2016-2017 NHL Thread
- Thread starter Kin
- Start date
herman
Well-known member
Nik the Trik said:
Johnson's points took a tumble from his breakout season, but that was 2 years ago; same with Palat. It was pretty clear by this season that the Triplets line was fueled largely by Kucherov. Neither of them hit paydirt coming into this year though, as they're both RFA now.
I wonder if he also might be referring to any of the players Tampa traded at the deadline: Boyle, Filppula, and Bishop. Bishop in particular had a down-year for his standards, and basically everybody knew that he wasn't returning to Tampa next season. Obviously, his comments after indicate that he's referring to actual skaters though but it also sounds like it wasn't just one guy.
louisstamos
Active member
I feel bad for the Avalanche here. One of the worst years ever, and they only pick 4th. Fall out of top 3.
Hilarious. I don't feel bad about this at all. I still can't fathom how a team who wasn't even trying to be bad finished this poorly. Or how that entire management/coaching staff wasn't gutted because of it.
It also seems kind of sucky that Vegas drops down to 6th here. They should have been guaranteed to draft 3rd or maybe 4th at the lowest.
L K said:
This is the general thought and the NHL did do more in this expansion draft than in others to ensure that SOME decent players might be available, but unless they sign 4-5 of the top free agents available this team is still almost certainly going to finish bottom-5 next season. None of the projected expansion drafts have produced a roster that looks very good. They're going to be bad for a number of years. They're still starting off without any elite talent whatsoever. And not getting a top-3 pick doesn't help things.
L K
Active member
CarltonTheBear said:
They should also have a fair number of 2nd liners at forward and some 4th defensemen types in addition to a chance to spend in free agency. Expansion shouldn't guarantee a great team and they should be able to make a number of deadline day deals to stock up on 2018 picks
L K said:
That's a pretty big stretch. Check out this mock expansion draft from last month: http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/mock-expansion-draft-vegas-golden-knights-unprotected-player-lists-nhl/
Anaheim and Minnesota are the only teams in danger of losing an impact player. And if they're smart they'll be making moves prior to the draft to ensure that they don't lose somebody like that for nothing. So it's entirely possible Vegas doesn't draft a single top-6 forward or top-4 defenceman.
Which is fine I guess, I agree that an expansion draft shouldn't guarantee a great team. I just think too many people think this expansion draft is going to really help the team.
Kin
New member
CarltonTheBear said:
I agree that people are overstating how well the Knights will do from the expansion draft but one area where I think they'll really have some help is with the cap minimum. By having a ton of cap space that they have to use not only will they be able to make competitive offers to free agents but they'll be a top choice for teams looking to unload talented but maybe a little overpaid players as well as teams looking to make Brooks Laich sorts of deals.
So, yeah, they'll probably be pretty bad for a year or two but with just a few tweaks I think they can end up at least being fast/young bad in those first few years and they should be able to build up a big stockpile of assets.
bustaheims
Active member
Maybe it's just my view that the Flyers are the Leeroy Jenkins of NHL teams, but I can't help but feel like the 2nd overall pick is available.
OrangeBlack
New member
The Flyers are badly in need of a long term Top 6 center....Filppula is only a stopgap. I don't see them trading the pick unless they get a crazy offer. This was like a gift that fell from the sky. I'm not anticipating that either of these guys are Matthews quality; but, I'm hopeful the player can step into the lineup this year.