Then propose what move you would like to see made instead of just repeating a general statement like they need to improve the offense. Who are you willing to trade to make that happen?
You play the games Mess...100% agree. But you also need to look at teams and say better or worse...a lot of talent or not...SC type team or not. That is how it works. You are way over the top on this Mess, but it's all good. I think all Prod and I are saying is we are painted into a corner and clearly need all these kids to improve and play big roles or we are in trouble...and that is a dangerous place to be. If you want to make it more than that all good bro.
No, the repeating of the same stupid shit like "on paper" is what's off the charts here. No solutions or suggestions. Just repeating the same dumb lines.
We have both said many times deal Klein for some O. Sounds like a lot of teams are interested. On the flip side how does this D work? McD, G, Staal, Klein, Yandle, Boyle, Diaz, McIlrath (must clear waivers to be sent down). What is the plan with those 8 dmen that we cannot deal Klein for some O? At this point I would even deal Yandle for that O if we had to.
Not over the top. You just want me to fall into your line of thinking. I'm not playing the on paper game all off season. Move on from it already. You have beaten that on paper line to death already and it's only July.
And that's the swing and a miss on your part Mess. We have said TONS of times deal Klein for O. Sign Williams, sign Ward, maybe take a shot on a Fehr or Stewart (before he signed today). So stop the nonsense of dumb lines and no solutions...LOL.
Oh no, you are way over the top. We are not as good and the BJ's and Caps are clearly better, again that's reality. Forget the on paper stuff and just focus on that. The way it is my friend.
Well perhaps if they didn't have the slight problem of Stepan's contract on their hands it would be easier for them to see what they have to play with. They also have other guys they have to get under contract. They can't just go out and sign anybody right now. Fine move Klein but you're still going to have to work within what his cap hit would be so what significant improvement can you make for that money?
AGAIN though, you play the games. All is not lost. When you have the D we have and Hank in goal you damn sure have a shot to win a lot of games...so stop with the nonsense that anyone is saying we are done for. But AGAIN that doesn't change the reality that we aren't as good and the Caps and BJ's are better. That's just being honest. Now maybe Etem comes in and does better than Hags, and Miller/CK/Hayes all take huge strides forward, and Fast takes a nice jump also and we are better, certainly can happen, but that's what we need sort of an inside straight.
To me I cannot be held a slave to Stepan. I would budget tops 6.3 for him, and if I cannot get it done for that I would deal him. He is not even worth that IMO. I have always felt 6 mill +/- is fair for Step, but would go a little higher to lock him up long term. Meaning 6.2 or 6.3 per tops. If he wants a lot more, maybe I would push to 6.5 100% MAX, deal him. That's all we can do IMO.
I have to agree with Mess here chuck, you cant say on paper we are worse or better. Personally i think Saad on columbus isnt going to be as successful as he was in chicago, he doesnt create his own offense he relied of others to open up the ice and he drove the net. Washington got oshie but hes no physical presence at all, hes all skill, had they got Lucic i'd be worried. The moves we made arent sexy or all that great, but what it does is create is competition with having young players most on contracts they are going to be playing hard to get to a larger sum of money and term. I'd rather have guys looking to earn they next contract in their early 20's then a 33 year old williams or ward. Plus if some of the players we have arent working out we could always package them together and try to land a piece that works better for us. I disagree with this opinion that Etem is a "Major upgrade" to Hagelin. I do believe we saw Hagelins ceiling but Etem is an unknown who only has potential at this moment in time, I do like the different set of skills and abilities he brings to the table but hes a complete unknown. Stalberg, who i wanted them to trade for at the deadline, is a great pick up and even better having been bought out by Nashville. His size and speed are going to fit in nice, hopefully he puts in the effort hes capable of.
Question for you Mess...what is your plan on D? We have 8 dmen. Klein, Diaz, McIlrath all righties. What do you do there? Cannot send Mac down. Did we sign Diaz to a one-way deal just to have him in HRT (doubt he comes here if that was the plan). So what is the plan on D?
Somebody will be moved once they work their contracts out. That's the only place this forward everybody wants is going to come from. Plus, if they want anyone who's really going to help the deal will need to be made sweeter with somebody else as well.
Look at what you just said right there 71. You cannot say we are better or worse. BUT you can say Saad won't be as good in CBJ? The Caps get Oshie and Williams but they may not be better. But we are not better or worse...Ranger colored glasses at their finest...LOL. No one knows what will happen on the ice, we can all 100000000000% agree on that. Drop the puck and play and we can beat or lose to any team. But as we sit here today if we are being honest and fair hard to say the Caps and BJ's aren't improved (the BJ's will be much improved simply by not having 8778867985997857859800 injuries again) and we aren't best case the same or more likely worse. From there drop the puck and play.
I said it not 71. The reason i said you " cant say we are better or worse on paper" is cause games arent played on paper. And just cause a team traded for a Kessel or an Oshie and williams or a Saad. DOESNT MAKE THEM BETTER. You want to believe they are better but you never know whats going to happen with locker room chemistry, injuries etc. 1 player or 2 players doenst mean anything teams get "better talents" and do worse and vice versa.
Well Messiah, since you asked... Really not sure how this became so exaggerated and over the top. To me, this offseason didnt need to be complicated or significant. Even with Hayes, Kreider, Miller and Fast all improving, which I think and expect will happen, I think we could also use a right-shot forward who has experience playing in the top 6, is a shoot-first player and can help on the powerplay. Most of our forwards right now are pass-first players. Hagelin, of all players, was second last year to Nash in shots/60. We need to improve in that area. The way this team is constructed we have the most expensive goalie in the league and now with Staal's extension and Yandle's full 2.6m hit on the books (he was pro-rated last year), we also have the most expensive d-core. Our third d-pair is Yandle-Klein. That is just too expensive and one should move. Yandle brings an elite skillset that this team hasnt had in a long time. Klein, although extremely solid, is easier to replace. In fact, the organization has said that we have a player in Hartford who is ready and that plays the right side. We also signed Diaz, who plays the right side. With Klein (and Glass) traded for cap space we could have afforded Justin Williams on the contract he got (which was a great deal). Now that he's gone, a player like Alex Semin on a one year deal would be amazing. Ive said I'm not crazy about him, but we all rave about the leadership on this team and I dont see them letting him dog it. We also havent had a guy with his shot on this team since Gaborik. Hes a snipe artist with one of the best shots in the game whenn he's on. We currently have nobody with the exception of Nash who can beat a goalie from the circle with any sort of consistency. In fact, we were 4th out of 4 on goals scored from outside the circle in the playoffs, out of the 4 teams in the conference finals. All this talk about *going to the net* wasnt exactly the problem when you look at where our goals came from. A large part of the struggle was that this team does not have many good shooters. Get a good shooter on the ice and more space opens up. Brad Boyes is another right handed shooter who is still available for cheap. Guys are available to fill this role. Klein and Glass out. Never would have signed Stalberg. Lindberg up, McIlrath and Diaz fight for 6th D with loser as 7th. If it doesnt work, find a guy at the trade deadline to play 6th D. Nash-Brassard-Zucc Kreider-Stepan-Semin (ideally Williams, maybe Boyes) Miller-Hayes-Etem Lindberg-Moore-Fast McD-Girardi Staal-Boyle Yandle-McIlrath/Diaz/Deadline pickup I think that is a very reasonable and very attainable way to improve the team while also counting on the young guys to improve. Not saying "blow it up", not saying "this team is terrible", not saying "our young guys wont improve." But that team is better than the team we currently have, so why not go out and make it happen?
