Imagine if we had the prime Hedman - Stralman pair PLUS McDonagh - CernakAnton Stralman comes to mind. When he was here for a while there he was a legit top pairing defenseman. I don't disagree with anything else you wrote, just that. Felt like I had to point it out.
Anton Stralman comes to mind. When he was here for a while there he was a legit top pairing defenseman. I don't disagree with anything else you wrote, just that. Felt like I had to point it out.
Better than having ABB on the 4th line as you proposed and basically burying the younger players with little to no playing time. The only way this team is contending again is if players like Raddysh, Katchouk, and ABB(as well as Joseph) get increased minutes to see who can excel and be a factor. ABB is a waste on the 3rd or 4th line, although one of Katchouk or Raddysh could likely complement a new shutdown line if Cooper tries to "spread the wealth". Team made it's choice, and with the laughable numbers that Goodrow and Coleman were asking for, not a chance they were being re-signed here. Losing Gourde sucks, but one of him, Palat, or Killorn was gone. Perry and Bellemare are fine adds for the bottom 6 to balance out what will be a mix of veteran/youth in the lineup. I mean I know they didn't give Cirelli away to move Johnson for a meh return as you were advocating for, but pretty sure JBB and the team did quite fine regardless.
Yes but Cirelli Sergi and Cernak can not all be re signed after the bridge. As far as ABB he has no roster spot in my mind based on his ability. For that matter neither does Joseph above 3rd line where both would be horrid. Im neither warm or cold about Bellemare. But Perry is a disgusting POS he is a dirty player but it is what it is. The team is no longer the front runner for the cup and its started with the Cirelli signing. We will see by Christmas the real impact of these rookies and Joseph. Right now a couple injuries and this is a mid pack team. I know you cant be the front runner for a long period and two Cups in a row is outstanding.
Your bias against Cirelli continues to provide good laughs, I'll give you that. I'm sure the team would have been much better off losing Cirelli, Johnson and Palat(team protects Gourde in this example and Seattle likely takes Palat, but Killorn works as well) and instead keeps Gourde, maybe Coleman and gets a late 1st or 2nd round pick+trash in a weak draft for Cirelli+Johnson, yeah, much better looking...). Yes, you would of course know ABB has "no roster spot" after a whopping 15 game sample size, yep, better just call it a career now. You also say he'd be "horrid" on the 3rd line or below, then have him on your 4th line in your mock lineup...The team may no longer be the clear favorite for the Cup(not that they were considered that by many outside of Tampa going into last year's playoffs either, as most had the Avalanche as the favorite), but they are still easily in the top tier of front runners. Very few, if any of the other contenders drastically improved, so Tampa, Colorado, Islanders, probably Vegas(due to a weak division) and Boston all remain near the top. Florida is also a legit threat. The Flyers are lucky if they are in the 2nd tier. There will likely be some struggles at times this year as the team works out new lines, but as has been shown, winning the division or even taking 2nd isn't required to win a Cup.
There's also nothing that indicates the team can't keep all 3 of Serg, Cirelli and Cernak after their bridges are up. The next 2 years will greatly determine that. Even with the cap only likely going up a couple million by then, still 2 additional million to work with. At least one of Palat or Killorn will be gone as well, which both helps pay for the Point raise and provides additional space for other contracts. Again, much will depend on what they are looking for on long term deals, but there is certainly the chance to keep all 3.
