Confirmed with Link: Max Pacioretty for 2019 2nd rd, Nick Suzuki, and Tomas Tatar - UPDATE: Pacioretty extends 7m x 4

[CupInSIX]

Mentioning Forsberg for Erat should be an automatic threadban.

 

[IceNeophyte]

Mentioning Forsberg for Erat should be an automatic threadban.

I like it!

 

[Aurinko]

As much as we bleed long term, this was a good deal for both.

Habs: Gets my favorite prospect (by far!). Great guy that imo resembles Saku Koivu... I hope he will be as great as I predict.
Knights: If you read stats, you know that not only do the VGK have the best 1st line in NHL, the 2nd line could be something crazy... Patches and Stastny should click almost instant. Plus we have tons of decent options as their winger. The offense will be through the roof, unless Marchessault ate burgers and beer the whole summer.

edit: as for the 3rd line, I'll hold on to my dream of X-Haula-Carpy

 

[LadyStanley]

Interesting reveal (considering the photoshopped it onto image a couple of days ago too )

 

[Vegan Knight]

Okay let me just start with a mod warning:

Both of you simmer down, and (this goes for everyone) remember our site rules on respectful debate. Everyone is allowed to disagree but both of you are toeing the line on our guidelines to discourse. Having not crossed them completely I will allow the posts to stand given the substance of the disagreements on McPhee's position with this team and his recent transactions. They have relevance but enough making things personal. This sub for the entire first year+ of existence has been a model for proper debate behavior and until now things have been very respectful. Let's keep that going.

With that in mind, on a personal VGK fan level, I will address Willy directly. Keep in mind I'm not taking sides here as I do think VK is being a little over-critical of McPhee and does veer towards the hivemind of the main boards in the way they critique McPhee. However, VK is entitled to such an opinion. Part of being a fan does include apprehension over what your coach or GM may be doing. I know in my time as an Anaheim fan there were times I would curse the names Bob Murray and Randy Carlyle in a very brutal fashion. It's not because I was fed up with my team or because my allegiance was suspect, but because I wanted what was best for my team and I didn't think the men in charge were doing the best for my team. I, myself, have a hint of anxiety over McPhee's direction of this team. He could be doing great things but he is making commitments both in contract and in distribution of futures, that could harm the team going forward in the interest of winning now. And in all honesty, it's nice to think we're contenders but we just don't know to what degree the roster can replicate what they accomplished last year. McPhee is trying to sprint across ice that could be very thin right now. Sure it could work, and I'm staying positive that it will. But VK's apprehension certainly isn't proof of disloyalty and he's allowed to criticize if he wants. If you don't like seeing a more negative stance on things you can always put his posts on ignore.

I was absolutely not in the wrong here and I would continue to stand up for myself if someone comes at me the way I was attacked. I don't hold it against any poster for an over emotional mistake (and absolutely not for questioning my opinion) but I don't let them try to bully me into not supporting a team (or one team or another between the Thunder and Wranglers, even the Flash), a sport and a city I have supported for decades.

Moving on from the issue entirely, I do take issue with this notion that I am negative about McPhee, the Erat trade was brought up after another poster made a comment akin to "next time I talk to Foley I will tell him you know everything. Management always knows best, not uninformed fans." That was brought up to refute that with a benign "not always." Even going so far as to say something like "this deal is not that."

I also take issue that I am some "hivemind" about McPhee. He has made mistakes in his time here (and many before that even he still thinks about) but I have never said he shouldn't be here. It isn't hivemind to acknowledge his faults and question his moves where warranted.

I also was not negative about this deal after the contract. Considering Pacioretty was said to turn down 6x6 from LA, you could understand the reticence when we seemed willing to extend him when that deal wasn't good enough for him two months ago.

There are still risks here, though. Plenty better wingers than Pacioretty have started their decline around 30 and with Pacioretty having a disappointing campaign last year, and if it came because of an injury that isn't comforting, it is a worry also.

That aside, I am not against the move, if we commit to this path. My only continued worry has been stated. We need a better defense to compete. You sign 30 year old wingers to long term deals when you are trying to win now, so this can't be our only move. We need to get better right now. Spend the assets to upgrade the defense, even if it costs prospects or picks that sting.

It might be the wrong move to make before we are more positive about our team being only like two pieces away, especially with some of the other great rosters around the league, but rolling the dice takes guts and I won't fault McPhee for that. I will just say you need to go all in, George. Pacioretty can't be the last big move.

 

[Supermassive]

Yeah, if we could discuss stuff without the personal barbs, that’s be cool. People who take things too seriously and feel the need to attack, tend to lose the room. It’s not chill.

It’s nice to debate whether the acquired top-sixer is the right call, instead of watching a team who has constantly traded their top-sixers out for peanuts and sign dead weight to long-term contracts. This is a stacked line-up, and while I might question whether all our defensive guys will mature into stars, I’m willing to test that path. There’s still a season before Theo hits the 200 game mark, right? Still lots to be proven, but this d corps is moving in the right direction

 

[Boris Zubov]

Yeah, if we could discuss stuff without the personal barbs, that’s be cool. People who take things too seriously and feel the need to attack, tend to lose the room. It’s not chill.

It’s nice to debate whether the acquired top-sixer is the right call, instead of watching a team who has constantly traded their top-sixers out for peanuts and sign dead weight to long-term contracts. This is a stacked line-up, and while I might question whether all our defensive guys will mature into stars, I’m willing to test that path. There’s still a season before Theo hits the 200 game mark, right? Still lots to be proven, but this d corps is moving in the right direction

Not sure it's a stacked lineup, but it's certainly a stacked top 6. The D is obviously the huge question mark, but it's really hard to say the Knights aren't a much better team than they were before this trade.

 

[Boris Zubov]

Definitely. Though if he has a good preseason he could get a 5 game audition but he'd need to be isolated between 2 tougher forwards like Domi and Armia.

He needs a full season in the CHL plus the World Juniors.

Plus he needs to gain at least 25 pounds of muscle.

 

[IceNeophyte]

Yeah, if we could discuss stuff without the personal barbs, that’s be cool. People who take things too seriously and feel the need to attack, tend to lose the room. It’s not chill.

It’s nice to debate whether the acquired top-sixer is the right call, instead of watching a team who has constantly traded their top-sixers out for peanuts and sign dead weight to long-term contracts. This is a stacked line-up, and while I might question whether all our defensive guys will mature into stars, I’m willing to test that path. There’s still a season before Theo hits the 200 game mark, right? Still lots to be proven, but this d corps is moving in the right direction

To me, there are issues with defense, but I argue that one should not refuse to improve the forward line up because there are issues with defense. One doesn't have to be put on hold because of the other.

Shea is unsigned. I'm assuming and hoping that they get this worked out. Schmidt's suspension is a bigger issue. I would guess that if there were a suitable dman out there up for trade, we would be on him. Other than Schmidt's suspension, we've lost Sbisa and gained Holden, who was a depth acquisition and apparently a slight improvement over Sbisa. I'm not in love with Hunt, and Merrill was making a lot of mistakes late last season, though I like the physical side of his game. EK would be an enormous boost for our defense, but Melnyk has clearly shown that they want way too much for him as a rental, and EK has expressed no desire to sign with a team as part of a trade. For that reason, unless it gets to the point where Melnyk panics, I think we're pipe-dreaming over him.

Hague looked pretty close to ready and would give us size and reach, and Brannstrom turned a lot of heads in the rookie faceoff and would give us speed and superior vision. Even Whitecloud showed flashes of NHL quality over the weekend. His shot/pass that Glass (I think) redirected into the net was a thing of beauty.

Gallant is a good coach. I honestly think with the guys we have on the roster now, and a prospect potentially earning their way into at least short term callups, he'll put something together that gets us through the suspension, even if it means bringing our old friend Reinhardt up. And remember, Fleury missed 25 games last season, and the team limped through that, I think replacing Schmidt on the blue line will be easier than replacing Fleury in net last year, especially after Oscar went down. Fortunately, we'll still have three fourths of the regular season remaining when Nate gets out of jail.

 

[IceNeophyte]

Plus he needs to gain at least 25 pounds of muscle.

That's my issue. An undersized guy needs to buff up like mighty mouse to compete. Put him in today, may as well paint a target on him.

 

[IceNeophyte]

Patches skating with the team now, it's all over Twitter.

I may or may not be a little giddy.

 

[BattleBorn]

Press conference started a few minutes ago. I'm sure it will get archived if you see this later.

 

[ChanceVegas]

To me, there are issues with defense, but I argue that one should not refuse to improve the forward line up because there are issues with defense. One doesn't have to be put on hold because of the other.

Shea is unsigned. I'm assuming and hoping that they get this worked out. Schmidt's suspension is a bigger issue. I would guess that if there were a suitable dman out there up for trade, we would be on him. Other than Schmidt's suspension, we've lost Sbisa and gained Holden, who was a depth acquisition and apparently a slight improvement over Sbisa. I'm not in love with Hunt, and Merrill was making a lot of mistakes late last season, though I like the physical side of his game. EK would be an enormous boost for our defense, but Melnyk has clearly shown that they want way too much for him as a rental, and EK has expressed no desire to sign with a team as part of a trade. For that reason, unless it gets to the point where Melnyk panics, I think we're pipe-dreaming over him.

Hague looked pretty close to ready and would give us size and reach, and Brannstrom turned a lot of heads in the rookie faceoff and would give us speed and superior vision. Even Whitecloud showed flashes of NHL quality over the weekend. His shot/pass that Glass (I think) redirected into the net was a thing of beauty.

Gallant is a good coach. I honestly think with the guys we have on the roster now, and a prospect potentially earning their way into at least short term callups, he'll put something together that gets us through the suspension, even if it means bringing our old friend Reinhardt up. And remember, Fleury missed 25 games last season, and the team limped through that, I think replacing Schmidt on the blue line will be easier than replacing Fleury in net last year, especially after Oscar went down. Fortunately, we'll still have three fourths of the regular season remaining when Nate gets out of jail.

Well said. The future of the D looks good in Hague and Brannstrom, but people are right to be concerned about the now. We barely had a passable D before losing our1D for a quarter of the season. I also agree that you swing at any chance to improve the team even if it doesn't address the greatest need. My fear regarding McPhee is he is so held up on EK that he might be missing other players, but I don't know who is out there either. I just hope McPhee learned from the deadline panic that brought in Tatar the last time he was holding out for EK.

On to McPhee, he is far from perfect, and despite GM of the year, I don't think he is the best GM. He overpaid for a bust in Tatar, he definitely overpaid Reaves and might've overpaid Flower. I really don't understand his obsession with having to have an enforcer in today's game. I get that it helps the Caps, but we aren't the Caps and Wilson is quite a bit more talented than Reaves. It's not like we were overcome with injuries to our top line before we got Reaves, and it's not like he held Wilson in check either. There are always decisions made that you don't agree with, but as a fan, you just have to live with I suppose. That's not to say he hasn't made some stellar moves too (the draft moves and the low terms on all of our contract with team friendly deals to our top line).

 

[LadyStanley]

Presser done.

One question asked on FB asked of him by Lawless -- what are you looking forward to.

Answer: 1st home game. Hopes to get (pregnant) wife and 3 sons out here by then, bring in family from California, etc.

 

[LadyStanley]

Expecting lots of maximum puns.

 

[HanSolo]

I was absolutely not in the wrong here and I would continue to stand up for myself if someone comes at me the way I was attacked. I don't hold it against any poster for an over emotional mistake (and absolutely not for questioning my opinion) but I don't let them try to bully me into not supporting a team (or one team or another between the Thunder and Wranglers, even the Flash), a sport and a city I have supported for decades.

Moving on from the issue entirely, I do take issue with this notion that I am negative about McPhee, the Erat trade was brought up after another poster made a comment akin to "next time I talk to Foley I will tell him you know everything. Management always knows best, not uninformed fans." That was brought up to refute that with a benign "not always." Even going so far as to say something like "this deal is not that."

I also take issue that I am some "hivemind" about McPhee. He has made mistakes in his time here (and many before that even he still thinks about) but I have never said he shouldn't be here. It isn't hivemind to acknowledge his faults and question his moves where warranted.

I also was not negative about this deal after the contract. Considering Pacioretty was said to turn down 6x6 from LA, you could understand the reticence when we seemed willing to extend him when that deal wasn't good enough for him two months ago.

There are still risks here, though. Plenty better wingers than Pacioretty have started their decline around 30 and with Pacioretty having a disappointing campaign last year, and if it came because of an injury that isn't comforting, it is a worry also.

That aside, I am not against the move, if we commit to this path. My only continued worry has been stated. We need a better defense to compete. You sign 30 year old wingers to long term deals when you are trying to win now, so this can't be our only move. We need to get better right now. Spend the assets to upgrade the defense, even if it costs prospects or picks that sting.

It might be the wrong move to make before we are more positive about our team being only like two pieces away, especially with some of the other great rosters around the league, but rolling the dice takes guts and I won't fault McPhee for that. I will just say you need to go all in, George. Pacioretty can't be the last big move.

I'm not saying you're a member of a hivemind, it's just that your opinion veers closer to the hivemind that fixates on the Tatar and Erat trades and ignore all else positive he does and can't be sold one way or the other that he's not a walking turd, than those of us who give him more trust and latitude. Again, I'm not saying you are them or like them. You have clearly given this some deep thought and consideration. I don't think there's anything wrong with being critical of the GM. I'm the kind of fan that is absolutely not sunshine and rainbows 24/7 so it's my belief that being critical, skeptical, apprehensive, etc. is central to being a different kind of passionate fan. Different perspectives breed discourse and debate and that's the core purpose of this very website, so make no mistake, in what I said I was defending you and your right to criticize McPhee more than anything.

 

[Boris Zubov]

Presser done.

One question asked on FB asked of him by Lawless -- what are you looking forward to.

Answer: 1st home game. Hopes to get (pregnant) wife and 3 sons out here by then, bring in family from California, etc.

Any video available from the press conference?

 

[IceNeophyte]

Any video available from the press conference?

The media in BattleBorn's post is now the archived interview.

 

[Vegan Knight]

I'm not saying you're a member of a hivemind, it's just that your opinion veers closer to the hivemind that fixates on the Tatar and Erat trades and ignore all else positive he does and can't be sold one way or the other that he's not a walking turd, than those of us who give him more trust and latitude. Again, I'm not saying you are them or like them. You have clearly given this some deep thought and consideration. I don't think there's anything wrong with being critical of the GM. I'm the kind of fan that is absolutely not sunshine and rainbows 24/7 so it's my belief that being critical, skeptical, apprehensive, etc. is central to being a different kind of passionate fan. Different perspectives breed discourse and debate and that's the core purpose of this very website, so make no mistake, in what I said I was defending you and your right to criticize McPhee more than anything.

This is probably closer to what I feel about him but I still think I'm less negative than even this. I question things (which sometimes is mistaken as being negative) but am always willing to leave room for reassessment.

The Stastny deal was instantly praised by me, even if others had hesitation about the number. This Pacioretty deal is also well done to keep it at four years and a reasonable price point. Not as much of a fan of Reaves money or even Fleury's number. Didn't like the Tatar trade but then was fully on board to give him a chance this year.

He did well to horde picks at the expansion draft, though I don't know if some of that was from GMs overthinking the expansion draft a bit. Seattle will probably have a harder time of it, as more GMs will probably be like "just pick someone."

Side note to that, being the only team exempt from that draft, I hope McPhee pulls out a good value deal for the team considering theres 30 other teams and a few are bound to have good players they would like to get something for in a trade.

 

[Boris Zubov]

The media in BattleBorn's post is now the archived interview.

Thanks for letting me know. Max seems like another high character guy added to the locker room.

As a side note, it's always refreshing to hear how gracious & unassuming pro hockey players can be. Thoughtful & respectful in their answers even after they've been asked the same question in several different forms.

 

[BattleBorn]

...
He did well to horde picks at the expansion draft, though I don't know if some of that was from GMs overthinking the expansion draft a bit. ...

I think this is something that is extremely underrated by almost everyone, Knights fans included.

We've still got more draft picks, and a lot of them in the first three rounds, than any other team with a GM would have after making the decisions GMGM has made. Do I wish he was a little less cavalier with chucking the draft picks and Suzuki out the door? Sure. However, we're still sitting pretty when it comes to the future. Especially since we cleaned up pretty well in the 1st/early 2nd in the 2017 draft. However, you can't discount that he built himself up extremely well to take some chances (and perhaps overpay a little) to do what he's done. That's his doing.

Is McPhee perfect? No, of course not. However, he's set us up extremely well compared to what we should probably have at this point in our history. When you see people crapping on the McPhee moves like Tatar, just remember that they're generally coming from a position where they're thinking of what it would mean to their team to dump the picks on Tatar and then bail on him shortly after. It doesn't make the move any smarter, but it's a move you can make when you've loaded up the way McPhee has.

And anyone will pretty much get an emotional/somewhat irrational response from me when mentioning Erat after personally spending a couple of years defending him/hoping he's not the guy that made the Erat move.

 

[Vegan Knight]

I think this is something that is extremely underrated by almost everyone, Knights fans included.

We've still got more draft picks, and a lot of them in the first three rounds, than any other team with a GM would have after making the decisions GMGM has made. Do I wish he was a little less cavalier with chucking the draft picks and Suzuki out the door? Sure. However, we're still sitting pretty when it comes to the future. Especially since we cleaned up pretty well in the 1st/early 2nd in the 2017 draft. However, you can't discount that he built himself up extremely well to take some chances (and perhaps overpay a little) to do what he's done. That's his doing.

Is McPhee perfect? No, of course not. However, he's set us up extremely well compared to what we should probably have at this point in our history. When you see people crapping on the McPhee moves like Tatar, just remember that they're generally coming from a position where they're thinking of what it would mean to their team to dump the picks on Tatar and then bail on him shortly after. It doesn't make the move any smarter, but it's a move you can make when you've loaded up the way McPhee has.

And anyone will pretty much get an emotional/somewhat irrational response from me when mentioning Erat after personally spending a couple of years defending him/hoping he's not the guy that made the Erat move.

Again, just to clear my name, Erat and Tatar trades were only brought up in response to another poster condescendingly suggesting he would pass my name on to Foley (as if questioning a move is the same as thinking you know more than hockey pros) and that management and scouting know way more than anyone on the outside and could never be wrong. It was used as a "not always." A defense of scrutinizing decisions (even if you aren't against them)

It was literally used in that very narrow context and had an addendum that it isn't the same as this situation.

 

[BattleBorn]

Again, just to clear my name, Erat and Tatar trades were only brought up in response to another poster condescendingly suggesting he would pass my name on to Foley (as if questioning a move is the same as thinking you know more than hockey pros) and that management and scouting know way more than anyone on the outside and could never be wrong. It was used as a "not always." A defense of scrutinizing decisions (even if you aren't against them)

It was literally used in that very narrow context and had an addendum that it isn't the same as this situation.

Your name was never in question.

As a group, we went into a little poster versus poster stuff there, and due to that, you might think that was a response to you specifically, and I assure you that it really wasn't. You're a member of our group. The way you may have felt when you read my response is the reason we don't really want people going after each other personally here. We can have different opinions, we can have disagreements, but when it all washes out, we're all a part of the same group of people rooting on our team, and this is our place to do it on the internet.

It's not the first time this type of thing has happened, and it won't be the last, but we will, as a board, not devolve into the petty poster vs poster crap that we see on the majority of the other boards. We're a small enough group that we can control it, and we, as a group of fans, control what happens here. I think it's safe to say we, as a group, don't want personal fights. It's Hans Solo and my duty to try to stop it, but it's easy to stop when we all agree that we don't want it to happen in the first place.

Lots of commas, lots of everything in that statement, but it all boils down to the original (and only forum-specific) rule on this forum prior to the migration, which was:
Be Awesome To Each Other.

When I quoted a stupid movie to make that the only forum-specific rule here, I thought we had a lot of shitty hockey in front of us. We didn't, and we don't. It still applies.

Be awesome to each other. We're all on the same team (and pretty much everyone except us hates us.)

 

[DangerDave]

Pacioretty, when he is at his best, is an impact player who can dominate shifts and take over games. Tatar does not have that ability & was not worth his cap hit. This trade is such a win-win.

That doesn't sound like the Casperetty I know. Guy is invisible all game until he pots one. He won't be doing the dominating but if you can feed him the puck and work down low for him, he can poach goals. Vegas is a good fit but prepare to be frustrated.

He's like a Kessel with less skill but better 2 way game.

 

[BattleBorn]

That doesn't sound like the Casperetty I know. Guy is invisible all game until he pots one. He won't be doing the dominating but if you can feed him the puck and work down low for him, he can poach goals. Vegas is a good fit but prepare to be frustrated.

He's like a Kessel with less skill but better 2 way game.

Don't need him to take over games. We've got a few guys capable of that. All we need is a two way guy that can score goals. Don't think we're looking for a superstar, just a good 2nd line winger. Fairly certain we've got it.

If he takes over a few games, I won't complain.