J-P

This is a good time to remind everyone that this is the coolest name in hockey. Järnkrok is Swedish for iron hook

I would take Klingberg over Myers any day (don't buy the "hard minutes" Myers plays, in my eyes it's more OEL carrying Myers). Agree though with many previous posters that Klingberg seems like an odd fit, but the idea is definitely intriguing. Any better top 3 puck movers on the league vs QH/OEL/JK? And all three are underrated defensively.

Foot speed is an issue but also lots to like as for the composition of our new 4th line. As the contract is buryable I don't have any issues.

My 5 cents is this is exactly what Alvie said - they didn't expect the deal to be in this neighborhood and when it was it was too good an opportunity to pass on both long term and short term. FA's are always risky but if he keeps being a play driver with consistent effort while putting up at least 2nd line numbers I don't know how that's not a win.

He was very good in the playoffs. I don't think the return is worth the trade but guess they couldn't sign him. I personally still have major issues with him as a person, and pretty much like Evander Kane I don't see a happy ending. Besides that we have QH who will be much better at the same things + more vs DeAngelo in a year or two.

It's a win no matter how you slice it. Think Allvin maybe had more to do with this than most realize.

Thought 1: What?! Thought 2 after seeing the gap hit: wow, that's a good deal. Thought 3: if we signed that contract would it make us better? Thought 4: short term yes, long term no. Too old to be part of a contending team and not a role model worth the years in between. Again, just my thoughts. Nobody can argue it's a bit of a shocker short term.

I've been saying that all year as well. QH would be leathal as a rover and make the whole PP so much more dynamic. Having someone who can shoot the puck and distribute one timers from the top better than QH would also do wonders.

You did watch the bubble playoffs? EP competed and handled the physical stuff just fine. The same way he elevated his game in the playoffs in the SHL before that.

Never thought I'd write this but another big win from the season is the play of Chiasson. In the last 15 games he played as a legitimate top 6 player. If we're going with 3 expensive centers going forward, having cheap top 9 wingers will be key. Pearson/Boeser/Chiasson are all too slow to be great fits though, but if Boeser is traded or not qualified and replaced by a faster and cheaper player I can see a place for the other two.

Bruins is obviously still a very good team, but I don't see them matching up to the Canes and actually went with Canes in 4 straight.

A very good matchup for the Lames unfortunately.

There's always at least one upset in round 1. This could be it. COL should be much deeper but I'm going with Preds in 7.

Full NTC this season, 10 team no trade list next season iirc

I actually think NAS is a pretty bad fit for CAL. They should win anyway, regardless of Saros, but I think Forsberg and especially Josi will be dominant. CAL has no players on that level. Still think CAL will win unfortunately but it won't be easy.

EP the first half of the season is not the same player as EP the second half. Which version of him we see next season remains to be seen of course (I'm hoping he takes the next step both in PPG and defensively). If you have 3 centers good enough to be 1C and the cap overall still works, then that's not a problem and it doesn't matter which one you label 1C, 2C, 3C.

I can meet you halfway now that you explained it in more detail. I agree that during the second half of the game, yes we probably should have gotten a few more penalties vs Kraken. Still a huge difference vs the first half when there were a number of must make calls (trippings etc). Refs usually keep it even and more loose in the later parts of the game though (game went from 3-0 to 3-2), so still not buying the conspiracy theory.

Yeah, ok, fair enough, I can see your point regarding consistency and also there's definitely a tendency to manage the games by evening the penalties out in most games. In this game however, I just don't buy that we got more penalties before we were eliminated vs after. We deserved to get way more penalties vs Kraken the first 30 mins and the last 30 mins we did not, simple as that.

You did watch the game right? Sure there were soft calls, but in no way more biased against us. It was just one of those games where we had a few extra accidental tripping calls etc. Even BB said so after the game (i.e. that all Canucks penalites were warranted).

I've watched all games but 2 this season, thank you. I'm not arguing Miller hasn't been our best forward over the entire season, of course he has. What I am saying is that he has cooled down for the last few games where we really needed him to step up and that he is not a matchup center but rather a very good offensive player which kinda balances his defensive shortcomings. In my eyes, the difference makers on the team are Demko, QH and EP. That has been true for the last few games and will be even more so going forward. Over the entire season Miller has been the most important player along with Demko (maybe OEL and Myers are underrated somewhat for their contributions), and you can agree with this or not, but I guess that's where all the debate regarding trading Miller or not comes from. It's not just his contract - which in itself will be a big issue - but also whether you believe he's a player who can lead to victory in the games where it matters the most.

Sorry, he's never been a matchuo center and never will be no matter how many faceoffs he takes and he hasn't scored when we needed it the most. He's not a bad player but I think the latest stretch shows that there are at least 3-4 players on the team that are more vital both short term and long term.

How many points on the last few games though?

That would be sweet, but as the league seems to have given the ok in advance and they don't want the embarrassement, guess the likely outcome is that they settle and buy Kane off? Not sure how on board NHLPA will be with that though.

I would assume since BB was hired before JR with JR:s blessing that there was a plan in place all along for next year. Having Walker take over after next season does make some sense, but it worries me that most succesful NHL coaches go straight from lower levels to head coach. In recent years, there are a few coaches who have won with limited experience. Bylsma, Crawford, Laviolette, Berube, maybe missing someone... I would argue though that only Laviolette and Berube had a major impact, the other teams were just that good. Most coaches winning the cup has been at it for quite some time though, so while I get the sentiment about recycling coaches, I also believe that experience makes a big difference in the big games. Especially since our assistants don't have that much playoff experience. So I don't really like an internal promotion, and I'm not convinced BB can't be the guy for a few more years and take us all the way. Hopefully our window lasts for 7-8 years from now though, and obviously BB is not the solution for that entire period.

Like many fans I've warmed to Chiasson during the season not only because of scoring but because he's a heavy reliable player that has eliminated his mistakes. I would assume a 2 year one way deal at 1.1 mil would work for both sides. Gives him some security and while it's unlikely he won't be a good choice as a 13th forward during these two years if he doesn't make the roster that contract can be completely buried in the minors.