Mike Gillis is Destroying the Vancouver Canucks

[In the Slot]

raffi wasn't worth it hey?

that's why mg tried to trade back for him? explain please

also your post is full of 'maybe's, wait and see, if this guy works out, if that guy works out' therefore, we are worse of.

risk vs certainty

learn about investing, asset management, risk adjusted returns

you sound like you've drunk the MG kool aid

responses below

1. If we look at our roster today, we don't know yet if it is worse than last year or not? How can you say definitively like it is some fact that we are worse, did you even see our team last year? We didn't have anything in the middle of our lineup to to injuries last year, being healthy alone makes us a better team, not to mention we haven't even seen where players are and how some of the young players have improved.

Response: You ignore my post and point. Why didn’t we have anything up the middle? Again, don’t compartmentalize my post. Look at it in aggregate. My point is MG is destroying this team. Part of that was my point about not addressing the center situation which he was well aware of after last season given Manny and Kesler’s injuries, yet did nothing about. Moreover, we have no center’s of size with professional experience, which is what is needed at 3c.

Yes we aren't the same team we were in 2011 clearly, things change, teams can't stay at the top forever, in Chicago had a major dip for 2 years. So relax, its not exclusive to us, there is a reason there hasn't been a repeat champion since 97 and thats because it is extremely hard to have continued top of the mountain success especially in the salary cap era.

Response: Again, why are we in a bind? Compartmentalization of responses. We are in a bind with our cap because of bad decisions by Gillis

2.

Just before I go into each letter, I really do think this physicality thing is overrated. We were not physically destroyed by LA, we weren't even physically destroyed by Boston, we hit them just as much as they hit us, the only time they had the edge was after the whistle and thats where the reffing failed. Anyways on I go:

Response: Blaming the refs? Wow...sinking to a low. Sorry but blaming the refs will not win us a cup. Moreover, if you think hitting is overrated, Brian Bickell and his impact on Chara say hello. You have not played the sport competitively by that comment. I can tell you it wears you down. It is a MASSIVELY important aspect of the game in a cup run.

A.

I don't think you fully understand the situation, and I think you are only telling half the story as to what Raffi is as a player, first off it was over money & term, & who knows what else. At the time I suspect didn't see room for Torres in the top 9 (and we didn't have room) and didn't want to be paying 1.75 over more than 1 year for a 4th liner when we had young players and other players who were on the verge of making this team.

Its

ridiculous

that you think Raffi Torres was a major loss, cause he wasn't, and your not even describing him totally as a player, he can bring that physical play but he walks that fine line and crosses it, he does. And it hurts his team, we saw it in 2011, his hit was the fuel the Hawks needed to almost take us out, and we have seen the suspension he has grabbed the last 2 playoff years, those kind of things hurt your team, and really balances it out. He is also very enigmatic, he's not exactly a model of consistently. And finally, he said he was going to change his game anyways so he isn't running around delivering cheap hits to guys, so he wouldn't even bring that same impact anyways, so your whining over something thats not even what you think it is.

End of story on Raffi, he isn't exactly the player you are thinking of and he wasn't a key loss.

Response: YET MG tried to trade back for him.

End of story

B.

Again the fact that you think Raffi Torres and Tanner Glass are major losses is comical. And have even considered that maybe it isn't the personnel, its the system that plays into that? Dale Weise, Tom Sestito, Zack Kassian, exc, These guys can hit, but maybe our system doing revolve around constantly looking for the body, maybe that wasn't stressed by the coaching staff, it wasn't. We have players who can hit, Dale Weise has been among the top of our team in hits, now if he is at the top of our entire team, and there are smaller players like Gionta ahead of him, what does that tell you? Thats maybe its the entire team? Not the player? Again they aren't big losses, its frankly ridiculous you making it out to be anything significant at all.

Response : Stephen Gionta had more hits than Sestito and Weiss and is 5’7’’. Weiss and Sestito’s sole role is to hit, forheck and tire out defenses. Your response shows you don’t understand roles in hockey. A 5’7 offensive player should not have more hits than our so called toughness. How you can argue this is beyond logical. You state Weiss was a leader in our team in hits, yet our team is one of the least physical in the league and thats a big issue. Using a comparable of our team is the equivalent of data mining son. Your comp should be the league. He is again behind stephen gionta in the LEAGUE and not even in the top 100 hitters in the NHL, when that is his ROLE!

C.

Richardson is probably the same calibre of player, just brings some different attributes, hes faster but can still do alot of things and is still a good bottom player. Your really reaching for things to whine about it seems. Considering we haven't even seen him play yet.

His faceoff % over the last 3 years is under 50%. We had issues in the circle this year with the loss of Manny. We just let a player with a faceoff % above 50% walk, who was bigger, just as fast and our team leader in hits. Again, you don’t address what the hole is. You suggest people have ‘faith’ yet the stats prove we let a better player go. That move does not make the team stronger, it makes it weaker. I don't base evaluations on 'what if he plays better than Lappy". I look at their stats over time, their age, their salary, etc and what it shows a logical person is it was a bad decision based on needs, where this team is in its evolution, the holes we have. Anyone can come up with hypotheticals to support their arguments, track records support arguments, facts, and stats support arguments.

D.

This you couldn't be more wrong about, both Ballard & Booth addressed needs, Ballard was brought in to make sure we added a top 4 capable player to the lineup incase we couldn't sign Hamhuis, Ballard had a tough time getting himself situated with the injury early on but he was what was avertised, AV just never had confidence in him, its not entirely Ballards fault, and its not MG's. It was a need and MG went out an addressed it. Just like everyone wants.

Same with Booth, he had consistently proven to be a top 6 forward, and he is a top 6 forward, he has just had a tough time with injuries, he also brings different attributes to the team with his size, speed & aggressiveness. (He brings some of that hitting you whined so much about losing) Yes his cap hit is a bit high, thats why we got him for as little as we did.

Response : We needed a 5/6 and brought in a 4. We overpaid. You are arguing against fact as we just bought him out. Booth has played 74 games in three seasons and is being paid 4.5 million. Again, I look at facts not what ifs, wishes, hopes. You keep alluding to what ifs vs the FACTS.

E.

For this you are

simply uninformed

and

simply wrong

. At the time Grabner was not better than Raymond. At the time Raymond was coming off a 25 goal, 53 point season as a 23 year old, and Grabner was still in and out of the lineup, and hadn't proven anything or even locked down a full time job. With

5 of out 6 top 6 forward coming off career seasons

(the lone one not being Daniel Sedin) and bringing in Manny specifically for a 3rd line role to change the dynamic of that line, there was simply no room for Grabner, he would have had to come to camp and beat out one of those players, which consider how much AV loved his guys, and how Grabner came into Florida out of shape, it wouldn't have happened. The pure fact of the matter is he wouldn't have made the team,

he would have been waived and lost for nothing, atleast we used him to address a major need.

Response: Grabner is a second line scorer in New York, Raymond was let walk – fact. We gave up a first round draft pick, along with Grabner (another first rounder) for Ballard, who was bought out. Again, FACT. How this is spun as a positive move by you I have no clue. Again, compartmentalizing all the issues to support your own delusional view.

F.

You really don't understand the dynamic of it do you? It was a very favorable contract when signed, but the NHL decided to punish teams for signing legal contracts in the new CBA, and thats what turned it into a burden.

Response :

Smart decision when you had a precedent like Depietro already out there and you have a young up and coming goalie in Schneider? Not smart asset management

G.

This point just proves to me your just here to whine and complain. Because this is hypocritical. You just complained about MG giving away hitting ability and stuff with Torres & Glass, now MG brought in hitting ability and a player who can play that same role, and brings even more to the table, and you are whining about that too. Everyone

fully understood

Kassian was younger than Coho and not at his level of development, MG said that, so I don't understand why you are whining about it, MG was interested in a number of young players, Cody had to be moved, and Zack was the only one available. Again you just digging so hard to find things to whine about its unreal.

Response: You don’t comprehend very well do you? I stated the irony of MG’s move on Kassian was he said we needed more physical play, YET HE LET ALOT OF OUR PHYSICAL PLAY WALK – that’s called double speak, its called smoke and mirrors to cover your errors

H.

Your just making stuff up now, its comical. Your just making things up to satisfy your agenda. I would love for you to provide a clear source that states MG refused Kadir & Bozak, there were reports & speculation, but then again there were also reports Luongo

declined to waive his NTC.

It is equally as likely Roberto turned down a Toronto trade. Is that MG's fault? Is that his fault too? That roberto declined to waive, is that MG's fault too?

Response :Only fair point you’ve made thus far

.

you want to ignore error after error and compartmentalize as i said. I look at a track record of errors and see it for what it is, a trend of mistakes.

[In the Slot]

Don't make comparisons in stats then. Gionta is 1st line guy and is pretty aggressive, more ice time equates to a chance to give more hits.

[Brocklovich]

While I agree with a good portion of your post I do find the whole "everyone we vot stinks and the players moved / let go were the best" thoughts. We are judging the Schneider trade as if he was a top 2 goalie and we got a 4th line plug for him.

At least give Horvat a chance for all we know he could turn out to be a mini toews for us and Schneider might completely bomb in new jersey. I like cory but he is going to a high octane division and new jersey wasnt the best of clubs last year.

Letting lappy go was a mistake for sure but the booth deal he gave up a broken samuelsson and a plug sturm. If booth can stay healthy he may legitimately produce under tortorella and be that complementary piece to kesler. If he scores 20+ goals and gets 50+ points how do we evaluate the trade now?

Ballard trade was poor but at the time it looked like it might push the d over the top. The player was grossly mishandled by av which magnified the trade moreso. Also lets not forget that the islanders were the beneficiaries of that and they werent a part of the trade.

Luongos contract stinks no doubt but personally I think its shady practices of the nhl to say no more going forward and then to pile on all these rules and restrictions and then retroactively put them on those deals after the fact. Also he signed it before cory emerged as a good goalie. What if cory flopped or was average and luongo was the unquestioned number 1 the whole time. To be honest I didnt think cory would turn out as good as he did.

Letting torres go was a mistake but gillis has been trying to shed some stigma about the club and the fact that torres has been suspended twice since I can understand why.

Who knows what truly happened with cody, it is a bit telling that he went to buffalo was getting top 6 minutes and is now being shopped by Buffalo as they are having a hard time re-signing him that could potentially lead him to be on 3 teams by the time his ELC is over. For a guy that had been lauded as a character guy that doesnt scream good character to me, still solid hockey player though. Kassian has been underwhelming so far no doubt and I do believe now is his time to pick it up under tortorella. I do believe bigger players tend to take a shade longer to finally hit their stride which is what hopefully happens with kassian

[In the Slot]

While I agree with a good portion of your post I do find the whole "everyone we vot stinks and the players moved / let go were the best" thoughts. We are judging the Schneider trade as if he was a top 2 goalie and we got a 4th line plug for him.

At least give Horvat a chance for all we know he could turn out to be a mini toews for us and Schneider might completely bomb in new jersey. I like cory but he is going to a high octane division and new jersey wasnt the best of clubs last year.

Letting lappy go was a mistake for sure but the booth deal he gave up a broken samuelsson and a plug sturm. If booth can stay healthy he may legitimately produce under tortorella and be that complementary piece to kesler. If he scores 20+ goals and gets 50+ points how do we evaluate the trade now?

Ballard trade was poor but at the time it looked like it might push the d over the top. The player was grossly mishandled by av which magnified the trade moreso. Also lets not forget that the islanders were the beneficiaries of that and they werent a part of the trade.

Luongos contract stinks no doubt but personally I think its shady practices of the nhl to say no more going forward and then to pile on all these rules and restrictions and then retroactively put them on those deals after the fact. Also he signed it before cory emerged as a good goalie. What if cory flopped or was average and luongo was the unquestioned number 1 the whole time. To be honest I didnt think cory would turn out as good as he did.

Letting torres go was a mistake but gillis has been trying to shed some stigma about the club and the fact that torres has been suspended twice since I can understand why.

Who knows what truly happened with cody, it is a bit telling that he went to buffalo was getting top 6 minutes and is now being shopped by Buffalo as they are having a hard time re-signing him that could potentially lead him to be on 3 teams by the time his ELC is over. For a guy that had been lauded as a character guy that doesnt scream good character to me, still solid hockey player though. Kassian has been underwhelming so far no doubt and I do believe now is his time to pick it up under tortorella. I do believe bigger players tend to take a shade longer to finally hit their stride which is what hopefully happens with kassian

[Nuxfanabroad]

While I agree with a good portion of your post I do find the whole "everyone we vot stinks and the players moved / let go were the best" thoughts. We are judging the Schneider trade as if he was a top 2 goalie and we got a 4th line plug for him.

At least give Horvat a chance for all we know he could turn out to be a mini toews for us and Schneider might completely bomb in new jersey. I like cory but he is going to a high octane division and new jersey wasnt the best of clubs last year.

Letting lappy go was a mistake for sure but the booth deal he gave up a broken samuelsson and a plug sturm. If booth can stay healthy he may legitimately produce under tortorella and be that complementary piece to kesler. If he scores 20+ goals and gets 50+ points how do we evaluate the trade now?

Ballard trade was poor but at the time it looked like it might push the d over the top. The player was grossly mishandled by av which magnified the trade moreso. Also lets not forget that the islanders were the beneficiaries of that and they werent a part of the trade.

Luongos contract stinks no doubt but personally I think its shady practices of the nhl to say no more going forward and then to pile on all these rules and restrictions and then retroactively put them on those deals after the fact. Also he signed it before cory emerged as a good goalie. What if cory flopped or was average and luongo was the unquestioned number 1 the whole time. To be honest I didnt think cory would turn out as good as he did.

Letting torres go was a mistake but gillis has been trying to shed some stigma about the club and the fact that torres has been suspended twice since I can understand why.

Who knows what truly happened with cody, it is a bit telling that he went to buffalo was getting top 6 minutes and is now being shopped by Buffalo as they are having a hard time re-signing him that could potentially lead him to be on 3 teams by the time his ELC is over. For a guy that had been lauded as a character guy that doesnt scream good character to me, still solid hockey player though. Kassian has been underwhelming so far no doubt and I do believe now is his time to pick it up under tortorella. I do believe bigger players tend to take a shade longer to finally hit their stride which is what hopefully happens with kassian

[Drouin]

Although I disagree somewhat, nice post with all the info.

[Tearloch7]

Those who CAN. DO ... those who can't? .. why they whine and moan and look at the greener grass, apply their 20/20 hindsight and try to undermine leadership group ..

It is summer .. why not keep the judgements until after training camp? .. oh thats right, because you already know the outcome. How boring life must be when you can second guess yourself into a wet froth ..

[In the Slot]

Those who CAN. DO ... those who can't? .. why they whine and moan and look at the greener grass, apply their 20/20 hindsight and try to undermine leadership group ..

It is summer .. why not keep the judgements until after training camp? .. oh thats right, because you already know the outcome. How boring life must be when you can second guess yourself into a wet froth ..

[EvoLu7ioN]

I still have faith MG will load up at the deadline.

[Biznow]

I agree with some points and disagree with others.

1. The roster looks worse, but any time you inject youth into your lineup it looks worse during that initial season. It still needs to be done though.

2. I believe management definitely didn't plan well enough for the impact of the new CBA. Gillis often refers to not having a "crystal ball", however a lot of other GMs in the league at least had a bit more foresight.

A. Totally agree, losing Torres was a mistake. He was the one guy we had where the opposition was legit afraid when he was on the ice. Keep your head up when Raffi's out there.

B. Tanner Glass would have been great to keep for the fourth line. Also, one that you forgot to mention, who I think would have been good for the fourth line this season, is Volpatti. The Volpatti mess was a real blunder.

C. Max Lapierre. After 2011 Lappy bulked up a bit, and I don't think he was as good afterwards. Richardson is good, but not ideal. However I think we may eventually see Kellan Lain fill that spot. He's good on faceoffs, and will add some size.

D. Booth and Ballard deals. I actually think on paper those moves looked good at the time they were made. Ballard got the poop end of the stick, and Booth for whatever reason hasn't clicked quite yet. I do remember a number of TRADE FOR BOOTH posts and proposals before he was traded here, and people were pretty enthused when he was dealt here. Now everyone poops on the deal. Hindsight is 20/20.

E. Letting grabner go for Raymond was a mistake. The frustrating part about Raymond was it never really seemed he played up to potential.

F. Luongo's contract. It wasn't ugly at first, its ugly now. If they were going to trade Schneider, they should have done so right after he started in the playoffs over Luongo for the first time. His value was at its highest, and it would have been a good way to mend fences with Luongo. Last season they probably could have dealt Lu, and should have even if it was for peanuts, as the cap space alone would have been a valuable return. They weren't getting Kadri and Bozak.

G. Coho for Kassian. Kassian is going to be good. I still think it could be multiple seasons before he hits his potential. Those types of players just take longer to develop. CoHo sounds like a real pain in the butt. If the rumors are true, he's taken the same attitude in Buffalo. You don't want those guys with a sense of entitlement around your locker room . Their attitudes spread like fungus.

H. Manny Malhotra was our perfect 3c. Then his eye got blown out. Management totally botched their handling of his situation. This may have been one of the bigger bungles in my opinion. If he was injured, they shouldn't have brought him back to play for so long after the injury. They said they cared about his health, but that only came about when they needed cap space. Manny seems to be VERY well respected amongst the other players, and to some it may have appeared he was cast aside. Probably not a great morale move. We don't really know if Manny can still play or not, but MG might have even wrecked Manny's chances to at least try to play again somewhere. I for one hope Manny does get a contract, even if its league minimum so he can at least try, if it doesn't work out he can retire on his own terms.

I. Picking up Roy was a terrible move. It was clear last season they weren't going anywhere in the playoffs. Waste of a pick, and a waste of Connauton, who would have been a good 6th-8th d-man for us this season.

J. Aquilini should have done the right thing and bought out Luongo. There's no way around it. I'll bet MG wanted that buyout as bad as Luongo did. They could have wiped their hands clean of it. We would have had Schneider for the next decade, and Luongo could have signed in florida. People would have complained about not getting a return for awhile, but it would have faded away quicker than this gong show they currently have going on. On the brightside, we have Horvat.

As for your question about what the plan is, I would guess the plan right now is to try to make it through this upcoming season with whatever they've got, then pray to the Roger Neilson statue that the salary cap skyrockets next season.

[In the Slot]

I still have faith MG will load up at the deadline.

[In the Slot]

I agree with some points and disagree with others.

1. The roster looks worse, but any time you inject youth into your lineup it looks worse during that initial season. It still needs to be done though.

2. I believe management definitely didn't plan well enough for the impact of the new CBA. Gillis often refers to not having a "crystal ball", however a lot of other GMs in the league at least had a bit more foresight.

A. Totally agree, losing Torres was a mistake. He was the one guy we had where the opposition was legit afraid when he was on the ice. Keep your head up when Raffi's out there.

B. Tanner Glass would have been great to keep for the fourth line. Also, one that you forgot to mention, who I think would have been good for the fourth line this season, is Volpatti. The Volpatti mess was a real blunder.

C. Max Lapierre. After 2011 Lappy bulked up a bit, and I don't think he was as good afterwards. Richardson is good, but not ideal. However I think we may eventually see Kellan Lain fill that spot. He's good on faceoffs, and will add some size.

D. Booth and Ballard deals. I actually think on paper those moves looked good at the time they were made. Ballard got the poop end of the stick, and Booth for whatever reason hasn't clicked quite yet. I do remember a number of TRADE FOR BOOTH posts and proposals before he was traded here, and people were pretty enthused when he was dealt here. Now everyone poops on the deal. Hindsight is 20/20.

E. Letting grabner go for Raymond was a mistake. The frustrating part about Raymond was it never really seemed he played up to potential.

F. Luongo's contract. It wasn't ugly at first, its ugly now. If they were going to trade Schneider, they should have done so right after he started in the playoffs over Luongo for the first time. His value was at its highest, and it would have been a good way to mend fences with Luongo. Last season they probably could have dealt Lu, and should have even if it was for peanuts, as the cap space alone would have been a valuable return. They weren't getting Kadri and Bozak.

G. Coho for Kassian. Kassian is going to be good. I still think it could be multiple seasons before he hits his potential. Those types of players just take longer to develop. CoHo sounds like a real pain in the butt. If the rumors are true, he's taken the same attitude in Buffalo. You don't want those guys with a sense of entitlement around your locker room . Their attitudes spread like fungus.

H. Manny Malhotra was our perfect 3c. Then his eye got blown out. Management totally botched their handling of his situation. This may have been one of the bigger bungles in my opinion. If he was injured, they shouldn't have brought him back to play for so long after the injury. They said they cared about his health, but that only came about when they needed cap space. Manny seems to be VERY well respected amongst the other players, and to some it may have appeared he was cast aside. Probably not a great morale move. We don't really know if Manny can still play or not, but MG might have even wrecked Manny's chances to at least try to play again somewhere. I for one hope Manny does get a contract, even if its league minimum so he can at least try, if it doesn't work out he can retire on his own terms.

I. Picking up Roy was a terrible move. It was clear last season they weren't going anywhere in the playoffs. Waste of a pick, and a waste of Connauton, who would have been a good 6th-8th d-man for us this season.

J. Aquilini should have done the right thing and bought out Luongo. There's no way around it. I'll bet MG wanted that buyout as bad as Luongo did. They could have wiped their hands clean of it. We would have had Schneider for the next decade, and Luongo could have signed in florida. People would have complained about not getting a return for awhile, but it would have faded away quicker than this gong show they currently have going on. On the brightside, we have Horvat.

As for your question about what the plan is, I would guess the plan right now is to try to make it through this upcoming season with whatever they've got, then pray to the Roger Neilson statue that the salary cap skyrockets next season.

[Drouin]

that doesn't work, we've seen it....deadline deals/rentals don't really tend to help, and I think this team has proven, it can't 'turn it on'

[-DLC-]

You guys saying "no plan/focus" don't understand how it works....a "plan" that involves others and their decisions may have to go to plan B if theirs is different. In this league, things are ever changing and you need to adjust more than plan. React more than barrel along. I've said it a million times....MG is only one half of the decision making equation....other teams and players control their decisions and their plan may differ from his.

If it's bleak and you've thrown in the towel, then do it. Don't whine, moan and complain. Just as you expect of MG, ACT upon it. Have a plan/focus and then follow through.

[Sandro17]

This is actually a very well thought out thread coming from an MG hater. +1 For being a good poster and possibly changing my opinion on MG.

Edit: Although I am still an MG fan, I haven't changed my opinion on him yet.

[-DLC-]

you all it 'hindsight'

i wonder if you are a ceo of a company and you destroy it, do you tell shareholders oh don't whine and complain, you're telling me everything i did wrong in 'hindsight'...i made a mess but it's 'hindsight' lol..so it shouldn't matter that i made a mess...that's your argument? lol...very logical! haha!!

undermine the leadership group? Lol...wow..blinders, they've done that on their own

bad decisions, one after another, are still bad decisions and form a pattern of errors.

its called a track record son - please never get involved in any sort of business. you'll drive it into the ground

Who says they're "bad decisions", you?

Track record?: this business has been in the top mix for the past couple of years. That's not a bad track record, son. Your assessment of this business is wrong. Our arena is sold out every game....I don't know that it's been driven into the ground and a mess. I think some of the fans are though, because they freak out in the summer before a game has been played in the upcoming season. I'm pretty sure that this is still considered a fairly successful team/business.

[EvoLu7ioN]

And while I don't disagree with many of your points, they represent all the bad and none of the good. Let me balance it out a bit.

1 - Signing Dan Hamhuis to a 4.6M contract long term is an absolute steal when you look at guys like Wideman getting 5.5M.

2 - Acquiring Christian Ehrhoff and Malhotra for peanuts was a big move, both those guys were key in our cup run. He did lose some points here for letting Ehrhoff walk without at least trading his rights, however not signing him is understandable given the contract he was demanding,

3 - Beefing up scouting, actively pursuing college fee agents. Our scouting has made great strides, we cherry picked Tanev and more recently Lain out of college without sacrificing any assets. He also found a stud on D in Corrado in the 5th round. Jensen is looking pretty good too.

4 - Resigning the Sedins Kesler and Edler to 6.1 5.0 and 5.0 deals respectively is another huge move. These guys great players, they easily would have made 1-2M more on the open market.

5 - Way ahead of the curve in deploying advanced team analytical such as zone starts, sleep analysis, etc.

[In the Slot]

Who says they're "bad decisions", you?

Track record?: this business has been in the top mix for the past couple of years. That's not a bad track record, son. Your assessment of this business is wrong. Our arena is sold out every game....I don't know that it's been driven into the ground and a mess. I think some of the fans are though, because they freak out in the summer before a game has been played in the upcoming season. I'm pretty sure that this is still considered a fairly successful team/business.

[In the Slot]

And while I don't disagree with many of your points, they represent all the bad and none of the good. Let me balance it out a bit.

1 - Signing Dan Hamhuis to a 4.6M contract long term is an absolute steal when you look at guys like Wideman getting 5.5M.

2 - Acquiring Christian Ehrhoff and Malhotra for peanuts was a big move, both those guys were key in our cup run. He did lose some points here for letting Ehrhoff walk without at least trading his rights, however not signing him is understandable given the contract he was demanding,

3 - Beefing up scouting, actively pursuing college fee agents. Our scouting has made great strides, we cherry picked Tanev and more recently Lain out of college without sacrificing any assets. He also found a stud on D in Corrado in the 5th round. Jensen is looking pretty good too.

4 - Resigning the Sedins Kesler and Edler to 6.1 5.0 and 5.0 deals respectively is another huge move. These guys great players, they easily would have made 1-2M more on the open market.

5 - Way ahead of the curve in deploying advanced team analytical such as zone starts, sleep analysis, etc.

[In the Slot]

dp