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gopherit

A WILD Golden Gopher
Member Since
Feb. 17, 2022
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Minnesota Wild
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Buffalo Sabres
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Forum: NHLFeb. 24, 2023 at 3:26 p.m.
Thread: flyers fans, what is farabee worth?
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>stephane_robidas</b></div><div>i want him in montreal, what is he worth to you?</div></div>

Well this is tricky because he's having a tougher season coming off a serious surgery so his value is lower than it should be. BUT despite the rumors I really don't see him getting traded, It sounds like management has said they don't really want to give up on him given his current value is low. Therefore I'm geussing they would want a first + somthing to consider.

The sense I get from local reporters and people who are more in touch than the league wide insiders, is they don't expect him to be traded It sounds like management has basically said whatever is going on resolve it on your own(Torts and Farabee)and they're willing to write this year off as an off year because of injury.

Personally I'm of the belief even considering trading Farabee is just idiotic. He's still younger than most of our players, and has the skill to be a 60-65 Player maybe more depending on who's around him. Most younger players who come in the league early like him have a developmental block year. For Example Martin Necas had a slightly down year last year, trade rumors were spreading and now he looks legit and is producing sub PPG. Farabee also didn't have the chance too put on muscle this season, because of the disc surgery. This has caused him to be bounced around a lot.

Also just a tad note, The Franchises Captain for the better part of the last decade literally endorsed Farabee as the player who will break all of his Flyers records.
Forum: Armchair-GMApr. 25, 2023 at 9:45 a.m.
Thread: Off Season Moves and Next Years Roster
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>gopherit</b></div><div>To add to what others have said, the Wild are the <em>last</em> team that'd be looking for a future goalie. For context:
a. Gustavsson was arguably a top 5 goalie this season (2nd lowest GAA) and is only 24.
b. Behind him, we have Jesper Wallstedt who is considered by most to be the best goalie prospect in the world. Wallstedt made the All Star team as a rookie in the AHL this season.
c. Hunter Jones was a 2nd rd pick in 2019 and although he's been a disappointment so far, goalies take longer than normal to develop and he has shown strides recently that give hope.

All in all, the Wild have 2 franchise goalies in their system so wouldn't be interested in Hart at all. Especially for that price. Our GM (Guerin) and head coach (Evason) cannot stop gushing over Faber. In fact, Guerin specifically targeted him in the Fiala trade. I could only see the Wild giving up such a haul as the one you proposed for a bona fide young, franchise center. Someone like McDavid, Matthews, et al. Which is unlikely to occur. Rossi is our only prospect that <em>could</em> become a franchise center -- something we've never had before.

Hope that helps. :)</div></div>

Appreciate you being the first one to provide actual in depth context while not just crapping all over our players. Everyone seems to think just cause the Flyers have been poor that everyone of their players are worth nothing. Hope you guys can make a deep run, I am a big fan of Krill the Thrill and wish the Flyers had a player like him!
Forum: Armchair-GMApr. 24, 2023 at 5:33 p.m.
Thread: Raddysh
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>gopherit</b></div><div>Oh, I totally get it from a Hawks perspective. <strong>What would it take to entice you enough to forgo the TDL route and accept an offer this offseason?</strong> The Wild have the top ranked prospect pool (according to Scott Wheeler from The Athletic) and are able to offer a number of talented prospects that align with your rebuild...or at the very least, speed it up.</div></div>

It'll likely be picks because KD wants to TRULY rebuild this thing. Whether that be getting out in front of the Toews not coming back situation. Or the Debrincat/Dach &amp; Accepting Dumps for picks. Also, It FEELS like (not facts, but feels like) it's easier to trade away picks because prospects have names. Prospects have Wild fans following them. Good or bad. From the Hawks perspective, Lambos won't cut it. We've got too many D prospects as it is. No real interest in Beckman.

Also, when you say "What would it take to entice you enough to forgo the TDL"...that means you're paying the "Jeannot price"...WHICH AGAIN...I'm not even trying to say <em>should</em> be the value, BUT that should be the ask by KD and see who bites. That 2023 1st is likely required if you want to forego the TDL.
Forum: Armchair-GMApr. 24, 2023 at 4:48 p.m.
Thread: Rebuild moves forward
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>gopherit</b></div><div>With all due respect, imma have to disagree with you on this. I think Minnesota accepts or at the very least seriously considers it. The main piece we'd want is Raddysh. In order to get him, we'll have to sacrifice at least <em>one</em> of our top prospects. If I'm Guerin, I'd try to fixate on obtaining Raddysh and that's it. I like the other 2 players you included but I don't see roster spots for them given our abundance of depth pieces in our system, as well as the fact that Evason &amp; Guerin prefer grizzled veterans over youngsters when filling out the roster.

All that being said, I think the value is fair and I'd accept it if I were GM. :)</div></div>

I really think this is a win win for both sides. I get the grizzled vet preference in a perfect world, but the Wild cap situation is far from perfect and going to require some unpleasant choices to navigate the next 2 seasons (especially this Summer where the cap is not moving much). Katchouck &amp; TRad are on 758K deals for next season which is under the league minimum (775K) on a new deal that you could sign one of those grizzled vets for...I know it is pennies but that is where you are at with those buyout caphits to try to field a team. Roos is 925K, but he can be sent to the minors without waivers if you have better and he is a guy that played a full season of SHL and split this year between Chicago and the AHL. The harsh reality for the Hawks is even if everything goes perfect (win the lotto and draft Bedard and he is as good as McDavid/Hughes type of prospect.....even those guys were sub 50 points in year one on pretty bad teams) they are going to be bad for several more years and guys in their mid 20's that are good (not great) are of very little use and not likely part of the equation by the time things turn for the Hawks. The Hawks move 3 mid 20's pieces on minimal contracts that are way more useful to a cap strapped contender while resetting the clock with 3 much younger pieces that hopefully have some role on a playoff level team 3 or 4 years out.
Forum: Armchair-GMApr. 23, 2023 at 12:34 p.m.
Thread: Rebuild moves forward
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>MnWildPersonality</b></div><div>Minnesota isn't doing this. You aren't getting two goid prospects from Minnesota for Taylor, then just body players / ahl / depth. David spacek is a top d prospect , and Caedan is becoming a top C prospect and for Minnesota to add 2nd round pick isn't happening</div></div>
TRAd at 750K and 20 goal/40(ish) point is the kind of cheap productive contract playoff teams with cap constraints (you know, like ones that have 15 million in buyouts on the books) have been know to give up a first round pick for. Katchouck is an actual NHL player on a minimum contract and not a prospect who has yet to even play a professional game and is just as likely to never be even what Katchouck is. Roos is a pretty good prospect who had a real nice transition to NA this season and just helped knock out your very own AHL team out of the playoffs. He is not some AHL throw away, rather a NHL ready LHD. Hawks are super deep at LHD prospects so this is more a matter of giving from a position of strength (LHD) to get in a position of less depth (RHD) and trying to get a touch younger where the prospect added may arrive at the same time as the Hawks are ready to be good again. I am proposing moving 3 players on minimum deals that can help at the NHL level to a team that has 9 million in cap space and needs to figure out 4 forward spots (assuming Rossi will take 1), a couple D spots, and a goalie slot (which I am guessing Gustavsson will require a raise eating into the little cap space you don't have or you go with rushing Wallstedt to save some cap pennies). I assume the Wild would like to keep one of Dumba or Kling, but even if they don't which NHL roster spot is Spacek vying for (and when) Spurgeon, Faber, Addison (and the Wild have several other RHD prospects as well)?

This was the trade I figured to get the most pushback from Hawk fans primarily because Roos is a pretty good piece.
Forum: Armchair-GMApr. 11, 2023 at 7:56 p.m.
Thread: Billy G
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>MoreHitzSeider</b></div><div>What's going on with Rossi? I remember the talking heads saying he was a draft day steal.</div></div>

There's nothing going on with Rossi. He's been near a PPG down in the AHL, and his level of play is impressive when considering he missed an entire year of crucial development due to Myocarditis.

If you're asking why he wasn't in the NHL this year. It's because Guerin/Wild organization don't like rushing prospects and even though Rossi wasn't playing bad, he was playing sound defensive hockey at a minimum, his offense wasn't where they wanted it at the beginning of the year so he got sent back down. The plan, initially, was just to get his confidence and scoring ability back on track then call him up again. However, the play of other call ups, namely both Connor Dewar and Mason Shaw kept them in the lineup. Ergo... there wasn't a realistic spot for Rossi on Minnesota's roster until the injury to Joel Eriksson-Ek a couple of games ago

Thems the breaks. 🤷‍♂️
Forum: Armchair-GMMar. 21, 2023 at 6:30 p.m.
Thread: Maximize the two year window
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>CD282</b></div><div>None of those trades rhyme with "win now". You also have massively overrated Dumba - he's not special defensively and isn't a 1st pairing defenseman either.

Your roster has less experience, is worse defensively and now has 8 years of buyout money to deal with. Not something an experienced GM does to increase his Cup chances, that's for sure.</div></div>

Your take on the trades is sure something else. I'd expect someone who exclusively views the game through a spreadsheet to value Konecny and the PK prowess of Trenin more.

The Oilers have the assets to upgrade their roster or move Campbell. Your choice. The salary cap exists, best of luck putting anything better out there while keeping Campbell rostered. The buyout combined with a cheap, shorter-term backup and an ever-increasing salary cap makes the egregious buyout stomachable. Winning teams don't rely on sub-.900 goaltending, I don't think you need to be a seasoned GM to figure that one out.

Regardless of what your calculator is going to tell you about Dumba, he's an upgrade on Ceci. He has a history of playing those top minutes in Minnesota and it's evident that Cody is now playing over his head. That's the whole point. There's no trade for Karlsson coming that makes sense for the Sharks, what other option do you want there? Severson is objectively worse and doesn't kill penalties. The immediate assets were used to fetch Konecny, I don't think there's another name out there that makes sense. Maybe Mayfield but what's his appetite for leaving New York?

I'll again remind you that the salary cap exists and that Edmonton still isn't a premier destination for free agents. Put your dreams of $2M fourth-liners to bed.
Forum: NHLJul. 25, 2021 at 6:13 p.m.
Thread: Draft Grades
Format:
Team: Letter grade
Notable players (pick #)
Brief description

Only doing ABCDF because +/- is too much fuss. Based on a combo of reaches, steals, upside, etc. Teams with less total talent acquired might rank higher than teams with more if they used their picks better and didn’t waste opportunity cost (i.e. Arizona is in C even though Guenther is better than the hauls a lot of teams got, but they wasted three 2nds) Weighting leans more heavily to the earlier rounds obviously, 2 steals in the 7th that shoulda gone in the 5th isn’t as good as one average pick in the 3rd. Coming out with two good 1sts weights you a lot more heavily than an average 1st/2nd/3rd combo, or three good 2nds for example.

Anaheim: B
McTavish (3), Zellweger (34), Pastujov (66)
Anaheim picks up the 2nd best centre in the draft, solidifying their depth up the middle. I thought he’d go a little later (he was a late riser) around 5 or 6, but 3 isn’t too far out of the ballpark, he’s a great prospect. Zellweger was also a late riser, but still a bit of a reach at 34 imo. It’s very clear by these two picks that Anaheim’s scouting was heavily influenced by watching Canada at the U18s lol. Pastujov shoulda been an early 2nd, steal at 66.

Arizona: C
Guenther (9), Doan (37)
Getting Guenther at 9 was an absolute steal imo. Unfortunately that’s the only good part of this draft for Arizona. Doan was picked because of his dad so brownie points for that, but he was a pretty massive reach (early 4th woulda been good, not early 2nd), and their other two 2nds were both reaches as well, probably woulda been more at home in like the 5th (one was an overager).

Boston: C
Lysell (21), Harrison (85), Gallagher (217)
Lysell is arguably top 3 in skill in this draft. Harrison was a steal, shoulda gone in the 2nd. Gallagher wasn’t the most highly touted, but he woulda been an acceptable pick any time in the 4th or later, getting him at 217 is a huge steal. Slightly below average because it’s not as good as some of the hauls I have in B, but they got 2 good prospects and a good flyer.

Buffalo: A
Power (1), Rosen (14), Poltapov (33), Kisakov (53), William von Barnekow Lofberg (161)
Obviously they got the best D, Power should step right into the NHL no matter what he says (going back to college after a WC performance like he had is silly, especially on a team as devoid of talent/depth as Buffalo). Rosen was a bit of a reach imo (I had him early 2nd, woulda accepted him pretty much anywhere from 25-40) but he’s still a good prospect. I had Poltapov and Kisakov close in the mid-2nd so one slight reach, one slight steal, both good picks. 4 top 50 prospects with 4 of the first 52 picks. William von Barnekow Lofberg has the best name I’ve ever seen, I don’t know anything about him but I hope he makes it lol

Calgary: B
Coronato (13), Stromgren (45), Huckins (77), Whynot (85)
Coronato and Stromgren both went about where expected. Huckins and Whynot were slight steals, I woulda had them around 10 slots higher. Calgary fills a need (right shot goal scorer) and gets some decent prospects, not missing on their top 4 picks which is important. Solid above average draft.

Carolina: A
Morrow (40), Heimosalmi (44), Koivunen (51), Hreschuk (94), Blake (109), Robidas (147), Montgomery (170)
I would kill to be a Hurricanes fan on draft day, they’ve had one of the best drafts for at least 3 years running now. Morrow and Heimosalmi are the 3rd/4th best RD in the draft, I had them around there. Hreschuk and Blake went around where expected. Koivunen was a reach by about 70 picks but about where expected. Robidas (super fast btw) and Montgomery were both massive steals, shoulda been top 100. The Hurricanes just don’t whiff, they didn’t add too much high end talent this time but there’s so much depth here it’s unreal. Even without a first, picking up 7 guys I had ranked in the top 100 or so is a great draft in my books.

Chicago: D
Allan (32), Dach (62), Harding (91)
All 3 of their top picks were reaches imo. Brownie points for drafting Dach’s little brother and Harding has an intriguing profile (near-identical scouting report to Parayko when he was drafted according to Pronman on the latest Athletic hockey show podcast) but like, if you’d shown me those 3 guys I woulda said you’d taken them with two 3rds and a 5th or 6th. Not a great draft, especially with how much talent kept slipping. Hawks are gonna need to hire some better amateur scouts imo, I don’t think they did great last year either (2019 was solid though).

Colorado: B
Olausson (28), Behrens (61), Makar (220)
We need to stop letting good teams get good picks lol. Olausson was a good pick, had him projected around there (I took him 3 spots earlier in my mock but I thought at the time that was a little low), but like good teams tend to do, they take a chance on the big, smooth skater with good skill and super high upside. Behrens was a fringe 1st, I probably would say he’s the 8th best D (first 6 guys off the board in order, Chayka, Behrens, Morrow, Svozil is my top 10). Considering they only had 4 picks, getting 2 good prospects is a massive W. Brownie points for drafting Makar’s brother.

Columbus: A
Johnson (5), Sillinger (12), Ceulemans (25), Svozil (69), Malatesta (133)
Columbus has been on a roll the last few days, I’m almost glad that they made the Atkinson/Voracek trade so we know Kekalainen is human (watch him trade Vora retained for another collection of good assets now lol). Johnson and Sillinger were good picks for the slots, I had Johnson a little lower but he has insane skill, and if you see him as a centre taking him at 5 is justified (I had him at 8 or 9 because I see him as a LW). Sillinger’s a centre with a rocket shot, something Columbus needs desperately. Ceulemans (2nd best RD in the draft) shoulda been top 20 and Svozil shoulda been early 2nd, both massive steals. I had Malatesta in the 4th but I saw some people have him as high as the late 2nd, a steal in the 5th regardless. Excellent draft for Columbus all around, I’d call them the biggest winners for sure.

Dallas: A
Johnston (23), Stankoven (47), Grushnikov (48), Martino (73), Roulette (111), Bar (138), Arcuri (175)
Johnston was an odd pick at 23 (I thought Dallas shoulda taken Ceulemans for sure), but there’s an argument to be made that at that point he was the best centre available, and he has enormous untapped potential, this could turn into a steal by this time next year. Stankoven was a steal, likely the next N. Robertson/Caufield/DeBrincat, GMs never learn. Grushnikov in the mid-2nd is fine. The rest of the picks were massive steals, slipping by around 20, 60, 70, and 90 picks respectively, absolutely insane. I didn’t see too many Stars fans satisfied with the draft because their specific needs weren’t directly addressed necessarily but this was a fantastic haul, make no mistake.

Detroit: A
Edvinsson (6), Cossa (15), Buium (36), Savage (114), Dower Nilsson (134), Plandowski (155)
Yzerman can’t keep getting away with this. He started the draft by adding a future top pair LD partner for Seider and a future starting goalie. That earned him the A automatically. He then added Buium (solid D, bit of a reach by ~20 picks imo, but since it’s Yzerman I’m more inclined to believe I’m wrong lol), Savage (steal, shoulda been around late 3rd/early 4th), LDN (steal by about a round), and Plandowski (massive steal, slipped 3 rounds below expected). Unreal.

Edmonton: D
Bourgault (22)
Bourgault was an okay pick, but they had the opportunity to draft Wallstedt at 20, filling a MASSIVE hole in their organization by picking a goalie of the future. Not only not selecting him, but TRADING AWAY the pick used to select him, is an enormous L. I don’t even think the “oh a forward will be here sooner” argument is that valid because Bourgault probably needs 2-3 years of development and Wallstedt probably needs 3. Maybe being forced to wait an extra year for a potential starter vs. a middle six forward is not a great decision. This decision could unironically alter the entire future of their franchise and direction they go, if they don’t find a good goalie in free agency or via trade this decision will very likely bite them, and possibly prevent them from true contention with McDavid and Draisaitl. Nothing special in the rest of the draft, reached with their 3rd, nothing to say about the rest.

Florida: C
Samoskevich (24), Nause (56)
Perfectly okay draft for Florida that drops below average due to lacking a 3rd and not picking up a major steal (Lukashevich was projected as a mid-4th, they took him late in the 4th, so maybe that was a steal, but not too major by that point). Samoskevich and Nause went almost exactly where expected. I’m a big fan of Samoskevich’s upside but I wouldn’t have drafted him much higher (maybe 1 or 2 spots but I also liked both D and L’Heureux more). 2 good prospects, nothing to complain about. The big win of the weekend was obviously the Reinhart trade so Panthers fans can be satisfied overall.

LA: A
Clarke (8), Pinelli (42), Helenius (59), Kirsanov (84)
The Kings only had 4 picks but they nailed them all. Clarke was a great pick at 8, future top pair RD imo. I really like Pinelli and Kirsanov where they were selected, promising centre and LD. Helenius is another centre and he’s absolutely MASSIVE (6’6”), good skater, and responsible defensively. He went around where he was projected but it’s hard to go wrong with another huge middle man (Byfield’s 6’4” lol, imagine this guy turns into like a 3C, they’ll have the biggest C lineup in the league).

Minnesota: A
Wallstedt (20), Lambos (26), Peart (54)
Minnesota had a great start to the draft, they absolutely mugged Edmonton in an alley to nab Wallstedt several picks lower than he shoulda gone, and Lambos shoulda been a top 20 pick as well. Peart’s a solid pickup in the late 2nd to complement that. Nothing too spectacular beyond that but coming out with two guys that could easily have gone in the top 15 and should definitely have both gone in the top 20 is for sure a W.

Montreal: F
Mailloux (31), Kidney (63), Kapanen (64), Roy (150), Vrbetic (214)
Montreal had a pretty solid draft. Kidney was a reach by about a round, but Kapanen shoulda gone earlier in the 2nd so that was a steal. Roy fell nearly 2 whole rounds. Vrbetic is a massive 6’6” goalie who I thought would go around the 4th, definitely a great guy to use a 7th on. Overall I woulda probably had them at a B, but… all of this is overshadowed of course by drafting a convicted criminal just because he has a French sounding name (I’m being satirical of course but you gotta admit it would be a very Montreal thing to do, knowing how set in their ways about French guys they are). When a guy requests to not get drafted because he’s a convicted criminal and most other teams blacklisted him before that request, you know you’re in a bad spot. It’s honestly bad enough that a reputable organization like London was still willing to work with him, he should have been drafted under no circumstances this year. Hard maybe in a year or two if he shows SIGNIFICANT remorse, maturity, etc. but even then I wouldn’t want him near any of my teams. Instant F grade for the team, atrocious decision and they deserve every bit of backlash they receive and will undoubtedly continue to receive, especially in light of recent events concerning the Hawks (and Bergevin…) and last year’s draft situation with Mitch Miller. Very very poor choice for Bergevin to enter more controversy like this. Okay that’s my piece done lol

Nashville: A
Svechkov (19), L’Heureux (27), Olsson (72), Ufko (115), Knak (179)
Great draft for Nashville, they took a lot of my faves. I absolutely LOVE both Svechkov and L’Heureux, I consider both steals at these positions and think they could easily be a Bergeron+Marchand combo in the future (Svechkov’s floor is as a good 2-way 3C, upside of being a top 6 C capable of keeping up with skilled wingers, L’Heureux is highly skilled and obnoxious, just like the Tkachuks and Marchand). Olsson was a solid pick at 72. Ufko was a steal at 115 by at least 1.5-2 full rounds. Knak wasn’t highly rated or anything, but he is one of my favourite sleepers, he was Switzerland’s captain at the WJC, and I was very happy to see him taken.

NJD: B
Hughes (4), Stillman (29), Salminen (68), Vilen (129)
Solid draft for New Jersey. Hughes at 4 was a good pick, makes Jack happy which is important and he will be a good D for them. Not the best fit for their needs but he obviously improves them. Stillman in the 1st was a bit of a reach imo, I had him around the late 2nd/early 3rd. Salminen was a mid-2nd they got in the early 3rd, good pick there. Vilen was a steal by about a round. Solid showing by the Devils this weekend, woulda been an A if they’d got a guy I had in the top 40 with their second 1st.

NYI: C
Raty (52), Lennox (93), Malinen (189)
Make no mistake, the Isles had a great draft for their position. The ranking is mostly based on having a pretty expected draft based on what the league gives them (i.e. 7 picks, one per round), but considering the trades they made they outdrafted their revised expectation imo, and managed to pick up 3 quality prospects. Raty was a major fall, he was obviously no longer near the 1st overall conversation, but I expected him to go in the 20s. Major steal at 52. Lennox at 93 is a decent place to take a goalie that I like, I think he was expected to go a little later, but once goalies start going you get the guy you want ASAP so it’s understandable at least. Malinen was a HUGE steal, I expected him to go in the late 2nd and they got him in the 6th. Absurd. Not as good as some hauls, but better than they woulda been expected to do.

NYR: C
Othmann (16), Korczak (75), Boyko (112)
Othmann was a perfectly average pick at 16, I expected him to go around there, but for the Rangers to not take a centre when Svechkov and Lucius were both still on the board is close to unacceptable imo, I considered bumping them to D just for that, but I do like Othmann. Korczak was a steal of about a round. Boyko is a massive goalie (6’7”) those guys are always worth taking a chance on for the frame alone.

Ottawa: D
Boucher (10), Ostapchuk (39), Roger (49), Johansson (74)
This was a pathetic showing by Dorion and frankly I am both appalled and insulted. I will be watching his post-draft press conference purely to infuriate myself further at the bs that I know he’ll spew about size or whatever. He’s going to gush about these guys and not realize that the entire fanbase knows exactly how much of a reach they were, and that is unforgivable, I can already tell he’s going to be so thrilled and I hate it so much. Everyone knows the picks sucked. He left SO MUCH talent on the board, particularly at 10, but even with the two 2nds, because so many guys slipped. He passed on Raty, Pinelli, Stankoven, etc. twice. These selections fit the mould that the Sens have been targeting of big, mobile D and power forwards, but like come on. There were better guys in the same mould, or guys that fill actual holes in our lineup. They were all reaches. Boucher is quite possibly the worst pick in Sens history and yes I’m saying that knowing full well we took Daigle over Pronger. We could have added a necessary piece to help complete a potential cup contender (either a top 6 goal scoring centre to play with Stutzle in Lucius or Sillinger, or an elite starter in Wallstedt or Cossa). Instead we added a potential 3rd line winger projected to go in the mid-30s with pick 10, and then proceeded to select exactly zero guys projected in the top 100 with our next 3 top-75 picks. Absolutely horrendous draft through and through. Dorion couldn’t even throw me a bone at the end by taking a guy like Elias or Bartoszkiewicz. I am very mad right now and will remain so until Boucher turns into Tom Wilson (news flash: everyone seems to think that’ll take a while if I’m lucky).

Philadelphia: D
Tuomaala (46)
Tuomaala maybe slipped a handful of picks, solid selection. The overager Kolosov was a reach in the 3rd imo, especially as the 3rd goalie off the board, they coulda had Gaudreau, Lennox, etc. Not many picks, didn’t do great with them. Only one prospect of note added to the pipeline.

Pittsburgh: D
Broz (58), Belliveau (154)
Broz was a reach by a handful of picks. Belliveau was a steal by a couple rounds, decent selection. Not a great haul, their pipeline is still pathetic. Probably not gonna turn into anything. Broz might be good enough to have a decent season next year and get dealt at the deadline to help facilitate another run.

San Jose: B
Eklund (7), Gaudreau (81), Gilmartin (167)
Solid draft for San Jose. Eklund slipping to 7 wasn’t overly surprising, but it was still nice, and the Sharks obviously jumped all over it, great selection. I thought Gaudreau would be the 3rd goalie off the board, and go a little earlier than he did, so that was a nice pick. They desperately need a goalie of the future and while Gaudreau is no guarantee he’s still a useful piece with upside to add to their pipeline and develop for a few years. Gilmartin was a huge steal, thought he could go in the 3rd. They get a slightly above average grade for getting two 3rd round quality guys and an elite forward, despite not having a 2nd.

Seattle: C
Beniers (2), Winterton (67)
Not a great first draft for Seattle. Beniers at 2 is obviously great but you can’t miss there, it was fairly obvious. Evans at 35 was a mediocre pick, he wasn’t in my top hundred. Winterton was a reach in the early 3rd, I had him in the late 3rd.

STL: C
Bolduc (17), Robertsson (71)
Pretty solid draft for the Blues considering they only made 4 picks. Bolduc was a decent pick at 17 although I woulda had Svechkov and Lucius ahead of him. Robertsson at 71 was a massive steal, he was BPA for a WHILE lmao, he slipped considerably. Good for the Blues, adding 2 solid prospects to the system.

TBL: C
Schmidt (96), Duke (126)
Schmidt was a good pick, about 10 slots after I had him. Tampa gets the C grade solely for ending the Dylan Duke sweepstakes and pissing off every other fan, myself included. Should probably be D but I’m mad we let them do this, they’re good enough smh. Duke shoulda gone by the mid-2nd and was BPA for a solid 50 picks at least.

Toronto: D
Knies (57)
Knies at 57 was almost exactly where I had him, fine pick. Nobody is surprised by the Voit pick, Dubas loves his diminutive playmakers. I heard that Peksa is the backup to the guy who backs up the actual good goalie (Askarov—&gt;Akhtiamov—&gt;Peksa) so I’m not overly enthralled there but it’s a goalie in the 7th, might as well take him and hope it bears fruit in 6 or 7 years (note: if this is wrong blame whoever said that on the 2021 off-season thread lol).

Vancouver: D
Klimovich (41)
Vancouver had the worst draft of any team imo (in terms of player quality anyway). Their only pick in the first four rounds was an early 2nd that they used on Klimovich. Now I should say I’m a big fan of Klimovich because I love good players from non-traditional hockey countries (Belarusian Klimovich, Swiss Knak, andGerman Elias were 3 of my sleepers), but his only experience outside of a good U18s (6 goals in 5 games) is in what I believe is the Belarusian second league if I’m remembering my podcasts/players correctly. I’m gonna say that again. Belarusian second league lmao. I’m pretty sure this league has literally never produced an NHL prospect so there are no comparables. Using an early pick on a guy like this is a huge risk. I know some draft guys bought the hype and had him going in the 2nd (notably none had him as high as 41) but I wouldn’t feel comfortable taking him earlier than the 3rd at best. I like him there though, and any time after that I think he woulda been an excellent player to take. Unfortunately the Canucks were like “nah I watched the U18s and that was the extent of my scouting.” 5 games is an awfully small sample size to bet a top 40 pick on.

Vegas: B
Dean (30), Chayka (38), Brabenec (102)
Vegas bolsters an already strong prospect pool with 2 more guys I thought could go in the first round. Brabenec was a decent pick as well in the 4th.

Washington: D
Iorio (55), Johnson (80)
Iorio has a cool name, but he was a bit of a reach. Johnson was a steal. Had them both around early 3rd. Coulda been better, lacking a 1st hurts, nothing much to say about this draft.

Winnipeg: B
Lucius (18), Chibrikov (50)
Winnipeg had a great start to the draft, picking up 2 highly skilled prospects. I had Lucius at 10, so he was a steal at 18, and while I thought Chibrikov would go around the 25-40 range, he arguably has a top 15 level of skill. He was a massive steal at 50 regardless. Kuzmin at 82 was a bit of a reach imo but they earn a B for adding two highly skilled forwards to the pipeline well below where I expected them to go.

A: Buffalo, Carolina, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, LA, Minnesota, Nashville
B: Anaheim, Calgary, Colorado, NJD, San Jose, Vegas, Winnipeg
C: Arizona, Boston, Florida, NYI, NYR, Seattle, STL, TBL
D: Chicago, Edmonton, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington
F: Montreal
Forum: Site DiscussionMar. 28, 2023 at 8:03 a.m.
Forum: Site DiscussionMar. 20, 2023 at 1:52 p.m.
Thread: Armchair-GM: Do you want new drop zone sections?
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Banks</b></div><div>Any interest in new drop zone sections that would improve your use?

Possibly Suspended, Suspended without pay, Non-Roster, etc?</div></div>

I mean for the amount of time and number of players suspensions apply to, I almost don't think its even that worth it really but obviously if its an easy enough patch, then by all means, any improvement is worth it.

IMO for drop zone sections, whenever im doing an AGM I like to do it for AHL lineups also using the non roster section. And kind of use the taxi squad as the section for all other players playing in the various leagues. So an AHL section would be cool. Taxi squad section is kind of pointless now so definitely should be renamed to something more relevant.



Also since we're all sneaking in other requests :squintytongue

- Option to mutually terminate a player/relinquish drafted player rights.... instead of always trading said player to Anaheim. :squinty
- Have an option to include NMC/NTC in signing UFA's. Or resigning players. Just another level detail.
- Have created players show all tile info such as position, term, etc just like normal player tiles. This one is more of a pet peeve than anything though.