Calder Finalists: Johnson, Palat, MacKinnon

[codynw]

I feel like it also could have been Monahan over one of the Tampa guys. He got 22 goals in his 19 year old season, Palat got 23 in his 23 year old season.

[DOOM]

Originally Posted by codynw

I feel like it also could have been Monahan over one of the Tampa guys. He got 22 goals in his 19 year old season, Palat got 23 in his 23 year old season.

Palat had 59 points compared to 34 points for Monahan.

[dustygoon]

Originally Posted by codynw

Who is Monohan? Is he related to McKinnen, Brakov, Joans and Nishuken?

Clever stuff. Spelling police nailed me.

[Tinordi]

Palat is a truly shocking emergence. Lead Tampa in +/- by a healthy margin at +32, lead the team in PK ice time for a forward. In playoff game 2 he had almost 5 minutes of PK time. Second on the team with 146 hits. Lead all forwards with 64 blocks. Dude is just a tricked out.

[Roof-Daddy]

The Bolts sure have some young talent mojo at work down there.

Obviously they won't win the Calder, but two guys among the three finalists is nothing to sneeze at.

They have superstar Stamkos who's still just 24.
They have superstar Hedman who is still just 23.

Then you have Palat and Johnson as ROY finalists.
Also had rookies Gudas and Sustr play significant roles on their D this year. (More so Gudas)
JT Brown had a solid rookie season up front as well.

Then you have Kucherov, Namestnikov, Drouin and Koekkoek all coming along nicely.

They should be a force in the East for quite some time.

[devo22]

yep. Also don't forget Alex Killorn and the suddenly great G depth they have (Bishop, Vasilevski and Gudlevskis).

Yzerman really is a fantastic GM.

[puckluck2]

Originally Posted by devo22

yep. Also don't forget Alex Killorn and the suddenly great G depth they have (Bishop, Vasilevski and Gudlevskis).

Yzerman really is a fantastic GM.

If that's great goalie depth then I shudder to think what is bad goalie depth.

Yzerman is average at best. Hasn't done a thing to be considered "great".

[Roof-Daddy]

Originally Posted by devo22

yep. Also don't forget Alex Killorn and the suddenly great G depth they have (Bishop, Vasilevski and Gudlevskis).

Yzerman really is a fantastic GM.

Yeah, with St. Louis gone now, the average age of their top 11 scorers this season was 23.9 years old.

I took the top 11 because that's how far I had to go before I found a 30+ year old (Salo who's 38).

[2macinnis2]

Surprising no one here as mentioned Monahan's team/linemates. It's really not even close (this past year) compared to who Mackinnon is playing with. Not argue how great Mackinnon has been, but I think his situation is closer to Russell Wilson's with Seattle vs Andrew Luck's with the Colts.

What Monahan has done as a rookie of his age on this team is nothing short of staggering. His physical gifts may not be at the level of Mackinnon, but to me the jury is still way out who will have the best NHL career when all is said and done.

[Roof-Daddy]

Originally Posted by puckluck2

If that's great goalie depth then I shudder to think what is bad goalie depth.

Yzerman is average at best. Hasn't done a thing to be considered "great".

Built a young, fast, decent sized team that put up 101 points, and given the age of their top 6 forwards, top 4 defense and starting goalie are likely to only get better with time.

[devo22]

Originally Posted by puckluck2

If that's great goalie depth then I shudder to think what is bad goalie depth.

Yzerman is average at best. Hasn't done a thing to be considered "great".

Bishop should be among the Vezina finalists (I think the series vs MTL showed how important he was to them). Vasilevski has been a very good starter in the KHL at just 19 and 21-year-old Gudlevskis has gone from ECHL to NHL playoff hockey within a few months. Plus there's Adam Wilcox who has just been named Goaltender of the Year and Player of the Year in his college division (Big 10). Yeah, not great goalie depth at all ...

And Yzerman ... well Tampas drafting has improved considerably since he took over. He got quite a return for MSL who had effectively tied his hands, and he replaced a fading Lecavalier with a cheaper and more effective Filppula. When you look at Yzermans TBL tenure, there's a lot to like IMO.