Rumor has it the Leafs are going to waive Jason Spezza, if I were Bowman I would claim him. His contract is only $700,000 so it's zero risk, all reward... And if he doesn't work out Bowman could waive him - but it's worth a shot.. He would be a nice add to the PP..

Not only that but if JC continues his nonsense coaching strategies the Hawks may be sellers at the trade deadline and Spezza could be worth something depending on how he plays with the Hawks.. I could see Spezza fetching at least a 2nd if he puts up .50ppg..

I like 2010-2015 when they were giving up 3 shots a game and getting 10 breakaways, ahh the good old days!
- rpeters01

This never happened

Imo, this is an outstanding observation.
- mohel

Bettman's fault for overstating the revenue projections and salary cap increases. Increase in cap raises have been significantly less than forecast, and would of been worse if not for the NHLPA releasing escrow.

Rumor has it the Leafs are going to waive Jason Spezza, if I were Bowman I would claim him. His contract is only $700,000 so it's zero risk, all reward... And if he doesn't work out Bowman could waive him - but it's worth a shot.. He would be a nice add to the PP..

Not only that but if JC continues his nonsense coaching strategies the Hawks may be sellers at the trade deadline and Spezza could be worth something depending on how he plays with the Hawks.. I could see Spezza fetching at least a 2nd if he puts up .50ppg..
- Savard2Secord

Spezza will probably go back to Ottawa for one last shift.

Bettman's fault for overstating the revenue projections and salary cap increases. Increase in cap raises have been significantly less than forecast, and would of been worse if not for the NHLPA releasing escrow.
- LAHawk

The point is that under the current system a team needs dozens of decisions to go absolutely right over a long period of time to stay on top after a dominant core begins to age. Gotta get every contract right. Draft picks need to be way better than their low draft status. Can't have really bad injuries. And, yes, you have to accurately predict the cap years in advance. Other than that, no problem.

The point is that under the current system a team needs dozens of decisions to go absolutely right over a long period of time to stay on top after a dominant core begins to age. Gotta get every contract right. Draft picks need to be way better than their low draft status. Can't have really bad injuries. And, yes, you have to accurately predict the cap years in advance. Other than that, no problem.
- mohel

This is an astute observation and it's why every dynasty falls, because all those dynamics coming together is merely a remote possibility.

The point is that under the current system a team needs dozens of decisions to go absolutely right over a long period of time to stay on top after a dominant core begins to age. Gotta get every contract right. Draft picks need to be way better than their low draft status. Can't have really bad injuries. And, yes, you have to accurately predict the cap years in advance. Other than that, no problem.
- mohel

The Pens have done the best job of staying competitive under your scenario, whether or not they're still contenders remains to be seen...

Rumor has it the Leafs are going to waive Jason Spezza, if I were Bowman I would claim him. His contract is only $700,000 so it's zero risk, all reward... And if he doesn't work out Bowman could waive him - but it's worth a shot.. He would be a nice add to the PP..

Not only that but if JC continues his nonsense coaching strategies the Hawks may be sellers at the trade deadline and Spezza could be worth something depending on how he plays with the Hawks.. I could see Spezza fetching at least a 2nd if he puts up .50ppg..
- Savard2Secord

Any reason given why they are waiving him? Is he an upgrade over what we have now? Seriously asking as I have not watched him for a second this year. Is he just another older player that can't hack it anymore?

No pucks, lots of skating drills, purpose is similar to detention in school, to make you reflect on your own performance.
- LAHawk

Not a lot of reflecting goes on in repeated sprints. I remember I had a coach once that did that to the entire team if a player messed up a pass in a passing drill across the faceoff circle.

The same person kept passing too quickly and we all had to sprints -those same types. I'm not sure what it did to that player, but singling them out and making the entire team 'pay' for their need to focus and slow things down a bit.

Incidentally, that coach was an idiot.

Not a lot of reflecting goes on in repeated sprints. I remember I had a coach once that did that to the entire team if a player messed up a pass in a passing drill across the faceoff circle.

Incidentally, that coach was an idiot.
- SC116

Yea that's a bit much. Bag skate because you miss a pass? Geeze.

They were probably bag-skated until 2:00 last night for losing to the Hawks.
- mohel

And they (frank)ing deserved it

The point is that under the current system a team needs dozens of decisions to go absolutely right over a long period of time to stay on top after a dominant core begins to age. Gotta get every contract right. Draft picks need to be way better than their low draft status. Can't have really bad injuries. And, yes, you have to accurately predict the cap years in advance. Other than that, no problem.
- mohel

Have to laugh when the cap number projection is given to the teams by the league and they wind up too high. Tough enough to manage without being BS'd by the powers that be.

Not a lot of reflecting goes on in repeated sprints. I remember I had a coach once that did that to the entire team if a player messed up a pass in a passing drill across the faceoff circle.

The same person kept passing too quickly and we all had to sprints -those same types. I'm not sure what it did to that player, but singling them out and making the entire team 'pay' for their need to focus and slow things down a bit.

Incidentally, that coach was an idiot.
- SC116[/quote

Whelp better than what my coach did if you effed up, when scrimmage started you had to sit at center ice, that got scary,players, sticks/skates/ the puck whizzing past you. We had one player get hit in the face and have stitches (this was before the facemask rule). All that did was make us HATE the coach even more.

Rumor has it the Leafs are going to waive Jason Spezza, if I were Bowman I would claim him. His contract is only $700,000 so it's zero risk, all reward... And if he doesn't work out Bowman could waive him - but it's worth a shot.. He would be a nice add to the PP..

Not only that but if JC continues his nonsense coaching strategies the Hawks may be sellers at the trade deadline and Spezza could be worth something depending on how he plays with the Hawks.. I could see Spezza fetching at least a 2nd if he puts up .50ppg..
- Savard2Secord

A 2nd for a waived guy how does that work, I've got some swamp land? Even if he were good for a short period you're probably talking a 6th...

The Pens have done the best job of staying competitive under your scenario, whether or not they're still contenders remains to be seen...
- Davewn

Maybe having the best generational player in the game helped?

The Pens have done the best job of staying competitive under your scenario, whether or not they're still contenders remains to be seen...
- Davewn

They have done a very solid job. They had a good, brief run at the start, then stayed competitive for a relative down cycle, and then had another strong run at the end. They got Crosby (which is a leg up by itself) at a time where they could do a very long deal with him at what became a good price. And he's lived up to it.

Interesting that they got Cup(s) when Crosby and Malkin were cheap, and then again when their big deals were on the books awhile and became a smaller percentage of the cap.

They had a lot of stuff go right, and they did a good job, imo.

No pucks, lots of skating drills, purpose is similar to detention in school, to make you reflect on your own performance.
- LAHawk

Thank you both, LA and Mo.

Have to laugh when the cap number projection is given to the teams by the league and they wind up too high. Tough enough to manage without being BS'd by the powers that be.
- 6628

I can hear a bunch of GM's in late June telling the coach, "hey, yeah, we're gonna have to get rid of the 2C or the 3D, will that be a problem?"

The Pens have done the best job of staying competitive under your scenario, whether or not they're still contenders remains to be seen...
- Davewn

Not as many Cups as the Pens, Hawks or Kings but the Boston Bruins have remained very competitive and in the picture for a championship for a very long time.

Excellent drafting, some very shrewd trades and superb cap management. And they survived a period with Peter Chiarelli as their GM without totally crashing and burning. Don Sweeney is one of the best GM's in the NHL, if not the best.

Maybe having the best generational player in the game helped?
- rpeters01

Sure did. They also did a lot of good stuff to maximize their run, imo.

But, the system will get them, too. And it probably began last year. There's only so much you can do, which is the excellent point made by Savard2Secord above.

Not as many Cups as the Pens, Hawks or Kings but the Boston Bruins have remained very competitive and in the picture for a championship for a very long time.

Excellent drafting, some very shrewd trades and superb cap management. And they survived a period with Peter Chiarelli as their GM without totally crashing and burning. Don Sweeney is one of the best GM's in the NHL, if not the best.
- RickJ

For sure. Their core never cost them too much, and they draft really well. Probably good at development, too.

Not as many Cups as the Pens, Hawks or Kings but the Boston Bruins have remained very competitive and in the picture for a championship for a very long time.

Excellent drafting, some very shrewd trades and superb cap management. And they survived a period with Peter Chiarelli as their GM without totally crashing and burning. Don Sweeney is one of the best GM's in the NHL, if not the best.
- RickJ

They’ll have another Cup in about 8 months

For sure. Their core never cost them too much, and they draft really well. Probably good at development, too.
- mohel

They have made a few mistakes in free agency like Matt Beleskey and Backes but their bottom of the roster guys are some of the best in the NHL playing for peanuts comparatively.

And to have Brandon Carlo at $2.8M and McAvoy at under $5M on defence is the bargain of bargains.

They’ll have another Cup in about 8 months
- SimpleJack

I always enjoy the look of dread in the face of Mike Babcock when he learns his first round matchup is the Bruins.

Not as many Cups as the Pens, Hawks or Kings but the Boston Bruins have remained very competitive and in the picture for a championship for a very long time.

Excellent drafting, some very shrewd trades and superb cap management. And they survived a period with Peter Chiarelli as their GM without totally crashing and burning. Don Sweeney is one of the best GM's in the NHL, if not the best.
- RickJ

I hear you Rick, competitive is nice but 3 Cups is sweeter. So i wonder because these teams are so shrewd it actually hurts them, 3 teams that spent money and played cap hell from 2009 to 2017 other than Bruins (frank)ing Chiarelli even has his name on the cup as the gm, have won it.


I often wonder if Shrewd hurts a team in the hard cap era? I guess the Blues got one but it sure seems teams that spend end up winning it all.