Neech

Everyone did. Staal was obviously going to get in ahead of the kids, performances be damned. And we're still claiming that lineup choices are all 'hockey decisions'.

KK is an interesting example. If he performed like this but was a 5th rounder like Mete, would we have stuck with him or sent him down? And if Romanov wasn't our top D prospect who we practically promised a lineup spot to before camp, would we have stuck with him to the extent we did? I think there was more than just a hockey decision for both of those.

Some great first round matchups to tide us over as we wait for Thursday. Chara's return and the Wilson sideshow vs the Bruins jumps out right away, as well as the surprisingly competitive battle for Florida and a Pens-Isles rematch. Hard to see anything blocking an Avs-Knights showdown in the second round. Are the final four teams reseeded?

I wonder how much of a leash Staal will get to contribute positively in any way, hopefully not more than a game if he continues his form from the regular season. And if we're fully healthy, I wonder if there's room in the lineup for both Perry and Caufield - PP specialists who have deficiencies elsewhere. IF all our guys are back and rolling, we have a chance. I'd feel better about our coaching if Julien was still around...

And even if they are all in good form, are we as good as the Leafs? We're calling in all the miracles for this one.

Bouchard looks good and appears to be our best developmental asset. My concern is that the organization as a whole doesn't know what to do with young talent. Both KK and Romanov could have benefitted with at least a whole season under Bouchard. Instead they were rushed to the big club for PR reasons. At least Romanov took the extra years across the pond to develop physically; KK could have used some of those.

Yep, our chances are looking slim right now...

If Price steals us a couple games and doesn't lose us any, we have a chance against the Leafs.

1. We've gone from an abominable development system to maybe passable? I still don't have confidence that this organization knows how to maximize its prospects. Jake Evans is a success story - I'd chalk it up to the 4 years he spent in college outside of this development system. 2. More likely than either of those paths is that KK never hits 70 points. He's never been near that ppg pace in his career. The bigger issue is that he isn't an elite talent to justify his draft position.

Do you think this organization will do a good job of development to get the most out of their prospects? Their track record has not been good, and it appears as if KK has already been mishandled so far. I, too, hold out hope that KK could follow a Couturier-like trajectory - break out as a 70-point player at the age of 24. But if that's the case, it's still 4 years away. The timeline of this roster is incoherent.

Because Tkachuk and Hughes are so much better than him. Maybe KK develops into a top-6 player, I agree that it's too early to tell. But that's not what we wanted the conversation to be, 3 years out on a 3rd overall pick.

Why does he get credit for the conference finals? The best player he acquired from that team was probably Weise. He inherited a good team, didn't address the major issues, that team aged out, and he rebuilt a middling roster in his own image. Drafting and development has been subpar throughout his tenure, even after the protracted Lefebvre debacle was finally over. This doesn't seem to be an organization that understands the modern NHL. I think KK looking like a miss is the nail in the coffin for me. You need to hit an elite talent there.

I just look at the D-corps in the North and only Calgary and Toronto are competent on paper. That's interesting that the North is the lowest scoring, though. The Central has 3 elite teams, but I thought that the East was the best overall. They certainly have the best team to miss the playoffs in the Rangers, who probably would have made the top-4 in any other division.

I think a big part of McDavid and Matthew's record scoring pace is the pitiful D-corps they face in the North Division, Habs included.

He's cracked me up a couple times, the first laughs on HNIC since Don's departure.