And you say I'm hard to please....
- Michael_Stuart

The only downer was Nate. He's a great guy.

I give him an A+. Moved the deadwood except for Nate and added what we needed especially when the lower cap caught a lot of people by surprise.
- tpd11

Are you looking to get banned for life. Lol we have three of their players they have two of ours plus an older one in Boyle. They have Marty, Kostka and Boyle we have Cally, Stralman and Boyle. Big deal on a couple changes we are the Tampa Bay Lightning period.
- tpd11

They also have dominick moore and just signed cedrick Desjardins yesterday. There are a number of former bolts there that they acquired in the past two years. Had Pouliot last year as well who I think got over payed by Edmonton but my oilers fan friend likes the signing

I give him an A+. Moved the deadwood except for Nate and added what we needed especially when the lower cap caught a lot of people by surprise.
- tpd11

Brown Noser

I give yZerman an A . If Boyle proves himself to be a solid 4c I'll give him an a+ . He got 2 top four defense man , Boyle , a quality back up without giving up any important assets if our future . That's what I was worried about , giving up future for now . But SY was a genius yesterday and approached our needs with extremely reasonable signings especially compared to what others got . It feels good to know we have great ownership great management and great coaches. Oh ya , the team is pretty good po

Don't want to start anything but I heard Malone Thompson and Purcell were pretty close friends that party together!! Just odd we dumped Thompson for Boyle and paid more ?

good pickups yesterday but i still can't believe they gave sam gagner away for practically nothing

good pickups yesterday but i still can't believe they gave sam gagner away for practically nothing
- Ravenz93

Ya needed cap room for stralman

good pickups yesterday but i still can't believe they gave sam gagner away for practically nothing
- Ravenz93

Teams aren't gonna give you much just so u can dump salary
They know he's not useful to you and they know what you're doing

Why would you pay a 4th line guy 2.3 million? I would have kept Thompson's intangibles at 1.6. Other needed to add draft picks. This is a head scratcher.
- gmoney91

The main intangible Thompson brings is PK, and last season our PK was awful.
Boyle is a PK guy with better size. Thompson had better speed but this team has plenty of speed to spare no really no loss there. Faceoffs is a wash between Boyle and Thompson. Scoring as well. It's only $2M cap hit (not $2.3M), so for the way this team is constructed Boyle very well may be a better fit at the cost of an extra $400k. Nate was a 4th liner who worked hard so I don't want to discount what he brought to this team, but don't make him out to be anything that he wasn't and that was a decent 4th line center

And you say I'm hard to please....
- Michael_Stuart

I'm not sure how he can be graded anything less than an A.

We filled our needs through good value trades (Garrison) and good value signings (Stralman) without breaking the bank at the expense of the future.

I have no doubt our options for a backup tender were limited as this wasn't a 1A/1B type situation which would entice guys like Greiss or Chad Johnson. Bishop is our guy and anyone signing knew that. As it is Nabokov may be a really good fit b/c he can help mentor the young kids if Bishop gets hurt and one of them gets the call-up.

Everyone is focusing on the Thompson trade as a negative, but if we take the blinders off Thompson for Boyle is at worst a wash and given the makeup of the team it could be argued Boyle is the better fit.

And one last point, we have a boatload of picks in a very deep draft next season and when you look at the roster we no longer have any dead weight (cough Teddy) killing our cap.

Nate was a 4th liner who worked hard so I don't want to discount what he brought to this team, but don't make him out to be anything that he wasn't and that was a decent 4th line center
- uf1910

Exactly right. I like Thompson as a player, but I didn't expect people to be so up in arms about him leaving. Especially since Boyle is an upgrade.
I'm excited for next year. I think the Bolts are going to have a memorable season.

The only downer was Nate. He's a great guy.
- Artyukhin76

But from a team standpoint Boyle for Thompson is at worst a wash. Nate was a great guy but on the ice Boyle brings what Nate did plus adds

good pickups yesterday but i still can't believe they gave sam gagner away for practically nothing
- Ravenz93

All in the name of moving salary. Gagner had no place on this team and we needed cap space to fill our true needs. Sure we traded him for practically nothing but the value he brought to the Bolts was the cap room to get Stralman etc.

Improved team=value

Exactly right. I like Thompson as a player, but I didn't expect people to be so up in arms about him leaving. Especially since Boyle is an upgrade.
I'm excited for next year. I think the Bolts are going to have a memorable season.
- DrBassie

I'm not up in arms or anything but it would've been nice to be able to have both of them.

All in the name of moving salary. Gagner had no place on this team and we needed cap space to fill our true needs. Sure we traded him for practically nothing but the value he brought to the Bolts was the cap room to get Stralman etc.

Improved team=value
- uf1910

yes this

But from a team standpoint Boyle for Thompson is at worst a wash. Nate was a great guy but on the ice Boyle brings what Nate did plus adds
- uf1910

So now that Nate is gone who do you guys give the extra "A" to?

So now that Nate is gone who do you guys give the extra "A" to?
- DrouinsDrone

I think Callahan gets it

I think Callahan gets it
- todd1a

This just hit me. Do you guys think there might be something more to than bringing Nabokov in? As in, he's Russian, Vasi is Russian. Like to help Vas adjust more, and feel at home? I understand that they probably won't be together that much but like during training camp and just to help with communication.

Either way, its nothing major. Just a talking point.

I think Callahan gets it
- todd1a

Hedman

I'm not sure how he can be graded anything less than an A.

We filled our needs through good value trades (Garrison) and good value signings (Stralman) without breaking the bank at the expense of the future.

I have no doubt our options for a backup tender were limited as this wasn't a 1A/1B type situation which would entice guys like Greiss or Chad Johnson. Bishop is our guy and anyone signing knew that. As it is Nabokov may be a really good fit b/c he can help mentor the young kids if Bishop gets hurt and one of them gets the call-up.

Everyone is focusing on the Thompson trade as a negative, but if we take the blinders off Thompson for Boyle is at worst a wash and given the makeup of the team it could be argued Boyle is the better fit.

And one last point, we have a boatload of picks in a very deep draft next season and when you look at the roster we no longer have any dead weight (cough Teddy) killing our cap.
- uf1910

Exactly. A+ in my books.

Where do we rank in the division next year you think ? I say 3rd

Where do we rank in the division next year you think ? I say 3rd
- todd1a

So we drop a spot? Last season we where 2nd in the division and 3rd in conference.