πΊπΈ by birth, π¨π¦ by heart (except world jrs.) All things hockey, tennis, & the occasional deep thought or joke likely to be seen by nobody other than myself.
Pretty good day for the Americans at Stade Roland Garros! Still wild to think the French Open grand slam is simply the name of a pioneering French aviator.
Feels like this has been 3 games in the making. I can see Carolina winning this game 7-0 or 7-1. Amazed Montreal had kept it so close all playoffs long. But they are going to be a juggernaut in the years to come. 2 maybe 3 years they could easily be best team in hockey.
Power rankings of remaining teams i want to win the cup this year regardless of series results so far:
1) Montreal
2) Minnesota
3) Buffalo
4) Anaheim
5) Carolina
6) Colorado
7) Vegas
8) Philadelphia
@Holzy1428 Yep but with the cap space you can overpay maybe a little a guy who is maybe 25 or 26 and hasn't played much but 3rd line or maybe some 2nd line and see how they fair getting top 6 mins. But key to me is not older than like 30. Guys like tolvanen or Yamamoto from SEA as examples.
Last but not least is cap space. A good but of it and a stockpile of draft picks to boot. No longer in a full rebuild but still definitely in a transition phase. Biggest need will be secondary scoring. Maybe not top line guys but definitely 2 top-6 guys if Mantha and Geno walk.
Chinakhov is a wild card. If malkin doesn't return how does that impact him. Russians are a tight knit group man. I really don't know what to expect from Chinakhov. Talent is definitely there.
I let Mantha walk. Too many teams will overpay for him. He's really struggled in playoffs and he looked worn out and lost as the season and playoffs came about.
I'd sit down with Letang and let him know he's going to be borderline D2 and D3 pairing. Nobody would take on that contract but he honest with him and if his hearts still there fine but maybe he says he's ready to call it a career.
I wanted to get it 24 hours before giving my Pens thoughts. I'd let Malkin walk even if he offers a major discount. Another year older and with age comes injury prone increase. He earned the right to stay with his last contact but it's time to get other guys involved more.
The Pens list of failures is a mile long. Pretty much everybody has underperformed except Skinner and maybe the 4th line. If Dan Muse wants to send a message it's benching Letang and starting PP2 on first chance next game. Crosby and Karlsson have been terrible and 58 garbage.
Bad karma coming for Pens tonight thanks to @SNPittsburgh skipping the anthems. Should always show the anthems when it includes O Canada....especially if it was the legendary Lyndon Slewidge tonight.