NHL 2017-2018

[Smitty-48]

Maybe Dave Poille will give you a stud defensenmen, a forward prospect with some upside and second round pick in 2019.

Nah, because they're not giving up Marner nor Nylander in their second years, and rightly so, don't sell low on them, and Shanahan won't, they have to wait for Dermott and Liljegren, and add another defenceman in the draft, Evan Bouchard, Bode Wilde, Ryan Merkley, what have you, Shanahan ain't blowing up his young core to trade for a d-man, nor should he, they have to develop their own D-men, they have two who are going to be studs, but they're not gonna be ready till 2019, so there's no rush, better to cut the chaff and save the wheat, draft to win another day.

They're not getting past T-Bay anyways, so no biggie, this year is a write off either way.

You could trade for a lottery pick from a shit team who thinks they are good because they had one good playoff run. Perhaps Pierre Dorion could hook a brother up. Also worked for the Avs, and in the same trade.


Did I mention how great that Duchene trade was?

Good trade for everybody except Ottawa, the Sens are caught in the death spiral, either they overpay for Karlsson and they are fucked, or they let Karlsson walk and they are fucked, but they are fucked either way.

[StCapps]

Good trade for everybody except Ottawa, the Sens are caught in the death spiral, either they overpay for Karlsson and they are fucked, or they let Karlsson walk and they are fucked, but they are fucked either way.

*yip*

especially the part about Ottawa being fucked.

[Smitty-48]

The Sens should trade Karlsson right now, that's the only way they're not fucked, but they can't do it, they can't even sell tickets with Karlsson, so they can't let the marquee go, but that will be their undoing in the end.

[StCapps]

Pierre Dorion is trash, an easy fleece if ever there was one.

[Smitty-48]

It's not Dorion, I'm sure Dorion would trade him if he could, but he can't, because the owner is the GM, it's the owner who is preventing it, not Dorion, Dorion knows what we know, but Melnick doesn't care, Melnick only cares about the gate receipts right now, he doesn't think about the future, ergo the dumb assed Duchene trade, that was a JFJ trade, but who demanded it, Dorion? I don't think so, that was Eugene Ferguson jr who did that.

[StCapps]

It's not Dorion, I'm sure Dorion would trade him if he could, but he can't, because the owner is the GM, it's the owner who is preventing it, not Dorion, Dorion knows what we know, but Melnick doesn't care, Melnick only cares about the gate receipts right now, he doesn't think about the future, ergo the dumb assed Duchene trade, that was a JFJ trade, but who demanded it, Dorion? I don't think so, that was Eugene Ferguson jr who did that.

[Smitty-48]

The Millennial snowflakes a.k.a. the Advanced Stats Nerds, are crying about the NHL choosing Kid Rock to play at the All Star Game, "ZOMG Confederate Flag Waving Trump supporter, blah-blah-blah"; surprise-surprise.

Not actually a political statement by the NHL, they are oblivious to that sort of thing, Kid Rock is just a Red Wings superfan who is well known by the players, and hockey players ain't SJW's, but whatevs, Advanced Stats Nerds gotta be Advanced Stats Nerds I guess.

I don't think NNINHL is bad for the bottom line frankly, the league spends too much time already trying to pander to people who are not hockey fans and who are not going to be hockey fans, realpolitik; hockey is whitebread, Kid Rock is just the NHL being itself, if they went out and got some BLM approved artist, that would just be faking it.

Not that hockey fans care about the All Star Game, total waste of time, if it weren't for this faux controversy, it wouldn't get any press at all.

[Smitty-48]

Wow, these Vegas Golden Knights are the real deal, probably lightning in a bottle, I expect them to fall back to earth next year, but for right now, they really are the hardest working team in showbidness, they got hustle all day, they really make the Loafs look so much more lazy and shiftless by example. Babcock talks a big game about "playoff" hockey, but VGK just goes out and does it, pretty much every single game.

The down ice pressure, the back pressure, they are relentless, it's like they're in Stanley Cup Final mode right now.

[StCapps]

Gerard Gallant has the Jack Adams locked up already, sorry Jared Bednar, but no one else even has a chance at it.

[Smitty-48]

It can't really be down to Gerry Gallant tho, I mean, all the coaches say the same things, I'm sure Babcock says "no matter what the score just keep playing the same way" and so on and so forth, but the players on this team, the castoffs of the league with the chips on their shoulders, they are driving this bus, I'm not sure it would matter that much who was the coach, because this team is highly motivated internally, I think Gallant is riding their wave rather than vice versa.

Coaching is kind of a scam, it's mostly handwaving, the players either do it or they don't, if they don't, there's not much the coach can do about it.

It's not like Babcock is telling Willy Nylander to be lazy and soft and just take a pass on all puck battles and back checking, the kid just doesn't motivate himself to do what Babcock is telling him to do, I mean, obviously, but would Gerry Gallant get anymore out of him? I think not.