General NHL Talk 2022-2023

[gotbeer]

43 minutes ago, deepdrive said:

All things considered, it doesn't look like Calgary came out of this summer too bad at all. Nice job by their GM. It would have been a mess for most orgs.

Definitely in win now mode.  That Kadri contract could get ugly quick, or look like jeenius.  I think that's why a lot of teams stayed away.  Was last year a fluke or a breakthrough.  Because it goes against all of his previous stats.  And how much was it attributable to the Roster Colorado had around him.  

It's kind of why I'd like to see what Terry does this season before going long term on him.  More than likely he will have Rico and Strome surrounding him, so there should be no excuses.  And unlike Comtois, Terry was making goal scorer goals.  Not around the net goals.  

[arch stanton]

Kadri’s goal total was around his norm. It was the 59 assists that came out of nowhere. He absolutely needs some decent wingers but what he’ll really miss is the way the Avs defense contributes to the scoring. I can’t see a Suter coached team doing that. 
 

Naz will be fine for a couple seasons but 7x 7 won’t age too well

[deepdrive]

17 hours ago, arch stanton said:

Kadri’s goal total was around his norm. It was the 59 assists that came out of nowhere. He absolutely needs some decent wingers but what he’ll really miss is the way the Avs defense contributes to the scoring. I can’t see a Suter coached team doing that. 
 

Naz will be fine for a couple seasons but 7x 7 won’t age too well

Yeah, but it doesn't have to, does it. If you get 3 good years out of it, one decent, and one ok, do you really care that much about the last two? I don't see Calgary holding on to where they are at for more than 5 years (But who knows - management is looking competent.) I would take who he probably will be for the next 5 years at the expense of having to deal with the last two years possibly going bad.

[gotbeer]

Bill Daly believes NHL salary cap could rise significantly after 2023-24 season

[gotbeer]

Minnesota Wild Sign Sam Steel

I would have thought Milano would be signed before Steel.  Wild writer definitely is looking at the glass half full Sam Steel.  And not what all Ducks fans know.

[gotbeer]

Dallas Stars Sign Jake Oettinger

3/$4 per.  That leaves $6.3 million to sign Robertson.  

[deepdrive]

On 8/30/2022 at 4:01 PM, gotbeer said:

Minnesota Wild Sign Sam Steel

I would have thought Milano would be signed before Steel.  Wild writer definitely is looking at the glass half full Sam Steel.  And not what all Ducks fans know.

I think Steel gets this one last chance (and probably a slim one at that) and then he's off to being an AHL'er.

[gotbeer]

Canucks extend J.T. Miller on 7-year deal

Quote

The Vancouver Canucks announced they've signed J.T. Miller to a new seven-year pact carrying an average annual value of $8 million.

 

That's a good deal for the Canucks.  $8 million and only 7 years.  Looking at his stats, he has some questions about can he repeat like Kadri.  But both are in the same area.  Kadri was 7/7, Miller 7/8, but Miller is a center.  Which usually gets a premium.

[deepdrive]

7 hours ago, gotbeer said:

Canucks extend J.T. Miller on 7-year deal

 

That's a good deal for the Canucks.  $8 million and only 7 years.  Looking at his stats, he has some questions about can he repeat like Kadri.  But both are in the same area.  Kadri was 7/7, Miller 7/8, but Miller is a center.  Which usually gets a premium.

Unless LA falters, I think Vegas is looking at 5th in the Pacific or lower. I think Calgary, Edmonton, LA, and Vancouver will all out point them. I also don't think it's out of place to say the Ducks could jell and out point them. But, that just may be me being a homer.

[gotbeer]

1 hour ago, deepdrive said:

Unless LA falters, I think Vegas is looking at 5th in the Pacific or lower. I think Calgary, Edmonton, LA, and Vancouver will all out point them. I also don't think it's out of place to say the Ducks could jell and out point them. But, that just may be me being a homer.

There was an article about what teams should start the rebuild.  All the writers were on the Vegas bandwagon still.  But they are a prime team to need a rebuild.  I agree with you in that they look like at least a 5th place team right now.  And they will be 6th and even 7th soon enough with the Ducks direction and really the Kraken won't be bad for too much longer with Wright and Beniers.  Vegas really looks like the Ducks a few years back with GMBM at the helm, still holding out hope that the Vets can get them back to the playoffs.  The bad thing with Vegas is, they have no farm like the Ducks have had.  

[gotbeer]

Senators, Tim Stützle agree on 8-year contract extension with AAV of $8.35 million

Seems like an overpay for a winger.  If he was a center, then in line with Jack Hughes is probably in order.  But being paid more than any other young gun.  Not looking good for the Ducks.

 

[Vegas Halo Fan]

On 9/4/2022 at 6:43 PM, deepdrive said:

Unless LA falters, I think Vegas is looking at 5th in the Pacific or lower.

I don't know what to expect from the Knights. They found themselves in salary cap hell, then found out that Robin Lehner will miss the season after the impact goalies had already been signed.

Edited September 8, 2022 by Vegas Halo Fan

[deepdrive]

4 hours ago, Vegas Halo Fan said:

I don't know what to expect from the Knights. They found themselves in salary cap hell, then found out that Robin Lehner will miss the season after the impact goalies had already been signed.

It seems like they let their early success go to their head. They made some good moves and caught a little magic in a bottle with the players they had. Instead of putting the work in to understand and maintain what they had done, they got cocky and started acting like it was easy and they could easily replicate it. Reminds me of the Dallas Cowboys with Jones and Johnson. Their egos screwed them and they never recovered.

[deepdrive]

9 hours ago, gotbeer said:

Senators, Tim Stützle agree on 8-year contract extension with AAV of $8.35 million

Seems like an overpay for a winger.  If he was a center, then in line with Jack Hughes is probably in order.  But being paid more than any other young gun.  Not looking good for the Ducks.

 

On the plus side, maybe this new trend will cause the end of giving 30+ year old players the same type of contracts. There's only so much money. You can't give it away on both the front and back of careers. Otherwise, the better GM's will figure out how to play this to their advantage.

[gotbeer]

13 minutes ago, deepdrive said:

It seems like they let their early success go to their head. They made some good moves and caught a little magic in a bottle with the players they had. Instead of putting the work in to understand and maintain what they had done, they got cocky and started acting like it was easy and they could easily replicate it. Reminds me of the Angels with Moreno and making splashes. Their egos screwed them and they never recovered.

Fixed.

[deepdrive]

1 hour ago, gotbeer said:

Fixed.

Funny thing about the Angels. Not only did Moreno have some early success and then flounder, Autry did too. The Angels first season they played way above expectations. Some who have written about them say their early success created a malaise in the organization that took years to recover from.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

2 hours ago, deepdrive said:

It seems like they let their early success go to their head. They made some good moves and caught a little magic in a bottle with the players they had. Instead of putting the work in to understand and maintain what they had done, they got cocky and started acting like it was easy and they could easily replicate it. Reminds me of the Dallas Cowboys with Jones and Johnson. Their egos screwed them and they never recovered.

There is some validity to this, IMO. The first season, as magical a run as it was, became the standard against which all future seasons would be compared. It was surreal seeing "Stanley Cup Final" and "Inaugural Season" juxtaposed on the same ice. I have a framed photo of this, with lights proclaiming "Welcome to Impossible" on the ice. This referred to not only their totally unexpected division title and run to the final, but also to the predictions of several sports writers that the NHL would be a classic failure here.

The timing was good, because it served as a rallying point for the city in the aftermath of the 1 October mass shooting. The club wound up scrapping whatever events they had planned for the home opener, and it turned into a memorial service instead, with recognition of first responders. VGK were a big part of the city's recovery. Not only was the team winning, but players were visible all over town, appearing at hospitals and food banks.

The Golden Misfits thing was only going to work for one season. That kind of attitude, with players wanting to show their former clubs that they shouldn't have let them go, wasn't going to carry over to future seasons. The first season, things happened organically. Once they started having to actually manage things and sustain a winning atmosphere and attitude, it became a lot more tricky. Time will tell if they have gotten it right.

[arch stanton]

Vegas still has plenty of talent but after losing Lehner then giving away Dadanov and Paccioretty for nothing it puts a lot of pressure on Logan Thompson in net and Mark Stone's surgically repaired back

[deepdrive]

2 hours ago, arch stanton said:

Vegas still has plenty of talent but after losing Lehner then giving away Dadanov and Paccioretty for nothing it puts a lot of pressure on Logan Thompson in net and Mark Stone's surgically repaired back

Yeah, but they're not as good as Calgary or Edmonton. Vancouver has a good team with enough talent to win a lot of games and they have Bruce. He gets teams to win. LA is a bit of a crap shoot. Would you place Vegas above any of these teams in points next season?

[arch stanton]

7 minutes ago, deepdrive said:

Yeah, but they're not as good as Calgary or Edmonton. Vancouver has a good team with enough talent to win a lot of games and they have Bruce. He gets teams to win. LA is a bit of a crap shoot. Would you place Vegas above any of these teams in points next season?

Edmonton's D can't defend and having Skinner as the backup puts a ton of pressure on Campbell. Calgary's top line will struggle with whomever they put on the right wing and Vancouver is not a given even with Bruce.

Eichel and Stone could be great together or maybe they put Eichel in between Smith and Marchessault? As long as Petrangelo and Martinez don't fall over the age cliff their D is strong and Cassidy is a much better coach than DeBoers. I don't think any team in the west is good enough to run away with it so anything's still possible come deadline time

[Vegas Halo Fan]

15 hours ago, arch stanton said:

Vegas still has plenty of talent but after losing Lehner then giving away Dadanov and Paccioretty for nothing it puts a lot of pressure on Logan Thompson in net and Mark Stone's surgically repaired back

Dadonov was their only reliable scorer late in the season. Pacioretty said some uncomplimentary things after being traded to the Panthers. I don't know whether they are true, or just venting from a player who was pissed that he was traded.

Edited September 9, 2022 by Vegas Halo Fan

[deepdrive]

16 hours ago, arch stanton said:

Edmonton's D can't defend and having Skinner as the backup puts a ton of pressure on Campbell. Calgary's top line will struggle with whomever they put on the right wing and Vancouver is not a given even with Bruce.

Eichel and Stone could be great together or maybe they put Eichel in between Smith and Marchessault? As long as Petrangelo and Martinez don't fall over the age cliff their D is strong and Cassidy is a much better coach than DeBoers. I don't think any team in the west is good enough to run away with it so anything's still possible come deadline time

I get your point, especially the last sentence. But you can pick pieces on any team.

Calgary is still a really good team. They came out of a tough summer in surprisingly good shape. I would think they probably won't regress enough to be passed by Vegas.

Edmonton has another season with McDavid in his prime and the best coaching they've had in a long time. They looked scary at times in the playoffs. There's a better chance they finish at the top of the Pacific than regress. Their biggest question is which Kane is going to show up. 

And my boy Bruce, he does make that much of a difference. He has everywhere he had the talent to compete. Until he falters and a team collapses on him , I would not bet against him.

The Kings? I really don't know. Everything that I see says they should probably should be as good or better than last year.

So yeah, there's weaknesses in all the Pacific teams and one of the four I picked to finish above Vegas could easily falter. The thing is though, Vegas could falter, too. They're old. Too many players past their prime and ripe for injuries. Eichel has yet to show he's even a good player anymore, let alone elite. I'm not sure the extent of Stone's injury/surgery. But at his age, until he comes back and proves himself there's serious question marks. The organization seems in disarray and that looks to be filtering down to the team.

I've missed on Vegas before. So, I'm a bit gun shy to count them out. But, from what I see it doesn't look real good.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

1 hour ago, deepdrive said:

So yeah, there's weaknesses in all the Pacific teams and one of the four I picked to finish above Vegas could easily falter. The thing is though, Vegas could falter, too. They're old. Too many players past their prime and ripe for injuries.

Fifteen of the 23 players on the roster are in their 20s, and Mark Stone is 30. Ryan Kessler is 38, but I have doubts that he will play. He was the return in a salary dump deal. He is one of three players over age 32 on the roster (Alec Martinez at 35 and Phil Kessel at 34 are the others). This team may be a lot of things, but old isn't one of them.

[deepdrive]

1 hour ago, Vegas Halo Fan said:

Fifteen of the 23 players on the roster are in their 20s, and Mark Stone is 30. Ryan Kessler is 38, but I have doubts that he will play. He was the return in a salary dump deal. He is one of three players over age 32 on the roster (Alec Martinez at 35 and Phil Kessel at 34 are the others). This team may be a lot of things, but old isn't one of them.

Okay, I'm not the expert on your team. Maybe I should have said older.

Still (correct me if I'm wrong):

Top 4 defense - Martinez (35), Pietrangelo (32),McNabb (31), Theodore (27)

Top 6 offense - Stephenson ( 28), Eichel (25), Stone (30), Marchessault ( 31), Karlsson (29), Smith (31)

The youngest one is Eichel. Does he have the body of a 25 year old at this point?

The peak year of an NHL player is typically 27.  One could argue it might be 28,29 (Which would typically be more for defensive players). Do you really think age isn't an issue with this team.

Could age be a non-factor this year? Maybe. Like I said, I don't know the team well enough to know their injury history or recent production trends.

But, I know the Ducks. And, as an example Silfverburg who is 31 is old, Henrique at 32 not so much so far, Shattenkirk at 33 is hard to tell because he's just not that good, Fowler at 30 seems ok, but has never been a physical player. If the Ducks were relying on these players health for success next year would I be worried? Yep.

[gotbeer]

Maybe the Angels pitchers need hockey sticks?