JohnC

I would gladly take the 2-3 yr. timetable to get to the NHL. That would be well within the standard of time it usually takes to make it to the big league.

You pass the judgment you want and I'll pass the judgment I want. If you disagree that's fine. I'm not bothered by disagreements and can handle disagreements. I don't want to come on as being antagonistic but you are belaboring a point.

This is a hockey bulletin board where judgments/opinions are made before the fact all the time. When you make a bet at the gambling window you make a judgment before you place your bet---not after. That's the nature of the beast.

If you look at the additions as an example such as Staal and Hall and consider what was given up to acquire this combo (nearly nothing) I would with no hesitation say that it was a productive offseason. If you compare this regime's work product in one offseason compared to the prior regime's work product for the prior few years I would with no equivocation state that this current regime was better run.

You didn't correctly interpret what I stated. If you go back and look at what I stated what I didn't do is guarantee any results. (To be specific I said this team is capable of being a playoff team and not definitely a playoff team. That is clearly stated in my last sentence.) However, I did note that this roster was upgraded. I also stated that there is a greater coherency and conceptualization with respect to how this roster is being put together i.e. this team is faster and the scoring is better spread throughout the lines. I credited this new regime on how it more smartly functioned compared to the prior regime. I hope this response clarifies for you on what I actually stated.

The Dahlin show should also be aesthetically pleasing. And with him there will be a lot of "wow" moments.

Terrific post. Well thought out and expressed. As you point out not only are the pieces being assembled but what distinguishes this roster from the prior years is that there is a cushion of depth that we haven't seen for years. This team has a recent history of starting off exceptionally well and then falling like a boulder rolling down a steep mountain because there wasn't enough cushion to sustain a few injuries or substitute for faltering players. What is apparent entering this training camp is that there is internal competition vying for playing time. We haven't had enough talent before to fill the holes when they happened. I believe that this team is capable of being a playoff team even within this more challenging Covid manufactured conference. If they don't there still should be a recognition that this organization is being more smartly run and more aggressively run than with the previous administration.

You are astute in your observations. A couple of the priorities this offseason in reworking the roster is to get faster and to improve the secondary scoring. If you include the skating ability of our defensive unit and with the additions of Hall and Eakins to their respective lines this is more of a north/south and faster lineup. As you suggest with your last sentence about player evaluations the organization has conceptualized how it wants to build a roster and then brought in players who fit in with their concept. This is a good example of an organization that is cohesive top to bottom compared to one that is disjointed. You got to like what has been done and be optimistic.

I have one New Year's wish: I want to be stupendously wrong about Mittelstadt's prospects. If I am I will humbly admit my error in judgment and will also be gleeful. We had a number of members who have gotten sick from the virus. I want them to fully regain their health and wish them well.

That's impressive. But even if he is healed entering training camp playing a compressed schedule makes it difficult to have adequate recovery time during the season. It's going to be challenging for the players. If a player has an abdominal strain (a common hockey injury) during the season getting enough rest to properly heal means missing a lot more games.

It's going to be tough for Marchand and Pastrnak to come back from their surgeries and play a season with a compressed schedule.

You have accurately characterized my position. And as an addendum to your comment about my position as I have stated before I believe the the organization was willing to acquire an upgrade at the backup goalie position if the cost made sense to them. I have no doubt that our GM made overtures to other organizations but our GM couldn't get a deal done because he wasn't willing to pay the price. (Or more simply stated I agree with the last sentence in your post.)

I'm hoping this link is for the WGR Instigator Show where Krueger is interviewed in an 18 min segment. There are few surprising revelations about his roster and the challenges playing with a compressed schedule. He said he is going to rely a lot on sports medicine and science to handle the workload. He made a comment about Mitts and the good condition he is. The Instigators With Andrew Peters And Craig Rivet | RADIO.COM

You are getting carried away about motivations. You are giving your opinion and I'm giving my opinion. There is nothing more to read into my response.

You have an extraterrestial view on things. 🤡

I will not yield on this issue. ☠️ With Samson playing with Jack and Hall on the first line it is not unfair to consider it a top 5-7 first line in the league. Not only is this potentially a prolifically scoring line it is also a responsible two way line. (Still mostly an offensive line.) Although I disagree with your view I recognize the logic and sound reasoning for it. Another factor that needs to be considered is that because training camp is so short there might be more of an inclination to go with a line combo (Reinhart/Eichel) that you already know plays well together. Training camp is about to begin so we should soon find out what Krueger's thoughts are about the makeup of the lines.

I agree with what you said. However, I disagree with your opinion/conclusion that for the sake of the perceived upgrade for a backup goalie you should make a deal where you give up more (organization perspective) than what you get back in upgrade. If the issue were about the need to upgrade the starting goalie, then I would agree with you there should be a more aggressive effort to address that critical need. That wasn't the case here. The problem position that was under scrutiny was the backup goalie. I do believe, as most do, that the organization examined the market for another goaltender. The calculation was made that the exchange in assets to address a need didn't add up. Although many disagree with the outcome it has to be respected that there appears to be thoughtful analysis made on this issue.

Could you please put Reinhart back on the Jack line and make me happy? That would be a golden number #1 line. Olofsson on the #2 line would be fine with me.

You are giving to much weight to what has been said. You are overly parsing words made in a generic coach comment. Watch what they do. If the organization believes that it makes sense to upgrade the backup position they will do it. They haven't done it yet. I don't think they will before the season starts.

As I said in a prior response the GM is always looking to upgrade the roster at a variety of positions. That was evident with the additions made with Hall, Staal etc. What if Hutton as a backup plays at an acceptable level? Do you think that the organization is going to give up assets such as Miller or Montour to upgrade a backup position that is playing up to his role? I don't think so. I'm not saying you are wrong in believing that the GM is trying to improve at the backup goalie position. I agree with you there. However, as it stands I believe that they are going to go with what they got.

GM's and organizations are always looking to upgrade their rosters. If the organization felt that a backup upgrade could have been made this offseason at an acceptable price it would have been done. It wasn't. There's no doubt that the GM scanned the market and considered the alternatives. That's what GMs do. It's a continuous process. There are many people who are stressed about having Hutton as a backup. I'm not one of them. Odds are that if he falters a change will be made. We have our tandem at goaltending for now. You go with what you got.

If he truly felt that Hutton jeopardized the success of his team he would be a strong/influential advocate to get him replaced. It seems that he believed that Hutton's struggles were directly related to his eye issues. He stated that the physical issue has been corrected. Hutton is the backup, and for now he is satisfied with his role.

Krueger was on WGR for a 20 minute segment. He's enjoyable to listen to. It seems that he is more than satisfied with our goaltending staffing. He talked about Dahlin getting stronger and it will be reflected in more physical play. He also indicated that Olofsson will be playing on the right side. He noted that in his system of playing off the other line mates and adjusting to where they go that being assigned to the right or left sign isn't a big deal. He also stated that Tage stayed in the area in the offseason and is bigger and stronger. He pointed out that because he hasn't played in a long time that it is going to take time before he gets his timing back. Howard And Jeremy | RADIO.COM

If the AHL is tentatively slated to start later what do these assigned players do in the meantime? Do they practice with the big club or do they do it on their own? What happens if there is no AHL at all? A lot of unknowns! The player who I feel is going to be the most negatively affected by the startup delay in the AHL is Mitts. I thought the best path forward for him is to get a lot of playing time in the lower league and then if called up he would be better prepared to play at the higher level.

I agree with you that if he isn't helping the team sentiment shouldn't be a factor to retain him. But that is not the case with him. He can contribute on a fourth line checking/defensive line and he can also give you some decent secondary scoring. And that fourth line is very likely to get more playing time that the typical third line. He is one of the more physical players on a team that lacks that attribute. And he can be a positive force on the PK, a unit that needs to be upgraded.