Habs Fan in Edmonton

I like your optimism, agree about Dach. I have no doubt Hughes has been looking hard for a winger but he is patient and won't overpay.

I certainly hope you are right. I think 80 points is just a little optimistic next year. If Dach can stay healthy and score 60-70 points then we can stay in the playoff race for a while.

Agreed, he is doing what needed to be done (rebuild) and he is doing it methodically and patiently. He will make some decisions that don't turn out well but every decision he makes will be really well thought out.

No, but it does contribute to it. And yes, the cash coming back was a motivator for Pocklington. Certainly not a pure hockey trade.

The trade didn't turn out well for Edmonton although they still won a cup in 1990 after trading Carson. . They certainly didn't do much with those 1st round round picks. Carson was a legitimate young star, scored 49 his 1st year with the Oilers but just never really fit in with the team from a personality point of view.

Just throwing an example out there. I wasn't aware of when they become arbitration eligible. If that's the case then 1 year would likely be more attractive as you stated.

It is an easy match. It complicates it a bit. So much depends on whether Kane can go on LTIR and for how long he can go on LTIR. If can't go on LTIR for any length of time then the Oilers have some work to do.

You could go 2 years X 2.1M/year and only risk giving up a 3rd rounder but the Oilers would almost certainly match as it would be embarrassing to only get a 3rd rounder for guys who are talented and were 1st round picks. All you would accomplish is really tick the Oilers off. If a team was serious they would have to up the ante to a 2nd round pick level to give the Oilers something to think about. Having said that it seems like teams don't want to mess with other teams salary cap issues. I really don't expect to see any offers although the Oilers are vulnerable. Holloway and Broberg are both talented and young.

Agreed, plus offer sheeting a guy like Raymond more money than you are paying your current core guys likely wouldn't sit well. Anyway, I don't think it's Hughes style to offer sheet RFA's, I think he likes a little more certainty in his dealings. Having said that if a team gave an offer sheet to a Broberg or a Holloway where they didn't have to give up more than a 2nd round pick, it would really put the Oilers in a tough spot. I think you can take Ryan Lindgren off that list as he signed a 1 year contract I believe.

Yes, guys who are a little shorter with good core strength and balance are less likely to get hurt. Suzuki has excellent core strength.

Of course and I do take Suzuki's health for granted. The point I am trying to make is that we need Dach healthy for a year to find out what kind of player he is. We already know what Suzuki can do. If Suzuki got hurt it would be devastating to the team but it would likely be a one and done type of injury. History shows he is a durable guy. With Dach, another injury and I would wonder if he will ever contribute to the team hence my statement.

If there is one thing I am really hoping for this year. ONE THING!! It's a healthy Kirby Dach!!

Interesting. Who knows if there is any truth to this but I have always thought of Anaheim and Montreal as potential trade partners. I also have no doubt that once Montreal drafted Demidov and Hage that Hughes has felt less of a sense of urgency to trade for a forward although he is probably still exploring.

Interview with Hughes https://www.tsn.ca/hockey-canada/video/habs-gm-hughes-discusses-drafting-demidov-slafkovskys-growth-and~2971939

Yes, he must be doing some squats. A good sign, because most guys he will be battling are going to be taller than him, having lower body and core strength is really important.

I think you summed up pretty well how things likely happened in negotiations. Interesting to read people's opinions on how Guhle looks. Some people just don't smile much and he seems to be one of those. I don't read much into it. I just think he is a bit of an introvert.

My post discussing his leadership abilities in junior were in response to your referencing his "team toxic attitude", your words not mine. His actions have indicated someone who caress about the team. There are a lot of things I want in life but realize some of them are not realistic. Guhle accepted 5.5M for 6 years. He didn't have to, there was no gun to his head. He had 1 year left on his contract. He could have played his last year, become an RFA and perhaps negotiated a better contract but he chose to sign a 6 year extension so he must be good with that. My last post on this topic. At least for this evening. LOL

Ok, one more thought. You don't get named captain of Team Canada by being toxic. I don't know what else to say. Canadiens prospect Kaiden Guhle named captain of Team Canada juniors | Montreal Gazette When Rob Ramage, the Canadiens’ director of player development, was asked about Guhle before the start of training camp this year, he said: “First of all, last year he was named captain in Prince Albert as an 18-year-old. That shows his leadership, his maturity as a young guy. Watching him in the world juniors he was solid. He carries himself like a pro. … I think we’ve got a real solid one there.”

There is no evidence to support this. Guhle has been a leader on every junior team he has played on. He was also willing to play on the right side in Montreal even though he is a LD. I think I have said enough on this topic.

Fair enough, you did say "Not always" which makes your point valid. Not sure there is a correlation between tax rates and hockey traditions or if you are trying to make a correlation. Certainly one doesn't cause the other but southern states tend to have lower or no state taxes.

Why would an agent make public what they were asking for? That part makes no sense to me. I believe (in my world anyway) that negotiations should be private and professional. You hash it out behind closed doors, find some common ground, agree on a final number and then work your ass off. I see no advantage in negotiating publicly.

You cherry picked the 2 states with the highest state tax rates for income. Then you have Florida, Texas, Nevada and I think Washington that have zero state tax on income. That is a noticeable difference.

No argument with your 1st paragraph. Not sure Guhle was expecting 8M just because his agent may have been asking for it. We don't know what Slaf, Suzuki and Caulfield were asking for before settling at a final dollar value. Their agents decided to keep negotiations quiet which is not a bad thing. It's harder to give a big discount when you are playing in the highest tax region in the NHL. That sucks but that's reality. Easier to give a discount when there is no or a lot less state tax.

Not suggesting his agent was lying, just saying that what he was asking for doesn't matter. It's what he signed for that's important. Maybe his agent was greedy, doesn't matter, it's the end result. We need a trade or something as we have beat this to death.

Very good point indeed. Isn't it nice to dream about Calgary and Florida really sucking next year and both missing the playoffs?