If you don't see signing a UFA star like Johnny to a long-term contract under $10M as knocking it out of the park for a franchise like the Blue Jackets then let's just agree to disagree.
You say they are substantially improved and knocked it out of the park yet won't even answer the question where they will finish
Gudbranson 4x4 lol
Gaudreau I will give you
Bjokstrad traded for nothing
so 10th place again? By the time they MIGHT be good Gaudreau will be making 10M in his mid 30s. They will be bad for the "good" years of the contract
Exact opposite if he signed with the Flames who would have been a divisional playoff team at least for the prime years.
Exactly my point, they are not "substantially improved"
Its hilarious to suggest they are and then say they will likely finish in the exact same spot they did last year
Sens will have a bigger year over year bump IMO
OTT may jump all the way to 81 pts! And then they'll have the privilege of giving raises to DeBrincat and Stutzle while needing to replace a goalie and three D-men (expiring value 10.5M)
OTT may jump all the way to 81 pts! And then they'll have the privilege of giving raises to DeBrincat and Stutzle while needing to replace a goalie and three D-men (expiring value 10.5M)
I'm not saying they are great either fyi...these teams all suck
I'm question how much if a win it is for a rebuilding 81 point team to sign a 29 year old coming off a career season to a long term/ high cash deal. I think there is a reason teams like Philly said no thanks.
Calgary was coming off a 111 point season when they offered similar, makes far more sense for a team in win now mode. Personally I would rather have 65 points than 85 this season considering the draft.
This year:
OTT picked 64 72 87 104
CBJ picked 6 12 44 96 109.
CBJ also added a future 3rd from Bjorkstrand (and essentially recovered a 4th they recently traded for a young depth winger)
IMO OTT's goaltending is no better than CBJ (present or future), same with their D:
Werenski~Chabot
Gavrikov~Zub
Gudbranson...Hamonic/Zaitsev/Holden
Bean/Peeke/Boqvist...Brannstrom (OTT is held together by older/expiring UFAs...CBJ has promising young roster D)
Jiricek~Sanderson (Sanderson is bit older/closer)
Mateychuk 12/Ceulemans 25...Thomson 19/Docker 26/Roger 49/Kleven 44/Tychonick 48 (maybe some of these guys end up as good as Bean/Peeke/Boqvist?)
Yes, I think it is silly to compare the Jackets future to the Devils, the Devils are going to be a ridiculously strong team in the near future. They are not comparable at all.
Yes, I think it is silly to compare the Jackets future to the Devils, the Devils are going to be a ridiculously strong team in the near future. They are not comparable at all.
Because their going to suck again this year and get Bedard?
Their D and G are every bit as questionable as CBJ.
Because their going to suck again this year and get Bedard?
Their D and G are every bit as questionable as CBJ.
I would he happy to bet you that the Devils don't finish last to draft Bedard. The Devils have a much better forward group than Columbus, especially down the middle.
To be fair though the Flames have been a high end regular season team, not finishing 9th or 10th
They just had 111 points, you might be right about playoffs though
Gaudreau's comments and actions of late show that winning isn't a very high priority, not sure how anyone can argue....and yeah every bad team has intriguing prospects. Sens, Detroit, ect...its hard not to when you rarely make the playoffs. There is zero chance Gaudreau is there on the foresight he thinks they will be a contender when his career is winding down, he is in his absolute prime...if he wanted to win he would have gone to a playoff team at the very least. (or stayed with one)
Thats the thing though, the Flames have repeatedly shown they can bring it during the season, but when its playoff time, they can't hack it. Two completely brands of hockey. Gaudreau walking and Tkachuk wanting out might be the best thing to happen to this franchise, they failed miserably every year during prime time. I was hoping the Dallas series might be the turning point in the cores playoff trajectory but in the end it didn't do a damn thing.
I agree with you on your assessment of Columbus, in many respects though they are like Calgary because they aren't top of mind when it comes to places to play and have to rely heavily on the draft. From a hockey perspective Gaudreau made a terrible decision but we've come to realize I don't think that really matters to him.
From the Jackets’ perspective, I suspect they view Gaudreau the way we view Huberdeau.
He legitimizes them. He’s the biggest free agent signing in team history. We think Canadian teams have a hard time getting players to stay, but they really don’t.
The noteworthy players Columbus has either lost for nothing or who’ve demanded trades is worse than ours.
They signed Gaudreau, and immediately signed Laine for another four years. Laine could well score 60 with Gaudreau setting him up, and Gaudreau honestly could win an MVP if that Jackets team makes the playoffs and he’s got another 100+ points with 70 assists.
It has given them a huge boost in season ticket sales.
And if they get into the playoffs, they might win a round or two. Maybe more, if the goaltending comes together and some other guys develop.
Making the playoffs, Winning even one round, does so much in a market to create long term fans, which is what a place like Columbus needs to do.
They can’t be stuck as a bottom-5 or bottom-10 team in perpetuity, or they’ll dry up and blow away, precisely because they’re not a Canadian team.
I don't see the Jackets as currently constructed winning anything in the playoffs. If you are relying on Gaudreau and Laine as your playoff horses you are in real trouble IMO.
I agree that with the Huberdeau outlook but even with him, the Flames are nowhere near good enough upfront to get it done in the playoffs IMO. I think we are two legit top 6 forwards away from being a true threat in the playoffs (1st line RW & 2nd line C).
Hopefully Brad still has a couple moves up his sleeve.
Thats the thing though, the Flames have repeatedly shown they can bring it during the season, but when its playoff time, they can't hack it. Two completely brands of hockey. Gaudreau walking and Tkachuk wanting out might be the best thing to happen to this franchise, they failed miserably every year during prime time. I was hoping the Dallas series might be the turning point in the cores playoff trajectory but in the end it didn't do a damn thing.
I agree with you on your assessment of Columbus, in many respects though they are like Calgary because they aren't top of mind when it comes to places to play and have to rely heavily on the draft. From a hockey perspective Gaudreau made a terrible decision but we've come to realize I don't think that really matters to him.
The Flames have been up and down during the regular seasons also
Thats the thing though, the Flames have repeatedly shown they can bring it during the season, but when its playoff time, they can't hack it. Two completely brands of hockey. Gaudreau walking and Tkachuk wanting out might be the best thing to happen to this franchise, they failed miserably every year during prime time. I was hoping the Dallas series might be the turning point in the cores playoff trajectory but in the end it didn't do a damn thing.
I agree with you on your assessment of Columbus, in many respects though they are like Calgary because they aren't top of mind when it comes to places to play and have to rely heavily on the draft. From a hockey perspective Gaudreau made a terrible decision but we've come to realize I don't think that really matters to him.
I will say this on the Flames and the playoffs - another team that looked like they couldn't hack it and always disappointed come playoffs was the Washington Capitals. They flamed out in the playoffs for like a decade - never making it to even the conference finals - then they won a cup - and then went back to flaming out every year. So it can happen.
I would he happy to bet you that the Devils don't finish last to draft Bedard. The Devils have a much better forward group than Columbus, especially down the middle.
And despite those C's coming into their own (last year being years 3 and 5), a great rookie year for Mercer (age 20), and huge steps forward for Bratt and Sharangovich, they managed only 63 pts.
I'm sure you'll mention Hughes injury. In the 49 gp he did play the team was 15-32-2 (0.327).
Of course they still have room to improve and more guys coming, but a lot of the potential is becoming realized with weak results.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PeteMoss
I will say this on the Flames and the playoffs - another team that looked like they couldn't hack it and always disappointed come playoffs was the Washington Capitals. They flamed out in the playoffs for like a decade - never making it to even the conference finals - then they won a cup - and then went back to flaming out every year. So it can happen.
Except WAS was very competitive in every single reg season and playoffs except one:
Spoiler!
Let's rank CGY's last 8 seasons vs. WAS 8 seasons pre-cup. You could quibble about a few of the rankings depending on how you weigh reg season vs. PO's, but I think they fall nicely into three groupings (# = Pres Trophy):
WAS 118# / R2 PIT in 7
WAS 120# / R2 PIT in 6
WAS 101 / R2 NYR in 7
WAS 92 / R2 NYR in 7
CGY 111 / R2 EDM in 5 (after beating DAL in 7)
WAS 121# / MTL in 7
WAS 107 / R2 TBL sweep (after beating NYR in 5)
CGY 97 / R2 ANA in 5 (after beating VAN in 7)
WAS 57 in 48 (97.4 pace) / NYR in 7
CGY 107 / COL in 5
CGY 0.564 (92.5 pace) / DAL in 6 (+ Jets series)
CGY 94 / ANA sweep
WAS 90
CGY 84
CGY 55 in 56
CGY 77
CGY has 1 season remotely close to WAS's best 5-6 seasons. WAS worst is still better than CGY's worst 3. CGY's high watermark was basically WAS's median.
WAS median years were Pres Trophy / R1G7 and 92 / R2G7.
CGY median years were 94ish pt seasons and losing in 4-6 games.
