One hundred percent agree with that. Panik makes Malone expendable in a lot of ways. His size and skill-set make him very attractive to the organization, and I look forward to seeing what he can do with full-time duty.

The one thing I do want to be careful of is suiting up too much youth. The Lightning need a veteran presence added if they are going to get rid of Malone, IMO.
- Michael_Stuart

yeah I agree completely.. I think one of the reasons we starting sinking fast is the number of call ups we had.. just look at conacher's production.. when he stopped playing top 6 he disappeared.. many of our prospects are slightly undersized. who is a possible vet FA or trade that yzerman could convince to bring in? he seems adept at bringing youth, but he will have to sell it after the last 2 years showings

wondering as well.. if we take MacKinnon or Drouin do they come straight to the big club and get top 6 minutes? MacKinnon would seriously give us an abundance of top 9 centers. does this put Johnson at risk of being part of a package for a Dman? so many things to consider...

yeah I agree completely.. I think one of the reasons we starting sinking fast is the number of call ups we had.. just look at conacher's production.. when he stopped playing top 6 he disappeared.. many of our prospects are slightly undersized. who is a possible vet FA or trade that yzerman could convince to bring in? he seems adept at bringing youth, but he will have to sell it after the last 2 years showings

wondering as well.. if we take MacKinnon or Drouin do they come straight to the big club and get top 6 minutes? MacKinnon would seriously give us an abundance of top 9 centers. does this put Johnson at risk of being part of a package for a Dman? so many things to consider...
- Boltdolt84

Nope, just look a Sustr. He had his choices of teams and he came here.

Nope, just look a Sustr. He had his choices of teams and he came here.
- Artyukhin76

he did but he's also never played in the NHL.. he knows playing with these guys will make him better, he has plenty of time to win a cup.. vets are more concerned with the short term and we haven't shown much lately (unfortunately)

Hey Artyukhin76, how about your boy TJ? he is lighting it up down in SYR.. think he gets a 3 year like Gudas soon?

edit: sorry to bombard you but no one else is up and I wanna talk hockey!!

Hey Artyukhin76, how about your boy TJ? he is lighting it up down in SYR.. think he gets a 3 year like Gudas soon?

edit: sorry to bombard you but no one else is up and I wanna talk hockey!!
- Boltdolt84

TJ is kicking ASS! Palat too. With Panik it's a nightmare for opposing goalies. My onl concern is Desjardins.

TJ is kicking ASS! Palat too. With Panik it's a nightmare for opposing goalies. My onl concern is Desjardins.
- Artyukhin76

agreed.. goaltending wins cups.. what happened to Helenius?? I saw that Nagle was BU??

agreed.. goaltending wins cups.. what happened to Helenius?? I saw that Nagle was BU??
- Boltdolt84

Mike said something about personal reasons (family). I think he's pouting over Lindback and Bishop.

Mike said something about personal reasons (family). I think he's pouting over Lindback and Bishop.
- Artyukhin76

makes sense, i remember hearing that they were probable 1a/1b for 13-14'.. he hasn't shown enough this year to even be an NHL backup

makes sense, i remember hearing that they were probable 1a/1b for 13-14'.. he hasn't shown enough this year to even be an NHL backup
- Boltdolt84

I was really hopeful that he would do something, but with the possibility of Janus coming back to NA he (helenius) is screwed.

yeah I agree completely.. I think one of the reasons we starting sinking fast is the number of call ups we had.. just look at conacher's production.. when he stopped playing top 6 he disappeared.. many of our prospects are slightly undersized. who is a possible vet FA or trade that yzerman could convince to bring in? he seems adept at bringing youth, but he will have to sell it after the last 2 years showings

wondering as well.. if we take MacKinnon or Drouin do they come straight to the big club and get top 6 minutes? MacKinnon would seriously give us an abundance of top 9 centers. does this put Johnson at risk of being part of a package for a Dman? so many things to consider...
- Boltdolt84

I think whichever rookie we get should come prepared to play huge minutes, and they will be thrown right into it...unless we get mackinnon...Johnson and mackinnon could be battling it out for 3rd line, our top 2 centers are perfect where they are and are big forces in the nhl...the way I see it our 1st,2nd,3rd, and 4th line will be dangerous, centerman are extremely solid...and add a couple big wingers in there like panik and killor and Purcell who have size and can lay the body, it will be a great year

add gudas and sustr and hedman and aulie back ond efense throwing their weight asround and its scary....that's if theyh start using their body...-_-

I think whichever rookie we get should come prepared to play huge minutes, and they will be thrown right into it...unless we get mackinnon...Johnson and mackinnon could be battling it out for 3rd line, our top 2 centers are perfect where they are and are big forces in the nhl...the way I see it our 1st,2nd,3rd, and 4th line will be dangerous, centerman are extremely solid...and add a couple big wingers in there like panik and killor and Purcell who have size and can lay the body, it will be a great year

add gudas and sustr and hedman and aulie back ond efense throwing their weight asround and its scary....that's if theyh start using their body...-_-
- RileyB77

It'll all come down to camp. I'm not penciling in anybody we draft this year until I see the guys at camp. I'd even be hesitant to pencil Sustr into the lineup; he might need more development time.

It'll all come down to camp. I'm not penciling in anybody we draft this year until I see the guys at camp. I'd even be hesitant to pencil Sustr into the lineup; he might need more development time.
- Michael_Stuart

Sustr wouldn't be my first choice either. Don't get me wrong, I like him, but Korobov has had more pro seasoning.

All in all, I full agree we have some depth in the system as for as scoring forwards and depth d-men is concerned. I just feel like some of the more mainstream publications (TBO and TampaBayTimes) are falling in love with our young guys too quickly before they've accomplished anything.

Positivity is definitely a great sign for a fanbase after missing the playoffs, but I feel with the way Sustr et al are being hyped, we may be heading into over-rating some of our own players and prospects.

EDIT:

Also, for buying out Vinny, you need to step away from the pure hockey standpoint of that move and look at the financial reality of it all, as well.

Paying out that lump sum to Vinny may not be in the cards right now. Vinik just closed his hedge-fund after a series of pretty substantial losses, and may be going to a more bearish route with his financial portfolio. While he's committed to Tampa (this I believe), the grim economic climate that affects a guy like JV is very pronounced when it comes to having an owner whose financial based is really linked to the trading and market-speculation economy.

With the way derivatives have been backfiring within the markets over the past 5 years, he may actually have more losses than we've seen yet (especially with his personal portfolio).

Sorry, didn't mean to turn this into MarketBuzz.

All in all, I full agree we have some depth in the system as for as scoring forwards and depth d-men is concerned. I just feel like some of the more mainstream publications (TBO and TampaBayTimes) are falling in love with our young guys too quickly before they've accomplished anything.

Positivity is definitely a great sign for a fanbase after missing the playoffs, but I feel with the way Sustr et al are being hyped, we may be heading into over-rating some of our own players and prospects.

EDIT:

Also, for buying out Vinny, you need to step away from the pure hockey standpoint of that move and look at the financial reality of it all, as well.

Paying out that lump sum to Vinny may not be in the cards right now. Vinik just closed his hedge-fund after a series of pretty substantial losses, and may be going to a more bearish route with his financial portfolio. While he's committed to Tampa (this I believe), the grim economic climate that affects a guy like JV is very pronounced when it comes to having an owner whose financial based is really linked to the trading and market-speculation economy.

With the way derivatives have been backfiring within the markets over the past 5 years, he may actually have more losses than we've seen yet (especially with his personal portfolio).

Sorry, didn't mean to turn this into MarketBuzz.
- OzBolts

Yeah at the end of the day whoever is good enough to make the team will make it through training camp, too bad they don't air training camp on tv

I understand why they don't air it on tv, im just saying its too bad

Sustr wouldn't be my first choice either. Don't get me wrong, I like him, but Korobov has had more pro seasoning.
- Artyukhin76

im just saying they are all 6'5 and over (except gudas but we all know that doesnt matter) and it would be scary for other teams if these guys started laying the body and dropping their shoulders into some forwards early in the year to get a damn statement made that were not here to (frank) round this year buuudaaaaay

All in all, I full agree we have some depth in the system as for as scoring forwards and depth d-men is concerned. I just feel like some of the more mainstream publications (TBO and TampaBayTimes) are falling in love with our young guys too quickly before they've accomplished anything.

Positivity is definitely a great sign for a fanbase after missing the playoffs, but I feel with the way Sustr et al are being hyped, we may be heading into over-rating some of our own players and prospects.

EDIT:

Also, for buying out Vinny, you need to step away from the pure hockey standpoint of that move and look at the financial reality of it all, as well.

Paying out that lump sum to Vinny may not be in the cards right now. Vinik just closed his hedge-fund after a series of pretty substantial losses, and may be going to a more bearish route with his financial portfolio. While he's committed to Tampa (this I believe), the grim economic climate that affects a guy like JV is very pronounced when it comes to having an owner whose financial based is really linked to the trading and market-speculation economy.

With the way derivatives have been backfiring within the markets over the past 5 years, he may actually have more losses than we've seen yet (especially with his personal portfolio).

Sorry, didn't mean to turn this into MarketBuzz.
- OzBolts

Couple things there Captian.
1. TBT and the Tampa Tribune have gone from reporting hockey to making poop up as they go along. Take those (frank)ers with a hole lotta salt.
2. Lecavalier has a .75 point per game going on and that poop don't grow on trees.
3. Last week Vinik returned his investors money and got out of the spectulations market.
4. In case you hadn't noticed, I'm the resident pitbull around these parts. Don't take any poop that I or anyone's else say personally. I'm nuts, but harmless

im just saying they are all 6'5 and over (except gudas but we all know that doesnt matter) and it would be scary for other teams if these guys started laying the body and dropping their shoulders into some forwards early in the year to get a damn statement made that were not here to (frank) round this year buuudaaaaay
- RileyB77

Korobov is 6'3" but 236 lbs!

Couple things there Captian.
1. TBT and the Tampa Tribune have gone from reporting hockey to making poop up as they go along. Take those (frank)ers with a hole lotta salt.
2. Lecavalier has a .75 point per game going on and that poop don't grow on trees.
3. Last week Vinik returned his investors money and got out of the spectulations market.
4. In case you hadn't noticed, I'm the resident pitbull around these parts. Don't take any poop that I or anyone's else say personally. I'm nuts, but harmless
- Artyukhin76

1) Agreed- entirely. Hasn't it gotten sickening?

2) Agreed. That's why you keep the fella', also considering the financial aspect from JV's personal standpoint.

3) He didn't return it all. There were certain margin calls associated with many of the losses that directly come out of both the investor's gains (most of the ex.rt. swaps didn't bare fruit, and considering the leverage against the Yen, and "abenomics" it's not really his fault... just another nation going overboard with QE planning and destroying personal investment portfolios).

What he returned was what ratio of earnings/investment that was put into the fund. Luckily, he shorted a lot of the more speculative sides of his clients' portfolio. I hope, for his and his investors sake, he didn't drifted into exotic OTC derivs.

So...no. He didn't from an overall standpoint, at all.
EDIT- http://online.wsj.com/art...tml#articleTabs%3Darticle

4) Never do. I appreciate a spirited discussion. Less boring that way.

Hey Mike?

Michael?

MICHAEL?

MICHAEL STUART, WHERE ARE YOU?

MICHAEL STUART, WHERE ARE YOU?
- Artyukhin76

here

here
- RileyB77

You're not him!!!!!! MICHAEL!!!!

MICHAEL STUART, WHERE ARE YOU?
- Artyukhin76

What can I do for you?