It’s Go Time!

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Stanley Cup Final, Game 6.

Bruins (2)-Blues (3), 8 PM start, TV-NBC.

Could be the last game of the season. I definitely hope so. We can watch the Cup raised first time in St. Louis. And then talk about buyouts, QOs, trades, draft etc.

258 responses to “It’s Go Time!”

  1. ilb2001 Avatar
    ilb2001

    TomK- I have a post waiting until after the playoffs are over about buyouts with some numbers.

  2. SN Avatar
    SN

    I would take DuBois over Laine and I would take Tkachuk over Laine as well.
    .
    Laine has an elite talent; shooting and scoring goals which is very very importante. While he man not be one-dimensional player, I am curious what other parts of his game that make him better than a more well rounded palyer are??
    .
    Almost always take a center over a winger if they are close enough in the rankings.

  3. ilb2001 Avatar
    ilb2001

    Except Dubois is nowhere near Laine’s talent. Now, I would still take Matthews before Laine because he’s a center. Is Matthews a two-way player? No, but he may become one. The talent level of Matthews and Laine are much closer than Laine’s and Dubois’

  4. E3 Avatar
    E3

    Like in chess, controlling the center is vital.

  5. ilb2001 Avatar
    ilb2001

    Unless you’re a fan of Benko opening 😃

  6. SN Avatar
    SN

    Not sure why Winnipeg is rumored to open to trading Laine. Being a prime talent; one would want to pay him on Matthews level ($11M) to keep him in house.

  7. E3 Avatar
    E3

    Flank openings are always good against the unprepared. I like the Bird especially….

  8. SN Avatar
    SN

    Would be very surprised if any buyouts are offered as this league is less a free market enterprise than an oligopoly focused on labor cost control to maximize profits. If nothing else it would guarantee a lockout so the owners could squabble amongst themselves to address any deviations from the bottom line.

  9. ilb2001 Avatar
    ilb2001

    Rumors, eh? Negotiations. Let’s see where he ends up. And his $ amount.

  10. E3 Avatar
    E3

    Interestingly enough, when I know someone will play 1…g6 to my 1.f4, I will play 1. b3 to get in 2.Bb2. But, 1.g3 will usually transpose to a queen pawn opening imo…

  11. SN Avatar
    SN

    $11.6M per for 5 seasons for a PP specialist would be a first.

  12. ilb2001 Avatar
    ilb2001

    Talking about chess. Tried to teach my little one how to move in chess. She got bored. Couldn’t do it. Had to get an elementary school teacher who teaches chess on a side to come over last Saturday. As per our conversation, he is a below average chess player, never learned any theory, and rarely plays. I doubt he’d last more than 10 min against me, but he knows how to teach kids. Go figure. She learned half of the pieces in one hour. I’ve been trying for months.

  13. cooscoos Avatar

    Along those lines, many a successful and revered Sports Manager or Head Coach was himself a mediocre player at best.

  14. cooscoos Avatar

    And Ted Williams was never able to teach anyone how to hit.

  15. St Pete Eli Avatar
    St Pete Eli

    Finns>Vikings need I say more?

  16. ilb2001 Avatar
    ilb2001

    Don’t remember which famous NHL coach said it, but it was along the lines of “I got good at coaching because I watched a lot of games from the bench.”

  17. Pete Avatar
    Pete

    James, in my opinion we aren’t far enough along in the rebuild and nor is there an RFA available this offseason that warrant us giving up four first round picks. Now if Point was 6-3 and 200+ lbs I’d be singing a different tune, but unfortunately he’s 5-10 and 166 lbs!

    The system was set up this way by the owners intentionally so that there would essentially never be an offer sheet to a team’s top player(s). Maybe Toronto loses one of Kapanen or Johansson to an offersheet, but more likely one would just be traded instead

  18. James G Avatar
    James G

    SN,
    Dubois wasn’t drafted as a center. You knew that much about him that you could predict him as a center and take him over Laine?
    No offense but.. HA!

  19. James G Avatar
    James G

    I didn’t mean to make it sound like an attack, SN. I’m not even in disagreement with your point.
    But looking at a draft retrospectively makes it a little easier than was in June of ‘16. Maybe you were knowledgeable on Dubois. It wouldn’t shock me. But you can’t just insinuate that Kakko will be a mistake or a franchise player for someone even if you think Cozens or Dach is the right move.
    They’re all just a bunch of kids with a ton of talent and promise. There’s no hidden strategy for deciphering who will be the most valuable. Only opinions.
    Come June of 2023 it may be a bit clearer like it is now in regards to the ‘16 draft.

  20. James G Avatar
    James G

    Pete I don’t necessarily disagree with your point about the draft picks.
    But I never mentioned the Rangers.
    All I said was that all it would take is one offer sheet to get the ball rolling on multiple offer sheets.
    And who knows, maybe if it happens in one off season it happens in the next and then it becomes less taboo.

    I guess my point is that at the rate we’re going , there’s a good possibility that sooner or later GMs are going to say to themselves ‘we have two choices: 1- hand out bloated contracts to 29 year olds on the open market or 2- offer the same money to these younger guys who are RFAs.’

  21. cooscoos Avatar

    The only athletes who claim to be 5’10 are 5’8 1/2.

  22. Pete Avatar
    Pete

    The money isn’t really the issue tho for most teams in a vacuum, it’s the 4 first round picks. To do so as a GM you have to be very confident that 1) your current roster and system is essentially stocked for the next 4 years such that you won’t need those picks in any facet (ie not to directly draft players or as trade chips to address other roster needs), 2) the player you are giving the offer sheet to is more valuable on his own than either four other first round picks or the player or players you could acquire using those first round picks in trades (on their own or with other assets) and 3) that same player is worth the largest cap hit on your team (and likely the NHL). Not a primary concern, but also shouldn’t dismiss the fact that you’d be setting a crazy $ precedent for your own RFAs and future UFAs.

    Think very few teams with smart GMs would get past 1 and 2 such that they’d be ready to ask their owners to approve a contact likely at or above $100m all in. Marner is the only guy that comes close in this year’s class to me (but again not for the rangers)

  23. E3 Avatar
    E3

    I’ve been playing some good chess lately..,mostly G/10

  24. E3 Avatar
    E3

    Easiest to teach chess with K v KQ, then K v KRR, then K v R,,,, learning mating patterns

  25. SN Avatar
    SN

    James – DuBois was a C/LW draftee. Nobody really knows which is my point about everyone buying into the hype, whether justified or not. The herd mentality runs rampant every draft.
    If the 1C of the future is available at #2, I would take him over a winger. No guarantees with any player.
    .
    I just know that without a 1C, no Cup will be hoisted at MSG. 79 years and 1 Cup… (long trombone sound)
    .

  26. SN Avatar
    SN

    Mating patterns? Who knew chess got its sexy back??

  27. E3 Avatar
    E3

    I love when my Bishop pins the queen

  28. cooscoos Avatar

    Whoever NY picks #2, they will say they would have taken him #1. Deliver this to the bank.

  29. cooscoos Avatar

    Bishop Sheen pins Freddy Mercury.

  30. E3 Avatar
    E3

    Freddy was naughty

  31. SN Avatar
    SN


    .
    Hmmm 👍

  32. St Pete Eli Avatar
    St Pete Eli

    Get it done JG the return is irrelevant!

  33. ilb2001 Avatar
    ilb2001