Rasmus_

Ennis for Pokka, McNeil and a 2nd. Theodore would be a great fit in our top four both now and long term. The perfect type of young puck moving defensemen that can help you the rest of the way, or to just continue getting his reps in the A.

Montreal would have to clear quite a bit of cap to make a Stamkos hit happen. It makes sense from an offensive perception, but their cap crunch is already tight.

Take it with a grain of salt until his agent/he himself says otherwise. Focus on things we can control, getting Ristolainen resigned long term is priority number 1.

He's a good dependable stay at home presence. But really, he's not worth that.

I like a bit about this post. I would disagree that the defense is the #1 priority. While the forward depth is a problem. Improving on depth will be much more important. McCabe, Pysyk and Bogosian are between 3-5 defensemen. Gorges could be traded and we need another horse on the PP and PK. Lulz! If the right team calls, you never know. I still think he nets an interesting prospect of Murray's choosing or a mid-tier second round pick. I don't think he warrants a 1st, as the only players that are rentals that can would/may be Stamkos. Pushing it would possibly be Boedker (But really not worth it.)

I love the structure for all of those contracts and I agree that getting Ristolainen paid now becomes a much easier case than next year. He's everything you want in our number one horse. Moving Moulson is the hardest number crunch on the roster. We're likely stuck with him, unless the right fit comes up. Weirder things have happened (I.e: Pronger, Grossmann for Gagner).

Logistically if he were to choose a market to be closer to home, Buffalo makes complete sense. However, there are multiple holes now and long term for Murray to fill. I would not complain one moment about Stamkos coming to Buffalo, but at the same time allocating those funds to other areas is just as important. Mainly signing Ristolainen long term.

I agree with that general line of thinking.

Personally, I'm still all about moving him for assets and then trying to retain him in the offseason. I like him and he's a positive veteran in the room. But, really it should be about getting value out of another dud of a season. He could help any number of teams with his play style. Someone will overpay if they're left out of the more prominent spending options.

Vanek for Moulson and a 2017 2nd? Shorter term, and we know him well. :D Anyway to get out from under the term left on Moulson! It really is a ho-hum approach. Zucker hasn't had the same impact as last year, but he's still young enough. They're stuck with what they have for the moment unless they trade someone unexpectedly.

Toronto, they're going to end up stuck witch Chychrun. I can only hope they are dropped into the 4th position :D

Awesome! Work desktop will be using this like last month!

Going to be in Montreal for my birthday game! Woot! Nothing better than Bell Center!

That is so true: when most of our top end talent is still barely in their 20's. Those who are will be in the "Gionta, Moulson" stage of their carrier but possibly still relevant.

Bogosian to me is closer to the Hjalmarsson of the Blackhawks. I still believe they need a second elite defensemen to go with Ristolainen. Everything else is completely fair. It all depends on where we slot in the draft. Whether that's for: Matthews, Puljujarvi, Laine, Tkachuk or for Chychrun.

It was fun, the pass from ROR to Ekblad was classic! Ekblad seriously used his speed to crash the net like a forward there. He's going to get major bank as early as July 1st.

Back to regular hockey! Thank god!

His response to the NHL caller was classic! Man that hit me at home. I don't have kids, but you sure as don't tell a father how "proud" his kids will be of him. Go get em Big Boy! You're a former Sabre and while you're not more than a puncher, you're still an NHL player.

I could see Matheson being able to be pried, but I'm not sure St Louis who is struggling for offense from players not named Tarasenko. Hartman is an interesting case. I would love to get Matheson into our system. Matheson has 11 points in 34 games, and a plus 13. He could be an important piece to their team in the near future, but I would love to see what it would cost to get him.

Not as high on McLeod as I probably should be. I would definitely take Tkachuk.

The whole Drouin situation is a mess. When you go winning at every level to a team that is so full of skilled forwards and not fit it has to be difficult. He's won a memorial cup, he's scored on every level. He's not built to be a two way talent which Cooper is really looking for. It's also hard to fault Cooper for trying to fit him in with all the guys they have. Being demoted has to be a wary sign to him that he doesn't have a place on the team. His shot is elite, and he skates very well. The words offensively dynamic fit Drouin to a "T". You cannot fault Yzerman for his view on the situation as he comes from the Detroit tree where you earn everything you've gotten. You have to wonder if they don't regret not taking Seth Jones, but that's all hearsay anyways. From everything I've ever read on him, he seems to be a good kid and teammate.

Another interesting game. McCabe is in the dog house I guess. Two straight scratches?

Here's hoping Johnson has played his way into a 2nd round pick. That would be very good value for a pending free agent. Schaller continues to impress me to the point where he could ultimately be Legwand's replacement if someone is looking for a bottom six forward.

You can nit pick all you want but there are only a few questionable moves. It really comes down to Lehner vs the #21 pick. The other trades for O'Reilly and Kane, I would say no.

What the hell is going on tonight!