Great game to watch, happy Dallas won, feel for the Jets and especially Scheifele. My guess is former Rangers assistant Scott Arniel will be fired as the Jets coach, hard to see them keeping him after another playoff run falls woefully short. They are in a tough spot having to play Colorado and Dallas early every season, but that's the way it goes. As for Dallas, can they get over the hump and make the SCF finally. This is their 3rd straight WCF trip, they are 0-2 the past two seasons, now they get a rematch from last season against Edmonton. I am rooting for Dallas bigtime, I hope they get it done. It's going to be tough as Edmonton is very good. I ever so slightly lean towards Dallas, but I think it's a total tossup series, I wouldn't be even 1% surprised if either team won. Should be some great hockey. I am looking forward to the WCF WAY more than the ECF, regardless of if it's Florida or Toronto against Carolina.
Oh, Laffs. less than a minute after a big goal to make it 3-1 they go on and give up the 4th. Marchand has been a good playoff add for them.
The Leafs are a team that will have big changes before next season, they have gotten to the point where big changes to the core are needed IMO. Tavares and Marner are both UFA's, plus I'm sure they'll make other moves as well. If it were me, I'd look into dealing Matthews, the guy never gets it done in the playoffs. He had one soft goal against the Panthers, that's all. 3 goals in 13 playoff games this year, one goal in 5 playoff games last year. I'd at least explore the haul I could get for him, then maybe you can re-sign Marner. You can get something for Matthews, instead of simply letting Marner walk for nothing. As for Florida, I favor them against Carolina, I think goaltending will be a big difference in that series, a huge edge for Florida.
This would never happen because it requires creativity, which is not Drury's strong suite, but I'd be on the phone with Toronto tomorrow trying to get Matthews. I would offer K. Miller, Garand, and the 12th overall pick as a start (I'm sure the Rangers would need to include a little extra sweetener like a mid-prospect and/or pick). From Toronto's POV, they get a young cheaper top 4 dman, a future # 1 goalie, a solid 1st round pick, and maybe another mid piece or two. It gives them a core change, they need top dmen badly, and they desperately need a top goalie, they get all of that in this trade. This also allows them to re-sign Marner, which is a big plus and has to be counted as part of their return package. From the Rangers POV, they would need to move Kreider in a separate deal to clear cap space, it would give the Rangers a stud # 1 C, and a top player in the league. Whether it's that exact package, or something directionally similar, I think there could be a base connection here if Toronto is willing to listen on Matthews. I think it's a win win trade, that should at least be explored. But again, Drury has zero creativity, so I doubt it happens. These are the kinds of conversations he should be having, sadly he won't, he's incapable of pulling it off. We'll get ho hum BS from Drury, nothing big and bold.
Yeah, I'm sure they'd have to offer more, maybe include Othmann, but I think there could be a match with the pieces I mentioned as a start, if Toronto was so inclined to potentially move him.
