Link67

They didn't do anything back there besides swap Hunwick for Hainsey, so unless Andersson has himself a spectacular year, I would expect more of the same on that end. However they did add to their offense, which would likely help them win a few more games than last year and continue to progress in the right direction. Toronto's Achilles heel will be their back end again but I am sure they will work towards addressing that when the right opportunity comes.

Do we know if the entire surface will be covered though? Or is Bergevin planning on entering the season with a bunch of open Ice space

I have more faith that Hudon can come in for a full season and have a Lehkonen type of season, than I do in Hemsky hitting 40 points. I agree about the Wild Card aspect, if Jerabek comes in and has a Zaitsev type of season and progression, he could easily make this top 4 more interesting going forward. For now I will just expect him to come around slowly, and by seasons end, hopefully have shown enough to suggest next year he could be a top 4 option on a full time basis. I agree, I do think Tampa will have a better season but they lost a 50+ point top 6 player with no replacement, and are banking on a young netminder with a lot to prove this season, the only gains they can hope for now are healthy bodies. Ottawa already had a rollercoaster year, to determine which is the real Ottawa is not something simple, they also lost a top pair guy with no replacement and will be more of the same. Toronto made some slight improvements and Boston did nothing to improve from the bubble team they already were. We make the playoffs with relative ease as long as Price is healthy, it just is what it is there, but it will be a 3 horse race for the Division title between Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. If we make an addition of note with the cap space we have though, this could all change and turn into a "our division to lose" type of scenario.

Guys don't get me wrong here, I don't WANT to trade Pacioretty, I love the guy, he is an elite goal scorer, I have defended him from his unfair critics for several seasons now. But what he brings on the wing, which is high and consistent production, i would simply rather have at Center. I am not one to poke around the bushes of fantasy land when it comes to hockey discussions, I am aware to receive quality players you need to give quality packages. He is not my first choice to send out the door for a major Center like Tavares, I would rather we exercise every other avenue to bring in a Tavares to Montreal with a Pacioretty playing at his side. But ultimately if a GM says "You know I just can't see myself trading Tavares/Backstrom/Insert True 1C name here, unless you make Pacioretty the center piece on your end". You ponder it for a moment, maybe you call back in an hour, but you ultimately have to make that deal happen, because this team has been starving for a 1C for too long. This team already has a legitimate #1 Goalie, it has a legitimate #1 Defenseman, if it had a legitimate #1 Center, imagine the possibilities for a team with that kind of make up going forward, the fundamental needs to be a contender would be in place. You would only have to move around the pieces in the outer ring of the puzzle from there until the pieces all fit and we achieve what I think we all want in the end.

we have nothing else to offer besides quality wingers, so if that isn't what we're offering then we aren't getting a top 6 Center of any kind, which is also a problem, a big one.

it is quite the opposite, Backstrom is an elite Center, among the very best at his position. It is for this reason the trade won't happen, Pacioretty doesn't help their team get better, But Backstrom definitely helps our team get better. The picks mean nothing to them, they are not close to rebuilding yet, it is for all these reasons the trade has pretty much no chance of happening, not because we wouldn't want to make the trade, but because they wouldn't.

Nope, not a chance in my opinion

No interest in Chris Neil, That is music to my ears.

I think that is the post he was referring to, and for the record Radulov might be a lot of things, Passionate, Skilled, Confident, Energetic, and maybe even a tad Greedy, but he is not the type to take a night or a shift off, what makes you think he would take a whole season off just because he got paid. You can make a case he is not the most loyal and a bit greedy, but to suggest he will suddenly get Lazy and take a seat in the recliner for the next 5 years because he has his money is a stretch. He is going to give Dallas everything he's got, will it be enough to be worth the money in a few years? we shall see.

See in this scenario, if we did go with a Drouin - Galchenyuk 1 - 2 punch down the middle, it would have been of paramount importance to keep Radulov,. The fact it was not treated as something that was dire, suggests to me, that Drouin was the replacement plan at RW if Radulov could not come in at the price they wanted. They went to the negotiating table with that in mind, that they didn't HAVE to re-sign him at all costs because they see Drouin as a Winger. If it was the case where they saw him as a potential top line center and also see Galchenyuk as a #2 Center, then they would have treated the Radulov negotiation as if they need him no matter what, and fork over the money to get it done, we didn't see that level of desperation in their negotiation at all. then you would have a core top 6 all sticking together for more than one season that looks like Pacioretty - Drouin - Radulov Lehkonen - Galchenyuk - Gallagher That plan needed to be agreed to, and followed, prior to July 1st by Management, if that is the look you are going for, and it is a pretty damn good look I have to admit, it needed to be a plan before July 1st. There are many different plans they could have moved forward with during this offseason, this would have been one I could get behind, but that ship has sailed, and it really looks like they never had a plan to go with Drouin and Galchenyuk as the top 6 centers from the get go.

Right, forgot about that, I am not entirely sure he will play 40 games for them either, kind of a 50/50 on that one. Hopefully he does and we have more assets at our disposal.

I agree pretty much entirely, the top Center position is a must, a necessity that must be addressed and has gone far too long unaddressed. We have the cap space and wingers we are willing to spare for the right Center, not to mention the 4 picks in the first 2 rounds of the 2018 draft.

Game changer no, I never suggested that anyway, what I do know is Drouin + Jagr would easily make up the production of Radulov, so there is a production upgrade there to be happy about if they were in the lineup. Also Markov's loss on the back end would be non existent and our D core could slot back in to the spots they belong in, and the small upgrades made at various positions there could remain as such because Markov being gone isn't forcing a 1 step forward 2 steps back scenario on our D. That, as a whole, is bit of a game changer, at the very least it would have ensured us of an upgraded roster on paper, and Like i said I could get behind that. In context, We were talking about early July, there is no way Jagr coming off a 46 point season takes less than 3 mill for 1 year in the opening days of July. While you are right to a certain extent, we could fit both under the cap, Is there really a point to signing Hemsky just to play on the 4th line? Our RW situation would get weird, Drouin replacing Radulov as the top RW, followed by Jagr and Gallagher and Hemsky. I am not sure Hemsky would enjoy the role nor do I think it necessary to acquire him if he is not a top 9 RW for the team.

that is a good point, but sooner or later, Bergevin needs to spend the resources and allocate the cap required to make this roster better. Whether that means signing Jagr and Markov in July, and going over the cap by a million, followed by a move to lower the cap, Mitchell on waivers or whatever the case maybe. If all you do is maneuver to fit the perfect scenarios inside your bubble of cap space without the willingness to extend yourself and make the adjustments after the fact, more often than not, you will be caught staring at the moment as it passes you by rather than reaching out and grabbing it. At this point, I would have rather give Markov 6.5mill for 1 year and Jagr 3.5mill for 1 year, go over the cap a little and spend the next couple months working on getting back under the cap. Like I said, either Mitchell on Waivers, Davidson traded for a late pick, there is a variety of ways it could be handled, and I would feel much better about a roster right now that Had both Markov and Jagr on it. We would actually be saving the money on Hemsky and Streit because they wouldn't have been needed in that scenario,. So it might not have even put us over the cap at all, Don't know the math exactly off hand but I think it would just fit or just barely go over in this instance. Pacioretty - Galchenyuk - Drouin Lehkonen - Danault - Jagr Byron - Plekanec - Gallagher Hudon - McCarron - Shaw Markov - Weber Alzner - Petry Schlemko - Benn I could have easily got behind this roster, it would have left me with a lot less question marks and doubts for the upcoming season compared to what I feel now. Time will tell what the cap space will turn into, but that scenario would have been fine by me, and gave us a chance to be competitive next season.

it is insane to ask him to become the second highest scorer on our D with no NHL seasons under his belt

I really think if they wanted to sign Jagr, they would have went that route before they signed Hemsky. At this point I think the cap space will be used to try and trade for a big salary player in the top 6 forward position or top 4 D, which ever scenario presents the player who will bring us the biggest step forward, for a package we can afford to give up. or maybe that is just what I would do if I was GM, and I am in for a rude awakening one of these days

Danault earned his top 6 spot last season, he did nothing to deserve being moved to wing on the 3rd line. I don't want him to be a top line center, but I have no problem with him offering 40+ points a season from the second line. He showed he could play with some quality wingers, do the dirty work for his line and compliment different type of players in valiant fashion. Though I do like a lot of different combinations I see suggested, If i had to pick one to start with as experiment #1 i'm sticking with this to see how it goes. Pacioretty - Galchenyuk - Drouin Lehkonen - Danault - Gallagher Byron - Plekanec - Hemsky Hudon - McCarron - Shaw Alzner - Weber Schlemko - Petry Streit/Jerabek - Benn

Honestly just not a fan of Drouin being on the second line, I'm pretty well set on Pacioretty Galchenyuk Drouin as a stacked top line, it needs to be tried first and given a serious look before anything else is tried as a top line, imo.

i'm liking the whole thing, fantastic work guys

And as always, Stay Classy HW Forums

No sense at all is right I'm not even sure there is any sense to Galchenyuk for Sanheim let alone Pacioretty. Our top 6 has been taking water for years now, there is no way in hell i'd be ok with sacrificing more of it to add to our D. Our current D may not be all that great, but I am more willing to live with it in its current state, than watch our top 6 lose a guy like Galchenyuk and get zero in return in the top 6. Personally I'd rather keep Galchenyuk, Gallagher, or Pacioretty unless one of them is part of a package that sees a top 6 Center come the other way, not a D. That is our greatest need, and they are our greatest assets, not sure I will be thrilled at all if their departure doesn't have a viable top 6 C coming the other way.

Jesus I said HE IS A CLIP UNDER A PPG, how hard is it to read that properly, and how many times am I going to have to explain it to you, it is exactly what he is.. Also every person you just mentioned is ALSO a clip under a PPG player, perfect examples of players who would have greatly benefited us if they were our #1C when they were 26 years old. You starting to see why it is so important NOT to pass on a guy like Tavares yet?

I don't have an issue with what you said other than I don't particularly agree, which is fine, its a discussion forum and opinions will vary. Lovett tried to personally call me out on something and label me something , and the facts I presented showed the complete opposite, I am not going to let something like that slide without my 2 cents. As for your point, I explained why I thought Tavares would remain an effective player until his mid 30s already, and would therefore not in the slightest of ways avoid aggressively pursuing him on the notion he MAY decline in his early 30s. In my opinion there is way more chance we benefit greatly from his presence on the team, than there is of him suddenly falling off a cliff at age 32, and I would personally take those chances any day. His point totals eclipse everyone on this team, his ability to produce those points from our position of greatest need is also of great importance. How the heck anyone would pass on a player like Tavares because of some doomsday prophecy of his future production is mind boggling. This coming from the same fan base who is angry we didn't pay a 31 year old 7 million for 5 years? REALLY? I've said it earlier and I'll say it again, There is no reason not to try and acquire John Tavares other than He does not want to come here, or the Islanders don't want any package we could put together for him. Our interest in him, a true and elite #1C entering his prime, should be absolute, period.

Hmmm While I have no issue welcoming Zetterberg here with open arms, I do have issue with giving up that much of our future for him. While I do believe he is capable of a couple more 50 point seasons, anything over that would be a stretch, although not impossible. The value of what you are giving for him seem too high to me for a pretty good chance at 2 solid years from a player, with anything more than that being a low percentage chance. And if I am being realistic, Zetterberg seems like the Detroit or Retire kind of guy, much like many from that Guard were. I doubt he would want to leave, and I doubt Holland would force him after all he has done. Better chance he ends up in Sweden for a year or 2 than he does in another NHL team if you ask me, but nothing is certain, i'm merely guessing the most likely outcome. I'd love to have him here if he wanted to, but I certainly wouldn't give up a guy like Lehkonen and two 1st rounders for him at this point. I'm not saying either, that a package for him has to be some junk like Shaw and a 2nd or anything silly. But Lehkonen could easily be outscoring Zetterberg in 2 years time, how small are we trying to make this window exactly? the window should be as long as Price is under 35, Lehkonen might not help as much as Zetterberg in year 1 or 2 of that window, but he certainly helps more in year 3, 4 and 5. It has to be some other sort of package, Lehkonen cannot be part of a deal that doesn't at least see us getting our hands on a player in his Prime at the very least.

Ah yes, in any form of discussion board, when someone resorts to nothing left but trying to attack some sort of grammar, it is also the exact moment they are soundly defeated in a discussion. Go ahead and do what you gotta do with your ignore list, I certainly won't miss being quoted or misrepresented by you in any way shape or form, I will however lightly miss the opportunity to shove your foot in your mouth with my response to it. And in a Final Bow to you, I invite you to type the word "Classically" in the text window and let me know if it is underlined in Red. Actually don't let me know, I wouldn't want to be responsible for having shoved both your feet in your mouth in one discussion, how are you supposed to walk out of here with any dignity left after that, or walk out of here at all for that matter...