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Everything posted by -AJ-
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[DEBATE] Which #16 in their prime are you taking?
-AJ- replied to Elias Pettersson's topic in General Hockey Discussion
Some really tough calls here. I think the top 4 could probably be shuffled, but I'll go: 1. Brett Hull - His highest peaks make him the only guy not named Gretzky or Lemieux to score 80+ goals 2. Marcel Dionne - The greatest all-time on this list 3. Pat Lafontaine - 148 points. I don't need to say more. 4. Bobby Clarke - The playmaker that Gretzky idolized. Says a lot. Two Hart trophies and a Pearson as well. 5. Michel Goulet - Four straight 50+ goal seasons and 122 points in 1983-84. 6. Henri Richard - Finished 2nd in scoring once. I generally feel he's overrated since he was on a lot of very good Cup-winning teams. 7. Trevor Linden - Good player, but never really "great". One of the greatest leaders of the game though. Dang lot more than the dummy the leadership award is named after. -
Pearson's struggles this year no doubt affected Horvat, but don't kid yourself, Pearson in 2019-20 was a very solid 2nd line guy.
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Like all players (I think) he would save $1.075M off his cap hit if we buried him in Abbotsford. I get the feeling Green will want to keep him in Vancouver though. Coaches love guys they can rely on for difficult minutes against offensive stars.
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I think you're probably correct here. The team around a player will definitely affect their results to some degree. Horvat is probably at his peak right now and the question will be how long he can hold it for.
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I didn't help that he played like a 4th liner at best this year. The on-ice product was pretty bad, not even taking into consideration any potential off-ice issues that may or may not exist.
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[DEBATE] Which #10 in their prime are you taking?
-AJ- replied to Elias Pettersson's topic in General Hockey Discussion
In the conversation of the greatest of all-time, Lafleur wins easily, but the greatest in their primes gets pretty close between Lafleur and Bure. Bure was definitely the better sniper, though Lafleur put up more points in a similarly offensive era. It's very close, but I'll even the votes up a bit and give the edge to Lafleur. I go: 1. Lafleur 2. Bure 3. Hawerchuk - insanely good during his best years, was in contention for the #2 guy in the NHL behind Gretzky before Lemieux came around. 4. Apps - Finished 2nd in Hart voting three times 5. Francis - 92 assists and 119 points in 1995-96 (Lemieux and Jagr helped) 6. Delvecchio - Very reliable player, but wasn't a superstar except for a couple of years, like 1952-53, when he finished 4th in NHL scoring 7. Armstrong - Same as Delvecchio, but with lower highs -
I would really hope he gets drastically less than $4-6M for his next contract. He was once worth that, but he shouldn't be near that for this contract IMO. He still played a lot of minutes, but his average of 20:54 per game was the lowest he's had since his rookie year back in 2006-07. He's not being used like a 2/3 like he has for most of his career.
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Decline? What? He's literally improved steadily for the first 6 years of his career and the slightest decline merits a piece on his decline? Ridiculous. I'd bet they'd have trouble finding another player who's improved for six seasons straight.
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If he regresses again, I'd agree, but I think Edler is still probably 5/6 defenseman NHL material as of what we've most recently seen.
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[Signing] Wild re-sign Nick Bjugstad
-AJ- replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in Trades, Rumours, Signings
Great deal. Far as I can tell, he's somewhat like Sutter, but just several years younger and a bit worse at face-offs. -
Very tragic. I was definitely stunned to read this this morning.
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[DEBATE] Which #7 in their prime are you taking?
-AJ- replied to Elias Pettersson's topic in General Hockey Discussion
1. Bourque 2. Esposito 3. Coffey 4....Much tougher here. Any of the remaining five could be viable: Lindsay - Big part of the Production Line and paved much of the way for the NHLPA. Chelios - Three Norris trophies and could do it all--score, defend, and hit (also kind of a jerk sometimes) Morenz - The best forward in NHL history until Maurice Richard showed up in the 40s. Gilbert - Probably the most likely last place guy here, but consistent top guy for the Rangers for many years. Horton - One of the great stay-at-home defenders the NHL has seen, but he could also put up points in his prime too. Also a bone-crunching hitter. -
James Norris Memorial Trophy finalists unveiled
-AJ- replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in General Hockey Discussion
He was having an incredible season for sure. He might win it in the years to come. -
I do really hope he can get there, but Edler showed significantly more offensive prowess at the start of his NHL career than Juolevi. Of course, we all know how many setbacks Juolevi has had, so hopefully he can finally get a healthy season and progress forward.
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I agree, I think Bowey should get a look as the #7 if he isn't taken in the ED. I think Chatfield might leave as a UFA, but I would be okay to re-signing him--I think he's probably very solid in the AHL and I'd look forward to him on Abbotsford's team. I just don't think he's NHL material--at least not yet.
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[DEBATE] Which #19 in their prime are you taking?
-AJ- replied to Elias Pettersson's topic in General Hockey Discussion
Stevie Y, but Burnaby Joe is a close second. Toews is probably 3rd, but Trottier would give him a run for his money. There could be a good argument for Trottier over Toews. Nazzy would definitely be 5th and Doan finishes last in this competition IMO. Love all six guys though. EDIT: If Robinson were added, I think he slots into 3rd above Toews/Trottier. -
Dhaliwal used to be the best out there, but it really seems like he's kind of been sucked into the scummy sort of reporting strategies we see often. I miss the old Dhaliwal.
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Personally, I feel that unless Chatfield improves, he's not good enough to be an NHL callup. He's an AHL guy who really struggles in the NHL. He do anything offensively last year and he struggled defensively too, even with sheltered minutes. I'll be happy to keep him, but he should stay in Abbotsford until he shows noted improvement. He's a #8/9 guy right now IMO and we should choose other options for our #7 guy.
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I'm not sure anyone is excited about Chatfield. He got a solid chance and proved he's not NHL-calibre, at least not yet. Rafferty didn't get much of a shot at the NHL level. Odds are he wouldn't have been amazing anyway, but I would've at least like to see him get 5 games or something. Regardless, if he's gone, I won't lose sleep over it. He wasn't likely to be a top 4 guy or anything.
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I like Schmidt and hope he's not looking to leave. His contract was pretty good for what he did in Vegas, but a bit rich for what he provided this past year, so he might be a bit tough to trade too.
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Higher than I would've guessed. Cool.
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My point isn't so much that the Kings will be playoff contenders, but more that they could be playoff contenders. I don't expect it, but I just think that it's more of a possibility than I suspect you do. As far as I can see, Quick is already being phased out as the current backup (played 22 games to Peterson's 35 games this year). Petersen (26 years old) looks to be at least an average NHL starter, which is far more than can be said for Quick. I can't see Kopitar really improving, but so far he hasn't really regressed in the past few years. Even this past year, despite being in a much tougher division, he maintained his point production. That said, he's 33 years old and nearing 34. He'll probably fall off pretty hard soon. Doughty actually had the best year he's had in the past three years this past year. He's certainly not a Norris candidate anymore, but still a solid #1/2 defender and like I said, only 31 years old. He could reasonably still have another 3-5 good years left in him. I don't think Quick is part of their core anymore, but I would agree that both Kopitar and Doughty are (possibly even Brown given his recent bounceback). Offensively, after that you have Iafallo (27 years old) and Kempe (24 years old). Kempe has potential, but I doubt it's 1st line potential. Viliardi might surprise, but my gut is that he's not going to become a 1st-line guy. Byfield could be a wildcard and they have some other young (though less exciting) players in Bjornfot and maybe Anderson-Dolan if he can continue to improve. As I implied with my reaction to the trade, I think it's premature and that the Kings will still need another year or two before they start seriously contending for the playoffs. That said, they're certainly ahead of San Jose and Anaheim in the California battle and probably the ones to rise again soonest to contest Seattle, Calgary, and Vancouver for a playoff spot.