Ristolainen played a good game but he played that OT winning goal about as poorly as it can be played.
- MJL

Could have played it better for sure but 3v3 and Tarasenko had a lot of speed coming at Risto. I don’t blame RR, Frost or Hart, good play by a real good player, who has a great shot

14 points in 29 games this year and the Wings got a first round pick. Can't wait to hear the excuses as to why Cucky the Flunky gets nothing done at this deadline.
- PLindbergh31

He has been out a lot with Injury especially at the start of the season. He is better than Hall at this point. Great grab by Boston.

and Hayes was mostly invisible. What’s the thought process with how they’re handling Hayes? There’s no doubt he can get points. Why not put him in a position to do what he does best? The GM implies that they are looking to get rid of him. The coach puts him on the wing and the 4th line. Doesn’t seem like a good way to motivate a guy to perform. Also doesn’t make him more appealing to other teams. Are they just trying to get a rise out of him? Fire him up? Doesn’t seem like it’s working. Maybe the guy just doesn’t have a pulse. He sounds tranquilized in interviews. He looks like he’s bored on the ice.
- Dkos

Hayes played with Tippet and JVR last night. It only seemed like he was on the 4th line because the Flyers played 11/7 last night. Hayes played 16 minutes last night, 3 more minutes than JVR did. Also if the reports are true Hayes might be traded today or tomorrow, we can only hope.

Hexy has to be looking at all the trades and be thinking we need to sit back and collect some picks. I hope he is forced to buy and the pens shxt the bed

Could have played it better for sure but 3v3 and Tarasenko had a lot of speed coming at Risto. I don’t blame RR, Frost or Hart, good play by a real good player, who has a great shot
- wcorvette

Correct, Tarasenko came up the middle with speed and Risto had to respect that. Then Tarasenko quickly changed course to the outside and Risto did well to get his stick in there. Hart should have stopped the puck!

5 picks in the first 2 rounds this year for Detroit, all of which could end up being non-playoff team picks. Plus, almost $30 mil in cap space next year with the majority of their core signed.
- TobyFlenderson

Now that's "bias for action". Fletcher still hasn't learned you don't have to max out your credit card and trade your draft picks to go "all in" every year.

Look at the conference. Can anyone realistically believe they will be a playoff team in the next 5 years? How about a legit contending team?

Hexy has to be looking at all the trades and be thinking we need to sit back and collect some picks. I hope he is forced to buy and the pens shxt the bed
- wcorvette

Hexy has the Penguins exactly where he wants them, a playoff bubble team!

Inquirer needs to hire Larry Brooks part-time to ask the fun questions.

Our local guys are all hiding behind Giana because they know Torts won't get mad at her. But even she doesn't dare to ask anything too provocative.
- Tomahawk

That's sad. It's not like you have to be a wiener to ask a coach why he's persisting with a 2D in OT strategy when his team has the league's worst overtime record.

Turns out they are easy to make if you have something of value to trade.
- MBFlyerfan

Or you are competent.

It's Tyler not Todd
- Tomahawk

Now that's "bias for action". Fletcher still hasn't learned you don't have to max out your credit card and trade your draft picks to go "all in" every year.
- Flyers_01

Now come on, you're criticizing the guy who built the 7th most improved roster and 7th youngest in the league! It takes skill and competence to set that kind of standard for this organization!

I wonder who the Angelo and Deslauriers will be this offseason. I'm going with Klingberg and Lucic. Harder to play against!

5 picks in the first 2 rounds this year for Detroit, all of which could end up being non-playoff team picks. Plus, almost $30 mil in cap space next year with the majority of their core signed.
- TobyFlenderson

So you are saying Detroit actually has a plan….wouldn’t that be nice.

Correct, Tarasenko came up the middle with speed and Risto had to respect that. Then Tarasenko quickly changed course to the outside and Risto did well to get his stick in there. Hart should have stopped the puck!
- jd250

Risto should have been stapled to the bench in OT, and on any other NHL team he would have been. A guy with his limitations is a sitting duck at 3 on 3.

Look at the conference. Can anyone realistically believe they will be a playoff team in the next 5 years? How about a legit contending team?
- hello it's me 2050

No, anything short of 7-10 years is delusional thinking. Every year they go backwards somehow and I guess I have to give credit for that...not many can do that even on purpose.

Look at the conference. Can anyone realistically believe they will be a playoff team in the next 5 years? How about a legit contending team?
- hello it's me 2050

With Fletcher in charge…not a chance.

With current ownership in charge…not a chance.
- landros 2

Fixed.

Anything less than that and you're going in a loop.

So you are saying Detroit actually has a plan….wouldn’t that be nice.
- landros 2

Hey, Fletcher has a plan! It's just a plan that requires so much luck that he looks like a gambler that's already $100K in the hole and thinks this next bet will be the best payoff ever.

No, anything short of 7-10 years is delusional thinking. Every year they go backwards somehow and I guess I have to give credit for that...not many can do that even on purpose.
- Glak18

Which makes the Torts hiring all the more puzzling. I can't see them sniffing anywhere near a wildcard spot during his tenure. Unless he has plans to go into the front office like Trotz did.

Bruins grab Bertuzzi, they are all in for this year and if he's healthy I think Bertuzzi will push this team over the finish line. It will be a cruel summer for me for sure
- jd250

imagine how awesome they will be once they add hayes with the flyers paying half his contract

imagine how awesome they will be once they add hayes with the flyers paying half his contract
- corduroy

The Bruins are already right at the cap ceiling

Could have played it better for sure but 3v3 and Tarasenko had a lot of speed coming at Risto. I don’t blame RR, Frost or Hart, good play by a real good player, who has a great shot
- wcorvette

It was all due to a good NZ setup. Gotta give credit to the Rangers there.

Charlie O'Connor was talking about the succession plan the other day, said the team probably doesn't feel like Briere's quite ready yet. So either Chuck is staying on for a bit or they might hire somebody experienced to warm the seat up for Danny (like Uncle Lou stepping aside for Dubas, and likely Waddell stepping aside for Tulsky).
- Tomahawk

I know Briere seems to be the consensus heir to the GM position, but if Chuck only steps aside as GM and maintains his other role, what happens with his right hand man Brent Flahr? At some point, you think Chuck, being the nice guy that he is, is gonna' reward this guy for his loyalty and give him a shot as GM. Flahr stayed on with the Jackets after they fired Chuck, but willingly left Columbus when Fletcher came calling with the Flyers job.

So I'm curious to see how that plays out. Is Flahr a guy that is just happy to be there working with his pal and will be happy Briere is handed a GM job, or is he the type of guy that has aspirations to actually build and lead an organization one day?

Which makes the Torts hiring all the more puzzling. I can't see them sniffing anywhere near a wildcard spot during his tenure. Unless he has plans to go into the front office like Trotz did.
- TobyFlenderson

This.

Flahr is not GM material. Bringing the Wild's draft guru to Philly hasn't helped the team one bit.