The Swamp

I’ve been waiting for the Sharks to make a deal. Finally, Anthony Duclaire to Tampa Bay for a 21 year-old defenseman and a 3rd rounder. I like it.

Chedda, any thoughts on that d-man?

I got nothing of my own. Raw Charge, a Bolts blog had this.

Going the other way was the Lightning’s 2024 third-round pick, which currently leaves them with no picks until the fifth round this summer. The big piece for San Jose will be Jack Thompson, a 21-year-old defenseman that made his NHL debut earlier this year. In our most recent Top 25 Under 25 rankings, Thompson came in 8th with Hardev writing,

“Thompson’s best skill is his shot, which is very good. It, along with his skating and lateral footwork, allows Thompson to be a very useful player on the power play, and in the NHL could lead to second unit time. Over the years, Thompson has built on his one skill to have a very effective defensive game. His mobility and positional awareness allow him to play against rushes and in the defensive zone without much fuss.”

If he had stayed with the franchise, chances are he would have moved up a bit as he’s had a strong season in Syracuse, posting 5 goals and 27 assists in 46 games. He is nursing an undisclosed injury currently and hasn’t seen action since February 23rd.

Duclair doesn’t seem to fit the TB mold at all? Not overly physical, one zone player. (And a black dude in Florida.)

So Ovie had a goal and an assist last night but was only +1 in the +/- on the box score. How does that happen? Did he sneak off the ice after passing the puck?

You don't get a plus for a PP goal. You get a minus for a goal against. Could be either.

Canes are so fucking weird.

govmentchedda wrote: ↑Fri Mar 08, 2024 8:07 am You don't get a plus for a PP goal. You get a minus for a goal against. Could be either.

Ah PP goal. Did not think about that one.
It was not a minus for a goal against...caps took the pens to the shed last night in a 6-0 thumping

mister d wrote: ↑Fri Mar 08, 2024 10:43 am Canes are so fucking weird.

3rd round pick and 1/2 of his salary staying with the caps. Not a terrible deal if he can find form.

Sure, but (1) I think everyone would have assumed its a dump salary and not a 3rd round asset and (2) its a massive risk to put $4MM next year on a guy whose numbers have bottomed out with team whose window is now.



(Although I'm sure Philadelphia or someone else will just bail them out like with DeAngelo.)

mister d wrote: ↑Fri Mar 08, 2024 11:17 am Sure, but (1) I think everyone would have assumed its a dump salary and not a 3rd round asset and (2) its a massive risk to put $4MM next year on a guy whose numbers have bottomed out with team whose window is now.



(Although I'm sure Philadelphia or someone else will just bail them out like with DeAngelo.)

and the 2 trips to the NHL/NHLPA player support program (which we assume is drug related after the previous international testing fail).

Right. Then Toffoli goes with 50% retention on a one year deal for just a 2nd and 3rd. If you gave me the top 10 trades and their returns and I had to try to match them up, I'd be a mess.

I don't wish any ill of the guy, but this year, watching Kuzy has been painful. Dude was so obvious whenever he decided to check out. Like.. It's cute that he has the weirdest/slowest lead up to a penalty shot... but when he effectively does that mentally during the run of play... not great.

I honestly feel like he'll have a nice little burst. I think there was just something off with him and this team, whether it was management/coaching/locker room... something was just off. And I mean beyond the c'caine.

Oh, shit. Canes... Woof. (took me way too long to get to that.)

DSafetyGuy wrote: ↑Thu Mar 07, 2024 7:42 pm A week ago, I was getting used to the idea of the Red Wings returning to the playoffs. Now, they've lost their last three, including getting whacked last night by Colorado to start a four-game road trip with Larkin missing his first game of what is expected to be two weeks until he returns to health. Feels like they are now more likely to be a minor seller than anything else, especially since a little extra cap room will help with extensions for Seider and Raymond looming.

sancarlos wrote: ↑Thu Mar 07, 2024 10:31 pm I’ve been waiting for the Sharks to make a deal.

Kostin had only played in 33 of 62 games this season for Detroit. And, for a team rumored to be looking at moving a defenseman, I have to agree taking in a minor league defenseman is simply escaping the future financial commitment. Can't see them as buying anything now.

Hooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow???????

On record: Long term that's going to be a good trade for SJ.

(Oh boy, I didn't see the retention. Its not a huge number, but holding that on your cap and against a retention slot for like 6 years doesn't seem all that smart.)

(2nd oh boy ... Dreger posted it weird and the two 3rd are going TO Vegas. What in the fuck?)

I think the Flames are trying to ice an entire team of long and weird names

And Kevin Rooney, it would appear.

mister d wrote: ↑Fri Mar 08, 2024 3:22 pm (2nd oh boy ... Dreger posted it weird and the two 3rd are going TO Vegas. What in the fuck?)

I think it's great trade for SJ. I have loved Hertl, but they only keep 17% of his salary. He's 30 and still has six more years on his deal. The gave up two 3rds, but received the guy Vegas picked at the end of the first round last year, plus their 2025 first rounder. Good for building for the future.

Guess Jersey is convinced that it was the goalies that did them in, because they've turned them over today.

sancarlos wrote: ↑Fri Mar 08, 2024 4:39 pm

mister d wrote: ↑Fri Mar 08, 2024 3:22 pm (2nd oh boy ... Dreger posted it weird and the two 3rd are going TO Vegas. What in the fuck?)

I think it's great trade for SJ. I have loved Hertl, but they only keep 17% of his salary. He's 30 and still has six more years on his deal. The gave up two 3rds, but received the guy Vegas picked at the end of the first round last year, plus their 2025 first rounder. Good for building for the future.

Yeah, I still don't think its that bad, but the long term retention and inclusion of picks is baffling. Is Vegas really walking away from Hertl (esp if you leak the talks!) if they don't get two 3rds?

mister d wrote: ↑Fri Mar 08, 2024 4:42 pm

sancarlos wrote: ↑Fri Mar 08, 2024 4:39 pm

mister d wrote: ↑Fri Mar 08, 2024 3:22 pm (2nd oh boy ... Dreger posted it weird and the two 3rd are going TO Vegas. What in the fuck?)

I think it's great trade for SJ. I have loved Hertl, but they only keep 17% of his salary. He's 30 and still has six more years on his deal. The gave up two 3rds, but received the guy Vegas picked at the end of the first round last year, plus their 2025 first rounder. Good for building for the future.

Yeah, I still don't think its that bad, but the long term retention and inclusion of picks is baffling. Is Vegas really walking away from Hertl (esp if you leak the talks!) if they don't get two 3rds?

Add in the fact that Hertl has had lots of injuries, and has been on IR for a month now and isn't expected back until after the regular season ends. (and that isn't a Kucherov/Stone-type cap story either, since the Sharks said that all along.)

So Flames now have Vegas' 1st pick in 2026. Vegas now just have to take out the Oilers and then the 3rd round pick turns into a 2nd and all is right with the world.

I don’t think Vegas will be cratering in the next couple of years so the difference between the Vegas first and SJ third in 2015 might only be about 40-ish spots. That said, Edstrom was VGK’s best prospect so that’s where the real value is. Still I think it’s a good trade for both teams. The salary retention was a nice touch.

Another interesting quirk is that there was talk about trying to do an extension with Hanifan but I wonder if those talks might have went nowhere because that doesn’t seem possible now.

brian wrote: ↑Fri Mar 08, 2024 9:45 pm Another interesting quirk is that there was talk about trying to do an extension with Hanifan but I wonder if those talks might have went nowhere because that doesn’t seem possible now.

At this point he might as well wait until summer and see what offers he gets. Especially if he's a key part of another deep Vegas run.

70% of the time I still love Torts.

degenerasian wrote: ↑Sat Mar 09, 2024 1:38 pm

brian wrote: ↑Fri Mar 08, 2024 9:45 pm Another interesting quirk is that there was talk about trying to do an extension with Hanifan but I wonder if those talks might have went nowhere because that doesn’t seem possible now.

At this point he might as well wait until summer and see what offers he gets. Especially if he's a key part of another deep Vegas run.

Kevin Weekes reported that they have a deal in place but I haven’t seen that anywhere else.

Back to that Hertl trade - another germane point is that he had a complete no-movement clause, so he could nix any destination he didn’t like, so that likely handcuffed the Sharks a bit.

DSafetyGuy wrote: ↑Thu Mar 07, 2024 7:42 pmA week ago, I was getting used to the idea of the Red Wings returning to the playoffs. Now, they've lost their last three, including getting whacked last night by Colorado to start a four-game road trip with Larkin missing his first game of what is expected to be two weeks until he returns to health. Feels like they are now more likely to be a minor seller than anything else, especially since a little extra cap room will help with extensions for Seider and Raymond looming.

Five in a row, including a 4-0 loss at Arizona. Well, at least the dream had an air of legitimacy this year (getting in the postseason was all I was hoping for, winning a series would be a massive achievement).

The Curse of Patrick Kane (who is a piece of shit).

mister d wrote: ↑Sun Mar 10, 2024 9:36 am The Curse of Patrick Kane (who is a piece of shit).

Just took a while or he was building up false hope before yanking it away.

This Rempe nonsense has to end.

mister d wrote: ↑Mon Mar 11, 2024 7:59 pm This Rempe nonsense has to end.

Yup. His 15 minutes are up.

I'm enjoying the "smart teams don't employ predatory thugs" NYR fans in a scramble right now.

I know I've said it here before and last night illustrated it ... Rempe isn't even that type. Or atleast not the archtype. He spent the first 39:00 or whatever avoiding the Devils absolute version of that guy and then was about to fly by and miss a check and threw out the chicken wing. He's just not an NHL ready player, now and very likely ever. He's not a great skater, he's clearly not technically sound and he even more clearly thinks he has to do all these things he never did in juniors and the AHL just to stick around. I don't know how to fully divide the blame, but there's more of it on the Rangers org than the is on him at this point. They've clearly had some level of a talk about avoiding the fights, but you just can't play a guy who has two (and should have had three) game misconducts for dangerous/dirty hits in a month. We get the Devils again in April and, assuming they're fully out of the playoffs by then, I'm not really sure why we should expect anything less than them running our stars all game. The first hit on Bastion was really bad, last night was even worse and then he did that dipshit wave on the way out. If the league doesn't really take care of it, they will and probably should.

4 games is both more than expected and less than it should be, which is about the best you can hope for with this league.

Well, DSafe, Dylan Larkin may be the most valuable player, because the Wings can’t win without him.

sancarlos wrote: ↑Tue Mar 12, 2024 7:14 pm Well, DSafe, Dylan Larkin may be the most valuable player, because the Wings can’t win without him.

2-8 this season without him, which goes to 2-10 if you include the two games in which he has been injured and did not return. Athletic had a column today about their slide and how his absence has been a big part. (I have 30-day passes, if anyone is interested.)