James,
you simply cannot be naive enough to NOT thing that the Yotes are aiming for the bottom- which still gives them a very good chance at the defacto #1 draft pick next year.

And why pre tell... would they want that?
- BorjeFan4Ever

Um, a kid named Auston Matthews...

Do a little research next time.

it wouldn't surprise me at all.
- granpa

One player that could be nhl ready is bredan perlini 6'3" 205lbs

I see a team full of vets who have all played together, with a slot per line to work in the young players. Excellent position on the dot, good PK out of the chute. OEL and Stone have rocket shots for PP. The vets are good hard working role models.

On the other hand, GM has trading options if needed, coverage for injuries, or a equal crew to rotate out as healthy scratches. I don't see the need to kill Vermette/OEL with minutes so their games are sharpened.

Would rather see Dahlbeck or Campbell in than Gormley. I could see Vermette with the C down the road, no knock on OEL.

NJDevils42630

I don't like the goalie situation in Arizona. Never been a Smith fan & hated that contract after 1 really good season 2011-12. The weird thing was that contract was signed after the 2012-13 season where Smith was average at best. 6 years at 5.667! I'm not sure what Maloney was thinking, that was a serious brain fart & he should have given him 3 years at about 3.5 to 4.5 mil tops, if that, to see if he was for real. He certainly shouldn't have been paid like a top 10 goalie.

The 2 highest scorers in 2011-12 for Arizona were Whitney & Vrbata. Whitney played 82 games, had 24 goals & 53 assists for 77 points +26. Vrbata 77-35-27-62 +24. Whitney was allowed to walk for nothing after that season as Arizona wouldn't give him a 2 year deal. He was tied as the 12th highest scorer in the NHL. He wasn't replaced. Then the year after next, 2013-14, Vrbata was allowed to walk for nothing. Not very good asset management & their puck possession skills helped team defense. Hard for the other team to score when they don't have the puck & momentum in hockey is more significant than in any other sport. Whitney & Vrbata made Arizona better than they were as they were solid offensive players. Arizona's PP has never been the same.

I don't know what to make of Smith. He was brutal last season then played well at the worlds but that's a different size rink playing on what are kind of all star teams. Not implying they don't try but just different. A gauge potentially but not really all that relevant to what is happening in Arizona or the NHL.

The goalie pipeline in Arizona isn't good. Well it's worse than that it's virtually non existent. Visentin was drafted in the 1st round of the 2010 draft 27th overall but was just left unqualified so now a UFA. I thought Arizona might draft Samsonov or Blackwood with the 30th or 32nd picks. Samsonov went 22nd to Was & Blackwood went 42nd to NJ. The next highest ranked goalie was Vladar selected by Boston at 75. Arizona then went off the board at 76 & selected goalie Adin Hill.

The reason I never discuss it is it's bad & baring signing or trading for a goalie which is hard to do with Smith having 4 more years on his current deal & has zero value in trade baring a significant improvement & Arizona eating significant salary. Arizona can't afford to eat salary. They trade for players with bigger cap hits than actually salary to make the floor with out actually having to spend to it.

Thoughts from the bench.

Not that particularly concerned about Smith, he ended the season on a high note and has good D in front of him.

One player that could be nhl ready is bredan perlini 6'3" 205lbs
- granpa

I would love to see Perlini being 3L center. There is no reason not to give him solid 3 line minutes. But if Tip is going to do a turris with him then let him spend a year in the AHL where he can play 1st line minutes and grow.

hes got got the size. coyotes have him at 212lbs. I saw him at the draft party. He looks more mature than last year. i think the best thing about him is his skating. Hes got the shot... but he skates like a small guy. in a good way. its like he has the size of hanzal but much better speed and skating ability.

i would say hes a given. But is he good enough to push a coach Tip Fav Chipchura to the press box or wing. At one point Tip had Chip skating 1st Line center wearing an A on his sweater. granted that was after the vermette trade but still.

ideally you have Hanzal, Vermette Perlini and Gordon down the middle...

I would love to see Perlini being 3L center. There is no reason not to give him solid 3 line minutes. But if Tip is going to do a turris with him then let him spend a year in the AHL where he can play 1st line minutes and grow.

hes got got the size. coyotes have him at 212lbs. I saw him at the draft party. He looks more mature than last year. i think the best thing about him is his skating. Hes got the shot... but he skates like a small guy. in a good way. its like he has the size of hanzal but much better speed and skating ability.

i would say hes a given. But is he good enough to push a coach Tip Fav Chipchura to the press box or wing. At one point Tip had Chip skating 1st Line center wearing an A on his sweater. granted that was after the vermette trade but still.

ideally you he Hanzal, Vermette Perlini and Gordon down the middle...
- whatthepuckaz

He played on the wing in junior. Would be quite an adjustment in the pros.

I would love to see Perlini being 3L center. There is no reason not to give him solid 3 line minutes. But if Tip is going to do a turris with him then let him spend a year in the AHL where he can play 1st line minutes and grow.

hes got got the size. coyotes have him at 212lbs. I saw him at the draft party. He looks more mature than last year. i think the best thing about him is his skating. Hes got the shot... but he skates like a small guy. in a good way. its like he has the size of hanzal but much better speed and skating ability.

i would say hes a given. But is he good enough to push a coach Tip Fav Chipchura to the press box or wing. At one point Tip had Chip skating 1st Line center wearing an A on his sweater. granted that was after the vermette trade but still.

ideally you he Hanzal, Vermette Perlini and Gordon down the middle...
- whatthepuckaz

He played on the wing in junior. Would be quite an adjustment in the pros.

it wouldn't surprise me at all.
- granpa

It just seems odd to me that Coach Tip was not happy at the end of the season and in one of his last interviews...even one on radio he brought up protecting himself from "being a part of a season like that". he also made a few references to his out clause in other interviews.

before the draft BOTH major beat writers who write about the coyotes put out stories of how Tip is "on board" with the plan moving forward. after that article

they draft strome which was a given if they didnt trade the pick.
aquire
Downie
gordon
michalek
vermette
Grossman

With the exception of Downie everyone one of those players were well liked by Tip.
its not like they had to go after any of those guys really hard to get them to sign here michalek vermette still own homes here. but they did give Vermette a NMC.

post ribeiro Don maloney said, "unless your name is Shane Doan i am not doing any more NMC/NTC"....that raised eyebrows...you wouldnt give OEL a NMC when the time comes???

so a pretty quick flipflop to throw out a NMC to Vermette so quickly. Also Maloney let Vrbata walk over a NMC...and vrbata scored 35 goals. i mean in recent years they yotes would kill for a 30+ goal scorer. on a team that doesnt score.

remember the vrbata offer? all he wanted 3 to 5 years 3.5-3.75 mil per and a NMC. Maloney stated the deal killer was the NMC. He would never do it again.

but yet he did it for vermette. so is that learning from mistakes or pressure from above or concession because Tip wanted him back. or maybe a mix of all.

a side note grossman kills 2 birds with one stone. it satisfies tip and fits the mold of building around OEL. He went from being the lone SWE to having his own 4some to hit the links on the off days.

He played on the wing in junior. Would be quite an adjustment in the pros.
- granpa

sorry brain fart. i got wrapped up in him fighting for space on the 3L. also maloney said in an interview the other night that vermette makes it easier for strome to fit into the line up on the wing.. so taking into account that no trades happen

Duclair-Domi-rieder
Boedker-Vermette-strome?
Perlini-Hanzal-Doan
Vitale-Gordon-downie/richardson

Man this year is going to be brutal for coyotes fans.. Hopefully they get some luck and win the Auston Matthews sweepstakes. That would be great for the organization

First off, looking at that roster, there's no threat this team is too good to get in on the Matthews sweepstakes. That lineup is awful.

I agree with the other poster, this is proper asset management. The return on '
Vermette was ridiculous, maybe they can do it again. You sprinkle in a kid or two each year so you don't repeat the mistakes the Oilers have been making for the last 10 years...rushing kids into the NHL before they're physically ready. Teaching them nothing but how to be losers. Burning up ELC's way too early when you're a team without a pot to piss in.
- djamon

This is what is the most important part of what the Yotes are doing(imo) Bring all the kids up at once, And watch them struggle at the same time that they are burning through their ELC's. And when the kids are good enough to actually make some noise? You cant afford them all!
Also agree with the other poster about adding vets to simply flip them at the deadline. And the team does have to try and fill some seats. Diehard fans may be willing to withstand a complete rebuild, But the average fan will simply not go to the games. Which will only tighten the noose around the teams chances in ARZ.

I can't imagine a scenario where Edmonton isn't challenging for the top of the conference next year.

McDavid is already one of the best hockey players in the entire world.

RNH is instantly - outside of Malkin - the best second line C in hockey.

The defense is getting better and now they have a goalie.

They will still likely add more players before the season starts.

I love their team and predict their going to explode up the standings. It's not even going to be fair in three years if they keep the team together.
- James_Tanner

Oh dear god he's at it again. Top of the conference? Not a chance. Major issues still on the backend and in goal. A success would be them making the playoffs imo but let's not get carried away here.

I can't imagine a scenario where Edmonton isn't challenging for the top of the conference next year.

McDavid is already one of the best hockey players in the entire world.

RNH is instantly - outside of Malkin - the best second line C in hockey.

The defense is getting better and now they have a goalie.

They will still likely add more players before the season starts.

I love their team and predict their going to explode up the standings. It's not even going to be fair in three years if they keep the team together.
- James_Tanner

James you predicted this last year as well, Did you not?
I had figured the Oilers would be good by now as well, But at this point until they prove otherwise I think they are labeled under achievers. Lots of reasons for this, Coaching, Lack of "D", Goaltending, AND rushing their players. They are poised for a good/great season. But to challenge for the top of the western conference??????? Lets start with making the playoffs, And go from there It has taken them this long to learn to win at the regular season level(which they haven't yet actually) And the playoffs are a whole different animal.

No one cares about faceoffs. And no one says just rate a guy on his corsi. There's fifty thousand stats and you need to look at all of them to determine who's a good player.

RNH has actually proven a lot, but you'd have to do more than look at his p oint totals and team success to be able tot do that.

Great strawman argument though., props.
- James_Tanner

?
You keep saying this!
Please provide links to all these experts whom share this opinion with you about faceoffs.
Because you are the only person that I have read that believe face offs are useless as +/-

I can't imagine a scenario where Edmonton isn't challenging for the top of the conference next year.

McDavid is already one of the best hockey players in the entire world.

RNH is instantly - outside of Malkin - the best second line C in hockey.

The defense is getting better and now they have a goalie.

They will still likely add more players before the season starts.

I love their team and predict their going to explode up the standings. It's not even going to be fair in three years if they keep the team together.
- James_Tanner

Tanner lost all credibility when he dissed the Foo Fighters.


- Katana777

And gained it among anyone who likes art and enjoys real music.

James you predicted this last year as well, Did you not?
I had figured the Oilers would be good by now as well, But at this point until they prove otherwise I think they are labeled under achievers. Lots of reasons for this, Coaching, Lack of "D", Goaltending, AND rushing their players. They are poised for a good/great season. But to challenge for the top of the western conference??????? Lets start with making the playoffs, And go from there It has taken them this long to learn to win at the regular season level(which they haven't yet actually) And the playoffs are a whole different animal.
- camfor

I think the Oilers as they were - no McDavid, no Sekara - were going to make the Playoffs. Now that they added potentially one of if not the best player in the NHL, why set your goals so short?

?
You keep saying this!
Please provide links to all these experts whom share this opinion with you about faceoffs.
Because you are the only person that I have read that believe face offs are useless as +/-
- camfor

Then you aren't reading much.

And gained it among anyone who likes art and enjoys real music.
- James_Tanner

100%. Foo Fighters are just kind of there.

I think the Oilers as they were - no McDavid, no Sekara - were going to make the Playoffs. Now that they added potentially one of if not the best player in the NHL, why set your goals so short?
- James_Tanner

My goals are irrelevant to this discussion.
Your predictions while achieving "hits"(which is what counts.,Right? Not face offs!)are historically just plain bad. Yet anyone whom challenges said predictions are setting their goals to low?

Then you aren't reading much.
- James_Tanner

I read plenty thank you. To much according to my better half.
James you preach about bringing something to an argument(a brain?) but all I asked for was a link to some of these forward thinking experts that share your vision about face offs, And all you have " Is I don't read much"?

My goals are irrelevant to this discussion.
Your predictions while achieving "hits"(which is what counts.,Right? Not face offs!)are historically just plain bad. Yet anyone whom challenges said predictions are setting their goals to low?
- camfor

Not your goals man, the Oilers!!!!! And come on, not saying I don't like extra hits, but I don't think predictions made in the comment section are going to achieve that!

I read plenty thank you. To much according to my better half.
James you preach about bringing something to an argument(a brain?) but all I asked for was a link to some of these forward thinking experts that share your vision about face offs, And all you have " Is I don't read much"?
- camfor

I'm only teasing man,

The main issue with faceoffs is that they are overrated and don't actually matter as much as people think. Statistically it's incredibly rare for teams to score off the draw. Over time, it's estimated that you have to win +45 faceoffs to equal a goal and like +245 to equal a win. Numbers that aren't really possible.

Studies have shown - sorry don't have links to those, although the links below will talk of them, maybe link to them - that there is no correlation between high FO% and winnning. Also, there is no correlation between between possession and face-off wins, which surprises people, but I think it's because possession actually changes so frequently and shots off a FO win are pretty rare.



here's a good staring point

http://www.arcticicehocke...s-and-faceoff-percentages


http://www.hockeywilderne...lation-do-faceoffs-matter

Lots of links to follow in that one for a well rounded discussion on faceoff value.

I think the Oilers as they were - no McDavid, no Sekara - were going to make the Playoffs. Now that they added potentially one of if not the best player in the NHL, why set your goals so short?
- James_Tanner

The Oilers are not deep enough. After their top 4F & 2D there's a significant drop. In today's NHL you win with depth Chicago's playoff run is a prime example. As a matter of fact I wouldn't be surprised if Chicago don't make the playoff even with their core in place.