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I think Hamonic could be the shutdown player alongside OEL. And Poolman could find chemistry with QH. We'll see how it shapes up. I believe a healthy and motivated OEL is still elite offensively and good enough to shutdown opponents top lines if he has a partner that carries half the load. So if they find the right partner with chemistry for OEL I don't agree they'll be a bad shutdown pair while still being a constant offensive threat, but I do agree the wrong pairing - e.g. OEL and Myers - could be bad defensively.

Yeah - Hoglander also seems really entitled, no? I won't list other Swedish players - and of course there are good and bad regardless of nationality - but that's simply a bad take. (I do realize it was sarcasm at first.) Regarding Lias, obviously he hasn't turned out, and IMO you could see some warning bells already at JWC that maybe ha was a bit overrated. That said, he's battled injuries, mental problems and obviously had incidents that disturbed him while being with NYR. Here's a summary: https://eu.lohud.com/story/sports/nhl/rangers/2020/04/20/lias-andersson-opens-up-reasons-leaving-ny-rangers/5164012002/

Yeah sorry, bad wording, mean it's the type of players Toronto needs.

Hate to say it but apart from Hyman's term him and Ritchie makes a lot of sense and will complement that lineup well. Lucky thing they have no D...

Ha ha nice one

Yeah fair enough, he's only a top pairing guy offensively so far. Agree that a bit more sheltered role will suit QH better at this point.

Yeah you mentioned that already. Personnally I prefer sticking to debating players and team related issues rather than discussing who wrote what and why that was unfair/stupid/a personal attack or whatever, but that's just me I guess.

Or at the trade deadline? I'm hoping Myers will click with OEL, but if not I'm not really sure where Myers fits actually. Best case scenario though we have two top pairing level D:s in OEL and QH and three 2nd pairing RD in Myers/Poolman/Hamonic. If so it's not a bad start, but still lots of unknowns.

True. Also helps when the D can actually get the puck out of the D zone, preferably with an open forward in sight. OEL and a much improved top 9 will do wonders here, as will OJ/Rathbone.

If only more posts in this forum provided this level of insight and meaningful context.

Also happy about the signing but torn when comparing vs Mac. Bailey has the wheels and the size and a scoring touch but no physicality at all and also seems a bit questionable in his D positioning. The last part applies to Mac as well so far. Like them both, hope at least one can find the next level.

Oh no, I was so sure we were on the right track until I saw this ;-) or could it be Jeff has his bright moments after all...

Don't know what the fuss is about. Obviously a bottom pairing signing to help steady Rathbone and/or OJ and 2-3 mil is fine for that purpose at the moment. I understand some hoped for a splash RD signing but with all the skill we have at LD Myers/hamonic/pool man is actually a decent complement. If OEL and QH play to their potential it's actually quite savvy.

Why five years? A year or two at a time would seem more rational?

You are not wrong, but that also says something about our current state. EP, QH and one more D (could be OEL if everything works out) need to be equally important for us to be a contending team. Personally I really hope both EP and QH sign bridge deals as they are both unproven, although both have potential that could make longer deals a steal. Most of all - just get them signed already...

I personally believe so but it doesn't really matter, contracts signed years apart and under different circumstances aren't really comparable except regarding cap hit. E.g. Myers is not more valuable than Bo, Miller, Boeser or Demko.

Here's a link with some JB quotes and Dahlen's view on things. Everyone can speculate what's what and I don't think it's fair to blame JB for "fans" actions online, but no matter how you perceive it it isn't a good look for JB and he definitely should've been more diplomatic instead of commenting on Dahlen the way he did, true or not (it's probably not black and white either). To be fair I think JB has gotten better and a bit more shrewd the last few years in his communication, but this is not one of his better moments. https://www.fearthefin.com/2019/2/27/18242765/2019-nhl-trade-deadline-jonathan-dahlen-vancouver-canucks-jim-benning-san-jose-sharks-barracuda

So where does this rumour origin from? I.e. who told dhaliwal. I'm guessing EP's agent indirectly. It's a business. I don't think he'll sign an offer sheet or demand 9 mil+ but at the same time he needs to get the best deal he can with the Canucks.

Thanks for clearing that out. Of course he didn't "have" to be qualified, but most would agree that - at the time - not doing so and losing him for nothing would have been hard to justify. Just sad for everyone how things turned out.

He's not the player Lastname was, but still a nice all around contributor.

The 6 mil dollar man, of course. You did watch the games, right?

LE was actually very good in the bubble playoffs when he played. Hard on the puck, always in the right position and a few veteran slashes etc here and there + he allowed for Bo and Pearson to worry less about getting caught on the forecheck. Don't get me wrong - he was nowhere near a 6 mil player and it's a relief his contract is gone now, but fair is fair.

It's simple mathematics really. You can get a guy like Bogosian without giving up assets. OJ might bust because of injuries or other reasons, but his ceiling is still the #2-3D elite passing shutdown D he was drafted to be and his floor if healthy a #5-6D with qualities not many 3rd pairing D:s have. Sure there are question marks, but that's why he'll be paid under a million and not 5 mil (or 2.5 like Virtanen). The chance of him being a great contributor on a reasonable cap hit for years to come is big enough to make him pretty much untradeable from an asset standpoint right now. If he busts and we get nothing + spent a high draft pick, well sometimes that's the risks you gotta live with and the cost of doing business. Virtanen should of course have been traded a long time ago but easy to say that now and at least the buyout is not a huge issue financially.

It's not. Maybe you get someone like Bogosian who can be added e.g. via FA instead for OJ, maybe not, but regardless it's selling so low that OJ is a much more valuable asset vs anything you could possibly expect to trade him for right now. Part of a bigger deal it might make sense, but not by himself.

We only need 6 NHL quality D who will all play 82 games each? That's not depth. No way we're trading OJ when you compare salary level vs potential IMO no matter draft position and injury history.