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2024-25 NHL Misc. Thread

Yeah, it would have been better if they just gave everybody a long weekend and then got started on Monday or Tuesday, but I think you want to have 3-4 days before you get going again to give everybody a chance to be as healthy as they can be. These guys are not robots and both teams are beat up at this point. If you're the NHL, you want your finalists to show out as well as they can and having as few walking wounded as practical makes that a possibility.

Alternately, you could instruct your officials to call the freaking games in the first three rounds, which would reduce the number of contact injuries.
 
Seattle hired Lane Lambert as their new head coach. He made the playoffs with the Islanders in 2022-23 but lost in the first round to the Canes. He was fired 45 games into his 2nd season with a 19-15-11 record.
I honestly felt like Lambert got a short stick on the Island. Those teams had serious roster construction problems and he did the best he could with them for the most part. I figured he'd get another shot eventually, this being the NHL and all. For the very cautiously built Kraken, he could be a really good fit.
 
OK, we can do the last post mortem I'm gonna offer this season. Dallas Stars, RIP

First, a general observation. For all the crap Carolina takes for only getting to a certain point in the playoffs while managing to contend every year, explain to me how Dallas is significantly different. In fact, if you put a large asterisk on that Finals appearance in the bubble playoffs in 2020 ... which you 100% should do ... they have faired worse than the Canes over the last decade. Yet somehow Jim Nill wins awards and general praise and nobody ever asks any hard questions. I find it kind of bizarre, honestly. Take away that fluke Finals appearance and they've been through 5 coaches since 2015, missed the playoffs 4 times, lost in the Conference finals twice and otherwise bombed out in the first two rounds. Mind you, the West was the weaker of the two leagues for most of that time. So, yeah. I'm not saying they're frauds, but ... they're kind of frauds.

So, DeBoer thought it was a good idea to yank his goalie in an elimination game, eh? Oof, pal. That's a bad look. After taking that huge swing on Rantanen, you'd expect them to put up more of a fight. Instead, they ran out of offense against a decidedly not great defensive team with a complete nutter tending the goal. Congrats. That has to feel horrible, but I'm not sure they can do much other than continuing on their current path. They spent their Cap space on Rantanen, and barely have enough left to cobble together a roster for next season. Benn, Duchene, Dadonov and Blackwell are out of contract up front and there's no way they'll find the cash to re-sign Granlund. Brendan Smith and Codi Ceci are out of contract on D, but frankly losing those two would make them significantly better. Dallas has just under $5 million to put together an entire 3rd line and fill a few other spots and their prospect pool will be hard pressed to step up with that much quantity. Oh, and they won't pick until the 3rd round this year, and also traded their 1st rounder in next year's highly rated draft to the Canes. Honestly, they took their shot this year and it all came down around their ears.

Bless their hearts.
 
Jim Nill has won the Jim Gregory GM of the year award the last 2 seasons. He’s a finalist again this year, along with Kevin Cheveldayoff and Bill Zito. 🤷‍♂️
 
Jim Nill has won the Jim Gregory GM of the year award the last 2 seasons. He’s a finalist again this year, along with Kevin Cheveldayoff and Bill Zito. 🤷‍♂️
He does all the things that people who vote for that award expect a great GM to do. Problem being that he doesn't win anything that matters. Somehow that's a constant gripe about Carolina and Nill gets a pass.

BTW, Zito 100% deserves that award
 
He does all the things that people who vote for that award expect a great GM to do. Problem being that he doesn't win anything that matters. Somehow that's a constant gripe about Carolina and Nill gets a pass.

BTW, Zito 100% deserves that award
Well come on guys. Based on the E(SPN)xperts they got full value from that Rantanan contract in that one game. They said that. So if he ever scores again it’s just gravy I guess. They completely took advantage of a panicked Canes management to surplant us as the cup favorites. Because the cup winners are universally the teams that make the biggest deadline moves. Just ask anyone at ESPN. So sad. If we kept the pouting asshole we’d already have won the Cup by now but instead it will be the Stars this season. Oh dang. Never should have disrespected Francis like that.
 
I must admit when Dallas started the playoffs and I looked at the depth of that roster I said to some hockey buddies that if they get by Colorado in round one they should be the team to beat. How they laid an egg and barely showed up is beyond me against the Oilers. Top to bottom Dallas simply underperformed when you see that teams talent level and mix of older to younger players.
 
Bravo on those points, JB! Canes always seem to be the subject of heightened scrutiny and Dallas not so much.

Dallas is considered a destination and attracts good players. They have built their team with elite guys and yet, it got them the same result we got. Their big horses were streaky and could not get going. They got the Joe Corvo moment from Rantanen and then he, too, got silenced. I might have some sour grapes at the mocking Carolina got when Rantanen was ultimately traded, but let’s go OILERS!
 
Top to bottom Dallas simply underperformed when you see that teams talent level and mix of older to younger players.
I think people are really underrating the Oilers. This team took the Panthers to 7 games last year when the Panthers were playing their Panthers best (not like in the Leafs series this year).
 
Bravo on those points, JB! Canes always seem to be the subject of heightened scrutiny and Dallas not so much.

Dallas is considered a destination and attracts good players. They have built their team with elite guys and yet, it got them the same result we got. Their big horses were streaky and could not get going. They got the Joe Corvo moment from Rantanen and then he, too, got silenced. I might have some sour grapes at the mocking Carolina got when Rantanen was ultimately traded, but let’s go OILERS!
Their stars are no bigger than ours generally. They have a good team plus Rantanan. He had a couple fluke periods with back to back Hattys and nothing much beyond that. You don’t pay that kind of Jack for sporadic production. Glad we didn’t.
 
Islanders signed UFA to be Kyle Palmieri to a 2 year/$4.75 million AAV extension. He turned 34 in February but has 54 goals in the last 2 seasons. They also signed Adam Boqvist to a 1 year/$850k AAV extension.
 
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Islanders signed UFA to be Kyle Palmieri to a 2 year/$4.75 million AAV extension. He turned 34 in February but has 54 goals in the last 2 seasons. They also signed Adam Boqvist to a 1 year/$850k AAV extension.
Look ... somebody's gotta play minutes. Fair market for both guys, given the context. I do wonder what direction the Isles are heading though. They didn't stockpile picks at the deadline which may be what ultimately got Lou fired. But guys like Dobson, Horvat and Sorokin could get them a big return of picks and prospects if they got busy in the market ahead of the draft. Not everybody is going to want to spend their Cap in the free agent market, after all.
 
The Sharks terminated Andrew Poturalski’s contract by mutual consent so Potsie could pursue opportunities outside the US. He had a nice salary the last 3 years, with a $500k guarantee last year and 2 years at the NHL minimum on the 2 year contract he signed with the Kraken in 2022. But he just turned 31, he couldn’t make the Sharks and only played 9 NHL games since 2016.


View: https://x.com/curtispashelka/status/1928514341239730421?s=61
 
Good luck to Poturalski. He could land a fairly lucrative deal I would think in the KHL (or Lliga or SweHL or the Swiss-A league).
 
Remains to be seen if Jarmo's success building St Louis' development program before he was GM is the real Jarmo if the indecisive, lost little puppy he was as GM in Columbus is the real Jarmo.

Either way, given the TINY staff Adams has had during his tenure in Buffalo, I think it's good to add experienced voices of any kind to the mix.
 
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