Jeremy Laura: Return to play - the good, the bad and the ugly

Gonna be a trade-fest a-comin'!

Patches will be hard to move in this climate. He is a scoring machine but who has the money and cap space??
Edmonton would be a fit if Vegas took Neil back. Doubt that will happen.

Gonna be a trade-fest a-comin'!
- HenryHockey

It seems like it could be, just not a ton of teams with space

Patches will be hard to move in this climate. He is a scoring machine but who has the money and cap space??
Edmonton would be a fit if Vegas took Neil back. Doubt that will happen.
- HenryHockey

Right? They dumped Stastny already. Vegas seems to swing big, and now regretting it

Proposed division for Detroit:

Carolina Hurricanes
Columbus Blue Jackets
Detroit Red Wings
Chicago Blackhawks
Florida Panthers
Minnesota Wild
Nashville Predators
Tampa Bay Lightning

Proposed division for Detroit:

Carolina Hurricanes
Columbus Blue Jackets
Detroit Red Wings
Chicago Blackhawks
Florida Panthers
Minnesota Wild
Nashville Predators
Tampa Bay Lightning
- Jeremy Laura

I was fine until I saw Tampa. Mind you Columbus and Carolina are good too.

I was fine until I saw Tampa. Mind you Columbus and Carolina are good too.
- gergeswillems

Oh yeah. There isn’t a division out there where I would have said, “boy, we’ve got a better shot”. Another bumpy ride coming

Jeremy, it's Stewart, not Stuart. And Flight Of The Phoenix was a fantastic movie.

Jeremy, it's Stewart, not Stuart. And Flight Of The Phoenix was a fantastic movie.
- Wingsfan61

Maybe he was thinking of Brad Stuart.

Jeremy, it's Stewart, not Stuart. And Flight Of The Phoenix was a fantastic movie.
- Wingsfan61

Good grief, got it. Thanks. Seeing Ernest Borgnine go crazy and crawl off into the desert was a rough scene. I loved the acting, the chaos. All of it was exceptional. Distilling coolant for water, that’s a tricky business!

Maybe he was thinking of Brad Stuart.
- gergeswillems

If I could clone Stuart....a lefty who could play the right side well and was a defensive dman. Really miss that dude

As a Wings fan I think this division set up will see Detroit winning more games than they normally would and may affect there draft position next year. As a TBL fan I think they will rack up a bunch of wins but will not have faced as much higher level competition which may cause issues in the post season. For the 2 teams I like the best it may not work out well. But what do I know.......

I was hoping Pittsburgh would be in Detroit's Division this upcoming season so I can boo Crybaby.

As a Wings fan I think this division set up will see Detroit winning more games than they normally would and may affect there draft position next year. As a TBL fan I think they will rack up a bunch of wins but will not have faced as much higher level competition which may cause issues in the post season. For the 2 teams I like the best it may not work out well. But what do I know.......
- Richard N Cider

That’s an interesting take. I look at it and see Carolina who is really coming on with impressive talent, TB the powerhouse, CBJ are so well coached and they play for each other, Florida has stuck it to us a bit in the past few years, Nashville, Mantha had one heck of an opening night with those guys. Minnesota, i can never figure out what that team is doing, Chicago I think we have a good shot at competing with.

As you’re looking at the list, where do you see Detroit coming out on top? I honestly want to get that insight/input. I’ll gladly take being wrong on this (finishing bottom of the barrel hasn’t really helped Detroit in the lotto). Shoot a take and I’ll file it for sure. I love hearing the back and forth

As a Wings fan I think this division set up will see Detroit winning more games than they normally would and may affect there draft position next year. As a TBL fan I think they will rack up a bunch of wins but will not have faced as much higher level competition which may cause issues in the post season. For the 2 teams I like the best it may not work out well. But what do I know.......
- Richard N Cider

I think this will be offset by the Red Wings players missing too much time. They haven't played in NHL games since March. There's a huge difference between being in shape than there is being in hockey shape. I just don't see the Wings getting off to a very good start. I hope I'm wrong of course. Talent wise we're much better. But we're still the worst team in the NHL in my opinion.

I was hoping Pittsburgh would be in Detroit's Division this upcoming season so I can boo Crybaby.
- Bigfrog

Yeah, the guys still get up for those games. Their net front nightmare has moved on, he caused fits (dyslexic Holmstrom)

I think this will be offset by the Red Wings players missing too much time. They haven't played in NHL games since March. There's a huge difference between being in shape than there is being in hockey shape. I just don't see the Wings getting off to a very good start. I hope I'm wrong of course. Talent wise we're much better. But we're still the worst team in the NHL in my opinion.
- gergeswillems

That’s where I’m at. Yzerman let some of the “dead lettuce” fall off and brought in some better pieces. I’m still not sure we have two top NHL lines. I love the first line, but the drop off in center from Larkin to everyone else is still steep. Namestnikov could be a pleasant surprise, but the need is still there. Our defense is better, but I don’t feel like we have a top line. Hronek looks very good, Seider won’t be here but keeps getting better. I just don’t see many teams in this division with the type of gaps we’re looking at. Chicago is declining, and if they do get rid of Kane (not sure how they can) they’ll continue to fall a bit.

Great read, thanks

Great read, thanks
- Tee56

Thanks for reading!

Kuzma also says that the plan is for main rosters will be expanded from 23 to 26 players, with four additional players kept nearby on the taxi squad. I can't wait to see how the salary cap gets adjusted to compensate for those extra bodies.

I would guess that the cap goes up by $3M to allow 3 more players......however cap-heavy teams like Tampa could carry 21 or 22 players to start the season to circumvent that higher cap unlesss the NHL has that new cap only slide up with every player over the 23 player limit.
up to 23 players = $81.5M
24 players = $82.5M
25 players = $83.5M
26 players = $84.5M

I would guess that the cap goes up by $3M to allow 3 more players......however cap-heavy teams like Tampa could carry 21 or 22 players to start the season to circumvent that higher cap unlesss the NHL has that new cap only slide up with every player over the 23 player limit.
up to 23 players = $81.5M
24 players = $82.5M
25 players = $83.5M
26 players = $84.5M
- HenryHockey

I was thinking it'll be the same 81.5 mil cap but with 20 players. A taxi squad of 10-12 players with it's own cap. Can't have Jimmy Benning sticking Loui Eriksson on his taxi squad and then saying "I have 6 mil of cap space!" 😂

I would guess that the cap goes up by $3M to allow 3 more players......however cap-heavy teams like Tampa could carry 21 or 22 players to start the season to circumvent that higher cap unlesss the NHL has that new cap only slide up with every player over the 23 player limit.
up to 23 players = $81.5M
24 players = $82.5M
25 players = $83.5M
26 players = $84.5M
- HenryHockey

I’m not sure they would do that increase. It may be like a “virtual AHL” in case the AHL doesn’t open up. As G said, possibly a separate cap. If players are no longer waiver exempt, that may come into play as well. The scenario is obviously ripe for abuse without some guidelines.

I would imagine any kind of taxi squad would probably be subject to the same cap rules as players loaned to the AHL. So even if a team could put an expensive vet on the "taxi squad," they'd only get ~$1 million in cap relief.

I would imagine any kind of taxi squad would probably be subject to the same cap rules as players loaned to the AHL. So even if a team could put an expensive vet on the "taxi squad," they'd only get ~$1 million in cap relief.
- Sven22

That’s possible, for sure.