Drag0nDan

I think they do the cap year to year. You can project a lot of it out with escalating TV contracts, but there's other pieces of revenue that is shared between all teams. There's also a certain revenue share - well say 50/50 to be easy. The cap is a reflection of that 50/50 revenue share, so 100M cap would in that scenario be 320M of shared league revenue with the players. You then factor in... NHLPA pensions, benefits, NHLPA employees etc. and that's all probably factored in as well on a year to year basis as per the current CBA.

This is like getting mad about gordon bombay for playing for the hawks when he was 10.

I'm liking seeing tuch and mcleod looking for tip ins more frequently. If team's are forcing you to shoot from the perimeter then make it harder to see, get some tips and rebounds. I feel like every line needs that, and every d-pair needs a shooter.

He's definitely still a young goalie in his age 23 season. 6 goalies have played in games this year in the NHL age 22 or under. 4 of those 6 have started 2 or fewer games. 2 of them (cossa and wallstedt) are former first round picks, and at least 2 of those players only appeared because the starter was pulled. 16 goalies 23 or under (age year for levi this year) have started games this year, 8 have started more than 10 games, and only 2 have started more than 20 games. One is a first round pick in Spencer Knight, and the other is Dustin Wolf. Wolf is actually smaller than Levi, and was also drafted in the 7th round (albeit in 2019 vs. 2020). Feels like a marathon, not a sprint - but I do think that after 150 games its pretty clear to me that UPL is not going to carry this team. If Levi doesn't need to clear waivers it makes him the easy candidate to spend time in the AHL again next year, but I think it'd be stupid to give UPL another 50 games. I don't think they're going to be able to get anyone particularly notable unless they want to try and make a run at demko, and if they do that i hope they send UPL back in the trade. And even then, Demko's only on a 1 year deal. Free agency is full of reimer types, and the trade market doesn't really have a ton of players on it that make sense to trade.

They've definitely been outshot in every one of those games considerably so the corsi makes sense. I'm not sure exactly how xGF% is calculated but i know being closer to the net tends to result in a higher xGF%, and i'd imagine more shots in general tilts that statistic.

I mean... you can't plan to use him for 50 games when he hasn't even started 40 total in his career. But it's also short-sighted to say he should be in the AHL. Just put the guys out there who give you the best chance to win. He's hovering around 100 professional games now between AHL and NHL, and while his NHL season this year was a failure he bounced back in the AHL. Not sure how that goes with other goalies in development, but it feels about right? UPL this season has played 1 month of hockey where his sv% was above .900, and in 15 games in february and march he has a save % of .850. I know we gave him a contract, and seeing guys like swayman struggle behind a bad team makes you know it isn't all on him. But man... he freaking sucks sometimes. He's all over the place and never looks comfortable. Still struggles with the shortside crap that drives me insane, especially at his size angles are so important and he's so not disciplined. Rebound control. He's lost out there with the PK. Like if anyone needs some time in the AHL to work on their game its probably UPL tbh. He's worse now than at the start of the year, like he's been spending time at the carter hutton academy of blind goaltending.

Miller had 8 in 04-05 FWIW, it just wasn't the outright league lead.

He was also the 4th center on the oilers behind mcdavid draisaitl and RNH. His linemates were likely some of the weaker wings on the team. I'm not sure how that factors into shooting percentage, shot selection, or just generally how many shots you generate in that scenario. Derek Ryan is by probably every analytic not generating a lot of scoring chances. Ditto for Janmark. Connor Brown. 2nd year Holloway (also what a great offer sheet that turned out to be for St. Louis). I don't know for sure who his common linemates were, but i'd assume some combination of all of these guys. So i always think shooting percentage raw is tough to evaluate - and how much of a drag on his numbers these might have been.

No one. Factoring in trade clauses, its less than no one. They are either a legit #1 and the team is in it, or they probably just re-upped. Oettinger, Hill, Saros, Vejmelka, Swayman, Blackwood, Thompson/Lindgren, and Daccord all extended. I can't see any of those teams wanting to swap contracts for UPL - even with solid sweeteners in there. I'm not sure there's anyone even available that's worth trading for. I think the entire list is just Demko, but he's on an expiring deal and has been battling injuries all season since the playoffs a year ago. I'm not saying he's washed, i just doubt he'd re-up here. They will need to get lucky in free agency, hope UPL plays considerably better, or Levi wins the crease by playing well.

Good question... He'll be 23 and he signed and played in 22-23. His entry-level 3 year deal is expired. He's played fewer than 60 NHL games, so i think he has one more year of waiver exemption. https://puckpedia.com/salary-cap/waivers Once a player 20+ Age plays 1 Professional Game, that is considered the first year (Levi was 21) The chart on there says he signed at 21, and has not exceeded 60 NHL starts, so by that measure he should be exempt for 4 years.

I just don't know why they kept riding UPL. Levi struggled out of the gate in a backup role, they got reimer back and sent levi down (i think he spot started somewhere during the losing streak). But as the season wore on and you were pretty much getting consistent AHL goaltending at the NHL level, they never felt like trying something different? Reimer or even Levi for that matter. Reimer finishes back to back games during the losing streak after UPL gets pulled. Obviously gets the 3rd start on the back to back with the starter essentially melting down. Reimer then starts 3 games in january and february - and puts up a greater than .900 sv% in all 4 appearances (UPL was pulled against carolina). UPL started 15 games - 9 of which his sv% was under .900%. The team went 9-6-1 during these starts but every time they lost they gave up 5 or more goals. UPL is 3-7 in december. His fall-off from November through the rest of the year is just... brutal (https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/l/luukkuk01/splits/2025). It's impossible to win with these numbers. Consistently inconsistent.

December was something else though, killed the entire season before 2025 even started.

They never say in hockey, but i feel like they wouldn't have said it wasn't a shoulder if it was. My guess is some type of core muscle type of thing that probably needs offseason surgery.

RE: Norris - supposedly not his shoulder but its an upper body injury they claim he picked up, but others claim he had when he was traded and was playing through. Its hockey so, we'll probably never know. I'd imagine since the season is completely lost that they're just being careful with an asset. They just traded for him and I'm not sure he's locked in on this team for 2025-2026. RE: UPL - Yes, Reimer is playing better than him and deserves majority of starts here on out. UPL Last 5

Seems pretty spot on to me. Better skating can get him into better positions to win some puck battles that drive possession as well, being late puts less pressure on the opponent. Felt like line with cozens was always bogged down turning it over behind the net, then having to hustle back on defense.