I think he would be.....it's debatable at the very least.
- The-O-G

Its not debatable at all. Justin Schultz is by far a better d man and he might not be our best yet. Any scout in the league would take Schultz over Wideman.

Lets put it this way. When the Olympic tryouts come you will Justin at them. You won't see Wideman.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=alabama%20hot-pocket
- Reveen

http://www.urbandictionar...define.php?term=excalibur

3,4,6

We already have Nick Schultz. Ference is worse.
- Jack-artist

totally disagree.

in no way are u even remotely close to correct.

ference is a better skater, a proven winner, stronger, more apt at the physical side of the game etc and all for a million less

Don't bother. I got into this argument the other day. I wouldn't do Ference either. He's top 4 in Boston right now due to injuries but normally is a 5-6 guy.
- Iggysbff

so what? no ones saying he's the final answer. but we need depth. 3rd pairing or not, he's better than two of our top 6. and his price tag isn't gonna be an anchor.

still think we need the top pairing guy first and foremost, but he's gonna be much tougher to acquire. no? whether we get that piece or not, ference would be a solid addition

EDM'll be screwed if Rask is signed for 6.7M. 2 first round picks, a 2nd, and a 3rd. Not to mention the 5 players that'll be getting paid 6M each.

Hall-6M
Ebs-6M
RNH-6M
Yak-6M
Schultz-6M
Rask 6.7M

36.7M tied up in 6 players? Around 20M for like 16 other players? Ridiculous
- TheNugeIsHuge

6.7 is the cutoff for just a 1, 2, 3 pick. That is not what we pay the other players but yeah they will get that high sometime down the road. The salary cap is going to rise. It is not stuck at 64 mil. When we come to the point where the rest of those players get those raises (next year for schultz and RNH and 2 for Nail) the cap will be up.

Why do you think other teams are signing such high contracts for players? They know the small cap is temporary. Plus half our budget for the top goalie in the league and 5 all stars is doable. Lots of teams do that. Look at Vancouver and what they pay just on their dmen, goalies and 3 forwards. Almost their entire budget and they usually do pretty good until the playoffs. Or LA is another example. Kopitar, Richards, Carter, Doughty and Quick. Plus they give decent salaries to others and they are not having cap issues.

I would trade my first second and third pick next year for rask if I was a GM.

In that scenario I'd like to grab Shea Theodore. Maybe take Chicago's pick or something. Or whoever's available at that time.
- mbxiphos1527

Samuel Morin...

6.7 is the cutoff for just a 1, 2, 3 pick. That is not what we pay the other players but yeah they will get that high sometime down the road. The salary cap is going to rise. It is not stuck at 64 mil. When we come to the point where the rest of those players get those raises (next year for schultz and RNH and 2 for Nail) the cap will be up.

Why do you think other teams are signing such high contracts for players? They know the small cap is temporary. Plus half our budget for the top goalie in the league and 5 all stars is doable. Lots of teams do that. Look at Vancouver and what they pay just on their dmen, goalies and 3 forwards. Almost their entire budget and they usually do pretty good until the playoffs. Or LA is another example. Kopitar, Richards, Carter, Doughty and Quick. Plus they give decent salaries to others and they are not having cap issues.

I would trade my first second and third pick next year for rask if I was a GM.
- bsteinley

boston isn't gonna let rask walk, he's the front runner for the conn smythe at this point.

and goaltending isn't our biggest issue. mact aint gonna throw that kinda money at our 5th biggest need. great goalie or not, he'll spend that money wisely elsewhere

boston isn't gonna let rask walk, he's the front runner for the conn smythe at this point.

and goaltending isn't our biggest issue. mact aint gonna throw that kinda money at our 5th biggest need. great goalie or not, he'll spend that money wisely elsewhere
- hugefemale dog77

Agreed. Doubt we give up assets for a goalie at all. Sign one of the many Ufa's.

Samuel Morin...
- Iggysbff

Yeah exactly haha. If we're looking for size then that's our guy for sure. 6'7 and 215 lbs. He just turned 18 too if I'm not mistaken. I question his offensive abilities though. I edge towards Theodore due to the fact that he's got size to him but he can also play an offensive game. Really well too.

Agreed. Doubt we give up assets for a goalie at all. Sign one of the many Ufa's.
- Iggysbff

btein just keeps banging that drum over and over. lets throw massive amounts of money and assets at our 5th or 6th most pressing issue. this is terrible asset management.

"alright guys, now we have two guys battling for the number 1 even though our initial goalie already put up starter numbers!! we've now got ten million in goalies this year!
And because i spent a ton of money and our best assets to acquire the second goalie, I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on how we improve our bottom tier defence, add a forward to the top 6 and two or three more forwards to the bottom 6"?

goaltending was not the issue last year. give dubs a better defence in from of him, grittier forwards downlow that are able to battle and move the puck out of our zone etc and his numbers are even better than the pretty good ones they already were.

so many cheap options out there for solid backups or even guys of dubs' ilk that can push him abit. guaranteed that's the direction mact goes in

Its not debatable at all. Justin Schultz is by far a better d man and he might not be our best yet. Any scout in the league would take Schultz over Wideman.

Lets put it this way. When the Olympic tryouts come you will Justin at them. You won't see Wideman.
- bsteinley

Obviously, simply because of his age. But if you ask scouts last year who was the better overall defensemen I think you might be surprised.

Everyone rips the Wideman signing, i'm still fine with it.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=excalibur

3,4,6
- TheNugeIsHuge

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=excalibur

3,4,6
- TheNugeIsHuge

http://www.urbandictionar...m/define.php?term=munging

#1

Obviously, simply because of his age. But if you ask scouts last year who was the better overall defensemen I think you might be surprised.

Everyone rips the Wideman signing, i'm still fine with it.
- The-O-G

I think Wideman>Schultz. Not for long though, although if Schultz doesn't work on his defense he isn't going to be much more better than Bergeron was for us.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=munging

#1
- Reveen

Jesus, that brings back memories

We already have Nick Schultz. Ference is worse.
- Jack-artist

Ideally I'd like to sign Ference and use N.Shultz in a package for a big forward or top2 guy

I think Wideman>Schultz. Not for long though, although if Schultz doesn't work on his defense he isn't going to be much more better than Bergeron was for us.
- Lahey

That's all im saying....Schultz definitely has a higher upside, can't argue that. But Cloutier ripping the Wideman signing is funny to me, considering the Oilers d-core.

Jesus, that brings back memories
- laughs2907

I am changed forever....

Sure but how much more room do we have for 5/6 guys?
- Jack-artist

I am so sick of hearing people say Ference is a 5/6. He plays top 4 on Boston. You know the team that probably gonna win the cup again this year. I'm pretty sure he could play top 4 on our crappy squad.

I am so sick of hearing people say Ference is a 5/6. He plays top 4 on Boston. You know the team that probably gonna win the cup again this year. I'm pretty sure he could play top 4 on our crappy squad.
- Ihatebrianburke

LOL for sure he could....plus he has some balls.

That's all im saying....Schultz definitely has a higher upside, can't argue that. But Cloutier ripping the Wideman signing is funny to me, considering the Oilers d-core.
- The-O-G

I think it was a bad signing. The NMC really puts it over the edge.

I am so sick of hearing people say Ference is a 5/6. He plays top 4 on Boston. You know the team that probably gonna win the cup again this year. I'm pretty sure he could play top 4 on our crappy squad.
- Ihatebrianburke

The thing is it's Chara and then a bunch of lower guys. Take Chara out of that team and put Edler there and that d looks like poop.

You know one thing that bothers me is Yakupov claiming he isn't Russian, but Muslim.

Yet this is his twitter name Наиль Якупов and he tweets in Russian all the time.

I think it was a bad signing. The NMC really puts it over the edge.
- Lahey

Ya I agree with the NMC part....but he's a solid, top-pairing guy back there. Especially now with J-Bo gone they need him more than ever. Was the $$$ a little high? Sure...maybe by 500-750k...no big deal IMO

You know one thing that bothers me is Yakupov claiming he isn't Russian, but Muslim.

Yet this is his twitter name Наиль Якупов and he tweets in Russian all the time.
- Lahey

I claim not to be an assh0le, but I talk out my ass all the time.