League News: NHL Talk - (News n' Scores n' Stuff) - 2022-23 season, Vol. 4, Off-season Edition

[Ovechkins Wodka]

Yeah... giving a 32 year old goalie 6 or 7 years is just a bad idea. Holtby was washed asround that age. Olie was close to washed.

 

[DWGie26]

I think GMBM was shooting straight at season exit. He has played shell games here at draft/FA which is what he is good at. Telegraphs nothing and then does stuff.

* We will tender both goalies - neither one was
* We will save Nicky’s cap space - calling BS on that. He is going to spend it.

And we could all be wrong on Keumper. Maybe it is not him at all and there is something else brewing. But if it is Keumper, GMBM will have to do something to make it as cheap as possible and only way to do that is to give term.

 

[g00n]

Avs sign Nichushkin to massive 8-year extension

The Avalanche signed pending unrestricted free agent Valeri Nichushkin to an extension that sources confirmed is worth $49 million total.

www.espn.com

For those playing along at home.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Just a brutal story. Those involved should be named and prosecuted.

One night in London: Allegations of sexual assault and a reckoning for Hockey Canada

The Parliament of Canada is scrutinizing what the organization did and didn't do upon learning of the allegations.

theathletic.com

 

[Langway]

CBJ dumping Bjorkstrand for a 3+4 goes to show how hard it is to move money. And, uh, double oof on that Gudbranson contract.

 

[twabby]

CBJ dumping Bjorkstrand for a 3+4 goes to show how hard it is to move money. And, uh, double oof on that Gudbranson contract.

Columbus could have also done the sensible thing and just...not signed Laine if it meant losing Bjorkstrand.

They got much worse today. Good!

 

[trick9]

Yikes that Tkachuk deal. Huge overpayment by the Panthers.

 

[IafrateOvie34]

Yikes that Tkachuk deal. Huge overpayment by the Panthers.

Maybe, but they paid to get a gritty scorer and made a serious change after not achieving their playoff goal. Weegar is overrated and a liability and Huberdeau probably won't be staying in Calgary, however helps Calgary after losing their top player for now. The 1st in 2025 is probably going to be a late first and Calgary needs more prospects. I see it as an even trade for both teams for now. Teams have to pay for players like Tkachuk and the playoff seeding in the East is really tough. I have to give it to Florida though, they aren't playing around.

 

[trick9]

Maybe, but they paid to get a gritty scorer and made a serious change after not achieving their playoff goal. Weegar is overrated and a liability and Huberdeau probably won't be staying in Calgary, however helps Calgary after losing their top player for now. The 1st in 2025 is probably going to be a late first and Calgary needs more prospects. I see it as an even trade for both teams for now. Teams have to pay for players like Tkachuk and the playoff seeding in the East is really tough. I have to give it to Florida though, they aren't playing around.

Huberdeau = Tkachuk
Weegar is still rated as good #2 or #3 around the league.
1st round pick and prospect on top of that is just brutal.

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

Wow Flames went from my cup pick to lottery contender. They had some talent

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

Huberdeau pretty much single handle destroyed us in the playoffs. Why would you trade him

 

[Langway]

"Generational"?

 

[PlushMinus]

The good news is Tkachuk didn't sign with a Metro team.

 

[max21]

Huberdeau pretty much single handle destroyed us in the playoffs. Why would you trade him

No he didn’t? You’re thinking of Verhaeghe

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Huberdeau pretty much single handle destroyed us in the playoffs. Why would you trade him

Huberdeau? Respectfully disagree. He was invisible. He had one goal which was a horrible softie and other than that he and Barkov did a lot of nothing, and then they did less than nothing in the Tampa series. Maybe you’re thinking of Verheaghe who had 12 points in 6 games and single-handedly won the series for Florida.

 

[twabby]

Kind of shocked Calgary got a good return, yet alone an excellent return for a guy who had no interest in staying there.

I wonder if Huberdeau had no interest in staying in Florida. Otherwise yikes. Usually I’d say it’s impossible to overpay for an excellent player like Tkachuk but I think Florida did it!

I also wonder how Ekblad is going to perform now that Weegar is gone. Weegar is a flawed player but a lot of the analytics folks seem to think he does a lot of heavy lifting when they are on the ice together. I personally don't see it that way, but we'll see!

 

[um]

Yikes that Tkachuk deal. Huge overpayment by the

Huberdeau = Tkachuk
Weegar is still rated as good #2 or #3 around the league.
1st round pick and prospect on top of that is just brutal.

Huberdeau is a UFA next offseason, as is Weegar.

 

[895]

Kind of shocked Calgary got a good return, yet alone an excellent return for a guy who had no interest in staying there.

I wonder if Huberdeau had no interest in staying in Florida. Otherwise yikes. Usually I’d say it’s impossible to overpay for an excellent player like Tkachuk but I think Florida did it!

I also wonder how Ekblad is going to perform now that Weegar is gone. Weegar is a flawed player but a lot of the analytics folks seem to think he does a lot of heavy lifting when they are on the ice together. I personally don't see it that way, but we'll see!

Are you using some sort of eye test to determine that? How uncivilized.

 

[Langway]

Has a single playoff team gotten better this off-season? Maybe just LA, right? Even that's fairly modest. Same with NSH, who should remain a mid-range team. Y2Y improvement for most will need to come from growth of younger players, which shouldn't be pronounced for prominently older teams.

OTT/NJD stand out most in having gotten quite a bit better, albeit with both still maybe another solid piece away from breaking through. Kadri remains on the market and teams like ANA/ARI still have ample space to take on contracts or spend. But by and large this is about as favorable a league-wide off-season as you can get for an aging team like the Caps that are mostly trying to hang on. Nothing seismic has taken place. The East has improved top to bottom but not threateningly so. BOS/PIT haven't broken away from being equally mid. The very top of the conference hasn't consolidated. The Caps should consider themselves fortunate there's so much parity/mediocrity league-wide. The threshold for competitiveness has never been lower and it allows a team like the Caps to remain viable with more subtlety. It doesn't take that much to break through IMO. Some luck and a Verhaeghe or two and pretty much anyone can take out anyone. It's more a matter of avoiding the regrettable crippling cap error. So many teams are burdened by them.

We'll see how the Caps forwards shake out. I'm also not sold on Gustafsson being the D depth answer. Overall I have some concerns about whether they'll manage to retain Johansen & Snively or squander them on the WW in order to keep low ceiling vets. But even if they do all that and mismanage McMichael along the way they're still fundamentally a bit more sound in net at least. And that's something in comparison to a lot of teams that either haven't done much of anything at all or have taken steps back.

 

[Ridley Simon]

Has a single playoff team gotten better this off-season? Maybe just LA, right? Even that's fairly modest. Same with NSH, who should remain a mid-range team. Y2Y improvement for most will need to come from growth of younger players, which shouldn't be pronounced for prominently older teams.

OTT/NJD stand out most in having gotten quite a bit better, albeit with both still maybe another solid piece away from breaking through. Kadri remains on the market and teams like ANA/ARI still have ample space to take on contracts or spend. But by and large this is about as favorable a league-wide off-season as you can get for an aging team like the Caps that are mostly trying to hang on. Nothing seismic has taken place. The East has improved top to bottom but not threateningly so. BOS/PIT haven't broken away from being equally mid. The very top of the conference hasn't consolidated. The Caps should consider themselves fortunate there's so much parity/mediocrity league-wide. The threshold for competitiveness has never been lower and it allows a team like the Caps to remain viable with more subtlety. It doesn't take that much to break through IMO. Some luck and a Verhaeghe or two and pretty much anyone can take out anyone. It's more a matter of avoiding the regrettable crippling cap error. So many teams are burdened by them.

We'll see how the Caps forwards shake out. I'm also not sold on Gustafsson being the D depth answer. Overall I have some concerns about whether they'll manage to retain Johansen & Snively or squander them on the WW in order to keep low ceiling vets. But even if they do all that and mismanage McMichael along the way they're still fundamentally a bit more sound in net at least. And that's something in comparison to a lot of teams that either haven't done much of anything at all or have taken steps back.

I could easily see a hockey trade from our newfound C depth — if CMcM has improved to lock down a spot. That C depth can be used to acquire a middle pair D.

 

[trick9]

Huberdeau is a UFA next offseason, as is Weegar.

So?

Tkachuk would have been too if he stayed in Calgary and signed a 1yr deal.

No reason they can't flip Huby for assets to a team he agrees to extend with.

Therefore a big win for Flames unless they just sit still and lose those assets for nothing.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

If they’re out of it by the TDL the Flames would have probably the two best pending UFAs on the trade market. They’d likely be able to get a 1st++ for both of those guys, especially if they retained. I think they’ll either extend or trade both of those guys… no way they lose one or both for nothing next summer after the Johnny Hockey departure and be left with a 1st + decent prospect for Gaudreu and Tkachuk.

 

[um]

So?

Tkachuk would have been too if he stayed in Calgary and signed a 1yr deal.

No reason they can't flip Huby for assets to a team he agrees to extend with.

Therefore a big win for Flames unless they just sit still and lose those assets for nothing.

If only Florida could have gotten a young star forward in return!

Oh well, I guess they’re stuck with Matthew Tkachuk now.

 

[twabby]

If they’re out of it by the TDL the Flames would have probably the two best pending UFAs on the trade market. They’d likely be able to get a 1st++ for both of those guys, especially if they retained. I think they’ll either extend or trade both of those guys… no way they lose one or both for nothing next summer after the Johnny Hockey departure and be left with a 1st + decent prospect for Gaudreu and Tkachuk.

Calgary should still be a top 3 team in the Pacific you'd think. Losing Gaudreau and Tkachuk hurts, but getting Huberdeau and Weegar back softens that blow even if it doesn't quite make them as good. They still have a solid defense and they have some good middle six forwards with guys like Toffoli, Coleman, Backlund, and Mangiapane. It's hard for me to see them out of the payoff picture especially given the division they're in. They should still be favorites.

But they will have interesting choices to make if neither Huberdeau nor Weegar want to extend. They will likely be able to get a ton for them, but are they really going to trade them at the TDL if they are competitive? Seems unlikely, especially if they shape up to be a true contender.

 

[trick9]

If only Florida could have gotten a young star forward in return!

Oh well, I guess they’re stuck with Matthew Tkachuk now.

If only they didn't give up a better player, quality D-man, 1st round pick and a prospect in return for that slightly worse star player!