Get CapFriendly PremiumGet CapFriendly Premium
Avatar

HockeyScotty

Member Since
Jun. 18, 2022
Favourite Team
Colorado Avalanche
Forum Posts
1043
Posts per Day
2.0
Forum: NHL4 hours ago
Thread: 2023-2024 NHL Discussion Thread #2: Early Overreactions
Goalie updates:

It looks like several teams are scrapping their tandems and moving towards a 1A/1B or a Starter/Backup situation:

<strong>Buffalo</strong> - with Levi now in the AHL; it is UPL time as the 1A for the Sabres; putting Comrie in the 1B role; which is the best arrangement based on all of their play this season to date. If the blueline can get settled down in front of them and the injury bug to stop hitting the Sabres could string together a good stretch here. I would expect a minimum 2/3 split for UPL/Comrie going forward with Comrie drawing Nashville 12/3, Montreal 12/9, Arizona 12/16, and 12/30 vs Columbus and UPL getting the rest.

<strong>Washington </strong>- Lindgren's start vs LA Kings seems to have shown that the Capitals prefer him in the net during the tougher matchup (they have 2nd half of B2B today against Anaheim. They have 3 games in the next 5 days then a 2 day break followed by 3 games in 4 days so you'll see both tenders get some action. The NY Rangers game on 12/9 will be the next real "tell": as it would rotate to Kuemper under an "every other game" pattern; but that is clearly a marquee matchup that is the 1st half of a B2B with Chicago being the 2nd half. If Lindgren gets that start then it is clear he has moved into the top part of the tandem.

<strong>Toronto </strong>- Woll is expected to start tonight, marking 3rd straight for him. Samsonov's last start was a B2B game against Chicago. It appears the Leafs are moving towards a 1A/1B with Woll getting 2 out of 3 games generally. This Saturday they play Boston and I would bank on Woll getting that one too because they have 4 days off after that. Samsonov can expect his next start to be 12/11 against NYIslanders; unless that 16-day break in action is deemed too much and they want him in against Ottawa on 12/7; but that would mean resting Woll for 6 days right when he seems to be settling in.

<strong>LA Kings</strong> Talbot continues to move into "workhorse" realm and I would only expect Copley to start on the "lesser" of any B2B games; 12/9 vs NYI;12/19 vs SJS; and 12/27 vs SJS thru the end of this year. That still doesn't leave a very heavy workload and plenty of multiple days of rest in there for Talbot so I wouldn't worry about burnout at this point in their season.

<strong>Anaheim </strong>- Their once highly functioning tandem with Gibson-Dostal has fallen apart. They gave the net to Gibby after Dostal hit a rough patch now both of them are struggling. This has probably more to say about the young defense and lack of scoring in front of them with the rest of the league having better scouting on the new HC's system and the players and regression setting in. Of course the trade rumors will swirl again around Gibson if the Ducks drop out of the playoff picture; but his play lately hasn't inspired demand either. Dostal looked better with more rubber and now that he is sitting for long stretches; one wonders if they should swap him and Stalock.

<strong>Tampa Bay</strong> - Vasy is back and he will be busy. With 5 games in 8 nights; Johansson will probably get the B2B matchup against Nashville on 12/7 and the New Years' Eve one against Montreal; there should be a relief day in there against Calgary on 12/16 since it is the tail end of a long road trip for the Bolts; and the rest should go to the workhorse (health allowing).

<strong>Edmonton </strong>- After tonights matchup with Winnipeg, they get a 5 day break they then have 6 games in 11 nights (at home), followed by a 2 day break then 3 games in 4 nights (including a B2B); they will need at least 2 of those starts to go to a backup (12/2 vs Chicago and 12/21-22 B2B vs NJD/NYR). The 5 day break would be a great time to work in a new tender if they are serious about a trade this early (and I think they should be). The biggest reason I can see for them needing to do this earlier than later is that the Oilers schedule post All-Star game is really intensive; so if they wait until then to acquire said goaltender they will be throwing them into the fire rather than easing them in to their systems; not to mention that they can't afford to "give away" many points in the standings either.

<strong>Montreal </strong>- continues their Trio-Tandem with Primeau going tonight; which means Allen vs Detroit on 12/2 and Montembeault on 12/4 vs Sea, wash, rinse, repeat (until a trade occurs).

<strong>Detroit </strong>- the other last remaining "trio" has been doing more of a "hot hand" at the 1B spot with Lyon sitting the first 15 games of the year and now Reimer sitting for 2 weeks straight while Lyon gets some starts. Many are seeing Lyon's success and wondering if that pushes Husso down but he took time off for his baby to be born while the team traveled to Sweden and returned with a really good game against Boston and NY Rangers so I don't think that will happen (context matters when you see the # of games over the past few weeks). Tonight vs Chicago is the second half of a B2B so it should be Lyon. Not sure when Reimer will get back in the lineup (or be traded) unless Lyon starts struggling. I would categorize the Red Wings as having a 1A-1B/2B setup.

<strong>Minnesota </strong>- new HC will probably see some changes in net deployment; he started Gus vs StL and looks to be sticking with him tonight vs Nashville. From 12/3 thru 12/10 the Wild have 5 games in 8 nights with a B2B so we'll see how many Fleury gets in and maybe paint the picture of how they might use them going forward.

<strong>Seattle</strong> - continues to not have any pattern or logic behind their goalie selections; aside from "fingers crossed maybe someone can play good". I really do wonder why they aren't bringing up Driedger to play; at least give him a shot and if he does well run with it or create a trade market for him.

<strong>Ottawa</strong> - Not much to discuss here about rotations, just that the Senators have had goaltending worse than just about everyone except Edmonton; however the 1A/1B setup of Korpisalo/Forsberg means they keep hoping ONE of them will step up. It looked like Forsberg was going to after his Sweden game but now that he has returned to North America he quickly returned to his old ways. Korpisalo didn't fare much better; but this is really about the poor defense in front of them; so it doesn't matter who starts it is just ugly right now in Ottawa. Maybe Chabot was a bigger factor than it seemed or they need a once-great franchise defensemen to take over the defense coaching duties but Wade Redden is already in the organization and Zdeno Chara is too busy running marathons.
Forum: NHLYesterday at 1:56 p.m.
Thread: 2025 World Cup of Hockey
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>DoctorBreakfast</b></div><div>Ideally, the World Championships would be the true best-on-best tournament since the IIHF runs it and every country is included based on international rankings (plus it's literally in the name, the championship of the world). Unfortunately, the timing of it all is not ideal. It takes place after the regular season and during the Stanley Cup playoffs, so a lot of the top NHL players are either too banged up to want to participate or are competing in the playoffs.

It would be nice if they could hold it mid-season and come to an agreement with the leagues to pause their seasons and allow the top players to play, a la the Olympics. However, it's hard enough to get the NHL on board for an Olympic tournament that occurs <em>once every four years</em>, so I can't imagine they would want something like that to happen annually.</div></div>

This is very much apart of the known issue that has not been resolved between the NHL and IIHF.

Even if the IIHF moved the World Championships to February; as it currently is structured it would be a 3-week break from the NHL schedule.

My proposal (whatever you want to call it: World Cup or World Championship) would reduce the break down to as minimal as possible for NHL players.
Forum: NHL SigningsTue. at 3:07 p.m.
Thread: Detroit Red Wings signed Patrick Kane (1 Year / $2,750,000 AAV)
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>jr400</b></div><div>I agree with you when it comes to some of the off-season signings and other moves they’ve been making, but I don’t put this move in that category, because this is not a building move. It looks more like a deadline rental in that the opportunities to use their remaining cap space are becoming limited, so they used some of it on a guy with no commitment beyond this season who could give them a bit of a boost if he fits in well. This is actually better than a deadline rental because they get him three months earlier and they didn’t have to give up any draft picks. (New York gave up a 2nd, 3rd and 4th to get him at a similar cap hit at last season’s deadline, and 79% of the people thought that was a win.)

Of course, there’s the surgery, but that’s supposed to make him better, right? He’s a little more than a year removed from a 92-point season, and he wasn’t bad playing hurt last season, so I see more potential upside than downside.

The contract has a no-trade clause but not a no-move clause, so if he turns out to be a disaster, they can waive him and the cap space he’s costing them goes down to $1.6M. I don’t know if this qualifies as an over-35 contract since he just turned 35 last week, but I like that there are no bonuses that could hurt the team beyond this season. But since the contract was signed after the beginning of the season, shouldn’t his cap hit be higher than his salary?</div></div>

Contract is $2 million; cap hit is $2.75 because of being pro-rata

And not a 35+ contract since he wasn't 35 at the start of the league year (July 1) regardless of when it was signed
Forum: NHL SigningsTue. at 1:07 p.m.
Thread: Detroit Red Wings signed Patrick Kane (1 Year / $2,750,000 AAV)
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>TentacleHand</b></div><div>Absolutely brilliant signing. Basically no risk, medium to high reward. If he plays well it'll be a steal for that cap hit. If he plays poorly they can keep him healthy scratch if need be. Most likely, given how they've built the lines recently, the lines will look something like:

Veleno/Fabbri - Larkin - Raymond
Kane - Compher - DeBrincat
Fabbri/Veleno - Copp - Perron
Fischer - Rasmussen - Sprong

Compher is better suited to play a more defensive role than Larkin (I could see an argument made for Copp centering the line well for this reason) but he has also proven to be able to produce quite well when given opportunities thus far. If they do this, any negative fallout would not harm the 1st line that has been working great thus far. Besides, as stated above, you can bench players if they do not perform. You didn't need to move players or picks to make this happen, the deal cannot linger for longer than the season so I think this is an absolute win for Red Wings. Sure, Yzerman can look a bit silly if Kane cannot perform but other than that? Not many real downsides.</div></div>

<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>DangleCat</b></div><div>If he torpedo's that entire line don't play him there.....seems easy enough. They could literally healthy scratch him for the rest of season if he plays THAT bad.</div></div>

<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>JayTea</b></div><div>Basically, they'll know in a couple games if he's going to work out on that line. Absolute worst case scenario is his hip isn't good enough and he goes on LTIR getting paid for nothing. The only risk here is how many unfortunate people will have to buy a Little Caesers Hot-n-ready pizza to give the Ilitch family $2.75m to pay Kane to not play if he's that bad. Those are the real victims here.</div></div>

For Detroit there is very little downside risk and they needed more ammunition if they are going to contend for the playoffs in their division.

They've already stated that the lines will be:
Veleno-Larkin-Raymond
Debrincat-Compher-Kane
Perron-Copp-Fabbri

odd man out of the top 6 is Rasmussen unless he can gel better with the top line over Veleno.

If the 4th line stays together:
Kostin-Fischer-Sprong

Then it is a big drop for him (or Veleno).
Forum: NHLTue. at 10:37 a.m.
Thread: 2023-2024 NHL Discussion Thread #2: Early Overreactions
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>CantStopWontStop</b></div><div>Detroit elevated to contender status in my book.

What a good start for them.

I especially like how they’ve beaten good teams - they’ve handled close games.

Now Kane, who may possibly be the old version.</div></div>

They've shown enough to be in the converstation to this point; but you can also say the same for the Flyers. One or both of them will get exposed mid-way thru the season.

The real separation usually becomes apparent December thru January. They have to fight off the Lightning, Leafs, and Sabres while keeping pace with the Panthers. If they slip out of the #3 spot then they also have to add the Devils, Penguins, Capitals, and Islanders (as at least one or two of those teams will go on a streak) for the wildcard spots.

The East has a big "middle class" that is dog-eat-dog; so we'll find out if the Wings have what it takes (and can navigate the inevitable injury bug that sets in).
Forum: NHLTue. at 1:13 a.m.
Thread: 2023-2024 NHL Discussion Thread #2: Early Overreactions
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>yikes</b></div><div>As much as I haves knocked Quinn (low hanging fruit, so I’ll take the L), their defensive structure/ buy in for blocking (trying to make up for their lack up talent lol) and work ethic has completely shift since the 20-3. Despite 1-2 stinkers since then (like most teams every now and then); they have really been more enjoyable to watch.

This Caps game has been just that you outlined, chaos.

Aggressive and great play from Zetterlund, Okho, Bailey, Strum, Ferraro, Addison, Burroughs, etc.

I would not trade Blackwood for a first TBH!</div></div>

It's been fun to watch them on the late games; their forecheck/cycling game really counterattacks the other's team speed/talent (they aren't fast if they are standing/spinning looking for the puck).

Blackwood really seems like a guy that needs to see lots of rubber and stay very active to be his best self. If he were put on a team with really tight defensive structure like the Avs or Canes (not that they are shopping for him) that only sees like 21-23 shot attempts with long stretches of controlling play and nothing for the goalie then I think he would fall apart again.
Forum: NHLSat. at 3:25 p.m.
Thread: 2023-2024 NHL Discussion Thread #2: Early Overreactions
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>LeafsFanForSomeReason</b></div><div>Man, we're still a ways away from it potentially coming to fruition, but is the same thing gonna happen with Jakob Chychrun and the Sens that did with Alex Debrincat? Acquire and then trade for less (or even lose for nothing) without seeing the playoffs... if they're not in the picture at next year's deadline and he hasn't extended you've gotta think they entertain moving him.</div></div>

Feels premature for the Sens to be contemplating that. This year had an amazing amount of off-ice issues/distractions. The Sens are setup good for the future; they gain about 2.5 million in cap space (buyout/retention rolling off less Sanderson's deal) and then have $12.0 million to decide about Tarasenko, Pinto, Kubalik, and Brannstrom. Really there biggest need is a reliable stay-at-home top 4 RHD; but Chychrun can play that if Chabot can return at a high level (probably their biggest "if"). I really like Sogaard and their goalie prospects so not too worried about their netminders; although the Forsberg deal seems 1 year too long at this point.

Aside from that I think this next 8 months is more about the coaching staff than the players.
Forum: NHLSat. at 3:16 p.m.
Thread: 2023-2024 NHL Discussion Thread #2: Early Overreactions
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>aadoyle</b></div><div>Fleury not being allowed to wear that mask makes 0 sense

Bettman just be losing the room</div></div>

Bettman cares about a different room (the owners) and not the players, media, or fans opinions about it.

NHLPA social media is crickets about this, and other similiar issues. Nothing from Marty Walsh

Feels like there is a big leadership gap here, or they are letting the NHL take all the heat as part of future leverage. Or is Bettman using this as a way to give the players a "win" in future negotations while his owners "win" when it comes to the money.

The CBA extension expires after the 2025-26 season and there seems to be 4 major issues:

1) Hockey-Related Revenues growth and sharing (Salary Cap). This is where I think we will see some challenges for individual players to earn outside of the HRR as the NHL has vastly under-monetized NIL for professional hockey players.
2) International participation = Olympic and World Cup of Hockey
3) Player Safety. Obviously cut-resistant gear will be discussed; but also penalites, suspensions, fines, and long term health issues (CTE, etc).
4) Mandates vs Freedom of Expression on auxiliary gear (laces, stick tape, goalie helmets, practice jerseys, etc).

What I worry about is that because there are 4 major issues; too many compromises will be made and we'll be back in the same boat with wishy-washy NHL governance.