leafman101
Well-known member
Dubas hasn't learned anything. Still won't hire a tribe member for his legal/accounting.
Bring on Evan Gold.
Bring on Evan Gold.
The Official 2026 Off-Season Thread: Revenge of the Nerds
- Thread starter MindzEye
- Start date
leafman101
Well-known member
Unlike Rielly, Harley actually plays defense.
LeafGm
Well-known member
Dallas isn’t looking to “move off” Harley. They were willing to trade him for the reigning Norris trophy winner, who’s scored 80+ points in each of the past two years and who is unquestionably an upgrade on Harley, even if Harley himself is quite good—and signed for a good cap number in today’s NHL.
Very large distinction there.
LeafOfFaith
Well-known member
I think it’s a lot closer than you guys are making it. Putting age aside, of course.
MindzEye
Wayward Ditch Pig
leafman101
Well-known member
I do think that their performance was statistically similar last year, and Mo had a much better season than people realize.
But Harley had a big time down year.
But Harley had a big time down year.
zeke
Well-known member
They might be a little bit tbh. He was a bit of a surprise the previous two yrs and was slotted in a very cushy role. Last year might not just be an off year.
MindzEye
Wayward Ditch Pig
The big problem with Mo's season last year is the defensive nerdies. He went from kinda bad before to bottom of the league bad last season.
As mentioned a bunch of times before, I'm open to some of that coming from being miscast in a system that is brutal for someone of his skillset, but the cautionary bit is that he's never been good defensively, so that side of his game sliding off the face of the earth relatively early in the downswing of his career wouldn't exactly be shocking.
leafman101
Well-known member
Ya but Berube, relative to the team he was middle of the pack defensively. And offensively much better.
LeafOfFaith
Well-known member
He's definitely miscast, and he played on a bottom five team that was hopeless and in turmoil all season long. But I didn't see any drop off in his skill, skating, or anything else that mattered. This year will be super important, because he has Raddysh in front of him now (unless he plays with him, other than on the PP), and he will surely be sheltered if he isn't paired with Raddysh. System will be better, and the team overall is a lot better with the key adds of McKenna and Raddysh. He should honestly be in line to have one of his best seasons imo.
By the way, the point of my original comparison post wasn't to argue that Rielly is better or more valuable. It was to say that there is absolutely no reason to throw him away for nothing, which is basically what is rumored to be happening - though, credit to Chaykes and his direct statement at least, that Rielly is a big part of things, so who knows, maybe the rumors are bogus shit like they almost always are. If he had a similar season to Harley in the most dire of circumstances, and Harley is the golden boy at 25 and the trade equivalent of Werenski, they should be valuing Rielly way more than they supposedly are, and keeping him in the fold to see how this year plays out.
And I do think that Dallas would like to find a taker for Harley. Despite the down year, he's still very much a sell high candidate who is making 8 figures for non-8 figure performance. If next season mirrors last season, they will be eager to find a taker, rather than now when they tried to just seize a unique opportunity that arose. Also, the very fact that they tried to trade him and it fell apart is reason enough for the relationship to have taken a hit and lead to his departure in the near term.
By the way, the point of my original comparison post wasn't to argue that Rielly is better or more valuable. It was to say that there is absolutely no reason to throw him away for nothing, which is basically what is rumored to be happening - though, credit to Chaykes and his direct statement at least, that Rielly is a big part of things, so who knows, maybe the rumors are bogus shit like they almost always are. If he had a similar season to Harley in the most dire of circumstances, and Harley is the golden boy at 25 and the trade equivalent of Werenski, they should be valuing Rielly way more than they supposedly are, and keeping him in the fold to see how this year plays out.
And I do think that Dallas would like to find a taker for Harley. Despite the down year, he's still very much a sell high candidate who is making 8 figures for non-8 figure performance. If next season mirrors last season, they will be eager to find a taker, rather than now when they tried to just seize a unique opportunity that arose. Also, the very fact that they tried to trade him and it fell apart is reason enough for the relationship to have taken a hit and lead to his departure in the near term.
MindzEye
Wayward Ditch Pig
It's more about what he does well not being utilized in a dump and chase system.