Not really interested in the first one, don't see the point of the second one. I'm not against shopping Faulk by any means, but I'm not stranding Colt on RD for a tiny Dman prospect. He already has enough weight on his shoulders.

The 6.5 million in cap-space is more valuable to me than having Faulk on the roster. Faulk is alright, but that money can be used to get a younger and more impactful player. Team has been fine without him.

1 - My first point is, fine, I'm totally with you on the general concept. But that doesn't change the fact that we could ask for something that fits our needs, especially since he's moving in the division.

Also, what player are you eying with such lavish new cap space? Roy? Carrier?

2 - Ehhh I would not go that far. These wins have been more "gut it out, want it more, capitalize better, game state, goaltending" wins than dominant outings.

Just cap-space in general. I want the freedom to pounce if an exciting young player becomes available.

Hmm. So not even a minutes replacer in mind? We'd need someone. Jokiharju?

Sure, he could make sense. I'm not sure who else is UFA this summer but I'm sure there's someone who is capable enough. I would prefer an offensive leaning guy considering Colt and Kessel are very heavy defense leaning.

Is Kessel really defensive leaning? Or is it just that he doesn't have any offense for this level? Lots of people act like he's been a revelation, but he does make some bad mistakes in our zone. It's not like he's been anything resembling flawless or outstanding. He's been okay as a temporary fill-in. Not as a replacement by any stretch. We'd absolutely need a capable 2RD who's a reliable + in our zone.

Yeah I'd say he has been quite good defensively, especially given he is playing with Krug. I prefer a guy who makes mistakes at this age though because he will learn quickly what he can and can't get away with.

He's been okay. Do no harm, at best. And much better when he was on the 3rd pairing than when he is on the 2nd. I think it's more fair to say that Krug has calmed his little ass down with Faulk out of there, acting more responsibly to simplify things for Kessel.

I think Faulk is also extremely weak defensively and Kessel being OKAY has made a difference.

Most of Faulk's problems this season are a matter of puck handling. He still lifts a lot of defensive weight, even with his recent mistakes. Besides, Faulk has not been fully fit for a couple months now. Hopefully, this shutdown will let him heal up right.

Edit: Oh hell, Pesce will also be a UFA. Forgot him.

Hopefully, but he bled chances and goals really bad last year too

"He bled" chances/goals? Or chances/goals were bled while he was on the ice with others making the mistakes? These are not the same thing. Krug was scandalously bad in our zone last season. Horrifically bad. Can't remember exactly where, but he was top 10 or even top 5 in D zone giveaways.

Yes they were/are both very poor defensive players and the combination of them together has yielded awful results.