I think he'll go in the 5-7 range at worse though.

That's an accurate description. It's long, the pacing is painfully slow in parts, but it truly is a sweeping spectacle. This is more fun.

All those players are 3-5yrs away.

k

and blocked.

Why the ***** do you care how myself or others interact or enjoy the sport? If you don't like it than don't do it. You have absolutely no right, authority, or any other power to waltz in here and berate people about wanting to know what players make. Your argument here in this post is lazy, useless, and the worst strawman this board may have ever produced. For some knowing, what players make and how the leagues salary works is enjoyable, if you don't, that's fine. No one is telling you that you need to know or go to those places. I thought you were making a joke when I said the Gary comment because you sounded exactly like Bettman. Clearly you were not. If don't like knowing or discussing the salary cap, than don't.

Reinhart shot 8.9% above his career average this season. That's almost 4 full standard deviations off the average so Sam is going to regress in terms of sh%. In a normal year, Reinhart gets 36g not 57. Pay accordingly.