Treliving on Sportsnet 960. Jan 12 after 2pm

[FlameZilla]

Originally Posted by saillias

I'm not really sure they are (a sleeping giant waiting to tear the league apart) weren't they supposed to get there after signing Parise and Suter? Then again after picking up Pominville and Vanek? Is it possible they're just a poorly constructed, store-bought team with a country club locker room because they signed too many hometown guys who just want to live in Minnesota?

Not like their centre depth was ever that good either, even though Wild fans will talk your ear off that Koivu is a legit #1C.

They were eliminated by the Blackhawks in 6 games in the 2nd round last year. And that was with Bryz-freaking-galov between the pipes. There's no doubt they should be a playoff team. They're underachieving this year, so I would be very weary of making any deals which might get them going on a run. We'll have enough trouble getting in the playoffs without them in the mix.

[Badgers Nose]

Byron will get waived to make room for Shore. That's the only move I think they make.

[FlameZilla]

Originally Posted by Badgers Nose

Byron will get waived to make room for Shore. That's the only move I think they make.

With Bill Arnold injured on the farm it's tough to justify promoting Shore at the moment. The best C they have currently is Reinhart, by the looks of it. For the time being they can evaluate Shore on the farm and best decide when he's ready for the NHL.

This, coupled with Shore's waiver situation, makes it unlikely we see him in Calgary for awhile.

Also, it would be a shame to waive Byron. The little man gives his all every night on the forecheck and is happy to play in any role he's given. You would potentially lose a useful player in Byron just to promote Shore, who you then wouldn't be able to send back down? I doubt that happens.

As far as moves go, I could see Granlund sent to Adirondack soon-ish.

[1991 Canadian]

I don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but Treliving was saying that the Adirondack Flames have the 2nd youngest roster in the AHL.

This is particularly impressive because the team is 4th in the conference and being led almost exclusively by young players. Ortio has been having a great season after a rough start. I have to go down to 14th in team scoring before I get to a player I don't consider a prospect (Mathieu Tousignant if you're curious). A lot of other AHL teams get to the top of the standings with a much more significant veteran contribution.

This team has a lot of good assets going forward. I think even management is surprised at the progress some of players have made in both the AHL and NHL. I know I am.

[T-Rex]

Originally Posted by saillias

I'm not really sure they are (a sleeping giant waiting to tear the league apart) weren't they supposed to get there after signing Parise and Suter? Then again after picking up Pominville and Vanek? Is it possible they're just a poorly constructed, store-bought team with a country club locker room because they signed too many hometown guys who just want to live in Minnesota?

Not like their centre depth was ever that good either, even though Wild fans will talk your ear off that Koivu is a legit #1C.

Been thinking this for some time now. Nice to see that someone else shares my thoughts.

[expatflame]

The audio recording is up now: http://pmd.fan960.com/audio_on_deman...-Interview.mp3

[heep223]

Originally Posted by FlameZilla

Either way, one of the next moves Treliving makes needs to address the defence. Despite having 2 excellent players on the 1st pairing the defence is pretty weak.

Don't agree. We're one #3 defenseman away from having one of the best D corps in the league. Russell is a great #4, Wideman a fantastic #5, Smid a decent #6.

[N-E-B]

Wideman a bottom pairing guy... That's laughable that people think that. He's a solid 2nd pairing guy. Might not be the best but he's definitely not a bottom pairing guy.

[puds]

Wideman is a bottom pairing guy and a PP specialist on a contending team.

[kyuss275]

Originally Posted by heep223

Don't agree. We're one #3 defenseman away from having one of the best D corps in the league. Russell is a great #4, Wideman a fantastic #5, Smid a decent #6.

I don't think it is as easy as that. Wideman and Smid together would be to slow. Wideman needs to play with someone with speed for when he gets beat and defensive gaffs. I would settle for a good skating , puck moving dman to play with Smid/England on the bottom pairing.

Ideally we would get another #3 and #4 and have Russel and Wideman as our 5 and 6. Granted now I'm dreaming.lol

[Gaskal]

Originally Posted by kyuss275

Ideally we would get another #3 and #4 and have Russel and Wideman as our 5 and 6. Granted now I'm dreaming.lol

Well. If we can get a #1 d-man and an star scoring winger with 4th rounders, I'd like to think we'll hit another grand slam somewhere deep in the last few drafts. Maybe even multiple diamonds in the rough. I have a keen eye on Rushan Rafikov because of this belief.

[Vulcan]

It's like our forwards where we want to be able to roll 4 lines. We need the same ability on our defence so putting Wideman on the third pairing with PP time isn't sentencing him to 10 minutes a game. He'll still get his minutes, just not so many against top opposition on some nights.

I could see some UFA defencemen getting big contracts this summer but I think we should be in on the bidding.