Armchair GM 2018-2019

[CarltonTheBear]

https://twitter.com/IgorEronko/status/983036488546947072

Kovalchuk on only a 2-3 year deal is very, very appealing. He's not coming back to the NHL for charity but if he was just looking to get paid he'd stay in the KHL, so if he comes back for something like what Radulov got ($5.75-6.25mil) then Lou should be giving him the call.

[herman]

Is Lou still the GM at that time?

[CarltonTheBear]

Is Lou still the GM at that time?

July 1st? Probably. I feel like Lou will still steer the ship through this offseason. Lots of work to do with the big-3 all eligible for new contracts, plus some big names available in free agency too. I don't think Shanny will want to put that all on Dubas/Hunter's shoulders right away. The earliest Lou steps down I think would be later in the summer after much of that work is done.

[mr grieves]

https://twitter.com/IgorEronko/status/983036488546947072

Kovalchuk on only a 2-3 year deal is very, very appealing. He's not coming back to the NHL for charity but if he was just looking to get paid he'd stay in the KHL, so if he comes back for something like what Radulov got ($5.75-6.25mil) then Lou should be giving him the call.

Radulov came back on a one-year deal, apparently because he had to show teams he could still play at an elite level in the NHL... Although always better than Radulov, he's also older... so I wonder Kovalchuk is in a similar position.

[herman]

https://twitter.com/IgorEronko/status/983036488546947072

Kovalchuk on only a 2-3 year deal is very, very appealing. He's not coming back to the NHL for charity but if he was just looking to get paid he'd stay in the KHL, so if he comes back for something like what Radulov got ($5.75-6.25mil) then Lou should be giving him the call.

https://twitter.com/IgorEronko/status/983243635931144192

[Zee]

JVR-Tavares-Kovalchuk on the Rangers?

[louisstamos]

https://twitter.com/IgorEronko/status/983243635931144192

So much for that NYR "rebuild."

[CarltonTheBear]

https://twitter.com/IgorEronko/status/983243635931144192

I'm still waiting for someone from North America to chime in here. So far nobody has touched this story and it's been up all morning. The Rangers really don't make any sense here. They've publicly stated that they're rebuilding and Kovalchuk has publicly stated his intention to play for a Cup contender. They also don't even have a head coach at the moment, and a player like Kovalchuk would probably want to at least know who that's going to be before signing a deal.

There's also the fact that technically teams aren't supposed to be talking to Kovalchuk until he turns 35 years old, which doesn't happen for another week. It's possible New Jersey just said "whatever do what you want", but that's how Friedman described the situation in his last 31 Thoughts column.

[herman]

https://twitter.com/IgorEronko/status/983243635931144192

I'm still waiting for someone from North America to chime in here. So far nobody has touched this story and it's been up all morning. The Rangers really don't make any sense here. They've publicly stated that they're rebuilding and Kovalchuk has publicly stated his intention to play for a Cup contender. They also don't even have a head coach at the moment, and a player like Kovalchuk would probably want to at least know who that's going to be before signing a deal.

There's also the fact that technically teams aren't supposed to be talking to Kovalchuk until he turns 35 years old, which doesn't happen for another week. It's possible New Jersey just said "whatever do what you want", but that's how Friedman described the situation in his last 31 Thoughts column.

I'm also side-eying that he only has a single source on this, but that didn't stop me from bumping it up here (since he was the original reporter on Kovalchuk's term preference).

[herman]

Is Lou still the GM at that time?

July 1st? Probably. I feel like Lou will still steer the ship through this offseason. Lots of work to do with the big-3 all eligible for new contracts, plus some big names available in free agency too. I don't think Shanny will want to put that all on Dubas/Hunter's shoulders right away. The earliest Lou steps down I think would be later in the summer after much of that work is done.

I'm having similar thoughts. Shanahan is looking to set Dubas (I do believe it's Dubas) up in a position to succeed, and that starts with clearing the decks of those really big contract negotiations via Lou first, or at the very least setting the table by getting Nylander's done. Matthews' is almost a foregone conclusion; there's really nothing to harangue there and it's going to be somewhere between Eichel's and McDavid's.

Does Edmonton or Buffalo take a huge run at scooping up Lou once we push him up and out?

[hockeyfan1]

Hmm.  Crunch time not yet but coming soon...

[tweet]983021726429843456[/tweet]

https://www.pensionplanpuppets.com/2018/4/8/17212612/toronto-maple-leafs-cap-space-2018-bonus-overages

[CarltonTheBear]

https://twitter.com/akaRCN/status/986389138197774336

I don't know who Jermaine Franklin or (Jason) Gregor are but boooooooyaaaahhhhhhhh!

[Nik]

800 Lira, 45 Irish Punts and James Van Riemsdyk.

[cabber24]

Hmm.  Crunch time not yet but coming soon...

[tweet]983021726429843456[/tweet]

https://www.pensionplanpuppets.com/2018/4/8/17212612/toronto-maple-leafs-cap-space-2018-bonus-overages

No D available to pay? Sure we could add a Thorton but our issue isn't up front. I think some pieces we don't want to move will have to move for this team to get better at D quickly. I don't think there is a "window" not with this D.

[herman]

https://twitter.com/akaRCN/status/986389138197774336

I don't know who Jermaine Franklin or (Jason) Gregor are but boooooooyaaaahhhhhhhh!

Jermain Franklin is the Calgary beat reporter for TSN.