Baggins

I've loved the John and John show. The banter between them really added to the entertainment of broadcasts. So I'm obviously somewhat sad to see Garrett pack it in. The only guy I can think of I'd like to see take his place is Bieksa. But I think he really loves the gig he has. No matter who it is it will take some time to get use to not hearing Garrett throughout games. Whoever it is I just hope they can develop a similar level of humorous banter.

Now I really want lasagna for dinner.

Not really. Umberber decided to go pro after his 3rd year of college and didn't play his senior year. The problem was he wanted the rookie max loaded with easy to earn bonuses. When Kesler signed Umberger sparked a public feud with him mocking Kelser signing slightly below that max and light on easy to earn bonuses. Burke traded Umberger to the Rangers but he didn't sign with them either, opting for free agency instead. He didn't play at all for a year to reach free agency. The Kesler/Umberger feud carried over onto the ice after Umberger signed with Philly. The bad blood went on for years.

Now I have to clean out that storage closet. What do you have to do?

It's all playing the odds, but trading down always occurs at the draft. He tried to trade down when selecting Pettersson who wasn't ranked top five. I'm not even certain he was ranked top 10, but Benning knew NY had real interest and were picking 8th. But even before Juoilevi draft started none the three were ranked top five and I think only one (Sergechev if I recall) was top ten. The odds of all three going before 11 were slim to none. But clearly he was dead set on Juolevi. I would have been happy with any of the three as each was a high potential D prospect. I would have been happy to add a pick and take any of the three.

I agree unless you are dead set on drafting by position rather than BPA. I thought Benning should have traded down 5 or 6 spots when he took Juolevi. He was obviously drafting by position. Imo you could have flipped a coin on Juolevi, Sergachev, and Chychrun. There was no way all three would go before 10 or 11. Trading down in that situation and taking your BPA of those three would have been smart and would have added a pick to the draft or maybe even two picks.

Holy crap! I actually agree with Alf...

You be lucky to get a Hronek with either pick and you'd have the waiting game to find out. Allvin negated the question mark and obtained the real deal.

Obviously he's worth more than $5.5m. How NHL negotiations work.... Player: start high Team: start low Then try to find acceptable to both in the middle. Team: what kind of money is Horvat looking for? Agent: $8.5m, he's team captain and should be paid more than Miller. Team: He's not Miller, so $5.5m Then the real negotiations begin.

Many have said our current winning ways are due to OEL being injured. Shortly after Horvat arrived Barzal was injured. 1 + 1 = ? All teams go through streaks. Even contenders. The Isles were a couple of points out of a wild card spot and are now a few points into one. Personally I think the real inprovement for the Isles is the what rather than the who. They gave up a winger for a very reliable two way center that is also very good at faceoffs. As much as they're happy with the results I'd wager they're also rather disappointed in his production drop. Whether he's actually worth his $8.5m long term is yet to be seen. Trading Hoprvat led to Hronek. Miller bounced between wing and C. So we already had a guy to take Bo's 2c spot, but really needed a top RHD. We added a top 6 winger while making Miller full time C. Meaning at very worst a status quo in our top 6. Plus added legit top 4 RHD we desperately needed. I'd call it a win for both teams. Who the biggest winner is time will tell. But I'm leaning towards us because I really don't believe Bo is worth that 8.5m.

Remember when Bo was given the C? Yay, finally a Canadian captain instead of a soft Swede! Bo is nice guy but a soft Swede in Canadian clothing. Even before Miller was extended I said if we could only keep one I'd take Miller over Bo without batting an eye. Not a popular sentiment. It's not that i viewed Horvat as a bad player, it's just Miller brings so much more than him. I do find it funny Bo was on pace for a 50 goal season when he was traded. With only 5 goals in 20 games in NY he now needs 4 goals in his final 10 games to hit 40 goals. He's had quite the drop in production.

Nuckers 6 - 3 Miller time.

I agree both are good offensively and defensively. High end playmakers are often underrated compared to goal scorers by fans. I do put high value on good playmakers. Playmakers can elevate a plug but can't make them scoring stars. They do need guys with a good shot to really succeed. Hughes is a low goal scorer, even for a d-man, but a high end playmaker. He relies highly on good shooters to rack up points. Petey on the other hand is both a good goal scorer and a good playmaker. What puts Petey above Hughes for me is the guy that can elevate others with his playmaking, and put it in the net, has more value than the pure playmaker. Were Hughes hitting 15+ goals per season along with all those assists he'd be in rare territory and I'd likely put him higher than Petey.

I think he was told "are you serious" so much for so long he decided to own as his user name.

3-2 Vegas Stone

Been sleeping a few years?

Meaningless to some fans, buty not meaningless at all to players or the coach.

4-2 Kings Kempe

5-2 Nuckers Miller

Off the top of my head they bought out Ballard, Booth, Higgins, Virtanen, and Holtby. They've also buried one way contracts in the AHL without batting an eye. I get you hate the owner, but cheap is not something he's ever been since buying the team.

How does it "end the Benning pain"? Buying him out this summer means feeling "the Benning pain" for eight more years.

What about the OEL buyout that's going to last 8 years?

He's a ufa this summer. How much will he be when those two big penalty years come along? Both Petey and Kuzmenko's next deals will also be in those high penalty years. So yes, I'd rather hurt a little the next two years and reduce the overall pain. Or better yet retain 2.5m and give up assets to just move him this summer.

I'd rather just be done with OEL's contract. If that takes a 1st, a 2nd, and/or waiver eligible prospects I'm ok with that. Cap space is more valuable.The last thing I want is paying for OEL for 8 years.