byz

Eichel, Skinner, Middelstadt/Reinhart, Dahlin, Ristolainen/Okposo... I'm not sure how the team overall is going to do, but that top PP is going to be stacked!

Sorry Habs fans. https://www.nhl.com/canadiens/news/medical-update-shea-weber-out-for-an-extended-period-of-time-due-to-knee-surgery/c-299418218

Serious question about Lehner - what's wrong with him? .908 sv% on a really bad Buffalo team, .920 the year before.. why is he so cheap?

Yup.

I don't have anything to add at the moment, but I'd just like to say my PCFL team has Hanifin.. and Lindholm.. and Hamilton. This is one of those weird times where I hope both teams come out with a win. Gotta think Lindholm gets a shot with Johnny - Monahan, right?

Jroc, Weeoiler - we might be hitting the liquor store early today.

Probably need to include a 2nd for him though.

#10 for Cody Ceci, yeah?

Drouin - ROR - Gallagher would start looking like a legitimate top line. Montreal has the goaltending, and hopefully Weber can get back to #1D form. They could bounce back a bit with some smart moves this summer. Also, the Oilers have been telegraphing that Ty Smith is their guy at #10. I'm personally *really* hoping Wahlstrom drops.

Wait what

Cup-winning coach? Greater, I'd say.

I actually agree with Vegeta in that Boqvist is highly likely to drop. I've watched highlights of all the top guys (scientific, I know), but then the Athletic came out with an article talking about the boom/bust riskiness of Boqvist. The one that got me was this (I think you guys will be able to see this without a subscription): He's #16 there, starting in the right wing position of the clip. I'm not about to crucify a guy based on one clip - and to be clear, his offensive ability is jaw-dropping - but I could see this scaring a lot of NHL GMs off. Oilers are rumoured to be taking Ty Smith at #10; I think that'd be the really safe pick compared to Bo.

Hahaha that's great!

Having seen Malkin do this: I believe that Carolina goal was 100% intentional. Also Malkin is as good as Crosby or Ovechkin. Fight me.

The Jets are ridiculously deep. Stastny was a fantastic add and is playing the best hockey of his career, that defense is solid all the way through, and they have GOALTENDING! They might actually do it... Vegas is tricky though. And of course, the Caps story is amazing too. They're riding on pure momentum at this point, and Ovi really is showing he's a generational player. It's incredible.

Hey Leafs fans, is this guy going to see the light of day on the PP ever again? Do you see any upside or does this year seem like the new norm?

I'm reminded of the LA Kings run in 2012, where they basically walked through Vancouver, St Louis, then Arizona in a total of 14 games to the Stanley Cup Finals. IMO, easiest Stanley Cup win in history. Not that the Pittsburgh run was easy, but objectively-speaking, the Pittsburgh team last year had their #1 Dman injured, yet still had two generational talents on their team, a near-franchise level winger, a legit #1 goalie and forward depth out the ying-yang. I honestly think Nashville is the only team that had a chance against them and that Pittsburgh would've crushed anyone else in the West.

Well it's working for Gmail accounts, so get with the times you guys and just switch over! Kidding, I'll try tweaking some stuff again. Another website on this server has been having issues, so I guess if we're still having issues here there might be a slightly bigger problem than I hoped.

I'm too busy today to keep things updated, but I figure we should get some conversations going at the least! First up - Stastny to the Jets. Does this make WPG a cup favourite? Is St. Louis selling?

Tkachuk's almost solidified himself as the heart of that Calgary team already. The hardest thing for smaller players is proving they can score in the NHL, and DeBrincat's done it as a rookie on a struggling Blackhawks team. Honestly, I'd flip a coin between the two. I think Debrincat could get you an 80 point season or two, Tkachuk I'd be more confident in consistent 60-70 point seasons. Not much help, but I don't think there's a huge difference. Konecny for Q#2.

Yeah I got it!

You may have noticed you haven't been getting PM notifications or they've been going to junk. Or maybe it's working perfectly for you. Either way, something's up with the e-mail server, and I'm looking into it. Just a FYI!

Crosby Bergeron Getzlaf Karlsson Subban Price Would be my starting 5 + goalie I think. Have you guys ever seen Getzlaf take over a series? I still have nightmares from last year (Oilers).

Seriously, my liver can't take it anymore. https://soundcloud.com/lowdownwithlowetide/lowetide-on-the-oilers-5-0-loss I can't even offer up a trade proposal. I've got biased opinions, but I'm curious what fans of other teams think of this tire fire.

I'll join Zip. 1) I think Zip nailed it. This isn't a team of 4th line fringe players, it's a team of 2nd/3rd liners with (arguably) 1-2 1st liners and a legit starting goalie. The thing that keeps those guys out of the league is consistency, but if the team is forced to play them, eventually they figure it out. Vegas just has enough of those kinds of guys where they shuffled in the legit players quick enough. 2) Turris is pigeonholed as a 2C for some reason. In my mind, he's somewhere in the #25-30 best C's in the league - essentially a low #1C. Duchene's slightly better when he figures it out (IMO). Ottawa would've been better off improving their depth, considering Ryan, Burrows, Smith all dropped off a cliff and MacArthur is probably done. 3) Klingberg is QB'ing a team that found its mojo again? 4) He found some chemistry with Riley Nash and I'm going to ride the Nash rocket to championship? 5) Kings got a new coach. Tried building my team around them as much as I could this year (Toffoli, Doughty, Kuemper) because that core is still elite. Carter's hurt, but Kopitar really is damn good. I'm guessing Brown may have been on the outs with Sutter. 6) Oilers special teams is historically bad. Like, the PK is under 70% now I believe. You're just not going to win giving up 2-3 freebie goals every game. Also while it's ridiculous how many non-calls McDavid gets, it's not like the PP is much better either. Chiarelli made the team worse in the off-season (Russell signing, downgrading Eberle, not adding anyone), but I'm now pointing the finger at the stubbornness of the coaching staff. One other small note - man, we got Lucic. But that guy has been all but silent. Team's losing? Cause some ruckus man, c'mon!