Nobody wants to lose.
It's necessary for the betterment of this team though.
I'm a diehard fan, but even I realize the team just doesn't have it this season.
Draisaitl sounds like the smartest player in the top 10. A great playmaker which is what we need.
Decent size too. Should top out at about 6'2" and 225 lbs.
He's the most NHL ready prospect from the projected 4-10 picks IMO.
Perlini sounds like he's the most complete player. Perfect blend of size, skill, and speed.
But I would be weary of taking him. His stock has risen too quickly IMO. He is still pretty unproven.
Nylander and Ehlers have the biggest chance to be game changers. High risk because of their size, but definitely high reward. They could be be electrifying NHL players.
I would go with Nylander though, since he's bigger and has great speed too. Plus he looks to be more NHL ready.
Ehlers has amazing speed, but may struggle more against bigger opponents.
Money talks.
You think Ehrhoff really wanted to live in Buffalo, and actually thought they had the best chance to win a cup?
This team hasn't been able to get free agents cause it hasn't had a ton of cap space to work with. Now it does.
If anything is gonna keep us from signing big name free agents, it's Gillis' and his bargain bin player signing.
Stastny, Callahan, O'reilly. and St.Louis are all top players and would look great playing with Kesler.
If their direction is to stick with Tortorella, we're gonna be a low scoring team. Meaning acquiring gritty two way wingers will likely be the game plan.
Vanek's not the only top player available.
Callahan, St.Louis, Stastny, O'reilly, Grabovski, Setoguchi are a few possibilities.
Or there's always the trade route, or signing stop gap players until we have young players available.
Can't believe you bothered defending Gillis on all those points. Maybe this is the real problem. There are people who still don't realize how poor of a GM he is.
Tortorella was not a good hire. He was the exact opposite of what this team needed, and it's showing right now. He lost the team in less than half a season. Must be a record.
As for alienating Kesler, it's common knowledge Gillis was shopping him at the deadline. He knows it, and Kesler knows it. From the sounds of it a deal was close too. Why would Kesler wanna stay with the team now?
Here's how I see our forward group next season if the young guys are ready and certain contracts are shipped out.
Kesler needs to be the first line center and be given the "C" and some top wingers.
Kesler
Sedin Sedin Jensen
Burrows Horvat Kassian
Higgins Matthias Hansen
Leaves us about 11 million in cap space to sign two top line wingers when everyone is signed.
How many mistakes can one GM make in his tenure, like really?
Making Luongo the captain.
Offering Sundin 20 million dollars.
Creating a goalie controversy.
Letting key pieces of the Cup run team walk
Mishandling a young star player and throwing him under the bus.
Trading that young star player for minimal return.
Losing both goalies for minimal return.
Signing the Sedins to lucrative contracts for 4 more years.
Hiring Tortorella.
Alienating Kesler.
Hodgson and Horvat weren't good picks?
I think we're gonna need a top offensive center. Horvat should be a good second liner, but we need that number 1.
At least I have the Comets to cheer for.
They're in a similar hunt for a playoff spot and have actually played with heart and character.
Join me in cheering on the Comets!
Most goals scored against this team since the 1983 Oilers did it to us.
That's a team that featured Gretzky, Messier, Kuri, and Coffey. This team featured Nielsen, Okposo, Bailey, and Hamonic.
Just let that sink in.