The Pandemic took its first ACTUAL NHL Casualties yesterday, as some players whom I fully believe ANY other yea, would have been qualified....were NOT. Here are some players I am going to add to the rumor chart after I talk to a few more people and get an idea as to where they are headed..
Anthony Duclair...
He was on a 30 goal pace when the NHL was paused. He can fly. He scores some amazing goals...WHY WOULD a team in need like Ottawa not qualify this guy?
Andreas Athanasiou
Like Duclair, Athanasiou has speed into next week and scores some incredible goals. Red Wing's fans would tell you that AA does take shifts off, but WILL get you 2 breakaways for every three games he plays in.
If Seattle was entering the NHL right now you could see Duclair and Athanasiou as the William Karlson and Jonathan Marchessault of the Kraken.
But wait, there's more...
Troy Stecher Troy had a rough 2019-20, but in 18-19 he looked EVERY bit an NHL defenseman...some saying he was molding into a top 4. Defensemen take time to find their game and some take even more time to find consistency..Stecher could be a real steal.
Nick Cousins Cousins is a sneaky effective player with more skill than most players with his grit have in this league. The Flyers developed him and truly never wanted to let him go, but he ran up against a capcrunch. In a league bereft of Centers, a league that is suddenly placing more value on toughness, Cousins not being qualified is WAY more about Vegas desperately digging for money than anything else
More to come...
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— Michael Augello (@MikeInBuffalo) August 2, 2017