League News: NHL Talk - (News n' Scores n' Stuff) - COVID Season Edition - Vol. 1

[Thrasymachus]

I think it's really good value for the Devils but it's still an upgrade. Not massive. Probably not as good as Pageau but they're still improved.

Isles lurker fan checking in

I dont necessarily think this moves the needle for us, but I like that it insulates us from further injuries somewhat

 

[IafrateOvie34]

I wonder if the fact he got traded to a destination still vaguely within commute distance eased Zajac's mind about being traded. He doesn't have to uproot his entire life.

Good point and two for one. He gets a chance to win a cup and not worry of the stress of moving like you said.

 

[IafrateOvie34]

Isles lurker fan checking in

I dont necessarily think this moves the needle for us, but I like that it insulates us from further injuries somewhat

You picked up some veteran leadership and playoff experience although not cup winners, they have considerable playoff experience. Any player leaving a non contending team gets invigorated. Unfortunately, as a Caps fan I hope not. You understand that though and I expect the trades will kick off now especially within the division. I don't count the Rangers out yet either.

 

[Thrasymachus]

You picked up some veteran leadership and playoff experience although not cup winners, they have considerable playoff experience. Any player leaving a non contending team gets invigorated. Unfortunately, as a Caps fan I hope not. You understand that though and I expect the trades will kick off now especially within the division. I don't count the Rangers out yet either.

Honestly the rangers roster in 2 years or so absolutely terrifies me. They are loaded with young talent

 

[IafrateOvie34]

Honestly the rangers roster in 2 years or so absolutely terrifies me. They are loaded with young talent

Yep and I"m envious they have Fox.

 

[Thrasymachus]

Yep and I"m envious they have Fox.

and Breadman...

sigh, they always get nice things for free

 

[Hivemind]

Honestly the rangers roster in 2 years or so absolutely terrifies me. They are loaded with young talent

They should be terrifying NOW, but their young forwards fit much more in the "promising" category than the "good" category. If they take the next step they will be scary, but I don't think there's a definite timeline for if and when that happens. There's still plenty of time for Laf, Kakko, and Chytil to find their groove (none are busts yet by any stretch of the mind), but there's also no guarantee that all three will transfer from "rising star" to "star." Heck, even you all have experienced with Barzal that it's not always a linear development.

 

[Kuznetsnow]

They should be terrifying NOW, but their young forwards fit much more in the "promising" category than the "good" category. If they take the next step they will be scary, but I don't think there's a definite timeline for if and when that happens. There's still plenty of time for Laf, Kakko, and Chytil to find their groove (none are busts yet by any stretch of the mind), but there's also no guarantee that all three will transfer from "rising star" to "star." Heck, even you all have experienced with Barzal that it's not always a linear development.

They also have like 22 million in dead buyout + DeAngelol cap space plus 12 million in Brendan Smith and Jacob Trouba

We're really lucky their management and coaching is so shit when every star player and A+ prospect is willing to crawl across broken glass to sign at a discount with them and other teams kindly let the Rags have their way with them in trades. With someone competent behind the helm they'd make Tampa look like a middling team in comparison.

 

[ALLCAPSALLTHETIME]

Ilya Lyubushkin scores his first NHL goal for the Coyotes. In his 118th career game.

That’s gotta feel good!

 

[IafrateOvie34]

They should be terrifying NOW, but their young forwards fit much more in the "promising" category than the "good" category. If they take the next step they will be scary, but I don't think there's a definite timeline for if and when that happens. There's still plenty of time for Laf, Kakko, and Chytil to find their groove (none are busts yet by any stretch of the mind), but there's also no guarantee that all three will transfer from "rising star" to "star." Heck, even you all have experienced with Barzal that it's not always a linear development.

Very underrated player imho. I think he's a keeper.

 

[BiPolar Caps]

Let the Isles win the Division. The way the Rangers are playing now, I see them making the playoffs and that would mean an all New York first round match with Caps facing the Pens. Caps eliminate the Pens then to me that's a successful season and whatever happens after that, .

Islanders may have their hands full with the Rangers.

 

[trick9]

I'm not a big fan of Palmieri but Zajac is a really nice addition. Even at his age he is still a great defensive forward and one likely to thrive under Barry Trotz. I feel like it's a solid deal for both. Devils got a 1st for Palmieri who has been pretty bad this season and Zajac who has been really good this season. Market for those two was likely a very limited one because they both come with big cap hits and most contending teams couldn't fit them under the cap. But the Islanders do lose their 1st which i don't mind because they have been drafting pretty well recently.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Palmieri isn’t much more than a name at this point. He’s been bad this year outside of a few solid games vs Boston. Maybe playing on a better team on the third line will help him find his game though. Zajac is a solid depth add. Generally like this for New York but I don’t think it materially changes anything. I also wonder if it doesn’t hurt their overall team speed to an extent. Zajac and Palmieri are not exactly burners at this point in their careers.

 

[EroCaps]

I'm not a big fan of Palmieri but Zajac is a really nice addition. Even at his age he is still a great defensive forward and one likely to thrive under Barry Trotz. I feel like it's a solid deal for both. Devils got a 1st for Palmieri who has been pretty bad this season and Zajac who has been really good this season. Market for those two was likely a very limited one because they both come with big cap hits and most contending teams couldn't fit them under the cap. But the Islanders do lose their 1st which i don't mind because they have been drafting pretty well recently.

My feelings exact.

Zajac is a Trotz player.

The Caps better improve significantly or I put them at "f*** all" chance to win another Cup with this current roster.

 

[ThreeLeftSkates]

He's been crappy this year but look at his goal totals with the Devils. If he regains his scoring touch he is definitely a good addition for them, 5v5 and on the PP:

View attachment 418910

Wahlstrom has been playing well on the 2nd line, so if he stays there and Palmieri plays on the 3rd, Zajac centering which allows Pageau to move to LW. They've now got a legitimate 3rd scoring line. And added a lot of experience (1600 regular season games).

You could do a lot worse in a trade, that's for sure.

Wahlstrom is on the third line.

 

[Thrasymachus]

Wahlstrom is on the third line.

to be fair it does sometimes feel like the Wally Pageau line IS our second line xD

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

to be fair it does sometimes feel like the Wally Pageau line IS our second line xD

Is Komarov on the top line? The hell is he doing playing so much with Barzal?

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Caps legend Taylor Chorney hanging them up.

 

[Thrasymachus]

Is Komarov on the top line? The hell is he doing playing so much with Barzal?

so the context is that basically Barzal is a bit of a hothead and has an errant stick... he took a few bad penalties a few games ago, just before the line change..

so my theory is Komarov was put on his line as a sort of lesson... Leo has hands of stone but he is a solid 2-way player.

Did the experiment succeed? Well, Komarov has flubbed plenty of golden opportunities, but Barzal did recently explode for his first hatty and 5 point game in a while... so hard to say really

it seems that now with Palm and Zajac the days of Leo in the lineup, let alone riding shotgun to Barzal, are over

 

[Corby78]

That could be a really nice third line, and we all know how important that can be during a run. May not work, but props to them for doing what they needed to and took a chance.

 

[Calicaps]

Isles are all-in. Hope it fails.

 

[895]

Florida gives up two prospects to ship Connolly to Chicago. He has 2x3.5m left after this season.

In case you were wondering how much it costs to send away an albatross.

 

[Misery74]

Florida gives up two prospects to ship Connolly to Chicago. He has 2x3.5m left after this season.

In case you were wondering how much it costs to send away an albatross.

This is a good comparable. Better player, worse contract.

I would add any prospect, minus CMM, HL. AA, AP, or Fever. That doesn’t leave much, but would add a pick as well.

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

This is a good comparable. Better player, worse contract.

I would add any prospect, minus CMM, HL. AA, AP, or Fever. That doesn’t leave much, but would add a pick as well.

To dump Panik? Thats a hard pass for me, Panik can play on Taxi or AHL with no salary cap hit and collect his 2.5 mill from Ted

 

[Misery74]

To dump Panik? Thats a hard pass for me, Panik can play on Taxi or AHL with no salary cap hit and collect his 2.5 mill from Ted

I don’t think this is accurate. We only save a million by sending him to the taxi squad. Unless we buy him out in the Summer, his whole salary will count.

I could be mistaken though.