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Clarification...2017 or 2018?

Yes, I was mentally including the original post's "consistent scoring from three lines deep" comment and (perhaps implied) supposition that there was balanced scoring from all three. The Matthews and Bozak lines are pretty close but Kadri's lags behind them by a fair margin (although for a...

It's a little misleading, though. If you limit the comparison to even strength goals when those are actually the lines on the ice (usually) you get: Matthews' line: 33 Bozak's line: 30 Kadri's line: 19

With their recent acquisitions, I would think Arizona would have to be in the conversation for top ranked prospect pool...

On the other hand, what tends to separate the truly exceptional defencemen from the rest is (to my mind) not as coachable: - ability to read and anticipate plays developing: positioning can be taught to give you a better chance of breaking up a play, but you still need to evaluate the situation...

Based on occasional comments from Babcock, also (unless this falls under your #4) 5) A few veterans with exemplary on- and off-ice professional work habits to set an example/standard for the kids about what it takes to be a "man" or a "pro's pro" I suspect that's the appeal he finds in Laich...

Except that in this case absolutely nobody who would have any knowledge at all of the "negotiations" with Matthews has said anything other than that it was a quick, easy, no-questions sort of thing. Lou stated it several times in yesterday's presser. Brisson stated it. Matthews stated it...

Mountain out of a mole hill... The poor kid had a full season overseas, then followed that up with a tournament as part of Team USA, then there was the insane lead-up to the draft where it's bombarded with interviews and "fun" events, then the draft itself, then a billion interviews in the week...

I'm not so sure about that...

I keep thinking about how Babcock has constantly stressed a few things, echoed by Shannahan and Lou as well: - needing a core of highly professional veteran players to set an example for the kids in terms of how to be what Babcock refers to as "a man"...the work ethic, dedication, etc., both on...

I feel really, really bad for Larsson. There is no possible way he can play up to the kind of level that will get Edmonton fans not to despise him.

Hayley Wickenheiser if she's eligible, or is that next year?

That would be worth if for the sheer entertainment value. Would fans be cheering hard enough about getting the #3 pick to overcome their urge to lynch management for taking Clarkson back?

I can't see that happening unless the Leafs also take back a very large (and probably dead weight) salary.

Pronger Doughty Burns PTBAL* *player to be acquired later

I think it was on TSN's draft-eligible player review show on Monday that Button described at least 4 or 5 of the forwards as "...he has an elite, elite NHL release....best in this year's draft!" I guess math/logic wasn't Craig's strong suit.

Another interesting take-away from his charts is comparing his projections with and without Stamkos and the value he gives to Kadri in the non-Stamkos version. Roughly, it boils down to something in the range of 2WAR net difference between Kadri and Stamkos. If we assume contract in the ballpark...

Your initial asking price for those apples will be affected by how many of them you have in your warehouse, just as my offer for them will be lower if I know you're sitting on a bunch of them that are going to be rotting and have to be thrown away soon. :p Don't get me wrong, I don't think...

The supply I was referring to in this context is "signed NHL potential starting goaltenders" of which they had two and only had the ability to reasonably expect to keep one at the end of this season. They could have just as easily kept Andersen and moved Gibson instead, perhaps getting a...

Somewhat more a balance of supply and demand, adjusted for other factors. Had the Leafs felt it less urgent to address their goaltending, they could have walked away from the deal at any time during the negotiations, or had the Flames wanted him even more, perhaps they could have sweetened the...