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squashmaple

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Member Since
Apr. 29, 2022
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Columbus Blue Jackets
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Anaheim Ducks
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Forum: Armchair-GMMay 30 at 10:39 a.m.
Thread: marner cbj
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Garak</b></div><div>I know it's an overwhelming mess, and I get why you feel that way. But I don't believe it. Not all of those contracts are bad, you just have to identify what or who is holding the team back and cut it out like a tumor. Fantilli and the rest of the kids are gonna be good faster than that. I think there is a recipe there for success, and sooner than you think. But, we'll have to wait and see.</div></div>

That's kind but overly optimistic. Nothing done in the rebuild pre-Fantilli matters because they've already ruined or wasted them all. Sillinger might be a 3C, Kent Johnson is a middle-six wing at best, Jiricek can't skate or defend, Corson Ceulemans is never going to make the NHL, Mateychuk is a serviceable bottom 4 LD that every team has six of, and most of them can't stay healthy enough to stay on the ice anyway. Boqvist is a bust. The Russians are complementary pieces who have no one to complement. Every other legit prospect is a tiny wing. There's no goaltending (no, Jet Greaves is not a prospect). Even Fantilli is iffy--he's just big and fast and barely missed the cutoff to be a 2022 draftee so he was the oldest one in his draft. Jesus, now that I've typed all that out, they're not even Buffalo. At least Buffalo's high picks were useful, even if not ultimately as Sabres in some cases. Turns out that Columbus managed to lose the Seth Jones trade after all.

Essentially they're starting the reuild from the same time Chicago is, with a worse collection and nothing to sell. And they're in a conference where every single other team is better in every dimension. Chicago could make the playoffs in 2026; Columbus will lose the lottery and watch Pittsburgh draft Gavin McKenna.
Forum: Armchair-GMMay 30 at 9:34 a.m.
Thread: marner cbj
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Garak</b></div><div>I think you underestimate your team, good sir. CBJ has a lot of great pieces. They just have a mess of mistake contracts and incompatible players to clean up. But, CBJ is WAYYY closer to contention than CHI is. A piece like Marner could help them score more, keep games closer, and get to where they should be, which is in the playoff picture. CHI would just squander half of his extension on rebuild years, at which point he will probably be in decline and his contract will become a problem.</div></div>

I guess I meant that Marner would be far more likely to agree to go to Chicago. And no, I don't think Columbus is any closer to contention than Chicago is. Columbus is a wreck of pieces that don't fit together, formerly good prospects who have been ruined by rushing them, prospects who aren't ruined yet but are still three-four years out from anything, immovable contracts on useless players, and a brand new GM whose resume is checkered at best who will need time to assess and start to undo the damage but without any of the resources that made him successful at the job in Carolina. This <em>might </em>have been an 80-point team if every single thing had gone right last year, but they will be worse this coming season. I'll be surprised if they finish ahead of anyone but San Jose. And I'm ususally the positive one in Jackets spaces.

Chicago will 100% make the playoffs before Columbus ever finishes any higher than 13th in the East. Columbus is the new Buffalo.
Forum: Armchair-GMMay 27 at 5:44 p.m.