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Everything posted by IBatch
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[discussion] 3C targets for next season
IBatch replied to Ted Lasso's topic in Proposals and Armchair GM'ing
I've watched the Horvat, Henrik and Naslund say enough diplomatic things to find it quite refreshing, get a forthright answer. EPs comments at the all-star game were also well thought out and measured, not mundane robotic run of the mill statements. Take away was he'd like to be a Canuck if they fixed the D. Tough to do 3-4 years best case via the draft. Ohlund was drafted in 94. Hedican and Aucion were better after they left. It takes a lot of time. We are actually on the same side Mr. Itch. Was also hoping for a total rebuild, around QHs and EP. But get that's not in the cards. They don't want it, or have the same patience you and I have. Reality is a bitch. Maybe eventually we trade both and go there. That for sure is in the cards if they flop the re-tool. -
[discussion] 3C targets for next season
IBatch replied to Ted Lasso's topic in Proposals and Armchair GM'ing
But you're missing a key metric. Unlike COL, QHs at least isn't willing to be patient enough. EPs also hinted. They don't want to wait around 3-4 years for a rebuild to click. If you haven't watched the interviews, then maybe consider it. COL is a pipe dream. Yes they did put themselves into that position on purpose - trading Barrie and Duchene (one for a second line C in Kadri). Also drafted Makar. Traded for Girard. Traded for Toews and Manson. And absolutely had a quick turn around - Mckinnon was paid properly for what he'd done up until then, then exploded. It's a good case study in what actually has to go right. Duchene for best odds of first overall to a team that was one goal away from the final and then imploded. Get the frustration. We should have won at least one cup with the Sedins. Didn't happen either. Best team since expansion not to win a cup really. TB won't even get into their cap structure - it will never ever ever happen with a Canadian team. Sure nice to have 16-17% more cap to play with isn't it? -
[Proposal] Another prime trade target
IBatch replied to HKSR's topic in Proposals and Armchair GM'ing
The only problem with this is CAL will hang onto the win now mode for a couple seasons. The other problem is, well it's CAL. Been a long time since we've traded a somewhat average player. We have to look in the Eastern conference first then the Central. Parayoko or Faulk maybe, St. louis knows they are close to done. No thanks to either of those guys as well. Hanifin would be awesome I agree with that but it's very unlikely. -
[discussion] 3C targets for next season
IBatch replied to Ted Lasso's topic in Proposals and Armchair GM'ing
So your plan is to trade EP, Demko and QHs? It's not a terrible plan I don't have the answers either. But scortched Earth means just that - and it's exactly what TO did. -
[discussion] 3C targets for next season
IBatch replied to Ted Lasso's topic in Proposals and Armchair GM'ing
If we didn't have EP and QHs yes blow the entire thing up. You might get your wish eventually anyways if the re-tool fails. You'd also get your wish this summer as in QHs wanting out and EP refusing to sign if the team isn't taking steps to get better. Reality is the idea of a rebuild behind these guys makes a ton of sense until the context is added they don't want to spend the next couple seasons as bottom feeders waiting for lottery tickets. So rebuild isn't in the cards. Has nothing to do about the owner (sorry Alf), and yes maybe it has something to do about patience. In the end Horvat went to one of the oldest teams in the league near the end of their cycle what does that say about "wanting to win" (as an aside - Horvat cares mostly about stability and $$$$, so do a lot of other players). I'm glad QHs said something, and the Miller hates losing, and that Tochett is running things now. Hate to lose is better then whatever the heck JB tried to do - but you can't go there without also giving him some props too. He did draft two guys that probably end up in the rafters win lose or draw. Yzerman is still looking for that isn't he? -
[discussion] 3C targets for next season
IBatch replied to Ted Lasso's topic in Proposals and Armchair GM'ing
Sundins career wasn't wasted. Only other TO team to get over 100 points and that was without loser points either - they were a legit threat just had their complex with Alfie and co which was great at the time. Now it's a better team just getting boned with the quality of competition in their own division. Didn't the WCE era have the same problems? Yes they did. Cloutier couldn't stop a beach ball and despite being a contender (weren't the favourite but were listed as one 2-3 years), had some trouble didn't we too. Have zero interest in the Shanny plan. That's 100% based on lottery luck and the same stupid plan EDM had for over a decade until McDavid. There isn't a perfect lane. Yzerman who most thinks shit don't stink said as much lately. As long as the plan is executed we have a chance. -
There is some hope history is repeating itself in a good way. When Nonis got fired he was waiting for cap to shed from the Burke era and the Moose was kicking some butt. Now Abby is doing well. And Allvin is waiting for cap to shed from JB era. And adding cap but so did MG back then. EPs 25. Sedins peaked at 29-30. Let's hope the guys buy in and take a little less. Allvin might trade his pick ... for MG it was Co-Ho (10th) and he definitely relieved some pressure, when our first PP floundered, the second unit did its job so it's not all bad there either. We will need a steady diet of guys coming up. Excellent drafting, good signings and trading ... we need all 3.
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You bet. Plus now we have one of the youngest rosters in the league. After we traded Schenn 3rd youngest. We started the year at 9.
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McDavid and the last quarter century
IBatch replied to Baratheon's topic in General Hockey Discussion
Imagining is pretty easy to do. Funny how after the rule changes Alfie scores over 100 points at age 34, Sakic at age 37 and Zubov had his most productive season since the early 90's, also at 37. And how the stars with longevity from the 80's were still stars in the 90's, some like Yzerman on one knee winning the Conn Smythe, same with Roy, just prior to retirement. McDavid hasn't beat Gartner's record properly either. Go watch that year (and he was a throw in that all-star game) a half dozen guys were faster then todays fasted skaters and they weren't allowed to take a stride first before the clock started. Stastny, Hawerchuk ... i'm guessing McDavid would be producing around like they did, Maybe a 150 point year too, -
McDavid and the last quarter century
IBatch replied to Baratheon's topic in General Hockey Discussion
It's also very gratifying for an older fan like me, who was around in 1987 for the Canada Cup and the greatest collection of hockey players ever. And grew up with a 21 team league. Funny how when the talent level catches up to expansion and the rules created to open the game up in the first place, scoring goes up. Players were complaining about clutching and grabbing in well before 1993-1994. It's not like the goalies suck that's ridiculous. 3 on 3 OT... that's adding as well. Most games don't go to the shoot-out like they used too. Leagues still watered down. Games faster then ever - removing a pass and the redline for sure helped with that, same as making room for small PMD's that would have a tough time surviving and keeping out of the infirmary back then. It's making me a little giddy. Glad McDavid is having a career year and scoring close to Gretzky's and Mario's career average this year. And hope he gets to 150. We've gone a long way from the 2000's when some seasons nobody was breaking 100 and guys in the top ten were scoring 80ish points. -
Get Vegas and Seattle markets were good choices, probably better than Quebec. That said they've had at the time anyways, a state of the art building collecting dust for now over a decade. No it's not a ridiculous 20 plus K (sorry - so far i haven't been to one that big that didn't have major flaws) - but you can bet they'd pack it in and get their 17kish every single night. That's enough to sit near the middle of the pack. Detroit. What's their average despite having the capacity? And teams like Pens, PHI and Boston don't exactly have a huge arena and they do just fine. Madison Square Gardens too. The idea is a small market means nobody going. Canada has proven that's a bunch of hogwash.
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Our pick and Brock for Seth Jones no retention, . Book it lol.
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[Report/Rumour] Ethan Bear Contract Talks
IBatch replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in Trades, Rumours, Signings
Bear is the current teams version of Stetcher. Sure he's got a home on an NHL team somewhere. But we shouldn't be handing him to the keys to the kingdom either. -
If we win Bedard what’s your next move?
IBatch replied to Junkyard Dog's topic in Proposals and Armchair GM'ing
If we win the lottery. There is a hockey god and plan to create a sacrifice. Will burn my 1994 paper saying "Curses" in full bold print after game 7. -
Which teams downfall in the playoffs will you enjoy most?
IBatch replied to DeNiro's topic in General Hockey Discussion
Same with OTT. -
Expansion. Good grief. Leagues waited 3 decades to catch up ... almost four really. Half the teams are icing half an AHL lineup still as is. Greed. Doesn't win cups. There are enough teams in the NHL as is. Retraction would be better for the sport, and especially the fans. Who wants to win a cup every 40 or so years in Canada? Already at a serious disadvantage. Tax wise. Alberta fans at least don't have high provincial taxes. But even still pay 10% more than a ton of US teams. They better stop this. Too many teams languish outside looking in as it is. Or at least bring back the play-ins.
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With context Alf is fine. Anyone who isn't a Canuck is a busteroo and a bad player. And let's be real, Horvat was offered a really good deal but wanted more.
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[discussion] options to clear cap space
IBatch replied to Ted Lasso's topic in Proposals and Armchair GM'ing
Yep. We simply don't have all the data just some of it. And it's accessible. We worried about signing Brock. Some were pulling their hairs out over it - give him the max deal! Look how that worked out for us. EP/Demko and QHs seem to be working out great for us though. Doubt Allvin and JR are going to make a ton of hits when it comes to cap either. Some will work out great - others not so good. -
[discussion] options to clear cap space
IBatch replied to Ted Lasso's topic in Proposals and Armchair GM'ing
Thanks for bringing the free cap buyouts into a discussion. Has there been a deadline like this one in the last decade? No. It's like a pre-cap era deadline with a shit ton of movement. Not sure it's going to happen, but wouldn't be at all surprised either. Too many good teams are up against the cap. And most teams have anchors. Last time we had flat cap for a couple of years was back during the financial crisis. A lockout year again near the end because cap didn't go up. And two buyouts were given. The league is healthier than ever now, most of the escrow is paid - and this summer it's very unlikely the cap is going up again. Not for another year. For sure at least one buyout is on the table. And for sure GMs and owners are aware of this. The players - well they've made a lot of money even with escrow. Maybe they don't want it. But they also know that freed up cap space is 1/3 gone. And that's a lot of dough left for them later. And that after the following year it won't matter much as far as future earrings go. So see the NHLPA also ok with this. All this current system does is underpay older vets that can still play, and overpay some RFAs and a lot of UFAs more than they earn all the time. 80% of the NHLPA falls into the other part of the equation. The guys that get boned. Why wouldn't they vote in favour of a few buyout's ? I sure would if I was guy like Schenn. Same if I was a guy like Kuzmenko (because he knows he's getting a boffo deal next). Then add in the factor every single team with an anchor and has AHL with two way contracts - players that can do almost or the same thing .... looking at that gravy. The only guys that will "suffer" huge, are the ones that are riding their coattails and those ones are not the majority. -
Yep. And have assets that will be traded at the draft or in the summer.
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Yzerman didn't draft Stamkos or Hedman. For sure he did a great job after, and made some mistakes he fixed with his high draft pick Drouin (a 5th?). That teams scouts deserve a ton of credit as well. Let's see how he does in a similar circumstance. Zadina was a mistake. Seider totally off board but worked out. Both teams started their next cycle at the same time and both had big problems dealing with the remnants of top teams, Holland at least only had Kronwall left really, but also had to pay the piper for all this picks he traded chasing a cup(s). Bertuzzi was his first hit. When was he drafted again? Too early to say, but yes he's looking for the game breaker star caliber guys, and knows that means magic beans.
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Hmmm. How would you explain the best team we've ever had during the regular seasons success then? Gave Sundin the max. Signed the Sedins to 21.5ish % of the cap after just a couple PPG seasons. Kuzmenko is getting 6.5ish% (if the cap goes up one million) and Demko 6ish% when signed), Luongo's Nonis deal was like 13%. Twice was much as Demko's deal. Hamhuis, Salo, Bieksa ... did they make peanuts? Later Edler. Nope. Kesler making close to 10%. Around what Millers going to get next season. People forget, that great team was also cap strapped ... nobody for Kesler really. Burrows bridge allowed them plus all their full NMC/NTC clauses cut enough cap to pay for Booth and Ballard - both in todays cap would be 5.5 million dollar players. Who do you like more? Kuzmenko or booth? That was a great two year signing and we can trade him to 20 teams if we like. Teams would line up for 50% retained on a 35-40 goal scorer. Kuzmenko at 5.5 is a good deal. Too bad we couldn't sign him long term really, Fact is we have too many middle of the row players and some terrible contacts. Those middle of the row players traded for magic beans with some picks coming back made some sense and still do. I expect we have one less this summer. One of Kuzmenko, Brock, or Ilya M or AB will be traded. Because they offer value, different value depending on retention. Also think the league very likely could offer a buyout. It did after the last lockout - 2 actually, Booth and Ballard. Freebies. 2009 flat cap occurred as well. For a short time ... leagues been doing flat cap now for how long? Longer. So OEL off the books. Myers money goes to Hronek. It's going to take some time to clean up a mess. And yes some of the mess also is made from JR. But you need blue chip players on long term deals to make a team. This magic bean stuff is needed too. But is nothing but crap without guys on long term deals. EDM model showed the world about that.
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They are both great. Agree Pasta is playing with better players (for now), Marchand and Bergeron won't be around forever and are out of the lineup for long stretches ... and Pasta is a huge reason Marchand scored 100 and Bergeron just keeps picking up points, obviously he's the defensive wizard the last generation. Everyone wouldn't agree and everyone doesn't know. EPs played a full 82 games now at his pace. That's very encouraging. And I do agree he's going to make everyone a little better, but it's not like Miller and Kuzmenko are chopped liver, and when Brocks game is on him too. Agree with AB...glad he's getting time on different lines to gauge him. EPs the first player we've had since Mogilny you can put anyone on that line and they will get a jump in points. Remember Goldobin? Lol. Yikes. He's also had consistency issues. Until around 95 or so games ago. Mentioned he's a guy that right now can boost anyone's value - on another thread - im pretty sure the same could be said of Pasta too. Over a PPG and one of the best goal scorers in the game. And he also plays both sides of the puck, that entire line doesn't cheat. Why Bergeron and Marchand miss time - and they just keep doing it. Don't watch Pasta enough and for sure would rather have EP, we drafted him and he's an Alien. Love his origin story too - compared to Lafluer. Unlimited ice time, no skills coaching, completely self taught. Why both these guys did things differently. EPs a treat to watch. And could end up the best Canuck all-time.
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We will have to wait and see. Detroit is Vancouver's best comp as far as cycles go - they won a cup though, after that amazing 90's team set out into the sunset. Holland traded a lot more picks than MG ever did. Both teams are paying the piper so to speak. Guess we will find out who's path is going to work in the long run eventually. They lack high end talent and we are ahead of them a little maybe. Sure would be Canucks luck if this Hronek pick comes back and bites us.