Whether people liked it or not, I think with Sekera's injury everyone knew Russel would be resigned.

I am indifferent to resigning him though its a bit more than what I would have liked to have signed him for though it being a front loaded contract could make it easier to trade him down the road. Do we know anything about the supposed modified no movement clause?

Good for Chris! Great for the Flames! Chia.

As does Wildschwein. This extension is not Schwein approved.

Thus ends my monthly contribution. Suck it everyone and I miss you all. Except for Hallfan. He can go to hell.
- Wildschwein

After spending a good deal of time throughout the year exploring the CHL and SHL crop for this draft, I've made a list of guys I advocate for.

1st round:

RC Nick Suzuki- great hands, elite motor, volume shooter, strong playmaker, great attention to detail across the rink; he's close to the best forward in the draft imo

LD Erik Brannstrom- elite skating, great passer, heavy shot, active stick on D, competes; he's close to the best dman in the draft imo

RC Robert Thomas- adept passer, strong two-way, fast skater, scores in a variety of ways; gets described as a pass-focused Horvat

LC Lias Andersson- competes like the Richardens, skates very well, excels around the net; Anton Lander without the skating issues

2nd round:

RW Kole Lind- elite motor, speed to burn, top class acceleration (hello Connor), heavy wrister but lacks the shooter's mentality, strong playmaker, actively engaged on defense; I've seen comparisons to Pacioretty and Saad

LC Jaret Anderson-Dolan- one of those balanced across the board players, great skating along with great acceleration; I've seen comparisons to Mike Richards and RNH

RD Henri Jokiharju (this my Trocheck/Severson pick of this year)- great and shifty skater (agility, speed and acceleration), excellent tape-to-tape passer, solid and accurate shooter, active and smart decisions across the ice; I see so much of Sekera and Stralman

3rd round and beyond:

LW Kirill Maximov- right shot playmaker with a good-to-great shooting arsenal, sold forechecker, good size (at 6'2 190) and is a fast skater, seems to lack effort at times (didn't help that Saginaw was weak offensively) but that's manageable in these later rounds; tough to compare, but I'd say somewhere between Hemsky and Semin (3rd round)

LW Cole Coskey- another right shot from Saginaw, excellent motor and "give-a-(frank) meter", average to above-average in most capacities offensively but lacks consistency of awareness (again, didn't help that Saginaw was weak offensively); think Shaw-ish (4th round)

LW Parker Kelly- elite motor, balanced set of skills, strong special teams guy, carries the puck well and drive the net; his totals will improve as his otherwise awful team is set to take big steps forward; think taller Gallgher (5th round)

RD Leon Gawanke- pure offensive Dman, great set of skills on offense and carries the puck well enough, panics at times and makes ill-advised pinches, gives effort; think Schultz or Ehrhoff style (6th round)

LD Max Martin- smart two-way Dman, great puck mover, solid skating, a generally balanced approach to the game in every capcity; think between Petry and Goligoski (7th round)

Also could've been included are LCs Benjamin Jones (4th round), Ryan Peckford (4th round) and Brady Gilmour (6th round) and RDs Cale Fleury (4th round) and Cole Fraser (5th round).

After spending a good deal of time throughout the year exploring the CHL and SHL crop for this draft, I've made a list of guys I advocate for.

1st round:

RC Nick Suzuki- great hands, elite motor, volume shooter, strong playmaker, great attention to detail across the rink; he's close to the best forward in the draft imo

LD Erik Brannstrom- elite skating, great passer, heavy shot, active stick on D, competes; he's close to the best dman in the draft imo

RC Robert Thomas- adept passer, strong two-way, fast skater, scores in a variety of ways; gets described as a pass-focused Horvat

LC Lias Andersson- competes like the Richardens, skates very well, excels around the net; Anton Lander without the skating issues

2nd round:

RW Kole Lind- elite motor, speed to burn, top class acceleration (hello Connor), heavy wrister but lacks the shooter's mentality, strong playmaker, actively engaged on defense; I've seen comparisons to Pacioretty and Saad

LC Jaret Anderson-Dolan- one of those balanced across the board players, great skating along with great acceleration; I've seen comparisons to Mike Richards and RNH

RD Henri Jokiharju (this my Trocheck/Severson pick of this year)- great and shifty skater (agility, speed and acceleration), excellent tape-to-tape passer, solid and accurate shooter, active and smart decisions across the ice; I see so much of Sekera and Stralman

3rd round and beyond:

LW Kirill Maximov- right shot playmaker with a good-to-great shooting arsenal, sold forechecker, good size (at 6'2 190) and is a fast skater, seems to lack effort at times (didn't help that Saginaw was weak offensively) but that's manageable in these later rounds; tough to compare, but I'd say somewhere between Hemsky and Semin (3rd round)

LW Cole Coskey- another right shot from Saginaw, excellent motor and "give-a-(frank) meter", average to above-average in most capacities offensively but lacks consistency of awareness (again, didn't help that Saginaw was weak offensively); think Shaw-ish (4th round)

LW Parker Kelly- elite motor, balanced set of skills, strong special teams guy, carries the puck well and drive the net; his totals will improve as his otherwise awful team is set to take big steps forward; think taller Gallgher (5th round)

RD Leon Gawanke- pure offensive Dman, great set of skills on offense and carries the puck well enough, panics at times and makes ill-advised pinches, gives effort; think Schultz or Ehrhoff style (6th round)

LD Max Martin- smart two-way Dman, great puck mover, solid skating, a generally balanced approach to the game in every capcity; think between Petry and Goligoski (7th round)

Also could've been included are LCs Benjamin Jones (4th round), Ryan Peckford (4th round) and Brady Gilmour (6th round) and RDs Cale Fleury (4th round) and Cole Fraser (5th round).
- MaximumBone

Brannstrom would be a solid pick up.

As does Wildschwein. This extension is not Schwein approved.

Thus ends my monthly contribution. Suck it everyone and I miss you all. Except for Hallfan. He can go to hell.
- Wildschwein

PIGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After spending a good deal of time throughout the year exploring the CHL and SHL crop for this draft, I've made a list of guys I advocate for.

1st round:

RC Nick Suzuki- great hands, elite motor, volume shooter, strong playmaker, great attention to detail across the rink; he's close to the best forward in the draft imo

LD Erik Brannstrom- elite skating, great passer, heavy shot, active stick on D, competes; he's close to the best dman in the draft imo

RC Robert Thomas- adept passer, strong two-way, fast skater, scores in a variety of ways; gets described as a pass-focused Horvat

LC Lias Andersson- competes like the Richardens, skates very well, excels around the net; Anton Lander without the skating issues

2nd round:

RW Kole Lind- elite motor, speed to burn, top class acceleration (hello Connor), heavy wrister but lacks the shooter's mentality, strong playmaker, actively engaged on defense; I've seen comparisons to Pacioretty and Saad

LC Jaret Anderson-Dolan- one of those balanced across the board players, great skating along with great acceleration; I've seen comparisons to Mike Richards and RNH

RD Henri Jokiharju (this my Trocheck/Severson pick of this year)- great and shifty skater (agility, speed and acceleration), excellent tape-to-tape passer, solid and accurate shooter, active and smart decisions across the ice; I see so much of Sekera and Stralman

3rd round and beyond:

LW Kirill Maximov- right shot playmaker with a good-to-great shooting arsenal, sold forechecker, good size (at 6'2 190) and is a fast skater, seems to lack effort at times (didn't help that Saginaw was weak offensively) but that's manageable in these later rounds; tough to compare, but I'd say somewhere between Hemsky and Semin (3rd round)

LW Cole Coskey- another right shot from Saginaw, excellent motor and "give-a-(frank) meter", average to above-average in most capacities offensively but lacks consistency of awareness (again, didn't help that Saginaw was weak offensively); think Shaw-ish (4th round)

LW Parker Kelly- elite motor, balanced set of skills, strong special teams guy, carries the puck well and drive the net; his totals will improve as his otherwise awful team is set to take big steps forward; think taller Gallgher (5th round)

RD Leon Gawanke- pure offensive Dman, great set of skills on offense and carries the puck well enough, panics at times and makes ill-advised pinches, gives effort; think Schultz or Ehrhoff style (6th round)

LD Max Martin- smart two-way Dman, great puck mover, solid skating, a generally balanced approach to the game in every capcity; think between Petry and Goligoski (7th round)

Also could've been included are LCs Benjamin Jones (4th round), Ryan Peckford (4th round) and Brady Gilmour (6th round) and RDs Cale Fleury (4th round) and Cole Fraser (5th round).
- MaximumBone

Hands off Bone, that's NJs 2nd round pick.

Good for Chris! Great for the Flames! Chia.
- DuranDuran

How so? So that the Oil can kick the ever living poop outta the Flames all this upcoming season with Russell in the lineup, just like they did last season with Russell in the lineup?

After spending a good deal of time throughout the year exploring the CHL and SHL crop for this draft, I've made a list of guys I advocate for.

1st round:

RC Nick Suzuki- great hands, elite motor, volume shooter, strong playmaker, great attention to detail across the rink; he's close to the best forward in the draft imo

LD Erik Brannstrom- elite skating, great passer, heavy shot, active stick on D, competes; he's close to the best dman in the draft imo

RC Robert Thomas- adept passer, strong two-way, fast skater, scores in a variety of ways; gets described as a pass-focused Horvat

LC Lias Andersson- competes like the Richardens, skates very well, excels around the net; Anton Lander without the skating issues

2nd round:

RW Kole Lind- elite motor, speed to burn, top class acceleration (hello Connor), heavy wrister but lacks the shooter's mentality, strong playmaker, actively engaged on defense; I've seen comparisons to Pacioretty and Saad

LC Jaret Anderson-Dolan- one of those balanced across the board players, great skating along with great acceleration; I've seen comparisons to Mike Richards and RNH

RD Henri Jokiharju (this my Trocheck/Severson pick of this year)- great and shifty skater (agility, speed and acceleration), excellent tape-to-tape passer, solid and accurate shooter, active and smart decisions across the ice; I see so much of Sekera and Stralman

3rd round and beyond:

LW Kirill Maximov- right shot playmaker with a good-to-great shooting arsenal, sold forechecker, good size (at 6'2 190) and is a fast skater, seems to lack effort at times (didn't help that Saginaw was weak offensively) but that's manageable in these later rounds; tough to compare, but I'd say somewhere between Hemsky and Semin (3rd round)

LW Cole Coskey- another right shot from Saginaw, excellent motor and "give-a-(frank) meter", average to above-average in most capacities offensively but lacks consistency of awareness (again, didn't help that Saginaw was weak offensively); think Shaw-ish (4th round)

LW Parker Kelly- elite motor, balanced set of skills, strong special teams guy, carries the puck well and drive the net; his totals will improve as his otherwise awful team is set to take big steps forward; think taller Gallgher (5th round)

RD Leon Gawanke- pure offensive Dman, great set of skills on offense and carries the puck well enough, panics at times and makes ill-advised pinches, gives effort; think Schultz or Ehrhoff style (6th round)

LD Max Martin- smart two-way Dman, great puck mover, solid skating, a generally balanced approach to the game in every capcity; think between Petry and Goligoski (7th round)

Also could've been included are LCs Benjamin Jones (4th round), Ryan Peckford (4th round) and Brady Gilmour (6th round) and RDs Cale Fleury (4th round) and Cole Fraser (5th round).
- MaximumBone

TL;DR

Best blog title in a while

Brannstrom would be a solid pick up.
- SRam19

That he would be. Excellent dman in almost every right and even outproduced Karlsson throughout his early career.

Hands off Bone, that's NJs 2nd round pick.

- smellmyfinger

You bastards already took Severson from me; I've been calling for this guy since November. He's mine, mother(frank)er

TL;DR




- MaximumBone

NO poop, Boner. Shouldn't you be enjoying the summer off before you have to go back to school in the fall and be forced to do homework?

You bastards already took Severson from me; I've been calling for this guy since November. He's mine, mother(frank)er
- MaximumBone

I've seen a few rankings where he goes late 1st now. Gonna be a big year for Fin Dmen. Heiskanen, Valimaki, Vaakanainen... these guys should all be 1st rounders.

NO poop, Boner. Shouldn't you be enjoying the summer off before you have to go back to school in the fall and be forced to do homework?
- leonkennedy

This is what I do for enjoyment Or, part of it, at least...

I've seen a few rankings where he goes late 1st now. Gonna be a big year for Fin Dmen. Heiskanen, Valimaki, Vaakanainen... these guys should all be 1st rounders.
- smellmyfinger

Yeah, he's been climbing hard. Along with his very late birthday, he's got every thing going for him. He apparently is still growing as his combine results listed him as 6'1 176 while his early season reports had him between 5'11 and 6' 170. With the size concern likely eliminated, I'd be happy to see Edmonton take him at 22 even.

I don't know if Vaakanainen goes in the 1st, though. He might but his rankings seem to vary enough that it's hard to predict. Salo is there in the 2nd round, too.

This is what I do for enjoyment Or, part of it, at least...
- MaximumBone

Crazy kid. Aren't you supposed to be playing video games or something?

He dealt eberle so he could overpay both term and dollars to kris fuking Russel . A guy who no one wanted a summer ago.
Even handcuffed the oilers to him by giving him a no move

What an awful deal.

Yeah, he's been climbing hard. Along with his very late birthday, he's got every thing going for him. He apparently is still growing as his combine results listed him as 6'1 176 while his early season reports had him between 5'11 and 6' 170. With the size concern likely eliminated, I'd be happy to see Edmonton take him at 22 even.

I don't know if Vaakanainen goes in the 1st, though. He might but his rankings seem to vary enough that it's hard to predict. Salo is there in the 2nd round, too.
- MaximumBone

Yes, forgot about him. I'm praying the Devils package up their 2nd rounder, both 3rds and something else to jump back in in the teens and grab Valimaki if they can find a GM down on this years draft crop.

He dealt eberle so he could overpay both term and dollars to kris fuking Russel . A guy who no one wanted a summer ago.
Even handcuffed the oilers to him by giving him a no move

What an awful deal.
- Ihateallofu

The cap is going up, not down, and the Oilers wanted him last summer and look what it did for their defense?

He dealt eberle so he could overpay both term and dollars to kris fuking Russel . A guy who no one wanted a summer ago.
Even handcuffed the oilers to him by giving him a no move

What an awful deal.
- Ihateallofu

The cap is going up, not down, and the Oilers wanted him last summer and look what it did for their defense?
- leonkennedy

He negatively effected the defense. Look what Talbot and Larsson* did for your defense is a more accurate statement.

How so? So that the Oil can kick the ever living poop outta the Flames all this upcoming season with Russell in the lineup, just like they did last season with Russell in the lineup?
- leonkennedy

Nope. You will be playing with Fire if he is your number 3. He did play well in the playoffs for both the Flames and You Bozo's but regular season he is a dumpster fire. You realize Russell will be making more than Brodie next year.

He dealt eberle so he could overpay both term and dollars to kris fuking Russel . A guy who no one wanted a summer ago.
Even handcuffed the oilers to him by giving him a no move

What an awful deal.
- Ihateallofu

Your pain is somehow soothing

No need to reply, I will do it for you.

Mike Smith

He negatively effected the defense. Look what Talbot and Larsson* did for your defense is a more accurate statement.
- dr_soiledpants

Talbot was there the year before, he let in a lot of goals without both of them. Clearly it isn't just one Dman, playing 20 mins a night who is solely responsible for the improvement.

Bottom line is Russell is an NHL Dman regardless of what the Fantasy stats say. Which pushed guys like Nurse, benning, davidson, gryba to the bottom, as opposed to being forced into a role they weren't ready for.