Did u forget that we got viznosky. Him and Streit could one of top points in the league this year. Not to mention with another deadly shot u won't have pk units keying in on Streit like they did last year. Having a top pp could be strong recipe for success. We do need to better 5 on 5 though.
- Spartiarti

I'm salivating at Vis and Streit playing pitch and catch from the point, eventually blasting them in, with Okposo in the high slot ripping shots, while Tavares and Moulson work down low.

Deadly.

Add Nino to that list of needs leg strength......
- kindlyrick

nino is 19 huge difference between him and okposo...if i recall tavares looked like a baby deer trying to walk his rookie year.

ok fine..but if he average 20-24 goals the next ten seasons does that make him a bad pick? if he is just a 45-50 point guy is he a bust because he never developed into a 40 goal scorer? i dunno..i think a healthy Okposo will be fine and if he is only a 50 point 2nd 3rd line tweener..i'm ok with that as well. we'll see this year the pressure is on bailey grabner and okposo to provide secondary scoring
- NYI78

KO has been a disappointment. I don't care what his end season numbers are, he never does anything when it matters: while the team is still in a play-off hunt. The same can be said for what meager production Bailey has shown so far. KO was not injured last year. He did jack s**t when it mattered, just like Grabner, Bailey, etc. KO has done nothing to make anyone think hes going to "have a big year" this season. If he does, great. I'll happily eat my words. But I expect more of the same from KO and Bailey this year, which is essentially nothing.

The team as constituted right now is better on the back end, weaker up front. Its likely a better team than last seasons, but still not a play-off team.

KO has been a disappointment. I don't care what his end season numbers are, he never does anything when it matters: while the team is still in a play-off hunt. The same can be said for what meager production Bailey has shown so far. KO was not injured last year. He did jack s**t when it mattered, just like Grabner, Bailey, etc. KO has done nothing to make anyone think hes going to "have a big year" this season. If he does, great. I'll happily eat my words. But I expect more of the same from KO and Bailey this year, which is essentially nothing.

The team as constituted right now is better on the back end, weaker up front. Its likely a better team than last seasons, but still not a play-off team.
- Jethro09

KO was not healthy...it took me a year to feel 100 percent from the same injury he had and i don't play hockey for a living. i feel like the KO we saw the last 2 months of the season is who he is. The season will be determined by the success of KO Grabner and Bailey and if we hit the trade deadline and they are under perfroming again then i have no issues moving them

I think Bailey is gonna have a big year. He'll finally be able to play with legit linemates.
- kindlyrick

Bailey has done nothing to make anyone believe hes about to "break out". Hes played with "real linemates" over the past four years. Hes done nothing over the past four years. He wasn't buried on the fourth line for his first four years.

I hope Bailey breaks out, but lets be objective: Bailey has done nothing over the past four years to lead anyone to expect that he'll eclipse 30 points and do any scoring while the team is in a play-off hunt.

KO was not healthy...it took me a year to feel 100 percent from the same injury he had and i don't play hockey for a living. i feel like the KO we saw the last 2 months of the season is who he is. The season will be determined by the success of KO Grabner and Bailey and if we hit the trade deadline and they are under perfroming again then i have no issues moving them
- NYI78

The last two months? You mean when the team was out of it and all three of the guys you named finally started to resemble productive NHL talent? KO was healthy last year. Not only did he play all year last season, he played for a couple of months during the end of the previous season. Gotta stop using a shoulder injury KO suffered in 9/10 as the reason why he did jack s**t in 2011-12.

KO was not healthy...it took me a year to feel 100 percent from the same injury he had and i don't play hockey for a living. i feel like the KO we saw the last 2 months of the season is who he is. The season will be determined by the success of KO Grabner and Bailey and if we hit the trade deadline and they are under perfroming again then i have no issues moving them
- NYI78

The last two months? You mean when the team was out of it and all three of the guys you named finally started to resemble productive NHL talent? KO was healthy last year. Not only did he play all year last season, he played for a couple of months during the end of the previous season. Gotta stop using a shoulder injury KO suffered in 9/10 as the reason why he did jack s**t in 2011-12.

The last two months? You mean when the team was out of it and all three of the guys you named finally started to resemble productive NHL talent? KO was healthy last year. Not only did he play all year last season, he played for a couple of months during the end of the previous season. Gotta stop using a shoulder injury KO suffered in 9/10 as the reason why he did jack s**t in 2011-12.
- Jethro09

was it the sole reason..i dunno but i can tell you it was part of it...i couldn't raise my arm over my head for 5 months...look if he lays an egg this year i was wrong but i am telling you from personal experience it was a factor

Did u forget that we got viznosky. Him and Streit could one of top points in the league this year. Not to mention with another deadly shot u won't have pk units keying in on Streit like they did last year. Having a top pp could be strong recipe for success. We do need to better 5 on 5 though.
- Spartiarti

I did not forget....

Bailey has done nothing to make anyone believe hes about to "break out". Hes played with "real linemates" over the past four years. Hes done nothing over the past four years. He wasn't buried on the fourth line for his first four years.

I hope Bailey breaks out, but lets be objective: Bailey has done nothing over the past four years to lead anyone to expect that he'll eclipse 30 points and do any scoring while the team is in a play-off hunt.
- Jethro09

Real linemates? Name them.....

Last year he gelled with Ulstrom who was the only guy to actually battle with him. Other than that, who else do you consider "real linemates"

Heaven forbid they let him play with Tavares, or have 2nd line minutes. He's not a third line guy....

Real linemates? Name them.....

Last year he gelled with Ulstrom who was the only guy to actually battle with him. Other than that, who else do you consider "real linemates"

Heaven forbid they let him play with Tavares, or have 2nd line minutes. He's not a third line guy....
- kindlyrick

His numbers dont reflect that hes a top six forward. Bailey has been in the NHL playing among the top three lines and has seen power play time over the past four seasons. That "real linemate" argument MAY fly with Nino, as he was buried on the fourth line with garbage all year last season, but it doesn't work with Bailey. Hes never been a fourth line player (even though his productivity suggests he might be one) during his entire tenure with the isles. Bailey doesn't produce because he is not that good, not because of his linemates.

His numbers dont reflect that hes a top six forward. Bailey has been in the NHL playing among the top three lines and has seen power play time over the past four seasons. That "real linemate" argument MAY fly with Nino, as he was buried on the fourth line with garbage all year last season, but it doesn't work with Bailey. Hes never been a fourth line player (even though his productivity suggests he might be one) during his entire tenure with the isles. Bailey doesn't produce because he is not that good, not because of his linemates.
- Jethro09

He was drafted after playing on the top line in the O. Because he can play center and wing, he was moved around since day 1. Much like Nino, he was rushed and misused. Hes been buried on the third line with the likes of Rolstons, and garbage......which to me is no different than Nino on the 4th. Bailey has never been given the chance to play top 6 minutes, which is kind of ironic being that he was drafted as one.

As for the PP you're referring to, maybe he got 2nd unit minutes, but he certainly wasnt out there as the top PP unit.

Seeing some of his passes, you can see what kind of a playmaker he is......

He's NOT a third line guy.........he's a finesse playmaker. Let him sniff the wing with Tavares and watch what happens.

KO has been a disappointment. I don't care what his end season numbers are, he never does anything when it matters: while the team is still in a play-off hunt. The same can be said for what meager production Bailey has shown so far. KO was not injured last year. He did jack s**t when it mattered, just like Grabner, Bailey, etc. KO has done nothing to make anyone think hes going to "have a big year" this season. If he does, great. I'll happily eat my words. But I expect more of the same from KO and Bailey this year, which is essentially nothing.

The team as constituted right now is better on the back end, weaker up front. Its likely a better team than last seasons, but still not a play-off team.
- Jethro09

Tavares' rookie year, which was Okposo's second year, KO looked to be on a good trajectory. Check his points from that year and you'll find them evenly spaced out, not only coming when games didn't matter. In fact, he started that season on a 6-game point streak. I think we all were pretty happy with those first two seasons he had, but then the injury happened right before his third season. He got stuck with the "only scores when it doesn't matter" tag because that's exactly what happened this past season, but he wasn't like that before the injury. I think there's hope for him.