July NHL News and Notes

cshea

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I've talked myself into being interested in Tarasenko.

When he was last healthy in 18/19, he was a monster. 55% xGF. He had 19 goals at 5x5 which would've been 2nd on the Bruins behind Pastrnak that season. 37 ES points would've had him 4th behind Marchand, Krejci, Pastrnak. He had 33 goals and 35 assists in total that season.

The medicals are obviously key. He's had 3 shoulder surgeries. Obviously dicey. This article gives some insight into his injuries and prognosis going forward. The writer gets the opinions of 3 ortho surgeons. All 3 think he should be OK and close to, if not the same, player he was prior to the surgeries.

The medical concerns, trade request, trade protection, and salary might drive his price down to a 2nd and Bjork type no-brainer, or even lower. The one thing the Bruins have an abundance of that can be leveraged this offseason is cap space. Tarasenko's 2 years lines up nicely with the last gasps of the Bergeron window. I think they could fit Tarasenko, Hall and a D upgrade in fairly easily with Krejci and Rask back at reduced rates. My only real concern is McAvoy extension after next season.
 

RedOctober3829

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Jul 19, 2005
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I've talked myself into being interested in Tarasenko.

When he was last healthy in 18/19, he was a monster. 55% xGF. He had 19 goals at 5x5 which would've been 2nd on the Bruins behind Pastrnak that season. 37 ES points would've had him 4th behind Marchand, Krejci, Pastrnak. He had 33 goals and 35 assists in total that season.

The medicals are obviously key. He's had 3 shoulder surgeries. Obviously dicey. This article gives some insight into his injuries and prognosis going forward. The writer gets the opinions of 3 ortho surgeons. All 3 think he should be OK and close to, if not the same, player he was prior to the surgeries.

The medical concerns, trade request, trade protection, and salary might drive his price down to a 2nd and Bjork type no-brainer, or even lower. The one thing the Bruins have an abundance of that can be leveraged this offseason is cap space. Tarasenko's 2 years lines up nicely with the last gasps of the Bergeron window. I think they could fit Tarasenko, Hall and a D upgrade in fairly easily with Krejci and Rask back at reduced rates. My only real concern is McAvoy extension after next season.
How much less would Rask and Krejci have to take in order to fit Tarasenko in? It would have to be a lot less than last year, right? The thing here that might push this in the right direction is if Krejci retired and his money opened up or Rask signed and went onto LTIR.
 

burstnbloom

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Jul 12, 2005
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How much less would Rask and Krejci have to take in order to fit Tarasenko in? It would have to be a lot less than last year, right? The thing here that might push this in the right direction is if Krejci retired and his money opened up or Rask signed and went onto LTIR.
if they took on tarasenko they’d have $22m left for hall, krejci, rask, Carlo, Ritchie etc. you’d have to assume they lose another $1m to Vegas, debrusk is likely gone etc. they could make it work. Fwiw (no idea?) dom tiano is pretty plugged in with the blues and he posted a “stay far away” post about tarasenko. It definitely seems like the blues messed this up but I’m concerned about how little we know about the background here given that statement.
 

Dummy Hoy

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Jul 22, 2006
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Absolutely brutal. I know he’s been around the game forever but why would a franchise hire a 60 year old that lacks a sterling resume as a player developer when there must be dozens of younger guys who have been training to do this job while being proficient in modern technology, training methods, and quite simply more able to relate to players? Eugene gonna Melnyk and all that but damn…I know Ottawa fans were starting to feel better about there team, this ain’t gonna help.
 

cshea

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The Senators made 10 draft picks last year. They currently have 25 picks over the next 3 drafts. Pierre McGuire is now in charge of the development of these ~35 players which represent the future of that organization.

It could be an absolutely catastrophic hire.
 

NYCSox

chris hansen of goats
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Well on the plus side, he knows their hometowns, junior teams/colleges,. parents' names and what pets they have. Counts for something right? :)
 

cshea

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Well on the plus side, he knows their hometowns, junior teams/colleges,. parents' names and what pets they have. Counts for something right? :)
If I was going to hire him (I wouldn't) the only place that makes sense in in some kind of amateur scouting capacity where all that information and network of junior/minor league coaches he knows might be worth something.

Director of Player Development is taking the players they draft/sign and putting a plan in place to develop them into NHL players. I just can't see how he's qualified for that. Most of the kids they draft are probably going to roll their eyes when they walk into development camp and sit down with Pierre fucking McGuire to chart a path for their future to become an NHL player.
 

Greg29fan

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Absolutely brutal. I know he’s been around the game forever but why would a franchise hire a 60 year old that lacks a sterling resume as a player developer when there must be dozens of younger guys who have been training to do this job while being proficient in modern technology, training methods, and quite simply more able to relate to players? Eugene gonna Melnyk and all that but damn…I know Ottawa fans were starting to feel better about there team, this ain’t gonna help.
He's also anti-analytics

https://www.yahoo.com/news/weather/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/pierre-mcguire-would-fire-coaches-that-rely-on-analytics-for-player-review-151106458.html
 

kenneycb

Hates Goose Island Beer; Loves Backdoor Play
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Dec 2, 2006
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Of course he is. Thanks for sharing that link.

To temper things a bit, it’s not like McGuire is in charge, he’s just a voice in the room, but it sure sounds like a voice in the room with a lot of weight.
The article is also 7 years old. Not working with the freshest data points.
 

cshea

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The article is also 7 years old. Not working with the freshest data points.
He still hates them. He goes on 1 rant a game when he's broadcasting. Especially with the Islanders 4th line. "Analytics can't measure that!" even though the Islanders 4th line grades out well analytically speaking.
 

kenneycb

Hates Goose Island Beer; Loves Backdoor Play
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Dec 2, 2006
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I dunno, but I’m not going to take a quote from 7 years ago when he’s been in the public eye up until a few weeks ago to determine that.
 

Jed Zeppelin

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Look guys you don’t need analytics to tell you what’s really important, such as which small town pond a player grew up next to.
 

burstnbloom

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That Duncan Keith trade is brutal. He’s been one of the worst d in the league for the last 4ish years. Caleb Jones really sucks and he’s way better than this version of Duncan Keith. I think the most disturbing thing about it is it indicates that Ken Holland is buying into this “Connor needs to learn how to win” bullshit. No, your team has three good players, Ken. You’re in charge of fixing that. They don’t need a shitty player who has a history of winning, they need players than don’t suck.
 

Haunted

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Aug 23, 2006
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That Duncan Keith trade is brutal. He’s been one of the worst d in the league for the last 4ish years. Caleb Jones really sucks and he’s way better than this version of Duncan Keith. I think the most disturbing thing about it is it indicates that Ken Holland is buying into this “Connor needs to learn how to win” bullshit. No, your team has three good players, Ken. You’re in charge of fixing that. They don’t need a shitty player who has a history of winning, they need players than don’t suck.
I know some people are just... used to losing and all, but the "learn to win/knows how to win" thing is about the most overblown trope in sports. Paying that salary for a total shell of a formerly-good player just because he used to be on a winning team is absurd.


You want your stars to "learn how to win"? Put good players around them and not AHL/ECHL chaff.
 

burstnbloom

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I know some people are just... used to losing and all, but the "learn to win/knows how to win" thing is about the most overblown trope in sports. Paying that salary for a total shell of a formerly-good player just because he used to be on a winning team is absurd.


You want your stars to "learn how to win"? Put good players around them and not AHL/ECHL chaff.
Ken Holland should be out of hockey for this trade. I'm not even being hyperbolic. Read these quotes:

View: https://twitter.com/wyshynski/status/1414799812218826753?s=20



This is who he is talking about...

View: https://twitter.com/JFreshHockey/status/1414650119476158465?s=20
 

Dduncan6er

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Apr 16, 2020
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If I'm Chara's agent I'm calling Holland right away to see what Z's "intangibles" might be worth to him. That is if Chara is still interested in playing.
 

Haunted

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Aug 23, 2006
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What the hell happened to Holland? Memory isn't super reliable but I always thought of him as being a very good to great GM, but this is a total head scratcher.
 

NYCSox

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I'm puzzled to say the least. Obviously without Klefbom they needed someone to play LD2. I suppose if they keep Larsson and partner him with Keith it could work out ok.

But that also says a lot about the lack of quality LD on the market which is a bad sign for the Bruins.
 

cshea

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What the hell happened to Holland? Memory isn't super reliable but I always thought of him as being a very good to great GM, but this is a total head scratcher.
Game passed him by. His last years in Detroit were dreadful. He gave out a lot of legacy contracts to aging veterans he was loyal to. He left an absolute MESS that Steve Yzerman (whom I consider the best GM in hockey) is still digging out of 2+ years into taking over.

I get the sense Edmonton isn't very analytically inclined. The analytical movement in hockey has just so happened to coincide with Holland's decline as a manager. It just seems to me that Holland is still trying to apply principles and methods he used in the late 90's/early 00's to build a roster in 2021 and he hasn't adapted at all to the new tools available.
 

Dim13

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Jul 14, 2005
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Game passed him by. His last years in Detroit were dreadful. He gave out a lot of legacy contracts to aging veterans he was loyal to. He left an absolute MESS that Steve Yzerman (whom I consider the best GM in hockey) is still digging out of 2+ years into taking over.
Wings fan here. Just stopping by to say that this is spot on.
 

burstnbloom

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Jul 12, 2005
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Minny is buying out both Ryan Suter and Zach Parise.

View: https://twitter.com/RussoHockey/status/1414973266440114179?s=20


View: https://twitter.com/CapFriendly/status/1414975808666574863?s=20


The buyout numbers is that times two. They have identical contracts.
This feels kinda bad. I guess the hits years 4-8 arent really a big deal, It's only $1.6 today, but the cap savings are really only for THIS season. They did have cap issues and need to sign Fiala and Kaprizov but they only have about Rask's contract expiring next year and will carry huge cap hits for players not playing for them for the same length of the deal they were already on the hook for regardless. Stunning move. This offseason is going to be bananas.

edit- it does free up two protection slots though which is a big deal. Now they won't lose Dumba.
 

burstnbloom

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Game passed him by. His last years in Detroit were dreadful. He gave out a lot of legacy contracts to aging veterans he was loyal to. He left an absolute MESS that Steve Yzerman (whom I consider the best GM in hockey) is still digging out of 2+ years into taking over.

I get the sense Edmonton isn't very analytically inclined. The analytical movement in hockey has just so happened to coincide with Holland's decline as a manager. It just seems to me that Holland is still trying to apply principles and methods he used in the late 90's/early 00's to build a roster in 2021 and he hasn't adapted at all to the new tools available.
He probably should have realized what made him successful was a once in a generation defenseman and 2 top 10 centers they got in round 6 and 7. Not their "grit" and "intangibles"
 

RedOctober3829

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Jul 19, 2005
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Montreal may expose Shea Weber to the expansion draft due to his ongoing medical issues. His issues are so bad(foot, knee, thumb)that he may actually have to retire.

The dumbest part of this is that if Weber does have to retire Nashville will face a cap recapture penalty of $4.9 million per year until the 25-26 season. Yes, the team he hasn’t played for since 2016 would face cap penalties for him retiring and not Montreal. Nashville could gain the space back if they can LTIR him, but shouldn't that have shifted to Montreal who traded for him and his contract? Sometimes, this league makes no sense.
 

cshea

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The recapture penalty to Nashville only applies if he officially retires. That will not happen. He will go on permanent LTIR (Savard, Pronger, Hossa, etc.) and the cap hit:LTIR relief stays with Montreal.