Future

Cally doesn't have another year, if you're comparing him to the D (Smith, Shatty). Yes, they can move Strome and Namest. Depends. Cally had an NTC too.

That's because the Sens save a couple million in actual cash payouts. It was a dump for both teams.

I'd say that NFL Network is bad even in season lol.

They're going to suck and could have a shot at the playoffs, because that's the nature of the East right now. They sucked with Taylor Hall, with Subban, Gusev and Hughes...maybe they're just bad instead of suck? The only real difference is going to be on the PP.

Yes, but more importantly, the league voids contracts. No team CAN go over the cap. So Buch and Trouba would be voided. Cap penalties the following season occur when performance bonuses put a team over the cap.

I can't understand why anyone would be afraid of a scorer from the KHL especially one who, unlike Radulov, will never have a physical advantage on the guy across from him. The guy is going to score ~50 points, a lot of it on the PP, and the Devils are still going to be terrible.

Well hot damn.

Nice. Patrick Kane. Mike Modano. Mario Lemieux.

Nonsense. There's a difference between Carlson getting a huge bump in points by just passing it to Ovi and Kuz, and Burns scoring 29 goals and driving the PP. I love how people dismiss things as "utter speculation" when it suits them. No shit that good players playing together make each other better. Nobody said anything otherwise.

It is cap circumvention, it's just a loophole in the rules.

This might be cheeky, but there's no doubt that playing with Ovi - and really that PP unit in general - inflates his scoring. Carlson isn't a 70-point D in the same way that Brent Burns or EK65 are where he'll do it on every team. He's a facilitator - he's good at it, but there are a lot of guys who can do it on that team. Carlson's points as much a product of him getting all of the PP1 and first-line minutes as they are his development. That's the bet the Rangers are making with Trouba and, realistically, it's what got Trouba to 50 points last year. He didn't develop that much as a player from the year before, Buff just got hurt (and most of his PP assists were secondary, so it's not like he was the playmaker of that group). The difference between NYR and WAS though is that a) the Rangers don't have an Ovi equivalent and b) there are other players on the blueline who are, or potentially are, more gifted offensively (ADA, Fox). As a team, the Rangers are probably better off if one of those guys commands the PP, but that means you're looking at an $8m defenseman who puts up

Clarkson will go on LTIR and not have a cap hit.

Makar.... They already moved the most Soderberg and we can't take back Johnson.

Pionk is better, almost 7 years younger and on the complete opposite career trajectory. Shatty also has a 10-team NTC, which means there's only 20 potential teams. Of those, who is a playoff team who needs a RHD to run the PP? I keep asking this question, and keep getting no answer. There is no market for him, regardless of price. Here are last year's playoff teams and their top PPD (off the top of my head). Tampa Bay - Hedman Boston - Krug Washington - Carlson Toronto - Reilly Carolina - Hamilton NYI - Leddy Pitt - Letang CBJ - Werenski Nashville - Josi Dallas - Klingberg WPG - Buff STL - Pietro CGY - Giordano COL - Barrie SJ - Burns VGK - Schmidt Even keep going through the 11 seeds. Montreal - Weber Florida - Yandle Philly - Ghost Zona - OEL Chi - Keith Minny - Dumba That's 22 teams with players who, at worst, are equivalent to Shatty. Most of those teams have a second guy as well. Who is he supposed to replace on this list?

On the PP..........

Well obviously. But he doesn't even have to shit the bed to be surpassed by ADA or Fox.

I know, but I disagree in how it's presented relative to ADA. ADA isn't who he is b/c he's 24. His fundamental approach can change. So too can Trouba's. Both need to in order to take the next step.

You saying it over and over again doesn't change the fact I don't care if you're referring to his style of play. It doesn't change anything. I could just sit here and say that Trouba's fundamental approach isn't going to change because he's 25, so he's not going to be a #1. If your point isn't that ADA is done improving b/c of his age, fine. But then I don't know what your point is other than, "ADA is an offensive defenseman."

This is your first post, it had nothing to do with style of play. You're just adding qualifiers and degrees that only serve to, as you like to say, move the goal post from your original point. You've moved from "is what he is" to "unlikely" to "improve dramatically." ADA isn't too old to improve in his own end, regardless of degree, and Trouba isn't too old to improve overall. But call it what it is. And not that it matters to the point, but the idea that ADA has never shown any improvement through his entire career is complete poppycock.

I didn't say he won't. I said it's very possible that ADA and Fox are both better at it, so it's not far fetched to think he won't. His PP abilities are overblown anyways. He had 5 primary assists on the PP last year. With that forward group, color me unimpressed.

I mean I guess that's the right number for a ~10-goal, ~30-point player, but good golly.

Um, no you didn't, and then you immediately responded with Trouba's production. And even still, that doesn't matter. Play styles can change as players mature. The point is, you said that ADA "is what he is" because he's 24. That means Trouba "is what he is" at 25. Idk what you're talking about w/ a 7th defenseman and whatnot. Either a player can keep developing at 24/25, or they can't. Trouba has to develop to be a #1, ADA has to develop to prove he can consistently handle second-pair minutes. Anything else is just minutiae.

No, he hasn't been. That is not #1D numbers. Doing it for 39 games and not being particularly good means he hasn't been a #1. Brady Skjei has done the same but nobody thinks he's a #1. Don't care about production ceilings or the degree to which they need to improve. You said that ADA is what he is because of his age. That same logic should also apply to Trouba.

I'm not saying Trouba's a slouch, but he put up 50 points because he ran the PP when Buff was out for almost 40 games. You're focusing on Fox and leaving out ADA. It's not hard to see them running PP1 and Trouba as a 25-point player - or 29 like last year. Point is, he's not sniffing 50 without heavy PP time. I don't care if they pay him $8m to be a 30-point player, I'm not generally worried about points from a defenseman and if he and Skjei are an effective matchup pair so that others (ADA, Fox) can get advantageous matchups, I'm fine with it. I care that they traded for AND paid $8m for a second-pair player.

These are separate issues. Contract doesn't mean he's a better PPQB than either of those guys. They traded for Fox specifically because of his offensive ability. They've held onto ADA, specifically for his offensive ability. Trouba is the more complete defenseman, but there's very little to say that he's better at running a PP than either of these guys long term.