Nothing will improve until Melnyk sells the team. The Senators' long-term Cup prospects are probably the worst in the entire league.

Looking forward to the Caps joining this thread in two weeks.

I've done it many times, but my official 2p2 post result that I just ran is:

1. Coyotes
2. Leafs
3. Canucks

This Subban trade talk is silly, with Oilers as the likely other team.

Seems stuff like

Subban for Nuge, Yak, Klef

I'd be interested in a Subban for Hall deal. Star for star. Dont want any make work projects. Nuge and Yak just aren't good enough.

Trying to imagine a major blockbuster:

Subban/Pacioretty for Hall/Yak/Klef/Nurse

Patches contract is too good to give up, but Subban is a little pricey but he's a boss. I also have his jersey so don't support getting rid of him.

wouldn't touch that trade from the habs' perspective

which trade?

I think Hall for Subban is close. Which team doesn't do that?

Hall has 4 more years, 6m cap hit.
Subban has 4 more years, 9m cap hit.

If it's Hall+Nurse I pull the trigger.

the major blockbuster

Facing elimination Mr. Patrik Laine ties it at 59.59. He gets to ride on the front seat cuz hes a good guy at sports.

even though i think it's really gonna suck this year because of the World Cup in the fall, i guess someone should make a World Championships thread. saw that Eichel already said no, get the feeling that pretty much everyone playing in the WC will do the same, rather than playing both. maybe some fringe guys trying to play their way into the WC will play, or the rare psychos who just really love international play / being on the ice as much as possible will go for the double. always a couple like that.

think my main point is there could be some value to be found betting on the WC, if you can find out who's gonna care. the KHL season is almost over, maybe the Russians will have a good shot this time around...
(oh and i see it's being hosted in Russia, well there you go)

edit: oh Tanev's playing for Canada? great for him
sounds like Leo Komorov might be in for Finland
wonder if Matthews / Laine / Puljujarvi will play...

I'd volunteer to make one, don't really have any clue about the european teams either though, so if anyone does...

rumours that George McPhee might be brought in to babysit Benning, should i be happy or worried? seemed like his stint in Washington was pretty up and down
(most notably losing Filip Forsberg for Marty ****ing Erat, and hiring "Satan" aka Adam Oates)

Pulju with a strong OT and makes a play for the winner, Laine no rang so a gutlesl euro. Pulju has not gotten a big role on regular play, his team is stacked so you really have to earn your time.

IIHF starts 6 of May so not a hurry but yeah think worth of threading. Laine-Aho-xxx will for sure be a line, Aho has been tearing it up this season. Dont know Puljus chances to be the other winger, fifty-sixty maybe. Always so mixed feelings about IIHF. Whole country starts to watch hockey which is great for parties. But damn the regular joe does not care what the best players on the planet do at the same time.

Even the RNG hates the Canucks

fact

lmao at this habs press conference

geoff molson is the jim buss of hockey

can't be worse than the Aquilinis. there's 3 of them, and the guy who is the spokesman for the group can't even speak english really. they had 1 press conference a few years back, and it was such a disaster they had to run out and hire Linden to handle all their PR, and they basically haven't been heard from since. now Benning does most of the talking for them, and he can't really speak english either.

GOOD TIMES MAN

DRAFT TALK

ISS' April list is out: http://www.isshockey.com/iss-top-30/

my March draft notes: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...postcount=1817


Risers:

Pierre-Luc Dubois (W/C) - just keeps going up, up up! he's been listed as a winger everywhere, but thought i saw something that it's possible he could play center, maybe he does in junior. if he can do that at the pro level it's obviously increased value for him, but only if he can do it well. anyway, he pretty much dominated the CHL Prospects Game in January, maybe i'll go back and some point and annotate the highlights, but he made like a dozen plays in that game, just beasted every shift it seemed. point being, i can see why he's rising. currently up to #5 on ISS' list.

Mikhail Sergachev (D) - i haven't gotten many looks at him, wasn't super impressed with what i have seen, and RUSSIAN FACTOR of course. seemed like a not super talented, physical type, those guys tend to get overrated, and find that beasting pro players is a little different than doing so against teenagers. anyway, i'm probably way off and need to take a good hard look at him because he's not only passed Olli Juolevi (who had a great WJ tournament), but he's edging up to Jakob Chychrun's spot as the top D in this draft.

Clayton Keller (C) - don't know anything about him really given that he plays for the U18 National Development team, but a 5'9" center who keeps moving up the board is certainly intriguing. another Johnny Hockey on the way? might be able to snag a look at him in the upcoming U18 Worlds which starts this week i believe.

Jake Bean (D) - this sub-6 foot D just keeps climbing the ranks somehow. was watching him a bit in warmups at the Prospects Game iirc, noted that he was doing all the GOOD TEAMMATE things (retrieving pucks, passing to everyone, etc). blurb in the paper about how the Canucks like him, so he probably sucks but has GOOD CHARACTER. or maybe he's got mad skillz, who knows.

Fallers:

some slippage for guys like W Matthew Tkachuk, D Jakob Chychrun, C Michael McLeod, etc. nothing dramatic, but with other guys moving up, someone has to move down, but worth noting that people are cooling on these players somewhat.

The Penticton 2 - seemed inevitable that the two BCHL teammates wouldn't be able to hold those high spots all year against more high profile prospects. C Tyson Jost has fallen to the bottom half of the 1st round, and D DANTE FABBRO is off the list entirely. the good news is that both will have a chance to improve their stock at the upcoming U18 WCs.

Julien Gauthier (W) - what a wild ride it's been. from the only draft eligible player to make Canada's roster at the World Juniors this year, to scoring early in his 1st game iirc, to getting the flu, to having a so-so Prospects Game, and i guess he isn't playing that great in junior because he just keeps falling down the list. he's basically been completely usurped by Pierre-Luc Dubois. now in the bottom half of the 1st round on ISS' list. seems like there's way too much potential there for him to slip that far ... but maybe a good team gets a steal late.


U18 World Championships:

not a lot, but some top prospects playing at these U18 WCs in North Dakota coming up. should be a lot of mid-round talent looking to improve their stock. and scouts, the scouts will definitely be there ... this tournament is like the World Juniors for undrafted players.

http://www.tsn.ca/chychrun-among-dra...-camp-1.466409

F - Michael McLeod, Tyson Jost, Pascal Laberge, etc
D - Jakob Chychrun, Jake Bean, Dante Fabbro, etc

looks like lots of kids for the 2017 & 2018 drafts as well, ya know, in case you wanna get a head start on next years tanking.

hopefully the other countries are also repped by some top prospects as well, but it seems like the top guys are busy in the playoffs, or just duck it because they have more to lose than to gain.

Man I hope Fabbro drops enough so Benning can **** it up and pass on him in the second round

do we have a 2nd rounder? i remember we got one for Bieksa ... but then we gave it away for the right to sign Brandon Sutter for $30m or whatever lulz
(in the same trade we gave away the guy we got for Gustav Forsling no less)

this is pretty good for what picks each teams have
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_NHL_Entry_Draft

could be slightly off.

pick Van got for Bieksa went to the Pens for Bonino

Vancouver also gets Cbj 2nd round pick either this year, next, or 2018 at cbj's choice, so it could happen now, but doubtful.

I have mixed feelings about McPhee. For most of his tenure, he was decent but a bit too conservative. Never giving out bad FA deals, making a bunch of small value-ish trades, hiring unproven but cheap coaches that he could theoretically control, etc. But the last couple of years, his job was rumored to be on the line, and he started making terrible win-now moves like the Erat trade. You could do worse, but Jesus that trade still hurts.

You can't do much worse than that erat trade

In Laine news he won a decider today (no points) and is now in the finals. Dont know how I managed to watch parts of three games and still had the series lead the wrong way. Tv has been muted but still.

F both of you guys. Our owner literally nearly drank himself to death, and did an interview with Elliot Friedman half in the bag on national television. Oh, and he's almost broke.