NHL 2024/2025

I don't follow the NHL bar the odd highlight and when Dallas is (sometimes) playing.

Who got the better of that trade on paper?
Toronto did. They got a first-round draft pick plus a promising player & 2 for a player who took up a bunch of our cap space whilst not necessarily delivering the value that was expected (Kapanen).
 
Three Game 7s in two days now :drool:

Vegas and Vancouver playing it on a back-to-back tough, tight schedule.
 
What happened?? That Dallas/Avs game was mega. I wasn't cheering for anyone, though I've said that I thought the Avs would reach the final on the performances they'd given in the previous rounds, so was expecting them to pull the rabbit out of the hat, but didn't expect that game!! Credit to Dallas, they seem to have some charm on them, but may need more against a strong looking Vegas team..

Not looking forward to the the Islanders/Flyers game later, as I've had the Islanders going all the way based on what I've seen and we've already seen how badly that has fallen. Still 3 game 7's in this round has made for some really good hockey to watch.
 
Was hoping Avs would win it all. I guess I hope Vegas wins now.
 
I'm telling you write off these Islanders at your peril. They just seem to be able to shut teams down, score plenty of goals and can take a knock or two. Trotz has got them going and is the only coach left to have won a cup, that experience has to help in these circumstances.


In other news Pierre McGuire has been in talks to take over the GM role in Arizona. That's right out of the blue in many ways, not sure if he'd be able to turn them round considering how much do do they are in.
 
I knew the Islanders were going into this game at a slight disadvantage as the Bolts had been in Edmonton a day or so longer than them, but that result was crazy.. That shooting stat of the first missed shot being at the 58th minute is just outrageous. Still think they'll come back and take the series, but you can't wager against that sort of performance from any team, you just have to ride the wagon and go into the next game thinking they won't repeat and we can do better.
 
Gonna be brutal for the Lightning if they'll go to Game 7 after tonight, being up 3-1 and losing it in double OT.

I hope they finish it off.
 
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Sadly I think the rest between games will help the Bolts more than the Stars, but what do I know I suggested the Avs v Islanders in the final and will always suggest the Oilers will make the play-offs every year. Got so lucky with my recording of game 5, added an hour on to the normal live feed, Perry scored with 2 minutes recording time left. Phew, got to see the game finish and the series continue. The Stars are battling, but certainly the Bolts looked so tired on Saturday, which aided the Stars. They'll need steller goal tending once again and perhaps Seguin to break his goal slump to take this to game 7.
 
Usually when a team has 3 attempts to close out a series, they either do it in game 5, or lose game 5 and clinch it in game 6. If it goes to game 7, the momentum has well and truly swung and so they fold. This isn't really evidence based obvs, just how I feel these sorts of 3-1 series have gone over the years.

So it's do or die tonight for the Bolts.
 
Only 6 times previously had a team from 3-1 down forced a game 7.... and it remains at 6.. Dallas ran out of gas and hardly laid a hand on the Bolts last night. They had nothing at all. Credit to the Bolts they were by far the best team last year and whilst not being as good in the regular season this year they just powered through the play offs.

Stamkos went full on John Terry of course, you can't begrudge him especially as they hadn't taken the C away from him. Big shout out to Pat Maroon, who would have thought he'd go back to back cups? A fantastic guy to have around the dressing room, and one of those good news story players. Loved him in Edmonton, and love the fact he's won big twice in a row now.
 
After a few years of failing, this Tampa side finally won. They have been the best team in the NHL for a few years on. Well deserved.
 
I was hoping for a Dallas win last night just so we could see a game 7 decider purely for the spectacle, but they looked gassed, game 7 would probably have been a massacre. Tampa didn't really have to get out of 2nd gear.
 
Happy for them tbh. It's always nice to see a team outside the historically huge, storied franchises win it all.
 
Happy for them tbh. It's always nice to see a team outside the historically huge, storied franchises win it all.

Surely then it's time for a Canadian team to win it then next year.. Those from outside the huge storied franchises, though obviously one that has won more than 1 cup...
 
The draft, surprising as ever. Top 4 shouldn't have been in doubt. I think LA might regret not taking Stutzle though, they were already very well stocked down the middle. Even without Kopitar.

Ottawa, to absolutely no ones shock were the first ones to reach. Really weird to have the chance to take both Stutzle and Rossi and not take it. Particularly when Rossi is a 67's guy. Speaking of Rossi, almost can't believe that he fell to Minnesota, him and Kaprizov will be an exciting pairing for them in the future.

Glad the Red Wings picked up Raymond, he should go straight into the line up for us. Trading today will be interesting. You would think that there might be a market for a guy like Glendenning, Helm with some money retained might get a bite in the mid-late rounds. If there is anything to this Fleury w/ 50% retained + 2nd Rnd pick that VGK is apparently shopping then Stevie Y should be all over it. We get a starting tandem for a little over 6 mil and another roll of the dice in a deep draft.

Excited for Day 2.
 
Surely then it's time for a Canadian team to win it then next year.. Those from outside the huge storied franchises, though obviously one that has won more than 1 cup...

Sorry I cannot co-sign Oilers winning the Stanley Cup. I could be convinced for a price though - McDavid to the Habs for free gets you 2 Stanley Cups 10 years apart.
 
I was surprised to see Domi traded for Josh Anderson and the extra sweetener pick goes the Blue Jackets' way. I know he feels a glaring need for the Habs but Colombus getting the better player and an extra pick is a bit odd.


Also not sure what to make of Habs drafting Kaiden Guhle. Seems like a safe pick, if nothing else - he was a top 20 ranked player in the draft in some of the rankings I read, so picking him at 16 probably isn't so bad.
 
I was surprised to see Domi traded for Josh Anderson and the extra sweetener pick goes the Blue Jackets' way. I know he feels a glaring need for the Habs but Colombus getting the better player and an extra pick is a bit odd.


Also not sure what to make of Habs drafting Kaiden Guhle. Seems like a safe pick, if nothing else - he was a top 20 ranked player in the draft in some of the rankings I read, so picking him at 16 probably isn't so bad.

Domi is looking for term and wages, it's possibly his last big contract and the Habs don't have the space. Anderson isn't in Domi's class, but I think he may fit into the Habs system and do well for them. However, saying that I do think Columbus wins this trade.
 
Domi 2 years for $10m and then ufa is a high price. Certainly not the term that he perhaps wanted but for him that contract is high.

Interesting to see how Puljujarvi will do upon his return to the NHL. He's obviously rebuilt his confidence back home in Finland, at just over $1m a year he could prove to be a snip. With new management and coaching team hopefully he'll spark to life at this level, enough to earn himself a new deal in a couple of years where he can earn considerably more money than this just as the flat cap starts to lift. It is his last chance, but hopefully he'll take it. In the mean time he can continue to play in Finland till training camp starts probably at the start of December with Jan 1st being the new start date.

That gives McDavid some time to recover from Covid, not the best news we wanted to hear, but hopefully he doesn't suffer to badly.

The Oilers draft forwards with every pick and defer the 3rd rounder to Calgary till next year and then use this years to trade for 2 picks further down the draft. I think this was an attempt to tell the NHL where to go. Under no circumstances were the terms of the Neal/Lucic trade met, yet they decided for no reason to claim they would have been and so we had to give them our 3rd rounder. The Oilers got shafted by the NHL on that one.
 
I was surprised to see Domi traded for Josh Anderson and the extra sweetener pick goes the Blue Jackets' way. I know he feels a glaring need for the Habs but Colombus getting the better player and an extra pick is a bit odd.
Domi is looking for term and wages, it's possibly his last big contract and the Habs don't have the space. Anderson isn't in Domi's class, but I think he may fit into the Habs system and do well for them. However, saying that I do think Columbus wins this trade.
Domi 2 years for $10m and then ufa is a high price. Certainly not the term that he perhaps wanted but for him that contract is high.

I take it all back, how on earth can Montreal give Anderson 7 years at the same money Domi got? It's sheer lunacy, I don't care if he's a good fit or not, he's not worth that sort of money over that period, especially when you have traded him for Domi...
 
I take it all back, how on earth can Montreal give Anderson 7 years at the same money Domi got? It's sheer lunacy, I don't care if he's a good fit or not, he's not worth that sort of money over that period, especially when you have traded him for Domi...

He is the right profile and plays in a position of need but christ, that is a lot of money. It'll either be an excellent contract or a disastrous one, you get the feeling there will be no in between. That shoulder of his better be fully healed.
 
Holland was doing well till he brought Smith back, I know we had little wiggle with the cap space, but he could have moved for some of the goalies free on Friday. We've got to get Ethan Bear's contract signed now, it isn't going to be a long term one, more of a bridge deal. Plus, we may have to find another D with Klefbom looking like he could be out for a while with rumours abound that his shoulder is arthritic and may require some sort of surgery to extend his career.
 
He is the right profile and plays in a position of need but christ, that is a lot of money. It'll either be an excellent contract or a disastrous one, you get the feeling there will be no in between. That shoulder of his better be fully healed.

It's not really a lot of money, I don't understand what people expected for a future UFA, big body goalscoring winger. The money is what you should expect, the term is relatively long but he is tradeable since he will only be 33 at the start of his last year.

And Domi isn't the better player either, people are looking at his 72 pts season while overlooking the fact that it wasn't sustainable and isn't in line with the other seasons in his career, Domi is closer to a 45-55 points player which is also where Anderson is but Domi is a liability defensively. He is also only that player at center and not neeeded by the Habs in that position. As a left winger, he is inferior to Drouin and Tatar and not worth the 5m needed to extend him, at least not for the Habs.
 
A really sad day for Oilers fans, and hockey in general. The legendary Joey Moss sadly passed aged 57 yesterday. He'd worked for the Oilers and the Edmonton Football team for over 30 years. I'm sure that the Oilers will mark his passing when they either play next or certainly when they are allowed to have fans back. RIP Joey Moss
 


This might interest some of you. So the AHL will have stopped for at least 11 months, that's huge when you consider the amount of prospects that are not developing and will see a new batch of draftees compete with them.
 


This might interest some of you. So the AHL will have stopped for at least 11 months, that's huge when you consider the amount of prospects that are not developing and will see a new batch of draftees compete with them.

Teams must be trying hard to send prospects to Europe. Obviously very competitive leagues so not interested in developing players for NHL unless it benefits their season goals.
 


This might interest some of you. So the AHL will have stopped for at least 11 months, that's huge when you consider the amount of prospects that are not developing and will see a new batch of draftees compete with them.


MLB prospects lost an entire minor league season this year, haven't looked up what may happen with the fall & winter leagues. It's a big dent in developmental progress for these prospects.
 
Teams must be trying hard to send prospects to Europe. Obviously very competitive leagues so not interested in developing players for NHL unless it benefits their season goals.

Yup the Canadiens have been doing it for a lot of their european prospects but the north americans wanted to see if the AHL would start in 2020 which is now officially dead.

MLB prospects lost an entire minor league season this year, haven't looked up what may happen with the fall & winter leagues. It's a big dent in developmental progress for these prospects.

I was thinking about them too and it's an even bigger issue because there is no substitute for them and there are many minor league players, in a league that doesn't have that many starter positions to offer, they can't afford to not develop as smoothly as possible. The good thing is for the players that had Tommy John surgery, they can't believe their luck.
 
One of the only positives for you during these tough times I guess :lol:

Hey we may not have earned our way in but we won a playoff series last season. Put some respeck on our name :D
 
Hey we may not have earned our way in but we won a playoff series last season. Put some respeck on our name :D
In all seriousness you guys look decent going into this year. Leafs, Canadiens, Oilers and Flames is my prediction