kloubek

While I agree with all of this, I'm thinking from the perspective of Benning - who is all-in this season. He made that clear when he offloaded contracts that were only a year away from expiring. This is the year he wants to start succeeding, and I feel that extra cap could be spent elsewhere. Yes, maybe that IS through a trade, and yes, maybe it means giving up another prospect to improve the team now. But given what we've seen, he's not shy about doing so. And let's face it... his tenure as our continued GM rests entirely on this team he has assembled from the ground up succeeding. I don't think its a stretch to see another "bold move".

Totally agree. Except for that last part. If we knew he wasn't coming back, if we could get the full 3 million off the books that's another serviceable player right there to add to the depth. I still wouldn't mind seeing Benning make a move for a stay at home right d, and any extra cap could help facilitate that.

Oh, I don't blame him for losing interest in playing for the Yotes. Perpetually crappy team backed by morally questionable management, always in talks of moving, knowing they want to trade you but can't. There were lots of reasons he wouldn't want to be there. At the same time, one signs a contract knowing the expectations are to perform your job to the best of your ability no matter the circumstances, and given the amount of money he makes, it isn't an excuse to simply become disinterested. He also signed that contract 2 years ago, when the Coyotes were basically in the same position of mediocrity as they are currently. It isn't like he didn't know what he was getting into. No, being "disinterested" wasn't a good enough excuse for Loui and I think OEL needs to be held to the same standards. While he had a brutal team to work with, he's still responsible for bringing it every night and both his basic and advanced stats show that he simply didn't do that.

It seems to me they viewed OEL as a quickly declining asset. His point totals certainly reflected this, and they were on the hook for 6 years of an AAV of over 8m. This presumably lasts well into when they feel they will be able to make a resurgence, and I imagine they just didn't want that on the books. Best to try to trade him now while they still can, and while they are not going to be a playoff team anyway. After this season, all those one year contracts the acquired are off the books. 1 year of pain to offload 5 years of further pain. In that context, it makes some sense. In my opinion, they didn't feel like OEL could make a comeback to play even remotely to his salary, and that risk is what forced them to throw Garland into the trade as well to make it happen. He too was up for a renewal, and would have further cost them dollars while they were rebuilding. And while I don't think they would have minded that TOO much, it doesn't exactly fit with the way they've set things up, whereby of the 18 of the 25 players listed on Capfriendly are either UFA or RFA. Looks to me like they are trying to keep costs down as low as possible while they are in (perpetual?) rebuild mode.

I too have been very happy with the play of both guys. Garland has incredible maneuverability - he's so fun to watch. Last game he went back and forth on a Detroit player something like 4 or 5 times; incredibly hard to control. I love how he mixes it up and gets involved even though he's a really small guy. He's the kind of small guy you *want* on a team, if you must have small guys. Kinda like Quinn in that way. I'll be curious how he'd fare in the playoffs. OEL has been exactly what we were hoping for. I agree that he looks like a noticeable upgrade on either Edler as well as Schmidt - though I would argue that the former didn't get full recognition for everything he did for this team... even if he was getting pretty slow. I do think it's too early to say for certain how these guys will pan out, but the early payoffs look strong indeed. My only issue with the trade wasn't so much the player exchange itself - which was clearly in our favour from the beginning - but it rather it will come down to how the OEL contract ages. We traded a handful of bad but 1 year contracts for many years of OEL. If he falls off a cliff, things can go downhill very quickly indeed. I guess that can be said about all long term contracts for big dollar names....

46. That's a lot of following the Canucks, and coming away disappointed.

Actually, he's figuratively a bowling ball. If he was literally a bowling ball, he'd be... a bowling ball.

I'm going with the Canucks - though I do so knowing my own bias. I think both Toronto and the Oilers continue to struggle with top-heavy teams with deficiencies they cannot seem to overcome. The Canucks are more balanced, with the ability to apply continuous pressure across almost all lines.

He had a good game. So did Poolman. I was hoping for but not hopeful of both. But it's only 1 game. Let's see how if playing this solid equates to a season of it.

...and? I never said size wasn't an advantage. I'm just suggesting having a guy who can't do much more than fight isn't great use of a roster spot.

What is the point of going through the whole process of running a team: To win the cup. That's truly all that is important. Getting there. Appeasing aging lifelong fans such as myself just that one time. Past that is gravy, but dynasties are hard to come by in the cap era. I agree a high quality RHD is our missing piece, and I wouldn't have a problem with sacrificing more of the future. With that in place, I think we begin our run to the top; I believe the team is basically completed. Cap is the real issue here. Hard to get the quality of player we need and fit him under it. Who would move out to make room? Hamonic's "personal issues" aren't helping solidify anything - that much is certain.

I felt they waived the wrong guy. Gadj has already shown more scoring touch than Big Mac ever did, and he could have been our goon. But I guess Chaisson was their guy. I do get that it's nice to have that player who can intimidate, but I think an extra 30 points in a skilled player is a better investment. I don't feel our team is "soft" overall. We have some bigger guys - we just don't have a goon. Guess we will see how that pans out.

A lot to like about this game. The one goal, I feel Myers was asleep and could have prevented. Other than that, I thought the team played generally well defensively (as good as we can, given McJesus and all) and the big hits were great. Keith's in particular, of course. Did feel we allowed too many close in and slot shots though. Really enjoyed the uptempo play. Hogs still looks good or better. OEL was fantastic. Poolman looked better than I expected. Demko had a very strong game as well. Liked the contributions from the newcomers and it was a solid team game, considering all the new faces. No shame in this loss.

In the case of Gadj, I said in another thread I think giving him up was a mistake. I felt he showed enough in camp, and steady improvement over his AHL career. Given the Sharks aren't exactly a great team, they can afford to fill out their depth with players and take the wait and see approach. Zero risk, moderate reward. For Big Mac, I honestly don't know. Guess some teams can't let go of the old school NHL? Philly of all places seems a logical holdout.

That's about what I figure as well - assuming he plays the entire season and gets PP time. Once Boeser is back, I figure he slides down to the 3rd.