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I think I was joking - taking a rhetorical quesion and giving it a literal response. Or maybe not lol. But the premise assumes Madden won't turn out, so I don't see the humour lol.
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I don't necessarily agree. The kind of pressure I'd be concerned with is forecheckers / down low trying to handle NHL forwards - at this stage of his development. In fairness, there is a lot of speed and aggressiveness in the WJC game, so it's not like he's not facing good quality competition when he struggles in those particular areas. But 'fans" tend to pick their whipping boys and choose not to see the errors of their pets. If you're seen as a marginal player making mistakes, prepare to face a fan base that is all over you. But if you're a Boeser, etc, you can make as many errors as your counterparts and they slide by relatively unnoticed by most. I think Hughes will adapt well - and will probably have a solid partner - and some pretty good two way forwards to play with - on a team that doesn't simp'ly come together for a tournament like this - that's one thing to keep in mind are the relatively short-terms these guys work together, get used to each other, team systems, etc. So I'm not terribly concerned about his hiccups, but I still don't see any real impetus to rush him in.
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Cassels suffered some serious, long term, very debilitating core injuries that set him back through the heart of his draft plus years. Why would Madden necessarily fail to live up to expectations? He's driven. I doubt he's going to 'disappoint.' Regardless - he was a great pick, and clearly a key piece of that US team. No reason to assume he's going to follow a Cassels trajectory - that's kind of a negative equivalency on your part is it not?
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most of those turnovers are down low in his own zone - he's not terribly strong in the board battles and tends to make his mistakes when he's moving the puck under pressure. quite a few turnovers in this tournament - but tonight he did improve in the second half of the game after not such a great start. He'll need a solid partner. I laugh at all the hate towards Pouliot on these boards, but there are some notable similarities in the kinds and situations of errors these two guys make....couldn't help but think at various times of this tournament how much hate there'd be for Hughes if he were making some of these plays/errors in a Canuck uniform. Maybe his tremendous upside will gain him a pass. On the other hand their skating gets them into positions defensively that other guys may not have the mobility to, so there are upsides/tradeoffs to these guys that skate extremely well but aren't necessarily going to overpower many forwards. That said, I see no reason to rush him into the NHL. I think part of his game is ready, other parts could use work and waiting a few more months won't hurt imo.
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I agree - and my favorite move of the year was actually a 'negative' one - waiving Gagner in favour of keeping another spot open for youth to compete for. At the same time, I think there's a fundamental difference between moving out placeholders like Nillson, Gagner, Del Zotto, or Schaller - and expecting foundational/core players like Sutter, Tanev or Edler to 'be gone'. I don't see any of those three being competed off the roster at any point - moving them would be quite different and amount to transition/retool/rething moves - which I don't expect to see - and think that people who do expect that are missing something.
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Realistically, can never bank on anything.... But it is worth noting and savouring at the time - a season where the team has a rookie come in and tear it up at better than a ppg, a player like Virtuzzi start to show what his NHL trajectory could look like (in unsheltered minutes), a player like Gaudette (a gd Hobey Baker after all) come in relatively under the radar and show that his toolbox reallly looks like that of a very good NHLer with some more seasoning, a freebie pickup like Motte come in and absolutely own one of the shutdown roles at age 23 - and it's easy to overlook the volume of that with a bluechip goaltender like Demko also poised to come in and add some excitement over the youth potential. The only real disappointments imo have been the injury to Juolevi just as he was really starting to roll at the AHL level, and the somewhat underachievement of Leipsic, who I really thought would be more competitive for one of those open to take LW spots. Hutton has also regained some form - Goldobin some situational signs of gaining an NHL game without the puck (and some setbacks). I suppose on another level I'd hoped for more out of Pouliot, but am not as critical of him as most in large part due to the context in which he's performing, and some subtle positive effects he has on driving play from the backend. In any event, not a bad time to pause, because despite Hughes and another potential wave of youth, this is somewhat unprecedented.
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exactly. I think it was getting pretty clear that Nilsson was soundly losing that competition to Markstrom. When he arrived, he had the chance to be the guy staying and Markstrom the guy moving on for a 6th. But honestly, I'm not surprised Markstrom took this one - I expected him to outcompete Nilsson this year. Marky just has that added component of - call it what you want - rage, anger, compete, determination, pride - that imo gave him an edge, whether or not he was/is more gifted in terms of natural abilities and size....
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I don't really think they're derailing - due to the fact they've been set up handily with a wealth of futures that ought to be able to virtually auto-pilot to reasonable results. But it only takes a few clusterducks to make the difference between being a bubble team and a contender - and moving a couple Lindholm/Hanifin types for guys that walk or bust can be all it takes to make that difference in the end.
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yeah, I think you made a good and clear point(s) - not really taking issue with your fair devil's advocate perspective on what they were thinking - I'm just miffed that they intervened and got impatient with a transition that was unfolding better than a noob like that owner appears to have realized - and now the potential derailment is on him, not the very competent person he fired and presumed to 'upgrade' upon. Francis may not have been perfect, but I found him extremely impressive, particularly with what he had to work with - imo really overachieved with the pace and quality of that rething. I hope he finds another NHL job soon, with a franchise I like, because if any of what transpired in Carolina was his 'fault', he deserves another shot imo. The arrogant "I expect results" - and now - thing really rubs me the wrong way - particularly when the guy losing his job certainly has a far better grasp of reality than the puffed up chest of a money thrower who would be ironically far less able to produce those results himself. I feel bad for 'true' Carolina fans - but at the same time never considered that a viable hockey market. Perhaps the bright side will be that this owner winds up driving that team in the end back to Quebec City lol.
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That would actually be a great deal for Edmonton - if they hadn't boxed themself in with the Lucic contract. LE would lead their LWers in scoring - while being an excellent defensive forward, something they lack from nearly top to bottom in that lineup. Instead they have Lucic, who can't skate, isn't exactly what you'd call a 'defensive forward' - sitting with 1 goal on a team with centers like they have - and mired as a misfit in their bottom six. They actually have 5.5 million of cap - enough to acquire (pro-rated) LE - and are desperate to recover a season that is supposed to be a contention window for them, but is unfolding like every other poorly built Coiler effort. Nevermind the future - the future is nowlol. Chia knows LE - might want to think about how much better they'd be at LW with Eriksson in that mix beside a McMe1st, Draisaitl, or with RNH in an upgraded two way 3rd line role. Beggars, even if they're lottery champions, can't be choosers haha.
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yep - sometimes you get lucky with a window of opportunity - other times that does not appear or work out - but clearly they keep their nose to the grindstone and take advantage when they can - and see the interests/needs of other franchises/GMs - which is about all you can ask imo. Can't always expect results, but should always expect them to be ready to pursue potential ones.
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I think it's a win both ways personally. It's a win for us because we don't need Nilsson - or Archie - and a late pick, despite being a longshot 6th, has some value at least. On the other hand, Nilsson is a big, young skilled goaltender who proved more consistent and effective when he was in Buffalo. For whatever reason, it didn't work out as well here, but perhaps being back in the eastern time zone and conference, without the travel, disruption or whatever, might serve him. Personally, if the Canucks are in a parallel position to Ottawa, I'd have no problem with them adding a 6th to two placeholders to take a risk on Nilsson and Archie. I can't stand Ottawa's ownership, but otherwise I hope both these players turn out for them.
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I can't agree with you at all here. First of all, Markstrom was exceptionally mentally strong in taking an overachieving Utica team to a Calder Finals. He's more than done his dues competing with a high end starter like Ryan Miller for games. He has been notorious for giving up early goals - and nevertheless recovering in-game to put up otherwise solid performances. He's persevered through a number of seasons of a very depleted transition team that lacked the depth to sustain competitiveness - and was overexposed and likely under-rated as a result. He's not fragile imo - I consider him to be quite mentally tough - and moreover, he's not a me-first type person/player - so I highly doubt he'd consider Demko a "threat" or even let that effect his own performance. When he's on the ice I doubt there'd be a ghost of Demko bothering/effecting him. I'm not sure you're being fair to the guy. I think what you've seen recently is a window into what Markstrom is capable of when he's fronted with a reasonably competitive team that defends as a group over 200ft.
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It wasn't a terrible attempt at a hockey trade - however, I have to take issue with one fundamental premise here: that Carolina needed to 'shake things up' or had become 'stagnant'. And if that were the case, they just gambled on the shorter term and are losing even there. Have a look at the roster they finished last season with - all that young talent up front and on their back end - then look at their prospects both up front and on the blueline - and then try to tell me that franchise had gotten 'stagnant'. On the contrary - Ron Francis was killing it in terms of both their drafting record and their development - and had made very few mistakes - with the caveat that mistakes like gambling on a player like Darling was a reasonable risk, and not one that handicapped them enough - with all that youth, RFAs, ELCs for flexibilty moving forward. I'd take the team this owner inherited over what he's inspired any and every time - and the worst is probably yet to come. One of the ugliest firings in recent history imo, maybe as bad or even worse than the dismissal of Talon and Gallant in Florida. An owner that could not see that team's previous trajectory is an owner that is nothing resembling a hockey person = part of the problem in the 'modern' NHL - wealthy American buyers that lack the wisdom to leave or put their franchises in the hands of people that know what they're doing. And all of this precipitated by an owner who recently voiced the opinion that his team should not draft defensemen, because he wants to watch 5-4 games ad infinitum. Honestly one of the stupidest things I've ever heard out of the mouth of someone that factors prominently in the direction and decision-making of a franchise. Every GM in the league should be dialing that owner directly with proposals, selling him on the futility of retaining defensemen like Slavvin or Pesce, and taking him to the cleaners he deserves.