Oh yes. How silly of me.

To me, I think his absolute ceiling is Grossmann.
- Giroux_Is_God

but bigger, faster, and a bit meaner. Maybe not so good at blocking. Still a valuable player, and if he can become that, he'll be an amazing find for a 7th round pick

Daigle. Faloon. Brendl. Zherdev...

Man, did we pick up some dogs or what?
- 77rams

In all honesty we have to dig deep to find players who really didn't bring it. We're lucky. We even pick at players who reach their 30's for not being young anymore. At the same time that 2004 team's stars averaged the age of 30 and they both dominated and worked hard. It never hurts to have some seasoning.

but bigger, faster, and a bit meaner. Maybe not so good at blocking. Still a valuable player, and if he can become that, he'll be an amazing find for a 7th round pick
- JAKEw1234

Lauridsen is tall but a twig compared to Grossmann. Grossmann doesn't have to prove how mean he is, I've seen Grossmann drop the gloves with George Parros twice, he can hold his own if he has to. Grossmann is the better shot blocker, no maybe about it.

I think we massively overrate Lauridson, especially if we're comparing him to Nicolas Grossmann. Grossmann is a reliable NHL defenseman. I'm not so sure Lauridson would be nearly as reliable defensively at the NHL as Grossmann especially on the PK.

I'm pretty happy with how the defensive prospects appear when compared with a couple of seasons ago.

Ghost, Hagg, Sanheim, Morin, Wilcox, and Alt > Sbisa, Gustaffson, Bourdon, Marshall, Lauridsen, Manning

Lauridsen is tall but a twig compared to Grossmann. Grossmann doesn't have to prove how mean he is, I've seen Grossmann drop the gloves with George Parros twice, he can hold his own if he has to. Grossmann is the better shot blocker, no maybe about it.

I think we massively overrate Lauridson, especially if we're comparing him to Nicolas Grossmann. Grossmann is a reliable NHL defenseman. I'm not so sure Lauridson would be nearly as reliable defensively at the NHL as Grossmann especially on the PK.
- SuperSchennBros

I meant in potential, not currently. Even though Grossmann is strong and tough, I remember Lauridsen having more of a mean streak in his game during his short sampling with he Flyers. Lauridsen is also only 10 pounds lighter than Grossmann, even though I agree that he should fill out his frame a bit more. Obviously Grossmann is currently the better shot blocker currently. He's one of the best blockers in the league. Lauridsen isn't even in the league.

I was hoping to see some comments on people watching the 1996 World Cup of Hockey on the NHL network, this afternoon/evening

Can you imagine how good Lindros would have been without a red line to slow him up and the D always backing in like they do now instead of taking head shots

Team Canada
Lindros
BrindAmour
Desjardins
Coffey

Team USA
LeClair
Joel Otto

Team Sweden
Mikael Renberg

Funny seeing Scott Stevens and Eric Desjardins as D pairing
Wouldnt that have changed the balance of power in the east

Would a 2015 4th and 2016 2nd be enough for Hayes? If he's any good that is.

Would a 2015 4th and 2016 2nd be enough for Hayes? If he's any good that is.
- jstross

I'd do it

I was hoping to see some comments on people watching the 1996 World Cup of Hockey on the NHL network, this afternoon/evening

Can you imagine how good Lindros would have been without a red line to slow him up and the D always backing in like they do now instead of taking head shots

Team Canada
Lindros
BrindAmour
Desjardins
Coffey

Team USA
LeClair
Joel Otto

Team Sweden
Mikael Renberg

Funny seeing Scott Stevens and Eric Desjardins as D pairing
Wouldnt that have changed the balance of power in the east
- Steelmanpa

Eric Desjardins or Kimmo Timonen?

I'd do it
- Giroux_Is_God

Flyers do this first:

The Flyers would probably ask for permission to talk to Hayes' agent Robert Murray first to get a sense of Hayes' willingness to play for the Flyers.

Get a commitment, then get the trade done.

Of course, if you know he wants to play for the Flyers, why wouldn't Hexy just wait til August 15?

Edit: It seems to me the best, most logical course of action is for Chicago to let every team talk to Hayes' agent, and maybe a bidding war starts. Chicago, knowing they are going to get - at the very least - a 2015 2nd if Hayes doesn't sign with them, has everything to gain, nothing to lose.

Flyers do this first:



Get a commitment, then get the trade done.

Of course, if you know he wants to play for the Flyers, why wouldn't Hexy just wait til August 15?

Edit: It seems to me the best, most logical course of action is for Chicago to let every team talk to Hayes' agent, and maybe a bidding war starts. Chicago, knowing they are going to get - at the very least - a 2015 2nd if Hayes doesn't sign with them, has everything to gain, nothing to lose.
- wolfhounds

At the very least, I'd like to see Hexy make a strong push for him

I was hoping to see some comments on people watching the 1996 World Cup of Hockey on the NHL network, this afternoon/evening

Can you imagine how good Lindros would have been without a red line to slow him up and the D always backing in like they do now instead of taking head shots

Team Canada
Lindros
BrindAmour
Desjardins
Coffey

Team USA
LeClair
Joel Otto

Team Sweden
Mikael Renberg

Funny seeing Scott Stevens and Eric Desjardins as D pairing
Wouldnt that have changed the balance of power in the east
- Steelmanpa

Rennie didn't play in the tournament. He was chosen, of course, but was recuperating from one of the most severe sports hernias that I've ever heard of: the abdominal muscle had torn away completely from the pubic bone. That was what he was actually trying to play through from December onward and was why he was in and out of the lineup frequently (and noticeably less effective when he played) in the last five months of the season.

but bigger, faster, and a bit meaner. Maybe not so good at blocking. Still a valuable player, and if he can become that, he'll be an amazing find for a 7th round pick
- JAKEw1234

Lauridsen's footwork has always been below average and his positional awareness (though markedly improved) can be better.

Most significantly, his puckhandling is well below average. Probably because only one ended up in the net, people forget that Lauridsen was charged with 13 giveaways in his 15 games with the Flyers. That's too high of a frequency of unforced turnovers even for a puck mover who handles the disc a lot and an insane number for a defensive defenseman who doesn't handle the puck very much.

People get on Grossmann for his puckhandling and it's probably the most legitimate complaint about his game (because he usually finds ways to compensate for lacking speed). He's a puck-moving wizard compared to Lauridsen.

What I like a lot about Lauridsen is how hard he competes. He gives his all on every shift and stands up for teammates. Other than his size and toughness, however, he's very marginal as an NHL prospect. It brings me no joy to write that, because he's a conscientious and likable player. I hope he proves me wrong and cracks the Flyers or another team.

Eric Desjardins or Kimmo Timonen?
- SuperSchennBros

Desjardins in his prime, he was my favorite non physical defenseman

He was ragged on a lot in his later years after injuries by people on hockey boards, but the coach kept tapping him on the shoulder and out he went.
He gave his body for the Flyers.
If only Roenick wasnt so h*ll bent on checking that Leaf and breaking his arm instead, he would have been there for the 04 playoffs and the result would have been different