I get why people prefer Wallstedt to Cossa and chances are Wallstedt is the more effective pro. But saves like this are why we took Cossa. Goalies that are 6’6” and can move laterally like that are unicorns. The issue with Cossa has always been consistent fundamentals but if he irons out his game, he absolutely has top 5 goalie potential. It’s just not something I’d bank on yet, but his growth this season is encouraging.
So we can finish no worse than 11th in the lottery meaning we can still win the lottery (lol). Highest we can climb is 8. We play Carolina tonight in a must win for the Canes and considering what happened last time we played, one can hope we get the elite version of Carolina tonight. We play Tampa to end the season though and they have nothing to play for, so just hope for two losses and VAN/WSH each picking up a split in their final two games. The Islanders are now on the verge of a big collapse. Florida and the Islanders each have one game left, with Florida one point up on the Isles. The Pens are one point back of the Islanders with two games left to play (vs CHI and CBJ).
We need to also have a discussion about Husso. If he’s done for the year, he’s going to finish the season with a .896 save % which is absolute trash. Now he did play 56 games and he was hurt to end the season, but the search for a true #1 continues until we see what Cossa can do.
Yeah I agree. Unfortunately, he’s likely to be our 1 the length of his deal. I know we need a better backup, but if I am Yzerman I’m not going after a top FA like Varalamov. I’d get someone solid enough to help us avoid being blown out and let the chips fall where they may.
Officially have the 9th best odds. There is a lot of talent in this draft so if we can stay at 9, or only drop one spot in the lottery, that would be a win. We have so much draft capital though, that I hope we at least explore moving up as far as possible.
Outside of the top four guys (Bedard, Fantilli, Michkov and Carlsson) I will dream that we draft one of Will Smith and Oliver Moore. Smith is probably going top 5, but Moore might be available to us at 9/10. Both are kids that should stick at C. Both can skate and have great hockey sense. Colby Barlow is another guy I love. Not sure about at 9 but I could talk myself into the pick because he has an NHL shot already. His skating isn’t great which might ding him, but he can play PK effectively because he’s a high IQ, high compete guy.
Now that the season is over, a few thoughts: Pros - Walman is legit and he was signed to a very reasonable extension. I can’t say Walman by himself is elite but he’s an elite partner for Seider. Having a solidified first pair going forward is a big plus. - Larkin is a 1C. He proved me wrong and if we ever get legit talent around him, he could be a 90 point guy. His defense is also good, and he doesn’t get enough credit for that part of his game. - Rasmussen broke out this season. His counting stats weren’t great but he’s an ascending player. He seemed to work well on Larkin’s wing in a small sample size, so if we can find a real sniper to play on the other side of Larkin, that could be an interesting first line. - Berggren and Edvinsson looked like they will take big steps next season. - Most of Yzerman’s signings panned out. Copp did what he’s basically done his entire career, he’s just been miscast as the #2 C here. If Kasper can hit the ground running next season, Copp will look much better. Perron and Kubalik exceeded expectations (and are great trade chips next season) and Husso was good before he got overworked. - Lalonde had the team playing structured hockey just about all year long. He seems like a good hire. Cons - Raymond didn’t take a step forward this season. His talent is obvious but he has to improve at even strength. I thought the last 10-12 games he was great but we need consistency. - Chiarot was worse than I could have ever imagined. - Trading Vrana was a huge loss. Not much else to add there. - Goaltending is a mess once Husso exceeds 45 starts. - The Griffins sucked and it deprived me of having AHL Playoffs to follow for a week or more. Fire Simon. All in all the season wasn’t a loss, the team was improved until we turned into sellers at the TDL, and we have a shot at Bedard. I think next year we purposely take a step back (relying on kids over a bunch of FA activity) but 2024-25 is when things have to start coming together. The only way to expedite this thing otherwise is get Bedard or Fantilli, or make a real life hockey trade.
As our resident GR poster, the Griffs were in a bit of a talent vacuum with all the recent call ups/graduation to the big club. With that said Simon can certainly fuck off.
I am curious how much Yzerman is involved with GR. I mean obviously he has final say over whatever happens, but I get the sense he ultimately lets his people do their jobs with minimal interference. If that’s the case, whatever happens next in GR will likely be Horcoff’s first major decision as AGM. To me it makes sense to just hire Dan Watson from Toledo. The guy is great, and he worked under Lalonde previously, so that is a huge plus. There is just going to be so much youth in GR next season, they can’t afford to fuck this up.
I wouldn’t discount Tanguay as GR coach either. Yzerman is the AGM for Team Canada for Worlds so it’s fair to assume he lobbied for Tanguay to be an assistant this year. Yzerman was also the one that hired Tanguay in Detroit — he wasn’t a Blashill pick.
Maybe 25% — I have to imagine we trade up. It could be trading those picks to get back into the first for a third pick, or upgrading ours or the Islanders pick.
Lalonde just said during his year end presser than scoring goals and being harder to play against are the two biggest focal points of the off-season. He said both things could come from the current group but was also quick to admit they may have to look outside the organization to address each issue. Nothing he said is wrong, but we aren’t addressing the goal scoring without a trade (or Bedard). The toughness thing would normally make me roll my eyes but we got punked against Ottawa (Lalonde actually referenced those games specifically) so I do anticipate us adding some grit. It’ll come in the form of a Mayfield or Gudas on the backend and then maybe Austin Watson up front.
Maybe 4, but likely only if Michkov is there and whomever is picking doesn’t want to wait until 2026 to sign him. Five would be realistic.
Would a couple 1s next year added to it get us anywhere? Or is no one trading out of the top 2-3 for anything, basically? Because this seems like the kind of deal we should be trying to make with the depth we already have in the pipeline.
I am going to say maybe someone listens to a boatload of picks to get to #3. I am not convinced anyone with a shot Bedard or Fantilli trade back though.
For context on this class, Bedard would be #1 in every draft going back to Matthews. Fantilli would be the same with maybe the exception of Hughes and Dahlin.
Also, what’s crazy is Michkov is better than Fantilli but he’s a wing and he’s tied to the KHL until 2026, but he would have gone first in most of those same drafts.
Reports out of Ottawa are that DeBrincat might not commit long term to the Sens. He’s 25, he’s an MI kid and he has a 9 mil QO which might make Ottawa antsy to move him now. I’d give up the Isles pick to make that move happen.
I am sure Ottawa doesn’t want to move him in division, but it also becomes exponentially harder to trade him if they pick up his QO. Feels like they might not have a choice if the best offer is from us or say Buffalo.
Ryan Leonard is having a really nice U18 WC. Bultman has been all over him as an option at 9, and I gotta’ say, I am becoming a believer. Leonard is a power forward that has more skill than I gave him credit.
Another guy I think we look long and hard at this year is Dalibor Dvorsky. He’s a 6’1”, 200 lbs C with a high hockey IQ and he’s young for the draft class, which is something Yzerman takes into account. He has been solid against men in Sweden but he dominates his own age group in international play which is a great sign. He had a fantastic U18 for Slovakia and is likely working his way into the top 10.
Boston seems likely to lose Bergeron and Krejci to retirement, so they should take a decent step back next season. They won’t likely miss playoffs or anything like that, but their first will be nice for us.
Ideally they miss the playoffs next year because that 1st is lottery protected in 24 and unprotected in 25. And they're probably going to be worse in 25 than in 24.
Apparently top 10 instead of lottery (according to this, at least). So there's very little chance they could drop that far. https://puckpedia.com/trade/655