Here are some answers to your questions
I would probably have to lean closer to greatest offensive defenseman considering he is one of few players to successfully escape Edmonton and win something.
I'm kinda partial to their friend in the middle
I would have traded Fehr somewhere for whatever draft pick that team was willing to give. I would have taken his 2M and given it to Jiri Hudler. As of last night that isn't a possibility because Dallas signed him to a one year 2M deal. For now I would just stick to what they have. They are basically returning the entire Stanley Cup winning roster. You always look to improve IE: Hudler at that price but if there isn't anything else out there like that the Penguins don't have to force anything. They are still in a good spot.
There must be something in that Boston water. They are both terrible. The difference is that Chiarelli didn't trade away his meal ticket at the goaltending position (Thomas) and rode it to a Stanley Cup while Milbury got rid of Luongo to waste the first overall pick on Rick Dipietro . Additionally at least Chiarelli thought that Chara was good and looked to acquire him instead of ship him out for scraps.
It isn't for lack of trying. The fact is that only 44 players were able to register 60 points last year compared to 79 who did it in 2005-06. Not many players are able to generate consistent offense anymore. When defining what top six scoring is we all have to readjust our calibrations. There are 30 teams in the league with a "top six" which consists of 180 players. Only 44 hit 60 points. Yikes.
There will be three players who will need extensions and they are Brian Dumoulin, Matt Murray, and Nick Bonino. The team should be able to get something done with all of them. I would add Marc-Andre Fleury's 5.75M to that stack of cash that will be freed up as well. It is still likely that he is traded at some point before the start of next season. Pittsburgh is in pretty good shape as far as the cap is concerned.
Pretty close to the same lineup it was in Game 6 versus San Jose
Sheary-Crosby-Hornqvist
Kunitz-Malkin-Rust
Hagelin-Bonino-Kessel
Wilson-Cullen-Fehr
Kuhnhackl
Kuhnhackl did an OK job as a bit player in the Cup run but I would be surprised if he was a better NHL player than Scott Wilson. Wilson just needs to stay healthy to get an extended look. I think he has the chance to steal Sheary's spot up on the top line at some point. Bryan Rust playing up on the Malkin line is a lot to ask of him for a full 82 game season in my opinion which is why I wanted Hudler at 2M.
I suppose they could be a trade destination for Fleury, but is Carolina going to do business with Jim Rutherford? Carolina's owner, Peter Karmanos, has taken pot shots at Rutherford since he left which included the following
“Ron is far more inclusive, so he’s asking a lot of questions and I give him my opinion. … He’s far more astute on the financial end of the game. Jim liked to talk about the fact that we’re a ‘budget team.’ I’m not sure what that ever meant. Every team has a budget. That means we had a budget until Jim needed a player, then I’d say, ‘OK,’ and we had a different budget. Ronnie is a no-nonsense guy when it comes to those kinds of contracts. He’s not worried that he might get criticized if his team doesn’t do as well as people think it should. So he doesn’t panic when it comes to signing players or worrying about that type of thing.”
As for the Avalanche whoever they hire to replace Roy couldn't possibly be any worse. Under Roy the Avalanche were a systematic mess. The problem for Colorado is that they are in the wrong division so any improvements may not be enough. Nashville, St. Louis, Dallas, and Chicago are all definitely better and they'll have to fight it out with Minnesota for that middle ground. They'll need some luck to tread water even with a good coach.
Excited is probably too strong of a word as I would reserve that for prospects like McDavid, Eichel, and Matthews, but I am interested in a couple of players. The first is Daniel Sprong, but everything so far has been less than ideal with his development from the idiotic CHL transfer rule to his major shoulder injury. He is their best forward prospect and it is likely he makes a difference at the NHL level.
Another player to track in WBS this year is Jake Guentzel who had 14 points in ten playoff games for the Baby Penguins last year. If he is a point per game player in the AHL next season at the age of 22 it would be a great sign pointing towards an NHL career.
I am going under because I think Scott Wilson is going to snake away some of Sheary's top six ice time.
The Tragically Hip was basically the soundtrack to my college hockey days. Western New York and Southern Ontario share a lot of similarities: weather, hockey, and the love of The Tragically Hip is definitely one of them too. I was/am incredibly bummed out by the news of Gord Downie's brain cancer. Favourite song? New Orleans is Sinking? Nautical Disaster? I honestly don't know. It is one of those bands where you keep going "oh yeah that one too".
The best (and worst) from Saturday's Kingston show was when Gord broke down during Grace, Too. The Tragically Hip are Canada's Rolling Stones and he is their Mick Jagger. Gord is a legend and always will be.
Thanks for reading!
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