byz

I think Nuge heard me talking about him. 2 G tonight (so far).

Our 2nd best forward right now IMO. Gives up nothing defensively, and provides decent offense. What we're seeing right now though, is him giving you 40-45 points quite literally on his own (essentially quality #2C numbers). He has an anchor on one side in Lucic, and a slow 3rd liner on the other in Strome, and isn't seeing any #1PP time even though his passing skills are sublime due to McDavid occupying the same spot. If he were right-handed (for the PP), he'd be seeing 55-60 points regularly. Also, he's 53% on the draw so far this year. He's a beaut and the Oilers are going to trade him because they gave all their money to Russell instead.

Turns out I've got the 4th overall pick. Is Erik Karlsson worth it?

Next Wednesday!

Hey all, I joined a standard Yahoo league through work. I haven't done a standard draft in.. awhile. Does Capwise have anyone in one of these leagues willing to post their draft results? Actually I'll toss up league settings for discussion, if anyone's interested (pretty shallow/simple):

Buy the Reebok ones on clearance!

Never realized how old Montreal's core really is until now. I mean, not old like Detroit, but.. Price - 30 Weber - 32 Petry - 29 Alzner - 28 Gallagher - 25 Pacioretty - 28 Plekanec - 34 Drouin and Galchenyuk are 22 and 23 respectively. If that window was open, it's closing fairly quickly already. Best prospects are probably Hudon, Scherbak, Poehling.. not exactly lighting the world on fire. If I'm MTL, I give this year one heckuva run, and if it doesn't work out, I start looking at the ol' rebuild.. But do it Philly-style where they did it on the fly, cause they're not as poached as Detroit is and players still have value. And start with getting that damn #1C.

Justin Schultz for Duchene

I grabbed Henrique in the 1st round. Figured "30 goals for $4 mil? Easy pick!" Then he got bumped off Hall's line. Then he played a large chunk of the year on the wing. Bad turn of events for me

I'm noticing a bunch of wonky stuff - fixing as I go. If you guys notice anything else looking weird, please post here.

Dat neon orange tho.

The latest update to our forum software screwed something with our menu & theme up. It's getting to be a little bit late here, so I'll fix it up tomorrow. Hope that's OK with the boss **Update: The latest update messed with a number of things with our forum template. I'm fixing a bunch of stuff, but if you notice other annoyances/glitches, please post below!

He was actually given the opportunity, and absolutely killed it for us two years ago. Looked like a very solid 2nd pair D. Took a step back last year (sophomore slump, if you will), but he's got the fight to be better than #5-6. Cheering like hell for him, I was so choked we dumped him.

How do you Habs fans predict the D depth chart/pairings shaping up?

SJS has run Thornton - Pavelski - Couture down the middle before, all making big money. If the centers are able to carry a line, I don't think money matters *as much*, but the guys have to be able to shuffle around the line-up. Draisaitl has already, and I definitely think Nuge can be shuffled around too. Top six forwards on the team are still Mcdavid, Draisaitl, Nuge, Lucic, Maroon & likely Strome in that order, though your mileage may differ. If Oilers are worried about money, why the flip did Russell get $4m for forever? For the proposed trade, I don't see Gallagher as being a good enough return for Nuge, by a decent amount.

Word is SJS offered $5m x 2 years. I think he has some hockey in him left, but I'd be talking his worth to be $3-4 mil. $6.25m? And for 3 years?? Woof. He'll add to that team in the short-term though.

I'm *shocked* Reaves commanded a 1st.

Carolina seems absolutely poised to take a significant step forward this year. You have what's looking like a stellar D, a new starting goalie in Darling, and a lot of legit NHL forwards with upside. Maybe still looking for that #1C, but otherwise it's looking *really* good for next year. Adding Williams to that locker room only helps.

I'd agree Alzner is a #3/4-type at this stage. Those defensive types seem to peak early. @Thunder - I'm curious about your thoughts on Morrow and how he fits in. I had the luxury of playing summer hockey with him a few years ago, and he was phenomenal. Not as good as Pysyk at the time, but his poise was ridiculous.

I think Hanzal was in high demand, could pick where he wanted to go. Dallas having a fantastic off-season so far.

Going to move this to NHL News and make this our official thread! Signings so far: Adam Clendening to Arizona - $650k x 1 year Chad Johnson to Buffalo - $2.5m x 1 year Benoit Pouliot to Buffalo - $1.15m x 1 year Justin Williams to Carolina - $4.5m x 2 years Patrick Sharp to Chicago - $800k x 1 year Jordan Oesterle to Chicago - $650k x 2 years Jonathan Bernier to Colorado - $2.75m x 1 year Martin Hanzal to Dallas - $4.75m x 3 years Tyler Pitlick to Dallas - $1m x 3 years Trevor Daley to Detroit - $3.178m x 3 years Nick Bonino to Nashville - $4.1m x 4 years Kevin Shattenkirk to NYR - $6.65m x 4 years Ondrej Pavelec to NYR - $1.3m x 1 year Brian Elliott to Philadelphia - $2.75m x 2 years Matt Hunwick to Pittsburgh - $2.25m x 3 years Antti Niemi to Pittsburgh - $700k x 1 year Marc-Edouard Vlasic Re-signs in San Jose - $7m x 6 years Martin Jones Re-signs in San Jose - $5.75m x 6 years Dan Girardi to Tampa - $3m x 2 years Sam Gagner to Vancouver - $3.15m x 3 years Michael Del Zotto to Vancouver - $3m x 2 years Anders Nilsson to Vancouver - $2.5m x 2 years Dmitry Kulikov to Winnipeg - $4.33m x 3 years Steve Mason to Winnipeg - $4.1m x 2 years

That'd be a good move. Not for the Avs, but for MTL. I wouldn't bet against it happening either.

I'm curious why MTL doesn't bring back a center?

We'll see if I keep these up since they'll be coming fast and heavy. Figure we should spur up some discussion though, eh? Big trade!

Sorry if I'm too late, but wanted to weigh in. I've only watched Rantanen once or twice, but I strangely really like his NHL upside. Something went seriously wrong in Colorado this year, and I wouldn't bet on it continuing. I think there's a greater chance of Rantanen being a part of #1PP, top line, etc. in COL than Nylander in TOR, and I'm also fairly confident COL will have their ship turned around by next year. I'd sit tight.