Is Hughes 11? Sorry but he is real small. Not saying he won't be good, but man compare him to Kakko and it isn't close size and build wise. Hughes may be more dynamic and have highlight skills, but give me the man and the physical aspect Kakko will bring. He may not have as high of a ceiling, but he'll be a stud also, and is a physical presence. And JD is the man. I love him and feel great with him in control.
Devs get Subban, and they didn't give up much. Yes his cap hit isn't great, but he is still a very good dman, and it's 3 years not 6 or 7 when he gets into his mid-30's and beyond. It does make our Trouba deal look even better though IMO. Rather have him at 25. If the Devs keep Hall, and you have to think they will, and the young C's pan out, they are heading down a good road. Time for Gorton to get some stuff done. Cannot come this far with Fox and Trouba and drafting Kakko, and not do more. Deal Vesey, Names, Shattenkirk, maybe Kreider and clear some cap space to add a big fish on July 1st. Let's go Jeff.
Sounds like JT Miller is going to Vancouver and Kreider could be headed to LA. Toronto seems to have cleared space for Marner with the Marleau trade.
Yes, that is why not ideal, but to give up an outside the top 10 1st rounder to be able to resign an important player (or players) is a smart move for the Leafs. If the Leafs fall apart next season and miss the playoffs, then it is a disaster, but that is highly unlikely. As for the Miller deal, man that TB deal keeps looking better. No cup for TB, McDonagh on his way down (and is WAY overpaid), Miller inconsistent as always and now dealt again. And we got a 1st, 2nd, Howden, and Hajek. Worth it for sure. We should move Kreider. I have said it over and over again. I hope he goes. Vesey and Names also. We'll see if they can find a taker for Shattenkirk as well. Then we sign a big fish UFA forward on July 1 and away we go.
Wow, they didn't reach for once in the 2nd round. Robertson is a nice pick as he was possibly projected towards the 1st. Adds to our D pool.
Robertson’s extremely solid foundation has him set to go in the late first, starting in the early 20’s and possibly going down to Boston. If you’re that worried about having big boys on your back end, look no farther than probably the easiest, safest choice you can make all first round that isn’t Jack Hughes 1st overall.
Haha there's the Clark pick from Sweden, but Henriksson was rated right in that range and sounds like a creative yet smallish C. Played with 2 likely top 10 picks next year in Raymond and Holtz.
I think he slipped because he is a throwback in a go go league. Big defensive dman. Has some O, but more of a defensive guy, who is big and hits. That's not what sells in the NHL anymore. I am good with us adding a guy like him. We have some swift dmen already.
NHL UFA speaking period opens Sunday. Coveted free agent goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and winger Artemi Panarin will be in FLA to meet with the Panthers on Monday. FLA would like to sign both but need a goalie more than a forward so the priority may be Bob. I really hope we make some moves this week to setup for July 1. We have come so far with Fox, and Trouba, and Kakko. We cannot stop short now.
YouTube has a lot of video on Robertson, very smooth skater, great shot (played on Oil Kings PP) and can pass.
On the surface it looks like a really solid draft overall for them. Zachary Jones looks like a very underrated sort of prospect as a PP dman, and Ciccolini could maybe be a Barron type drafted late but plays at Michigan and develops well. The 2 scandanavian small guys are interesting too. Seems like one of their stronger drafts in recent memory, of course with getting a Kakko as part of it is a great start.
Ciccolini is 5'11. . Baron is 6'3, will round out at about 220 lbs. Surprised they went defenseman with the first second rounder but the kid was too good to pass up. Skjei is 25. When this kid is 22, Skjei will be 29. So, looking at it that way, they have a lefty defenseman with size to replace him.
Salary cap at 81.5 kind of hurts us a little with Panarin but I'd still expect Smith to likely be gone this week and Vesey/Vlad or both moved soon. I'd actually like to see them at least keep Kreider into the season to see where it goes and then you could still deal him in Feb provided he's healthy and doing well for a late 1st if no extension. Losing him now i think makes it tough for us to grab a playoff spot given the overall youth on this years squad. Calgary is likely at least a WC final team with him and would give up a late 1st at the DL I'm sure.
Actually I think it hurts Florida more than us in the pursuit of Panarin. They have less players signed then us, only a little more space remaining, and will sign Bob in goal for 8 mill per +/-. Plus we have many paths to shed salary. Vesey, Smith, Shattenkirk, Names, Kreider all could be dealt, maybe a buyout, maybe dealt with some cap retainage. Florida doesn't have the same ability. So the cap being 1.5 mill or so less than expected impacts them more than us, and maybe could help us. I'll say this right now, we'll have an idea as this week progresses. With the discussion period for UFA's opening today, if we don't shed salary this week in preparation for July 1, that is a bad sign for us getting involved on a big forward. If we make moves this week it means Gorton is lining up to clear cap space for a bigger move. So I say we'll have an idea this week.
If they don't end up with Panarin then I'd be more inclined to just deal Kreider now and in essence 'punt' on this year, maybe ending up with one more top 5-10 pick. Good point on Florida.