Phil_314

All this is sadly true, at least at this point (he could very well play his way back onto the team, though didn't he have a similar showing last off-season too?) If MacEwen permanently wins coach's trust next to Gaudette then Jake could be in tough since the top-three wing spots for each position seem pretty set (Miller, Pearson, one of Roussel/ Ferland; Boeser/ Toffoli, and possibly MacEwen).

Re: paragraph 1, I read that you're saying that, for you at least it's - compliment looks even when she's not wearing makeup so as to establish the baseline that you think she looks beautiful in general - and also on her personality/ who she is so you show that you value her holistically/ in her entirety If that's the points then I would say that's helpful in their contexts. On the other extreme, I hope most women wouldn't think that all the compliments are too much if we guys started to notice them even in the ordinary, because with this approach I could see the old saying "familiarity breeds contempt" becoming true. If the praise starts coming they may also think you're flattering or their baseline of expectations might also change (e.g. they may think "oh this again" and think you're pedestalizing them)... such a delicate balance to strike

So they'll trade one of their few established bright spots... why? You mentioned they'll be good eventually but forget that they were a historically bad team this past year. Nielsen and Abdelkader have far from righted the ship, with basically only Mantha/ Larkin/ Hronek somewhat pulling their weight. As recently as 2018 this team had no depth, with Boeser tied with Daniel for the team scoring lead (both the Twins and Vanek were aging out). At this point, would you as GM have traded a still-growing Boeser to get back an unproven goalie in Tristan Jarry and a serviceable 30-point forward in Conor Sheary? (don't know how they'll pan out) Top players in their respective position are often what it takes to win, and unless Demko is the second coming of Dominik Hasek he's going to need a D-group that can transition the puck and a forward group that can give him run support. Moving Bert for this return does neither IMO and would probably fit in quality for quantity category. I could be wrong and Jake could become a 40-50 point guy but he still comes with uncertainty and Demko could also be stunted in development behind a roster with next to no talent.

I'd rather just keep Sutter for the final season of his deal, see if we can trade him at the deadline (or negotiate a cheaper new contract citing Covid) and move longer-term vets. If Sutter plays well he can also up his trade value. Save the sweeteners for someone like Beagle IMO. Gonna need to shed the years with term. Down for the Loui + Demko deal, then if Oettinger's anywhere close to sniffing at the Stars' backup spot I'd try to poach Khudobin (16-8, relatively cheap).

Tyler's probably going to want $5 million himself (RFA) after performing pretty well on Detroit's first line so we're taking on more cap. Also you might as well start AHL stars at that point if you're taking him off the top of their lineup. They are BARREN.

Nothing wrong with a low-risk, potential high-reward project in return for a throwaway. At worst he busts, at best Elmer becomes at top-6 power forward and we shed dead weight while retaining Marky to take the reins. Minor add, wonder if we could get Pickard as part of the deal? 1 year contract for a journeyman who I'd be down to bury behind Marky and Domingue.

I don't see it. They have Okposo already, plus several RFA's in Montour, Olofsson, Reinhart... If Jake doesn't pan out they might as well have Eichel live at the airport on standby.

Yeah if they're down to take him on at a lower cost than what @Horvat is a Boss is suggesting then I'm all for it.

Agreed I don't want to have to move Lind, I think we could have something special there but he hasn't proven anything to warrant interest, at least I'd suspect. Many AHL All-Stars don't pan out and even at a 39% projected success rate, it's too early to be fearful and dump him for an overpriced vet.

https://thehockeynews.com/news/article/which-teams-will-benefit-most-from-a-flat-salary-cap-in-2020-21 Projected cap space of $35 million. Even after signing them to say $5 million per, they can still fit them. Gotta fill out their roster somehow

Premise: prioritize re-signing the big 3 UFA's, I'm okay with "losing" these trades to open up cap and win the bigger war of icing a competent team Trade 1: Virtanen (sign and trade) + Eriksson (possibly with retention) + Baertschi (1 year left) + Stecher (rights) to Detroit for Val Filppula (pending UFA, $3 million) - Yzerman has shown that he's open to taking on project players (Fabbri, Perlini) - Jake has had a breakout year but could be on bad terms with management - however, Detroit is basically scorched earth besides the top line, Fabbri and Hronek, and a top-6 level scorer with 1st round pedigree should be appealing - Baertschi's only 27 and a couple years removed from top-6 play, but had a solid year in the AHL (46 points in 43 games). - the Wings have plenty of cap space; even after signing their big guns they can afford to add Loui's contract if two top-9 F and top-4 D are part of the return - we take back Filppula as a cap dump, he's clearly declining but can probably still play 4th line minutes - 3rd line takes a hit but any of Sutter/ MacEwen/ Lind can be ready to take over - Stecher fits in behind Hronek on a more respectable top-4 D Trade 2: Jay Beagle ($3 million) + young LD prospect (Sautner/ Brisebois, not Juolevi/ Rathbone) + pick to LA for minor asset/ pick - Kings have cap, and lots of youth coming up. - while they do have vets up top, adding a guy like Beagle can really stabilize things defensively (top 10 in face-offs, plus championship pedigree) - last season, the Kings were noted for failing to hold on in one-goal games, citing inability to defend leads, win crucial draws and kill off late penalties (http://lakingsinsider.com/2020/02/01/kings-are-in-more-games-one-goal-games-remaining-elusive/) - Beagle's NTC becomes only 5 team list next year and a team like the Kings could become appealing with their youth - Kings could use help on the left D (Hutton was 1st pair; they do have prospects on the horizon (Bjornfot/ Clague) but could be well-served to have interim fits - can also include Benn as a stop-gap option for left side Constructive feedback welcomed!

mine might be "okay fineeeeeeeeeeee, you're at least worth your bonus..." Lol you must be new here... I don't think it's wrong to have an emotional investment/ reaction when you see something that you've grown to care about falter, and even seasoning a little trash talk or ribbing doesn't have to be negative... as long as it doesn't extend into serious personal attacks or death threats then why not? It's almost like watching a movie and when you see your favorite character falter, would you not say "oh come on! I can't believe he did ______"

First class one way ticket

That nail polish part, are you trying to become her girl friend and vice versa?

It makes enough sense with regards to not wanting to dress up, basically don't do to others what you wouldn't want done to you (e.g. if a guy doesn't like to dress formal don't make him, that's like my dad). Curious about the part of "wow you look really pretty today" being a confidence breaker, would you rather people not say anything? Or just smile and give you a little more attention? Since as guys I feel in this case there's no winning either (tell her she looks good, she gets upset because guys only notice the effort; not say anything and the girl may thing "wow he doesn't pay me any attention"). Also, wouldn't that last approach (as effective as it sounds) also mean that you would need to dress up, and thus go through the "vicious" compliment cycle? Haha P.S. as a man I'm trying to learn here, don't shoot me.

Agreed with your 1st two points. Not sure about the point in letting Marky go, depending on how many suitors he has Holtby could probably still demand at least $5 million (he's currently at $6.1) and wonder if Anderson's honestly too old at 40 to have many more good years. I'm also of the camp of possibly trading Demko if the team still isn't sold on him as the #1 by the crossroads at the E.D. of who to protect. Pearson I'm torn, he's shown good chemistry in a shutdown role with Bo but yes he can price himself out. If Jake takes that next step I'd be for it. Also Stecher's probably priced out too

How much is Dylan asking for as an R.F.A.? We're also at least 3 deep in good young offensive centers so this isn't really something we need. Agreed with canuktravella, should get a RHD as a priority (doubt they'd trade Boqvist to us). Think we either trade Thatcher to open up cap or we keep him.

Props to the gents above who've made it work long-term. All I could add is a piece of advice that I heard before, when it comes to girls don't frame the changes that you want to see as a challenge (e.g. some people say "why don't we _____?" e.g. hit the gym, shop for new clothes, etc.) since they have a way of internalizing it and projecting a flaw on themselves. As such the guy way of communicating often leads to arguments and pent up anger from them. Also agreed that it's tough when they don't want to change, and I learned it kinda the hard way -- met this girl online, we dated a couple times. First time she showed up we went for an activity so I was thinking "it makes sense why she's dressed in athleisure, esp. in Vancouver". Second time we met up for dinner, she was wearing basically the same, and she even mentioned how she wanted to have a super-casual dress code (e.g. sweats) if we got to getting married. I thought she was joking but she was not. After that dinner, she said she didn't feel it for me (maybe because of my surprise to her opinions, though I saw some other flags in her) but honestly I was glad it didn't work out. OP, while you may think it's shallow and you want to love them for who they are, it's only natural to see your s/o as an extension of yourself and if you don't appreciate the lack of effort that they put in, you'll either disdain them for not trying and have arguments or probably have a long road ahead since you wouldn't be attracted to them physically because after all love is skin-deep.

Haha my reading comp level zero. Though the title wasn't exactly clear on that (missed the "not playing in NHL" part) Hope Kole Lind doesn't join that list, he was getting decked out pretty often this past season.

Curious then as to how you'd expect to field an adequate team that's not bogged down by bad contracts? Either we trim peripheral roster players who have proven they belong and replace them with ELC guys (which doesn't always work out in terms of results), or use prospects (even Demko/ Tryamkin have been suggested on these boards) to ship off contracts in their entirety to retain established guys. Rathbone was a 4th round pick; while he has developed and is talented, many others in the league are also, and it's not like we can use guys like Sautner/ Brisebois (as good as they potentially could become) to achieve the same result. Historically, contenders have made such moves to open up cap space for key guys: Panthers moving Crouse + Bolland's $5.5 million yielded a 2nd and 3rd Blackhawks moving Teravainen + Bickell's $4 million cap were dumped for a 2nd Leafs moving Marleau's $6.25 million cap, 1st and 7th yielded a 6th round pick and I think a move like this actually makes sense in our time-frame (if we really want to optimize the roster and not lose other roster players e.g. Tanev/ Toffoli/ Markstrom).

If they or (e.g. Detroit/ Jersey/ LA) asked about him, hope Benning tries the following 3rd + Stecher's rights + Rathbone + Loui for either Nemeth or Filppula ($3 million, 1 season left) Stecher can play top-6, plus a D-man who would've provided more value than Andersson from Boston, attached to 3rd and Loui, for a vet (could put Nemeth on the left and Hughes on his right, since Patrik played top-4 this season) or Filppula (can probably re-flip him as needed; might be easier to get too since they need back end help)

Don't give @VegasCanuck what he's looking for

I'd love it if we could pull something like that off. Any under-performing right-side D-men who fit the Kase mold on teams with cap space that you would suggest?

OP, that's a long list you're looking at. For awhile, Sid had a run of concussions. Lindros too, during/ after the time he got wrecked by Stevens. Most power forward/ sandpaper types also break down over the years after years of hard-earned success and battling against behemoth D-men. Sure hope guys like Quinn, Pete and J.T. can keep on keeping their heads up and have long and successful careers.