Commandant

In other chara news.... file this one under the quote i had from Claude Julien about how he tells his team not to embellish for powerplays. http://imgur.com/r/hockey/Oa8oFcD

Chipchura would have been a fine third liner if he didn't lose speed due to a freak achilles injury. He was never fast, but losing a step was killer.

Scherbak getting going is good news.

Guys who have won the Norris usually go to the hall of fame. The last big exception is Randy Carlyle. They guy has 1 Norris plus 6 nominations, he has a Stanley Cup, 3 time first team all star (ie a top 2 dman in the NHL), 4 time 2nd team all star (ie a top 4 dman in the NHL). Thats a Hall of fame resume. I hate the neanderthal, but give the devil his due.

Tampa and Boston have their head scratchers too. Slater Koekkoek is very questionable for a top 10 pick. Brett Connelly at 6th overall is a big mistake Jonathan Drouin or Seth Jones? Bet they'd like a re do there. Boston has Zach Hamill at 8th overall, but then have head scratchers in terms of throwing away talent like Seguin, Hamilton, and others too. Both those teams though have the benefit of way more top 5 and top 10 picks than Timmins has had (2) since taking over drafting.

The drafting is fine, its what becomes of the players. McDonagh Grabovski S. Kostitsyn G. Latendresse Chipchura Streit White Assets and Players thrown away with little to show for it today. We have had some of the best drafting in the league (in terms of games played/pick we are actually tops since timmins got here) but far too much talent thrown away with nothing in return. And yes some of those players it may have been time to move on from, and I'm not disputing that. I'm just saying we have nothing in our team today to show for those guys. We let themd go with nothing in return.

Last night was the first time all season that Galchenyuk had legitimate top 6 talent on his line.

The kings have size but they also have talent.... The 2nd smallest team in the league though, Chicago, has dispatched them once (in 5 games) and lost once to them (in a 7 game OT classic series)... so its not to say a small but talented team can't beat them too. But thats the thing.... Talent. A team can have all the behemouths they want (see Brian Burke's truculence maple leafs), but without talent it means zilch.

A good article on the size argument. http://edmontonjournal.com/sports/hockey/nhl/cult-of-hockey/cult-of-hockey-edmonton-oilers-must-get-bigger-because-we-all-just-keep-pretending-the-chicago-blackhawks-dont-really-exist

I think the question to ask is who is needed here next season and who is not.... Dump anyone who is not needed.

Where does this need to win 24 games come from?

You know who else is a small team.... hint, they've won 3 of the last 6 cups. Talent wins.... talent comes in all forms, big and small.... but if you have talent like Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, and even guys like Kris Versteeg, or a guy on their current team Artemi Panarin, or grit like an Andrew Shaw.... the size doesn't matter. Its not about being politically correct. Its about facts... and the fact is that talent wins.

I think Bergevin made it pretty clear that the coach's job is safe til the end of the season.... But only til the end of the season.

23 games, 1g 2a... on his third coach, and once again a healthy scratch. Meh, Sekac was another decent gamble but it didn't work out... DSP has been better (and DSP hasn't been great)

Good, he can still rip up minor leagues.

3rd leading scorer on the team.... 2nd amongst forwards..... i put it in this thread earlier I'm willing to throw away this year. This year, no more.

Tank nation in full effect.

You already need 2/3rds of a second line. Moving Pleks means you need to build an entire line for next year and get them to produce... from scratch. Thats hard to do... so basically you're looking at another lost year. We only have so many years of Price and Max on cheap contracts... so i don't want a 2 or 3 year rebuild. Plek can still play, he fills a key role.

Also here is why I'd trade Markov and keep Pleks 1) You can't have the entire team be young, you need some veterans around. 2) Markov is clearly slowing down. I'm positive he's no longer a top 2 defenceman. I'm not sure he's a top4. 3) Plekanec is younger. He's still our second leading scorer. at the very least he's our #2 centre next year. 4) The summertime shopping must include.... 2 top six capable players, and 1 top four capable left handed dman. 5) Removing plekanec means you have to fill a fourth hole (basically you need to sign an entire second line) in the summer. Thats not a reasonable thing going into free agency. So with that said. Gone at the deadline - Markov, Fleischmann, Weise, Gilbert Guys I would heavily try to trade - Emelin, Eller, DD Guys I would move... only if I'm filling a large hole for the immediate future - Beaulieu, Plekanec, Petry Guys I would keep - Price, Pacioretty, Galchenyuk, Gallagher, Subban,

Im not saying all the rookies make next years team. Im saying play them now. Fogure out which ones make next year's team and how many people we need to sign.

I agree with most of this. I'm looking at moving on from this season, but looking to do well again next year. Big minutes for Beau and Chucky Move UFAs Weise and Fleischmann; even if they don't bring much, lets make some roster room for Hudon and Ghetto. Figure out if they can be third liners next year. Carr is part of the team (he got hurt last night though). Move Markov, he's really slowing down. I keep Plekanec unless someone blows me away with an offer. He's still one of our top 2 centres next year. Do what you can to clear money which will be needed in the off-season. Eller, Emelin, DD, all on the block. Shut down Price for the year and get surgery if thats what he needs. Be ready for september.

I'm convinced.... the best terrible team of all time. Control the puck all night and never ing do anything.

blocked shot lands right on saads stick. ....

Ghetto likely IMO.

No other player gets that call. None. Only cause its P.K. I thought when you won a major NHL award like the Norris, you actually got a little respect from the league and the officials (you shouldn't get special treatment, but lets be honest, you do). P.K. is the opposite, he wins an award and the refs give him less respect than the average player. This isn't the only time he's gotten a bullshit call this year, just the most egregious. And then you have plenty of times he's mugged while skating with the puck in our end or through the neutral zone with no call. Such a bullshit league..