Unfortunately it sounds more like we are staying pat at #8 and maybe even trading back from #16. I think that would be utterly depressing.
- Pierceme69

I could see that happening,
And that's actually fine

Doesn't take into account that we will def get a 1st this year + for Vanek... And if not a 1st this year for Miller, then next year...
And likely a few more prospects & picks too

Hahaha... Very extreme!
But I can't have the same discussion anymore for who we take at 8 & 16...
U know what's crazy though,
Any of those moves are completely possible
No way we'd do ALL of them,
But I'll kind of be upset if we don't end up w four 1sts in this draft... At least! Haha

My (semi-realistic) dream draft would have us somehow walk away with Barkov, Lindholm, Ristolainen & trade for Bernier
If that happens (or something close),
Darcy should be thrown a freaking parade!
- jdfitz77

Me too i think we will have 4 first rounders. I dont want bernier, id rather draft Fucale, and hope one of him Hackett Enroth Makarov become an elite goalie. Bernier's price is just too high with the goalie depth we have.

My hope is we get nich, zadorov, fucale, morin.
For those who dont know morin, hes 6'7 and is a prospect similar to Myers.

Me too i think we will have 4 first rounders. I dont want bernier, id rather draft Fucale, and hope one of him Hackett Enroth Makarov become an elite goalie. Bernier's price is just too high with the goalie depth we have.

My hope is we get nich, zadorov, fucale, morin.
For those who dont know morin, hes 6'7 and is a prospect similar to Myers.
- Djtyczy

If we get Nichushkin I will call the draft a success no matter who else we get. After MacKinnon he is the player I covet the most in the entire draft.

Me too i think we will have 4 first rounders. I dont want bernier, id rather draft Fucale, and hope one of him Hackett Enroth Makarov become an elite goalie. Bernier's price is just too high with the goalie depth we have.

My hope is we get nich, zadorov, fucale, morin.
For those who dont know morin, hes 6'7 and is a prospect similar to Myers.
- Djtyczy

Fucale will take years to develop though
Even Lundqvist & Miller took 5+ years after they were drafted
Bernier is ready now
And I think he could be had with a 1st
Maybe we also have to throw in Makarov or Ullmark too, but that's really no big deal

I don't hate Zadorov or Morin, but they are towards the end of my list of 1st round defensemen I like
I'm actually pretty high on Santini
He could last till the late 1st and be a steal

A forward I like a lot late would be Rychel

If we get Nichushkin I will call the draft a success no matter who else we get. After MacKinnon he is the player I covet the most in the entire draft.
- Pierceme69

Get any of the "big 5" and im happy. I think we need to get 5th pick. Jim rutherford gave 8th away + Sutter + another prospect. He doesnt value draft picks like he values players. I think ehrhoff and a second gets 5th. Jones and MacKinnon are going 1 and 2. Barkov will go 4th. Drouin will probably go 3, but rumor is Yzerman fell in love with Nich at the combine. We get either nich or drouin at 5.

If we get Nichushkin I will call the draft a success no matter who else we get. After MacKinnon he is the player I covet the most in the entire draft.
- Pierceme69

I like Barkov above all others...
And it's not even close

He's putting up the same #s as a 17yr old as Granlund did last year at age 20... That's pretty amazing by itself...
But there's more...
Best defensive forward in the draft (64% faceoffs in world JRs), and I've seen him compared to Datsyuk in like four different scouting reports
And offensively, seen him called "a long-lost Sedin brother"

And again, he's only 17!!!
6'3, and already 210lbs too

This kid will be an absolute beast

Fucale will take years to develop though
Even Lundqvist & Miller took 5+ years after they were drafted
Bernier is ready now
And I think he could be had with a 1st
Maybe we also have to throw in Makarov or Ullmark too, but that's really no big deal

I don't hate Zadorov or Morin, but they are towards the end of my list of 1st round defensemen I like
I'm actually pretty high on Santini
He could last till the late 1st and be a steal

A forward I like a lot late would be Rychel
- jdfitz77

Rumor with Bernier is the price is "very steep". 1st round + top prospect +. I think hes traded for best offer on the draft day. I dont think we are desperate enough to outbid the philis or NJ, calgary, oilers, ecetera.

I like Barkov above all others...
And it's not even close

He's putting up the same #s as a 17yr old as Granlund did last year at age 20... That's pretty amazing by itself...
But there's more...
Best defensive forward in the draft (64% faceoffs in world JRs), and I've seen him compared to Datsyuk in like four different scouting reports
And offensively, seen him called "a long-lost Sedin brother"

And again, he's only 17!!!
6'3, and already 210lbs too

This kid will be an absolute beast
- jdfitz77

Yep but hes gone by 4, and picks 1-4 arent available.

Get any of the "big 5" and im happy. I think we need to get 5th pick. Jim rutherford gave 8th away + Sutter + another prospect. He doesnt value draft picks like he values players. I think ehrhoff and a second gets 5th. Jones and MacKinnon are going 1 and 2. Barkov will go 4th. Drouin will probably go 3, but rumor is Yzerman fell in love with Nich at the combine. We get either nich or drouin at 5.
- Djtyczy

I could def are Yzerman taking Nichuskin at 3
While a lot of ppl might be scared off by Russians,
Yzerman prob isn't bc he won a few cups playing with a bunch of them

I like Barkov above all others...
And it's not even close

He's putting up the same #s as a 17yr old as Granlund did last year at age 20... That's pretty amazing by itself...
But there's more...
Best defensive forward in the draft (64% faceoffs in world JRs), and I've seen him compared to Datsyuk in like four different scouting reports
And offensively, seen him called "a long-lost Sedin brother"

And again, he's only 17!!!
6'3, and already 210lbs too

This kid will be an absolute beast
- jdfitz77

Nichuskin is a big winger that is just fast and slick though. He crashes the net like nobodies business. I would love him on a wing with Grigs.

Rumor with Bernier is the price is "very steep". 1st round + top prospect +. I think hes traded for best offer on the draft day. I dont think we are desperate enough to outbid the philis or NJ, calgary, oilers, ecetera.
- Djtyczy

Idk...
I heard they actually had to call 10 teams to try n drum up interest
The "asking" price might be very steep
But u gotta remember,
He is fairly unproven
And there's guys out there like Miller, Backstrom & Smith who are know to be solid

Besides all the stuff we do on draft day,
What happens to Bernier is of interest to me as well

Nichuskin is a big winger that is just fast and slick though. He crashes the net like nobodies business. I would love him on a wing with Grigs.
- Pierceme69

They played together at the wjc. Grigs already said he wants to play with him. They would be deadly.

They played together at the wjc. Grigs already said he wants to play with him. They would be deadly.
- Djtyczy

He's 6'4" 202 lbs at 18 but he would probably be top-3 on the team in speed.

Nichuskin is a big winger that is just fast and slick though. He crashes the net like nobodies business. I would love him on a wing with Grigs.
- Pierceme69

He comes with a lot of question marks too though

With Barkov, he's being touted as a great defensive forward like Datsyuk with offense like a Sedin...
And he's got the "power-forward" thing going on too... "loves to crash the net"

Can u really top that?
I don't know if there's ever been a player THAT good all-around?
This of course is his ceiling, but damn...
Even if he only gets halfway up the wall he's a top10 player in the league

He's 6'4" 202 lbs at 18 but he would probably be top-3 on the team in speed.
- Pierceme69

If Yzerman doesn't take him,
It's possible he drops to us at 8

Carolina could go w Nurse or Monahan
Calgary & Edmonton could take either of the above, or Lindholm... And I've even see Horvat, Lazar, Ristolainen & Zadorov go in the top7 in some mocks

If we get Nichuskin,
I fully expect u to post a pic wearing his Jersey sometime soon...
You are def his biggest supporter on here

He comes with a lot of question marks too though

With Barkov, he's being touted as a great defensive forward like Datsyuk with offense like a Sedin...
And he's got the "power-forward" thing going on too... "loves to crash the net"

Can u really top that?
I don't know if there's ever been a player THAT good all-around?
This of course is his ceiling, but damn...
Even if he only gets halfway up the wall he's a top10 player in the league
- jdfitz77

Nickushkin will be a better offensive player than Barkov. I also like the fact that Nichushkin can help now. He would be in our top-6 from day 1 and I think his arrival would help Grigs take over our 2nd line center duties.

They played together at the wjc. Grigs already said he wants to play with him. They would be deadly.
- Djtyczy

Throw Girgensons at LW and that could be one hell of a "Russian" line

(I know Girgs is technically Latvian, but that still counts since it was part of the USSR... Hahaha)

Nickushkin will be a better offensive player than Barkov. I also like the fact that Nichushkin can help now. He would be in our top-6 from day 1 and I think his arrival would help Grigs take over our 2nd line center duties.
- Pierceme69

Having him here day1 is a good point,
But we'd only wait a year for Barkov

I think Barkov has just as high a ceiling points-wise as Nichuskin
But Nichuskin does have much better speed, and should score more goals

Don't get me wrong,
Ppl say Nichuskin could be Malkin & I agree
I'd be happy with him
There are question marks with him though about his effort...
and the KHL will always be there looming in the background... It wouldn't surprise me if he got in a contract dispute & went n played in Russia for dbl the $$$ he is offered on his 2nd contract here

Having him here day1 is a good point,
But we'd only wait a year for Barkov

I think Barkov has just as high a ceiling points-wise as Nichuskin
But Nichuskin does have much better speed, and should score more goals

Don't get me wrong,
Ppl say Nichuskin could be Malkin & I agree
I'd be happy with him
There are question marks with him though about his effort...
and the KHL will always be there looming in the background... It wouldn't surprise me if he got in a contract dispute & went n played in Russia for dbl the $$$ he is offered on his 2nd contract here
- jdfitz77

Don't get me wrong, I'd love Barkov. I think Nashville is 100% set on him at #4 though. I don't think they have any intention of trading out of that spot. Carolina is our one hope of getting into the top-5. A lot of people have said it would take Ehrhoff to make that happen. I wouldn't hate that only because he will already be 31 when the season starts and we know when a player starts to decline it happens quickly.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love Barkov. I think Nashville is 100% set on him at #4 though. I don't think they have any intention of trading out of that spot. Carolina is our one hope of getting into the top-5. A lot of people have said it would take Ehrhoff to make that happen. I wouldn't hate that only because he will already be 31 when the season starts and we know when a player starts to decline it happens quickly.
- Pierceme69

If Yzerman takes Nichuskin, it might be hard for Nashville to pass on Drouin... He can help them right away while Barkov will have to stay in Finland for another year or two

I don't trade Ehrhoff bc I'm worried about him declining
He's in the same mold as teppo, where I think he can play effectively till his late 30s
But we're rebuilding, and prob about 3-4yrs away from really being able to contend again...
It's just unfair to him to waste his prime years when he came here thinking we were gonna be trying to contend every year
And it works for us too
If we can get 5 from Carolina or 7 from Edmonton, we can add a nice young piece to the puzzle

I know Barkov is a long shot,
So realistically, I'm hoping for Lindholm...
The popular comparisons are Zetterberg & Bergeron, but he has a power aspect to his game as well that has caused some ppl to throw Peter Forsberg out there as a comparable...
That's some high praise

If Yzerman takes Nichuskin, it might be hard for Nashville to pass on Drouin... He can help them right away while Barkov will have to stay in Finland for another year or two

I don't trade Ehrhoff bc I'm worried about him declining
He's in the same mold as teppo, where I think he can play effectively till his late 30s
But we're rebuilding, and prob about 3-4yrs away from really being able to contend again...
It's just unfair to him to waste his prime years when he came here thinking we were gonna be trying to contend every year
And it works for us too
If we can get 5 from Carolina or 7 from Edmonton, we can add a nice young piece to the puzzle
I know Barkov is a long shot,
So realistically, I'm hoping for Lindholm...
The popular comparisons are Zetterberg & Bergeron, but he has a power aspect to his game as well that has caused some ppl to throw Peter Forsberg out there as a comparable...
That's some high praise
- jdfitz77

I would like Nichushkin at #5 and Lindholm at #8.

Pierce / Fitz. Some good reading this morning with my coffee.
You guys sleep much ?

Pierce / Fitz. Some good reading this morning with my coffee.
You guys sleep much ?
- cabin

I work 3rd shift. 3rd shift HB is pretty lacking in good reading generally.

Does anyone think that Enroth getting backup money means we are keeping Miller at least until the trade deadline?

Does anyone think that Enroth getting backup money means we are keeping Miller at least until the trade deadline?
- Pierceme69

he is getting the money that he has earned.. he hasn't earned starter money.. I think it is a good contract for both him and Buffalo. If he proves he is a starter he will cash in when this contract is up.