NHL (2021-2022) v. Congrats Avs. Jack Johnson is a Stanley Cup Champion.

[Anguyen92]

I really don't think the Leafs can support that cap hit without moving one of their top guns.  Imagine all of the picks/prospects that Arizona could get, but I don't think the Leafs have that kind of draft capital in comparison to other teams possibly in the mix for Chychrun (nowadays, I've been hearing Kings or Bruins, but that's probably an offseason thing to look at, not at the deadline).

Why the hell would the Leafs want Binnington @ $6M AAV for the next 5 years?  Even if it's only at 50% or 25% of his cap, Mrazek is already signed for 2 more years, and I don't see how the Leafs are going to walk away from Campbell - he loves it here, the team/fans love him.  Though personally, I'd love it if they could unload Mrazek - that's one signing that did not work out as planned.

All of the *real* insiders (Friedge, Dreger, Lebrun, Johnston) ... none of them have uttered Binnington's name in the last 2 weeks, and they're all still under the belief that Dubas is more likely to go after defence, not goaltending.

As for their cap space ... if they keep Muzzin on LTIR until the playoffs (concussion issues), they've got room to manoeuvre.

This kind of trade speculation doesn't really make any sense and doesn't really benefit anyone except the Blues (Coyotes can probably get a better return elsewhere, and the Leafs shouldn't want that contract or goalie at all).

[gmillerdrake]

Why the hell would the Leafs anyone want Binnington @ $6M AAV for the next 5 years?

Fixed. Doug Armstrong has made a lot of good moves as a GM.....even some of his 'questionable' moves one can still understand.....but the deal he inked Binnington to is just confusing and was uncalled for. I'd say it's the worst deal he's crafted in his tenure.

[jingle.boy]

Why the hell would the Leafs anyone want Binnington @ $6M AAV for the next 5 years?

Fixed. Doug Armstrong has made a lot of good moves as a GM.....even some of his 'questionable' moves one can still understand.....but the deal he inked Binnington to is just confusing and was uncalled for. I'd say it's the worst deal he's crafted in his tenure.

If he was playing like Binnington '19, you might not be saying that.  Still, UFA goaltenders are a risky thing.  I think the Price and Bobs contracts are the last $10M+ goalie signings you'll see.  Hell, Binnington and Grubauer in the $6M range look pretty questionable.  Campbell's questionable play in Jan/Feb certainly lowered his negotiating power - he's like to warrant a 4M-ish AAV given his inconsistencies, and lack of history of sustaining #1 goalie quantity and quality of play.

[gmillerdrake]

Why the hell would the Leafs anyone want Binnington @ $6M AAV for the next 5 years?

Fixed. Doug Armstrong has made a lot of good moves as a GM.....even some of his 'questionable' moves one can still understand.....but the deal he inked Binnington to is just confusing and was uncalled for. I'd say it's the worst deal he's crafted in his tenure.

If he was playing like Binnington '19, you might not be saying that.  Still, UFA goaltenders are a risky thing.  I think the Price and Bobs contracts are the last $10M+ goalie signings you'll see.  Hell, Binnington and Grubauer in the $6M range look pretty questionable.  Campbell's questionable play in Jan/Feb certainly lowered his negotiating power - he's like to warrant a 4M-ish AAV given his inconsistencies, and lack of history of sustaining #1 goalie quantity and quality of play.

Totally get that but even prior to re-signing him one could ascertain that the 50 game run he had in that magical 2019 season was just that.....magical and was going to be tough to live up to. There was a reason he was #4 in the depth charts in the minors.....and I think we're seeing it now. He's just not consistent, his angles are wretched and he's not making even the saves he should. He's had some good games here and there but he's definitely not a $6mil a year goalie. I think the Blues bet on the wrong horse here and it's going to suck big time because Husso 'was' the future and is showing why they were high on him for years. Just another solid Finnish goalie.

[KevShmev]

Binnington will always have a soft spot in my heart due to the large role he played in the Blues finally winning a Cup, but if they find a way to move him so they can keep Husso, I will be good with it.  Goalies can be so fragile, and he looks like just another mediocre goalie now. 

[TAC]

Bruins in Winnipeg tonight. Love the old school Jets unis.

[jingle.boy]

Bruins in Winnipeg tonight. Love the old school Jets unis.

I would've loved a W by the Jets.

[gmillerdrake]

Binnington will always have a soft spot in my heart due to the large role he played in the Blues finally winning a Cup, but if they find a way to move him so they can keep Husso, I will be good with it.  Goalies can be so fragile, and he looks like just another mediocre goalie now.

I get it. I’m there with you. That team and the players who were on it will always be special to me. It was awesome to experience after the years of Bear misses and heartaches.

BUT…..it’s a ‘what have you done for me lately’ league all Binnington has done is look like an average to below average goalie since. I will say though that prior to the Covid lockdown he and the Blues were playing lights out and were steamrolling into the playoffs. I have zero doubt they’d have defended their Cup had there been no stoppage. None of the Western conference teams looked as good as they did and they had that swagger going.

But since the return from the Covid pause he’s looked horrid.

[KevShmev]

Binnington will always have a soft spot in my heart due to the large role he played in the Blues finally winning a Cup, but if they find a way to move him so they can keep Husso, I will be good with it.  Goalies can be so fragile, and he looks like just another mediocre goalie now.

I get it. I’m there with you. That team and the players who were on it will always be special to me. It was awesome to experience after the years of Bear misses and heartaches.

BUT…..it’s a ‘what have you done for me lately’ league all Binnington has done is look like an average to below average goalie since. I will say though that prior to the Covid lockdown he and the Blues were playing lights out and were steamrolling into the playoffs. I have zero doubt they’d have defended their Cup had there been no stoppage. None of the Western conference teams looked as good as they did and they had that swagger going.

But since the return from the Covid pause he’s looked horrid.

I try not to play the "what if?" game with 2020, but they definitely looked great and would have had a good chance to repeat.  It is what it is, though.

[Anguyen92]

Trade Deadline weekend is in full effect.  A lot of moves.  I think given the process of where they are at and waiting for injured guys to come back to the line-up, I'm content on the Kings not making any moves and just ride with playing the young guys and get them NHL played games.

[TAC]

Giordano to the Leafs! That's a good get.

[Anguyen92]

Ok, the Kings acquired a guy for a 7th round pick.  Troy Stecher from Detroit.  No idea who he is, but he's a D and that's something to fill a hole while going through an injury wave, so all right.

[jammindude]

I know the Kraken have been terrible, but I thought the idea was to try to build on this core….not have a complete fire sale at the end of your first season.

I remember growing up with the inaugural Mariners and Seahawks. Most of those core players were with us through out my childhood. I was just getting to know the Kraken and it seems like at least half are out the door already.

[Anguyen92]

Jammin, my dude.  Man oh man, I don't know what the heck your team is doing acquiring picks like crazy.  I mean getting picks is fine if your scouting department is good.  A reasonable get, if you needed to have a fire sale for the guys that's not going to be here next season, would have been to get some prospects that's on the cusp of cracking a NHL roster and build a future from there.  At least, the Kraken's 1st round pick is going to be at least top 5, hopefully, you can get a guy to build a team around and go from there which seems to be their plan.

By the way, I got to give a shoutout to Kevin Weekes (analyst from ESPN).  He's made this deadline a little more fun to read by announcing the breaking news trades from various areas. From the barber shop, from a nice looking bathroom, on the side of a freeway, in a hotel hallway, and in a hotel closet, etc.

[jingle.boy]

Jammin, my dude.  Man oh man, I don't know what the heck your team is doing acquiring picks like crazy.  I mean getting picks is fine if your scouting department is good.

So far, everyone that the Kraken have dumped are pending UFAs.  Gotta think Francis' was planning this all along while building his 1st year team - get some vets and salary that get's the Kraken to the league min and guide the younger kids, only to unload them at the deadline for picks/prospects.  It's an understandable strategy to unload them, but I wonder if this was the plan right from the expansion draft - or at least part of the thinking.

[Nick]

I know the Kraken have been terrible, but I thought the idea was to try to build on this core….not have a complete fire sale at the end of your first season.

I remember growing up with the inaugural Mariners and Seahawks. Most of those core players were with us through out my childhood. I was just getting to know the Kraken and it seems like at least half are out the door already.

I don't mean to be down on your hometown team, but I don't know WTF Seattle has done from start to finish. They watched Vegas do amazing things and did absolutely nothing the same to predictable results. And perhaps the biggest WTF moment of them all was deciding they wanted a mostly young and unknown team and then they hired a coach who was a dumpster fire in Philly in bringing up young talent, which was supposed to be his specialty. Seattle could have been a lot better. Not in any way saying they could have repeated the Knights success or even made the playoffs their first year, but they could have certainly looked a lot better.

[romdrums]

Ok, the Kings acquired a guy for a 7th round pick.  Troy Stecher from Detroit.  No idea who he is, but he's a D and that's something to fill a hole while going through an injury wave, so all right.

He was good for the Wings last year, especially with mostly having the boat anchors that are Marc Staal and Danny DeKeyser for D partners.  Provided good D and contributed offensively as well.  This year, he was injured in the off-season, and never got the chance to break into the lineup, which, when looking at Detroit's defensemen this season, makes you wonder.  A change of scenery will probably do him some good.

[jingle.boy]

I know the Kraken have been terrible, but I thought the idea was to try to build on this core….not have a complete fire sale at the end of your first season.

I remember growing up with the inaugural Mariners and Seahawks. Most of those core players were with us through out my childhood. I was just getting to know the Kraken and it seems like at least half are out the door already.

I don't mean to be down on your hometown team, but I don't know WTF Seattle has done from start to finish. They watched Vegas do amazing things and did absolutely nothing the same to predictable results. And perhaps the biggest WTF moment of them all was deciding they wanted a mostly young and unknown team and then they hired a coach who was a dumpster fire in Philly in bringing up young talent, which was supposed to be his specialty. Seattle could have been a lot better. Not in any way saying they could have repeated the Knights success or even made the playoffs their first year, but they could have certainly looked a lot better.

I'll completely agree that Hakstol is a dumpster fire.  How they determined he was the best choice baffles me.  He was largely unremarkable with the Leafs as an assistant.  I do think that McPhee absolutely fleeced the league that expansion draft, and the 30 other GMs learned their lesson.  I think in the time between LVK and Kraken, a lot of contracts were signed to expire in '21, so they didn't need to be protected.  The available pool of unprotected players was of substantially lower quality.  Plus, LVK got lucky with some of their picks ended up punching well above their weight class - Marchessault, McNabb, Karlsson, Huala, Perron.  And then the players they got for negotiating their picks (eg, Theodore; and then they got Reilly Smith for agreeing to take Marchessault!)  And of course, Fleury was quite the catch as well.  Kraken had no such luck in any of those departments ... and of course, Grubauer turned out to be a dud.

[TheCountOfNYC]

Georgiev finally showed up. Hopefully this is a continued trend and not a fluke performance. Being able to lean more on him down the home stretch to keep Shestyorkin fresh for the playoffs would be huge.

[romdrums]

Trade Deadline was kinda "meh" this year.  Was kinda thinking with the spread between playoff teams and non-playoff teams in the Eastern Conference, that there'd be a lot of moves, but outside of Claude Giroux going to FL, there weren't a lot of blockbuster, arms race kind of deals.

[SchecterShredder]

Pretty much. I don't know how the final trade count compares to previous years,  but it felt lower. And certainly no big deals, aside from the previously mentioned Giroux deal. Giordano was a bit of a surprise, i suppose.

I do think FLA is well positioned to win the East if Giroux can fit in well with Barkov.

[KevShmev]

I wanted to vomit today when I heard the Blues traded Sundqvist.  And the fact that he went to the Red Wings is like a double finger poke in the eyes. 

[pg1067]

Trade Deadline was kinda "meh" this year.

What'd'ya mean?!

The Kings acquired three guys I've never heard of for two guys I've never heard of and a 7th round draft choice.  If that's not excitement, I don't know what is!   

[TAC]

Trade Deadline was kinda "meh" this year.

What'd'ya mean?!

The Kings acquired three guys I've never heard of for two guys I've never heard of and a 7th round draft choice.  If that's not excitement, I don't know what is!   

 

[jingle.boy]

Pretty much. I don't know how the final trade count compares to previous years,  but it felt lower. And certainly no big deals, aside from the previously mentioned Giroux deal. Giordano was a bit of a surprise, i suppose.

I do think FLA is well positioned to win the East if Giroux can fit in well with Barkov.

By the time the Rakell trade came along, TSN had today alone tracked at 25 trades (18 last year I think).  The'd shown the running total for the last 5 years, and one year ('17 I think) had 32.  Every other year was in the mid 20s iirc.

[romdrums]

I wanted to vomit today when I heard the Blues traded Sundqvist.  And the fact that he went to the Red Wings is like a double finger poke in the eyes. 

Yzerman strikes again!



 

In all seriousness, though, I hope Nick Leddy finds his NY Islanders form in St. Louis.  He was a good locker room guy in Detroit and he’s got a ton of playoff experience.

[KevShmev]

I wanted to vomit today when I heard the Blues traded Sundqvist.  And the fact that he went to the Red Wings is like a double finger poke in the eyes. 

Yzerman strikes again!



 

[KevShmev]

I do like how the worm has turned, though.

The Red Wings are now a crappy ass team that is already out of playoff contention with two months left in the season, while the Blues are a recent Cup winner that has a decent shot at making a deep run again this postseason.  I will take this over the nausea of the 90s and 00s.

[romdrums]

I do like how the worm has turned, though.

The Red Wings are now a crappy ass team that is already out of playoff contention with two months left in the season, while the Blues are a recent Cup winner that has a decent shot at making a deep run again this postseason.  I will take this over the nausea of the 90s and 00s.

Considering the Wings have had to do a “tear it down to the studs” type of rebuild, I think things are trending in the right direction for them even if they suck now.  I trust in the Yzerplan, and if he continues to hit on 1st round picks like he has with Seider and Raymond, they’ll be hoisting the Cup in Little Caesar’s Palace before too long.

[KevShmev]

Considering the Wings have had to do a “tear it down to the studs” type of rebuild, I think things are trending in the right direction for them even if they suck now.  I trust in the Yzerplan, and if he continues to hit on 1st round picks like he has with Seider and Raymond, they’ll be hoisting the Cup in Little Caesar’s Palace before too long.

Let's hope not.

[jingle.boy]

I dunno what you Blues fans are griping about... Leddy has 16 points as a d-man; Sundqvist has 15 as the what ... 3rd/4th line centre.  Cap hit is the same, and Leddy is a solid stay-at-home / shut-down guy.  The Blues are pretty deep at centre, come playoff time when Thomas and Bozak will be back from injuries.  Plus, the deal sheds 725k of cap space.

You guys can find everything/anything to complain about how the Blues got shafted, eh?

[Nick]

Alright, let's recap the major trades per TSN this year.

Calgary gets Tyler Toffoli from Montreal for Pitlick, Heineman, a 2024 5th and a 2022 1st. Only major asset Calgary gives up is the 1st rounder, and they get a guy I remember fondly in a reduced role helping Kings get some cups. Assuming he lives up to his remaining contract this seems like a good get for the Flames.

Toronto gets Dzingel and Lyubushkin from Arizona for Ritchie and 2025 pick. Other than Dzingel, barely, don't know much about this. Chad/Leaf hosers, any thoughts?

Avalanche get Manson for Helleson and a 2023 2nd. Honestly, Ducks are a team I haven't seen much of at all lately, but anytime Colorado adds to their team the rest of the West has to be a bit worried.

Ben Chiarot to Panthers for Smilanic, 2023 1st, and 2022 4th to the Canadiens. The first seemed like a little bit of an overpay, but I'm not overly familiar with Chiarot.

Calgary adds more up front with Jarnkrok from Seattle for a 2022 2nd, 2023 3rd, and 2024 7th. Seems like a fair return for a good forward with a cool cousin tie in with Calgary.

Tampa gets Hagel, a 2022 and 2024 4th while sending Katchouk, Raddysh, a 2023 and 2024 1st to Chicago. Maybe I haven't seen enough of Hagel, but this seems like an overpay by Tampa. They are kinda crunched on the cap and it feels like they just wanted to make whatever move gives them any better chance of going three in a row.

Bruins get Lindholm and Curran from Anaheim for a 2022 1st, 2023 and 2024 2nd, Vaakanainen and Moore. Unquestionably an overpay for Boston if just a rental, but they did get the 8 year extension done. With that in mind it's going to be all about what he does over the next few years especially to see if this was a good trade or not. End of the day I still don't see Boston as a huge contender this year.

Panthers get Giroux, Bunnaman, Rubstov and a 2025 5th for Tippett, a 2024 1st and a 2023 3rd. Reports on Giroux vary from him only allowing a trade to Florida to strongly preferring a trade to Tampa, and in either case the Flyers were a little tied up in what they could get as a result. As someone who sees the team as a few years from strong contention I wish the Flyers would have gotten a strong younger prospect as opposed to Tippett who they threw right into their NHL lineup. Panthers got the best forward at the deadline, and went from great to scary great in the East between this and other trades.

TBC

[crazy climber dude]

Anyone have some anecdotal insights on Artturi Lehkonen? Not the biggest guy. Guessing he is pretty scrappy for his size. Has some skills, including good two way player. In fact, I found an article online about how excellent he is defensively.

Worth a young prospect (Barron), AND a 2nd round pick (which he was in 2013)? I know it's about fit....as well as going for the Cup NOW.

[Nick]

Major trades, continued.

Leafs get Giordano along with Blackwell from the Kraken for a 2022 and 2023 2nd and a 2024 3rd. With Giordano the center piece here it seems like a lot for an older D rental, seems like they may have missed out on Lindholm and went on to a fallback plan.

Minnesota gets some flower power in goal for a 2022 1st. This is really an interesting trade. Minnesota was looking good already, and had solid goaltending with Cam Talbot. The price for someone like Fleury is fair at this point I think, but I'm shocked a team with playoff hopes and far less spectacular goaltending (read: Oilers) didn't make a trade like this.

And it wasn't marked as a major trade, but I'm adding the NYR getting Braun from Philly for a 2023 3rd as I think we gave our division rivals a great push. Braun has been excellent for us at a good cap hit playing further up the line than he should. If he's played as a reliable 3rd pair guy he's going to make any team a lot better as a result.

And then of course there is the "trade" that may or may not happen for Dadonov. Really interesting scenario there. Some people on twitter are raging against his agent, some against the Senators, and some against the Knights. Anaheim seems to be the only ones one know is laying any blame at. Going to be cool to see how this plays out.

[jingle.boy]

Nick... you missed all the big trades from Sunday/yesterday?  Edit ... ok, you're catching up.

As for the AZ/Tor trade you referenced, Dzingel is already gone.  He got placed on waivers* and claimed by the Sharks.  As for Lyubushkin, my take is that he's gonna play the role that Bagosian played - heavy, grinding, tough in the d-zone kinda 5th/6th guy.  Though, he's currently paired with Reilly - which is probably the exact kind of partner Reilly needs.

As for Lehkonen, I'd say he's quite a fiesty and pesky little fucker.  Kinda like Marchand, without all the point.  It's a good get for a 3rd/4th liner.

*In Dubas' presser yesterday, he mentioned that the Leafs have had 11 players claimed off waivers from them in the last four years - more than double any other team?  Sucks to have signed that Finnish gold-medal winning 'tender on Sunday, only to have AZ claim him off waivers.  Hardly fair to that kid - thinks he's signing an NHL deal with one team, then just to get picked by another team - the Coyotes no less.