The Official 2026 Off-Season Thread: Revenge of the Nerds

[LeafOfFaith]

It's worse that he feels like signing Bob to that contract is aiming high, yeah. Aiming high was Raddysh, Werenski, someone who is actually elite and has been elite since 2023. Bob is not that.

TSN and others had him as the top UFA. Chaykes said specifically that he thinks Bob is currently the best goalie in the world - as in right now. I know we’re in the twilight zone, but based on his own views and the clearly prevailing views among the media, he aimed for the top player available and got him.

 

[zeke]

Roslovic and Paul also give them some depth and flexibility they haven’t had in years to balance out Matthews, nylander, knies and Tavares between the top three lines.

?

 

[Preston]

TSN and others had him as the top UFA. Chaykes said specifically that he thinks Bob is currently the best goalie in the world - as in right now. I know we’re in the twilight zone, but based on his own views and the clearly prevailing views on the media, he aimed for the top player available and got him.

Yeah like that kind of stuff makes me feel so much worse about it. Fuck, they're more fucked than I thought

 

[zeke]

Honestly, I’ll be a little surprised if McKenna doesn’t do the same.

McKenna is a much bigger talent than those two!

 

[hockeylover]

McKenna is a much bigger talent than those two!

Just curious, what'd be your guess? Are we actually that far apart?

 

[LeafGm]

TSN and others had him as the top UFA. Chaykes said specifically that he thinks Bob is currently the best goalie in the world - as in right now. I know we’re in the twilight zone, but based on his own views and the clearly prevailing views among the media, he aimed for the top player available and got him.

What he actually said was even worse than this! He suggested that Bobrovsky might be the best NHL goalie of all-time.

Which is just…frightening levels of insanity and delusion.

 

[MindzEye]

July 1 was a disaster class of the highest order. I just want him to do his last few fuck ups so that I can ignore this teams for the rest of the summer and rebuild some hope for when training camp rolls around.

 

[LeafOfFaith]

Yeah like that kind of stuff makes me feel so much worse about it. Fuck, they're more fucked than I thought

I’m just stunned that almost every video and article is so so pro Bob. None of them feel last year mattered and they say he’s in such good shape that his age is irrelevant. I posted one video last night that semi questioned it by highlighting the risk, but those are so few and far between. I think there’s a good possibility they’re right and we’ll look dumb, in year one at least, but it’s just not the risk I’d have taken. But I guess if I thought he was the best, then it would be a big get for me. I can respect pets and favorites obviously, but he just needs to be right.

 

[LeafGm]

McKenna is a much bigger talent than those two!

Yep! Like I said in my post, him being a much better prospect than either of those two is definitely a reason to expect he could have a better rookie season. Among a few other reasons as well.

Though to clarify what I said a bit—when I said I “wouldn’t be surprised if McKenna doesn’t do the same”, I didn’t mean I expect him to put up identical production to Mitch & Willy. Just that he’d hit the ground running as a 1st-line talent like they did.

 

[MindzEye]

I’m just stunned that almost every video and article is so so pro Bob. None of them feel last year mattered and they say he’s in such good shape that his age is irrelevant. I posted one video last night that semi questioned it by highlighting the risk, but those are so few and far between. I think there’s a good possibility they’re right and we’ll look dumb, in year one at least, but it’s just not the risk I’d have taken. But I guess if I thought he was the best, then it would be a big get for me. I can respect pets and favorites obviously, but he just needs to be right.

If they're right though, Bob will be average to average plus. If we're right, Bob is cooked and one of the worst goalies in the league.

Getting average to average plus goaltending could have been done by literally doing nothing.

 

[Preston]

Mckenna alone is gonna make this a much-watch season. And I love what he did with the dcorps. The emphasis on skill and puck moving, just wiping out Treliving's trash philosophy. Perfect.

His decisionmaking on forwards and goaltending have been so disappointing. But that doesn't mean the team won't be fun to watch. Just maybe a little less fun than it could have been after deciding to load the roster with boring forwards. And I hope they give Bob a short leash, because Florida didn't last year and it cost them the season. If he's bad, can't be afraid to abandon ship.

 

[leafman101]

I thin Blueger is a fine 4C at a reasonable enough cost. Sissons and Duhaime were nuts.

 

[MindzEye]

Mckenna alone is gonna make this a much-watch season. And I love what he did with the dcorps. The emphasis on skill and puck moving, just wiping out Treliving's trash philosophy. Perfect.

His decisionmaking on forwards and goaltending have been so disappointing. But that doesn't mean the team won't be fun to watch. Just maybe a little less fun than it could have been after deciding to load the roster with boring forwards. And I hope they give Bob a short leash, because Florida didn't last year and it cost them the season. If he's bad, can't be afraid to abandon ship.

I watched a bunch of the footage from yesterday. He's faster than people think. His footwork is obscene. In straight line speed he'll probably never be a true burner, but in that functional speed that relies on your first few steps to create separation, he's gross.

 

[MindzEye]

I thin Blueger is a fine 4C at a reasonable enough cost. Sissons and Duhaime were nuts.

Literally just signing Marchment instead of those 2 or Arvidsson instead of Sissons would have changed our forward group so much for the better at similar costs

 

[LeafGm]

I watched a bunch of the footage from yesterday. He's faster than people think. His footwork is obscene. In straight line speed he'll probably never be a true burner, but in that functional speed that relies on your first few steps to create separation, he's gross.

Mitch was never a straight-line burner either, but with his edges and lateral mobility, that didn’t really matter one bit.

 

[zeke]

View: https://x.com/markhmasters/status/2073065112324157919?s=20

 

[MindzEye]

Mitch was never a straight-line burner either, but with his edges and lateral mobility, that didn’t really matter one bit.

Yeah, they're similar in that. Though I think McKenna is going to be quicker into space. He's more direct with quicker feet than Mitch. Mitch smoother and more side to side elusive.

 

[axlsalinger]

Yeah like that kind of stuff makes me feel so much worse about it. Fuck, they're more fucked than I thought

you wanted him to go big game hunting, but cry when he landed Big Game Bob

 

[zeke]

I thin Blueger is a fine 4C at a reasonable enough cost. Sissons and Duhaime were nuts.

If we had added Paul, Blueger, Duhaime at this cost, but spent Roslovic+Sissons $8.25m on an actual top forward, we'd be ecstatic.

but that's a long long way from what happened.

 

[Preston]

you wanted him to go big game hunting, but cry when he landed Big Game Bob

Yeah my definition of big game hunting is probably different than yours. I want someone who has been elite in the last two seasons at the very least. That's the baseline for me personally. For others it's the brand name, and that's fine. I just don't get swayed by that.