Thorny

Go team! Hopefully they get off to a quick start, I feel it’s probably a reasonably big deal for this squad. Let’s have a good season! I’ll check back in with you folks in a few games. Keep fit and have fun

Put aside the Ranger. Become who you were born to be.

It’s not. That would be what we call a coincidence. We missed the playoffs by 1 point, 2 seasons ago. It wasn’t an insurmountable point as long as one Jeffrey Skinner remained on the roster. That would defy logic.

Reality is often disappointing

Don’t think about it..just go: 3-2-1…and say the guy who you’d trade first. Then do it again. Then you’ll know. its sort of like the coin flip trick

Apologies, “rank” would work better Ranked bottom 10 league wide in spending. So, our relative range

Can’t remember the other, the Caps?

I don’t really like the “after they traded Skinner” thing. “Trading Skinner” isn’t the magic formula for spending less and winning: 2 occurrences are what we’d call a coincidence. There are plenty of years where Skinner would be a capable player on a playoff team, see: every year. He’s not worse than the worst guy on every playoff team nor is he some sort of horrendous cancer than stops a team from winning. We did that with Jack. It’s just a silly thing to harp on. Yea, maybe we are configured overall similar in some ways to Carolina. That would be worth thinking about. But Carolina is the exception that proves the rule, and the majority of teams that are structured like them DIDN’T make the jump I’m not saying we won’t. But attaching that to Skinner is twitter-Esque, no offence, low hanging fruit

Playoff baseball Ayup

Pretty much agree. The issue will also sort itself out very quickly. Unless we have a really bad problem, or a really good problem

I feel like the numbers make it look a bit worse than it actually is, somehow, but nonetheless it’ll be a daunting task. all the sweeter if we pull it off

At this point the only thing in thread i have an issue with is the counting of UPL as turnover. I think we’ll benefit from a lack of 3 headed monster should we choose to not apply one, and therefore there’s potential ground for improvement there (relative to our start last year) - but it seems to be counted for the sake of the hypothetical as a full season change based on the percentages used and that seems inaccurate to me. Not as inaccurate as my embarrassing reading comprehension, but nonetheless inaccurate

lol no, it was my mistake. You said “with” clear as day My entire post was responding based on that misreading send in the tar and feather (singular)

Really? I’m saying your use of “track record of excellence” is poorly, wantonly applied, and to the wrong players Though I realize now you said “with” excellence which does alter it. lol - admittedly, my mistake. Still, I disagree thoroughly with the subtext, the suggestion of your post, regardless of where you come down on it: no, I don’t think we benefit due to the “track record with excellence” of the players we brought in relative to the ones we sent out: it would be an incredibly small factor, if a factor at all, relative to the talent comp

I always love the “oh you folks will never be satisfied, not until “fill in the blank” happens” as if the goal posts are being moved on this end lol. The disgruntled side has called their shot a zillion times over: *make the playoffs.*. The entirety of the goal post moving is on the other side. There’s no stated expectation of when success is to be expected. It’s just, “wait.” It’s like how in football they eye ball where the ball finishes, and then measure with a literal chain. It’s a pretty hilarious juxtaposition edit: also, great new name. I’ll subscribe to your newsletter

Looks like I’m with the majority on 1 and 3. He may settle between options 2 and 3 within that first question, but he definitely has the potential of being a top 50 scorer at some point during his career, which last year was about 70 points. I think most likely he’s ~ mid 20s in goals this year, so I picked “just above 20” even though no option fit great If I had to say, Quinn ends up the standout of our youts, but it’s honestly a massive toss up. No one knows lol I swear I didn’t read yours first

2 teams spending the way we do have made the playoffs in the last decade. We are all incredible homers for saying they are 50/50 to make it. Logically it’s a bad prediction. If it turns out right, it’ll still have been a bad prediction. The only reasonable projection right now, talking gun to head, is for them to miss. Of course it is. We just choose to have hope because it’s sports and it doesn’t really matter

Your system is way too heavily biased if Skinner goes in the bad category and Lafferty and Aube-Kubel are in the good, relatively. What are we doing here? Like you are comparing track records and your conclusion is that Skinner’s is worse than the guys we brought in? You get that Skinner is better NOW than those players, never mind in his prime? I mention prime because you specifically said “track record” Was such an odd skewing of data, flabbergasting even

2 of the last 160 playoff teams spent in our current range of spending

More so the fact the positions/roster status are incomparable. An NFL QB touches the ball on every offensive snap - your best hockey player plays 25% of the game. If you have a great QB, your team ALWAYS has a shot. Eveything is funneled through the QB particularly in today’s game. The presence of that singular player essentially guarantees a playoff spot, especially when half the nfl is neutered by having a mediocre QB

A) this place is far more positive at large than say, Twitter. It’s sort of an odd juxtaposition that it’s also more knowledgeable, by far imo. I wouldn’t guess that the more you know about the franchise the more hopeful you’d be..but here we are. Both things appear to be true, here B) there’s pressure to fall in line with the more positive wave imo. That’s speaking from experience - I feel the need to tone down what I feel is earned pessimism to “fit in”. I’m not sure if that’s the Xs you get more often when you speak to the negative, but I feel that to be a thing

lmao. “You didn’t offer me 64 mil, you offered me 62.4!!!” derp

This is the first offseason in a while I feel that Adams has the goalies in a good spot to start the year. THIS is finally a “what could Adams have even done?” situation, if the goalies didn’t pan out. I don’t KNOW that UPL would replicate or come close to his performance last season, but logically we should be betting on him, in a team building /roster construction sense, to do so. I don’t really think we can afford to hedge, if you take my meaning. Levi is a fine backup under that prism, particularly supported by Reimer. Components A and B are confidence inducing at least the point I wouldn’t prioritize keeping Reimer at the expense of the roster as a whole Obv at end of day KA is still liable for the actual results at the position, but I don’t think one could argue Adams plan at G for this season was a misguided one *at the time he instituted it* - unfortunately for GMs the job description is to make the right choices - not merely choices that are defensible within the moment they are made