I was kinda hoping they'd swing a deal for Zubrus.
Oh well, no big deal either way.

I hope the flyers draft as well as the eagles did. i though chip and that short guy did a great job



edit: by short guy i meant howie roseman (couldn't think of his name at the time) a friend of mine said his dad met him at an airport and that HR is like 5'3

kimmo will be used more sparingly this year, mez might be gone, streit is a good puck mover and we needed badly to replace carle, gervais is not bad for a 6th dman. let's be cautiously optimistic and see where this "wild ride" goes. #excited
- flyerscup2011

If Gervais and Streit are in the starting six together the other 4 D better be ready for all the tough minutes.

Fixed for you
- JAKEw1234

'preciate it

Walker, Gervais, and Lilja. Monstrous.

If Gervais and Streit are in the starting six together the other 4 D better be ready for all the tough minutes.
- Marc D

good point

Timonen is starting to look human from a health stand point. Meszaros might as well be a floating head. Streit isn't a great defender and Grossman has question marks too. Gervais just sucks.
- dingo8urbaby

The sum of the parts is less than the whole. Timo, Streit, Coburn and Schenn averaged over 22 minutes a game between them last year. That's 88 of 120 minutes. So between Mez, Grossman(18 minutes last year) and Gus you would need 16 minutes for 2 of them. you could lighten the load of the top 4 or increase the load of the other 3. That's not using Gervais or Lauridsen.

It gives options. There's too many minutes on the D so Homer can deal from a better position than last year.

The sum of the parts is less than the whole. Timo, Streit, Coburn and Schenn averaged over 22 minutes a game between them last year. That's 88 of 120 minutes. So between Mez, Grossman(18 minutes last year) and Gus you would need 16 minutes for 2 of them. you could lighten the load of the top 4 or increase the load of the other 3. That's not using Gervais or Lauridsen.

It gives options. There's too many minutes on the D so Homer can deal from a better position than last year.
- jstross

This is a bright point but I still see no way or real reason to add.

So briere and bryz are on waivers rite now??

If Coburn was a free agent this July, he would get a deal similar to Carle even with his off year last year, I have little doubt.
- ravishingone

And I'd hope Homer would be smart enough to let him go like carle if that were the case

anyway, my point is im glad we have a GM that "reacts"

some see that as a negative. i dont.

the obvious "plan" would have been to stick with richards and carter and continue building the team around them with their decade-long deals. Now maybe it would have worked out in the end, but the GM evaluated the situation, reacted, and pulled the trigger to get good value before the NTCs kicked in.

im not saying Homer hasnt made mistakes, but i cant stand hearing people talk like he's throwing darts at a dartboard while other GMs are supposedly following some perfectly mapped-out 20-step plan toward building a Cup team.
- Crimsoninja

Bravo. Post of the day imo. The stupid level is always high in here, but it's been off the charts today. Good to see someone still has some sense.

Bob McKenzie ‏@TSNBobMcKenzie 1m

Compliance buyout window is now open BUT no buyout can occur until: a) player is put on waivers; b) player clears waivers 24 hrs later.
- Jsaquella

What if Feaster claims Bryz?

This is a bright point but I still see no way or real reason to add.
- dingo8urbaby

I actually agree. Until other GMs see some of these guys are healthy you're not going to get much for them. Mez can play when healthy so I'd be patient and not just use a salary dump.

I think Gagne hangs out for a while unless he gets an offer too good to be true. I'd be fine with keeping the 11th pick, signing Gagne and a decent goalie as a safety valve for Mason.

Go from there.

Man, I would love to see a deal for essentially Blum's rights swung to us. If they could do that and grab Pulock or Ristolianen in the draft then suddenly the future of the blueline is looking a lot brighter.

The sum of the parts is less than the whole. Timo, Streit, Coburn and Schenn averaged over 22 minutes a game between them last year. That's 88 of 120 minutes. So between Mez, Grossman(18 minutes last year) and Gus you would need 16 minutes for 2 of them. you could lighten the load of the top 4 or increase the load of the other 3. That's not using Gervais or Lauridsen.

It gives options. There's too many minutes on the D so Homer can deal from a better position than last year.
- jstross

Gus has proven he can eat big minutes, and Grossmann has proven he can do that and be a solid shut-down guy. I say give gus and Grossmann 20+ a night and give our question marks (mez or coburn, depending on which is traded) limited minutes until their game improves. If they can improve their games to a point, then I'd say we have the all the pieces to run a defense where time can be split evenly between all of our guys. It's nice to have that.

Man, I would love to see a deal for essentially Blum's rights swung to us. If they could do that and grab Pulock or Ristolianen in the draft then suddenly the future of the blueline is looking a lot brighter.
- hereticpride

idk will Blum even be a top 4 guy in his prime? I mean, it'd be awesome to have a young core of LSchenn, Gustafsson, Pulock, and Blum, but is the consensus that Blum will actually be anything worth giving assets for?

Gus has proven he can eat big minutes, and Grossmann has proven he can do that and be a solid shut-down guy. I say give gus and Grossmann 20+ a night and give our question marks (mez or coburn, depending on which is traded) limited minutes until their game improves. If they can improve their games to a point, then I'd say we have the all the pieces to run a defense where time can be split evenly between all of our guys. It's nice to have that.
- JAKEw1234

I love Gus and have been an advocate for him, but he too needs to stay healthy.

I just like the 20+ minutes Streit brings in the right situations. He's an immediate help to the 2nd power play line. Gus can have his minutes increased and the walking wounded can begin to heal.

I actually agree. Until other GMs see some of these guys are healthy you're not going to get much for them. Mez can play when healthy so I'd be patient and not just use a salary dump.

I think Gagne hangs out for a while unless he gets an offer too good to be true. I'd be fine with keeping the 11th pick, signing Gagne and a decent goalie as a safety valve for Mason.

Go from there.
- jstross

I agree with all of this. There just isn't an easy salution to this D though.

idk will Blum even be a top 4 guy in his prime? I mean, it'd be awesome to have a young core of LSchenn, Gustafsson, Pulock, and Blum, but is the consensus that Blum will actually be anything worth giving assets for?
- JAKEw1234

Blum should develop into a very solid 2nd pairing puckmover on most teams depth charts. And as far as the cost goes, if he's just going to be a UFA the cost cant be too high. I would move as high as the 41st for him with the assurance a deal can get done. Former 1st rounder D man developed by the Preds. Definitely worth the shot.

I love Gus and have been an advocate for him, but he too needs to stay healthy.

I just like the 20+ minutes Streit brings in the right situations. He's an immediate help to the 2nd power play line. Gus can have his minutes increased and the walking wounded can begin to heal.
- jstross

agree, he may need to bulk up, looks really small & gets nailed a lot

they need to either shed someone or they will be joining pronger on LTIR

idk will Blum even be a top 4 guy in his prime? I mean, it'd be awesome to have a young core of LSchenn, Gustafsson, Pulock, and Blum, but is the consensus that Blum will actually be anything worth giving assets for?
- JAKEw1234

Don't forget we have ghost coming in a couple years too. If we could move like coburn/ prospect/2nd to move into the top 7 and Draft 2 of these dmen we would be looking good for the next decade on defense.

So briere and bryz are on waivers rite now??
- griouxmvp2012

Can they be claimed?

I love Gus and have been an advocate for him, but he too needs to stay healthy.

I just like the 20+ minutes Streit brings in the right situations. He's an immediate help to the 2nd power play line. Gus can have his minutes increased and the walking wounded can begin to heal.
- jstross

What will the PP lines look like?

Option 1:
Hartnell - Giroux - Simmonds
Kimmo - Voracek

BSchenn - Couturier - Read
Gustafsson - Streit

or
Option 2:
Hartnell - Giroux - Voracek
Kimmo - Streit

Read - BSchenn - Simmonds
Gustafsson - LSchenn

I personally like option 2. for the 1st powerplay unit it has 2 of the best powerplay quarterbacks in the league running it from the blue-line. It keeps a heavy shot at the point. It still has grit. It still gives Voracek alot of opportunities for one-timers from the high/side of the slot, which was a pivotal piece of the powerplay last year. It adds grit to the 2nd powerplay unit, and gives Gustafsson further opportunity to gain experience running a PP, and keeps a good shot from the point in LSchenn. Our 2nd powerplay won't improve that much, but our 1st unit can take most of the time like it did last season. Which it should. That powerplay unit was definitely one of the top 5 units in the league last year.

Blum should develop into a very solid 2nd pairing puckmover on most teams depth charts. And as far as the cost goes, if he's just going to be a UFA the cost cant be too high. I would move as high as the 41st for him with the assurance a deal can get done. Former 1st rounder D man developed by the Preds. Definitely worth the shot.
- hereticpride

That's all you had to say

What will the PP lines look like?

Option 1:
Hartnell - Giroux - Simmonds
Kimmo - Voracek

BSchenn - Couturier - Read
Gustafsson - Streit

or
Option 2:
Hartnell - Giroux - Voracek
Kimmo - Streit

Read - BSchenn - Simmonds
Gustafsson - LSchenn

I personally like option 2. for the 1st powerplay unit it has 2 of the best powerplay quarterbacks in the league running it from the blue-line. It keeps a heavy shot at the point. It still has grit. It still gives Voracek alot of opportunities for one-timers from the high/side of the slot, which was a pivotal piece of the powerplay last year. It adds grit to the 2nd powerplay unit, and gives Gustafsson further opportunity to gain experience running a PP, and keeps a good shot from the point in LSchenn. Our 2nd powerplay won't improve that much, but our 1st unit can take most of the time like it did last season. Which it should. That powerplay unit was definitely one of the top 5 units in the league last year.
- JAKEw1234

I wouldn't put Luke on the PP until we have to. I know it sounds nuts but I would split Hartnell and Simmonds. Hartnell is better being used as a screen and deep in the crease imo.