Preston
MBow30 alt account
Oh I agree. They're so good that they're almost as good as Boston. Not quite (no one is) but they're right there. Real great team.
Around the League 2019-2023 Edition
- Thread starter LeafGm
- Start date
JackBurton
Well-known member
I'm going to be dead before they figure it out.
Despite not many saying it, that team needs badly to make the playoffs with the $ they spent ($ they don't have)/.
zeke
Well-known member
I don't know if they do, really.
I look at their roster and the only thing that stands out is their top 3-4 forwards.... it when I dial down into their stats those guys don't actually look like elite top forwards either.
JackBurton
Well-known member
Bobrovsky is a brutal contract. I see no state free tax discounts on the Panthers. Barkov just signed early
LeafGm
Well-known member
Yeah, I'm not buying the Florida hype either.
The first thing is that I'm not sold on goalie Bob. He had one truly elite season as a starter in 2016/17, but besides that he's been varying degrees of average to either slightly above or below average. The guy's also 32 this year.
In general, I also think paying a goalie $10M in the capped NHL is insane. Way too much volatility in the position even from the very best to dedicate that kind of money to them. IMO it's not an accident that nobody's won anything with a goalie making a shit-ton of money.
Up front, Barkov and Huberdeau are great, but they're second-tier guys in any discussion about the league's best players. Then you have a few "ok, just ok" top-6 players in Trocheck, Dadonov & Hoffman and then the rest of their forwards and D are a big pile of "meh".
The first thing is that I'm not sold on goalie Bob. He had one truly elite season as a starter in 2016/17, but besides that he's been varying degrees of average to either slightly above or below average. The guy's also 32 this year.
In general, I also think paying a goalie $10M in the capped NHL is insane. Way too much volatility in the position even from the very best to dedicate that kind of money to them. IMO it's not an accident that nobody's won anything with a goalie making a shit-ton of money.
Up front, Barkov and Huberdeau are great, but they're second-tier guys in any discussion about the league's best players. Then you have a few "ok, just ok" top-6 players in Trocheck, Dadonov & Hoffman and then the rest of their forwards and D are a big pile of "meh".
JackBurton
Well-known member
No way would Leafs or any big market team get this much "Next Year" rope.
zeke
Well-known member
yeah the bob contract seems bad to me.
I wouldn't want to give that kind of money to even a goalie that was consistently elite and in his prime.
But giving it to a 31yr old coming off a .913 season, and a .917 previous two seasons, and a .919 career.....man that's risky.
JackBurton
Well-known member
So happy to see the Islanders looking crappy. And Lou has destroyed their cap. 23.5 million this summer to Varlamov, Lee, Nelson and Eberle. Varl;amov look sbad and is older, worse and more expensive than the team MVP they let go.
But Lou is great with contracts...
But Lou is great with contracts...
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LeafGm
Well-known member
I'd love to see the Islanders crash & burn this year, for sure.
For one, because their fans are a toxic shit-pile.
The other because I'm convinced that old-school Lou let Lehner walk this summer because he didn't want to have anything to do with a guy who's open with the public about his battle with mental illness. A mediocre wife-beater like Varlamov, though? Lou's A-OK with him.
For one, because their fans are a toxic shit-pile.
The other because I'm convinced that old-school Lou let Lehner walk this summer because he didn't want to have anything to do with a guy who's open with the public about his battle with mental illness. A mediocre wife-beater like Varlamov, though? Lou's A-OK with him.
JackBurton
Well-known member
That was the most head-scratching move this summer. Let Lehrer walk and sign an affordable deal and replace him with Varlamov for more years and $.
The $ tied-up to 4th liners in Long Island is hilarious.
The $ tied-up to 4th liners in Long Island is hilarious.
JackBurton
Well-known member
Calgary ignored Neal's unsustainably low shooting % and viewed him as poorly as the Oilers did Lucic.
Neal has skill and can play. Lucic is finished.
zeke
Well-known member
watch out. the oilers have a competent GM now.
it took a whole lot of awful to make McDavid-Drai into a bottom feeder.
the Flames, meanwhile, continue to be run by dummies, even though their amateur scouting staff has given them some really nice core pieces.
JackBurton
Well-known member
Holland would have done much more but he was screwed with the idiocy of Chiarelli, Their cap is horrible
Artnes
Well-known member
And he got an extension after making the deal. That was a fireable offence
zeke
Well-known member
just a brief scan to see what's changed from last year:
Last year --> This year
GF/gm: #22 --> #24
SF/gm: #29 --> #25
CF%: #22 ---> #21
xGF%: #12 --> #7
SA/gm: #12 --> #8
SV%: #1 ----> #11
GA/gm: #1 --> #10
zeke
Well-known member
yeah it's awful, but even a handful of smart moves should let McDavid lead them to the playoffs again. it's crazy that he's been sabotaged so badly.
Florida is going to score goals and Queeneville already has them playing a better team system. But that D is weirdly constructed ... slow guys who defend well and fast guys who don't, with nothing in between ... and Bob's going to have to transition from playing behind a completely different system. I feel like there were a lot of caveats mixed in with the hype, and deservedly so. Still ... their offensive can wallpaper over some sins and the middle layer of the Eastern pecking order looks murky.