DarthEbriate

Not far. Sabres not far. Patience. Soon you will be with them.

Something something high ground. But more importantly, it looks like all these Western teams are starting the post All-Star breaks with some east coast swings... and mostly getting crushed. The standing will look brutal come Saturday morning.

Even better from the Nadeau side is that in the 17-18 games he's played (depending on when the QMJHL site updates), Gatineau is 15-2-1 since his return. They were already good at 18-10-3 while he was out with the injury rehab. But since he's back they've jumped to the top of the standings. Only 3 of his 24 points this season are on the PP.

If HC Krueger doesn't exist, then Skinner stays on the top line with Eichel and Reinhart, producing points instead of skating the 4th or being scratched. If that occurs, Eichel and Reinhart put up points and everything looks better. Because the offense is better, there is no need to sign Hall to "make us Stanley Cup contenders" and that money can instead be spent on a true defensive center (not an Eakin) and a goalie to replace Hutton. Because the offense is better, there's no reason for Eichel to demand a trade. Montour looks like a real defenseman. Mitts and Thompson and Asplund develop a year earlier. If there's no Hall, then there's no Eichel neck injury or bottoming out for Power. If there's no Power, then Eichel's still the captain and maybe Reinhart is here although he'd been bridged. Always in motion is the future.

Definitely. I had to go back and look at some of their drafts. I like Schneider and Miller --- they're doing fine on the defense. But Kravtsov, Kakko, Lafreniere... none of them have done anything more than Mittelstadt, and they don't have the Krueger excuse. By the time Quinn reaches the GP that Lafreniere has so far, Quinner will have many more points. Cozens is already leaps and bounds better than Kakko.

They're going for it. (I think they'll be lucky to make it out of their division's bracket -- even with Shesterkin), but their future is now. Oddly, because for the past few years we could see all their young talent assembling, then adding Panarin, but their recent top 2 draft picks in Lafreniere and Kakko haven't really ever taken off.

We've got plenty of lefties, but he'd look awfully good in a Sabres sweater. The Rangers are clearing some dead cap this offseason (Shattenkirk, Girardi), and I like the Mikkola pickup for them so they have a valid 3rd pair LHD for this season. But you're right... Miller is going to sturdy top-4 for a long time (and probably a maybe a top-level #2 with the right partner). They may have to bridge him, Lafreniere, and Chytil to keep them all and then risk the big paydays as the cap escalates in future seasons.

Of note: when this goes official, it puts a significant damper on the whole Patrick Kane to NYR rumor.

Oh. I like Mikkola's game. That's a decent add for the Rangers and a playoff run. Run right into a Hurricane wall.

The good news about the Dahlin contract is that it will be well-deserved. The good thing about the Power contract is that he won’t have PP1 point production. He’ll easily get the 7.5 but won’t have the stats to match Dahlin. As to the thread topic itself, it’s KO. Old Dad Kposobi needs to set his future and you build the team from there. 2x$3 for a sunset ride to a Cup run in the summer of 2025.

I don't think he sucks now (...yet). Kane played last season with DeBrincat, Kubalik, Hagel, Dach... they all put up points with him. They've all put up points with their new teams. This season, in proper tank mode, Kane is playing with Dickinson, Domi, Kurashev, and their most dynamic sniper in Raddysh (who's looking pretty good, honestly. He was great against the Sabres). But this year's Blackhawks teammates are a step down across the board and Kane's numbers have suffered in both zones accordingly. This season it's just a matter of fit. Kane is a playmaker first who transitions fine but has lost a step. He doesn't displace JJP or Quinn because we're playing the kids (and they have higher ceilings than Kane does within the next 3 seasons). He doesn't have center versatility like Mitts. He is not a sniper like VO, though he's better all around offensively. Who would put the puck in the net on a line of Mitts-Jost-Kane? He doesn't do any of the things that Girgs or KO or Tuch do. The player he'd best displace is Skinner, which can't happen because of NMC and cost and the top line has been so solid.

If the cap hits $95 and everyone is content to play for $7.25 or less, then yes. If Quinn and JJP reach their potential, the team will move Skinner (buyout if he's unwilling to waive the NMC) before moving them. Skinner faces the same scenario he did in Carolina as Svechnikov and Teravainen came online.

Kane's only route to this roster is as a UFA at about 2x$2.5M to play 3W and the Sabres would have to move VO to make it happen (once Quinn and JJP take their steps forward on the scoresheet). Kane has no other use to this team. If the fans need Kane as an excuse to buy tickets and jump on this team's ascent, then they're not very good fans.

The top 10 D scorers in the league this season, sorted by cap hit. https://www.capfriendly.com/browse/active/2023/caphit/all/defense?stats-season=2023&display=length&limits=points-40-130 The outliers are Montour (another Krueger casualty!) who broke out last season and allowed Florida to feel somewhat comfortable moving Weegar, will double his salary on his next contract if he keeps up this production, and Morrissey, who was a good all-around defender but had never broken 37 points in a season until this year. Karlsson $11.5 Fox $9.5 Josi $9.06 Makar $9 Hamilton $9 Heiskanen $8.45 Hughes $7.85 Morrissey $6.25 Dahlin $6 Montour $3.5 Fox is probably the best all-around D on the list and his 9.5 should be the floor. If Dahlin is afraid of the curse of surpassing 10, maybe he goes $9.875M. But he will be playing 26+ mins/game for the duration of the contract and should be thinking $11 or more.

@Thorny and cooler heads prevailing are right, as is often the case. @BullBuchanan, it was your first post that I can recall and you wanted to pay Cozens like Jay Beagle and in my defensiveness for the kid I figured you for a visitor trying to stir something. I apologize for offending you. Welcome to the 'Space.

Here's Cozens' competition in the NHL. 2nd line centers (C under 18 min/gm), https://www.capfriendly.com/browse/active/2023/points/all/center?stats-season=2023&limits=gp-36-90,points-29-130,toi-0-18 Sorted for points scored. Note some 1st line centers in this list Tavares 51 pts Hintz 47 pts (1C on his team) Cozens 43 pts Krejci 42 pts Kadri 38 pts Bergeron 38 pts (1C on his team) Strome 26 pts (1C on his team) Beniers 36 pts (1C on his team)

Cozens? At only $7.1M AAV cap hit?

Escrow pays off before 2024, and then the cap follow the new profits. Seattle money begins to apply. As yet unknown gambling promotion money begins to apply. ESPN/Disney & TNT money kicks in. And Canada needs a new replacement TV deal in 2025-26 that will easily exceed its current $5B. Get ready for a lot of absurd contracts in the summer of 2025.

Trolling is fun, isn't it? Malkin - Age 36 - 49 gp, 19-31-50 (linemates: Zucker - Rust); cap hit $6.1M (for a deal he signed 8 months ago, his previous more comparable cap hit was $9.5M) Backstrom - Age 35 - 10 gp, 1-4-5 (mates: MoJo - Oshie); cap hit $9.2M Tavares - Age 32 - 52 gp, 21-30-51 (mates: Jarnkrok - Nylander); cap hit $11M Which of these players would you rather have than Cozens? (And Cozens will earn Selke votes starting very soon.)

But will they combine each season to outscore McDavid at $12.5M?

Love it. What the hell, though, Cozens? Leaving money on the table. Why doesn't anyone want to get paid anymore? The cap is about to skyrocket: someone bet on yourself. (But yes, I hope it's all Bruins who bet on themselves and cripple their cap. That means you Pasta -- you're a great player and you deserve $11M.) (I still think he'll overtake Thompson in '24-'25 as the night-in/-out 1C and ice-time leader because of his all-around game.)

Of note at the time of injury, Östlund is 4th on the Djurgardens IF HockeyAllsvenskan team scoring with 21 points in 28 games. His fellow 1st-rounders and WJC linemates Öhgren (17 points in 30 games) and Lekkerimaki (9 points in 29 games). For comparison, the leading scorer is team captain Marcus Kruger (40 points in 40 games). Yes, that Marcus Kruger! He of 2 Cup victories as a 3C on the Blackhawks back in the day.

I was all for using the final 7th round pick last draft for Mitts the Younger. Is he another Bryson in build and style? Sure he is. But there was value there. Let him go through college and see what strength he's able to build up, and then let him work in Rochester for a few years as the next generation of Pilut and see what you have.