The other teams thread

Butsy said:
Ehlers is a Hurricane 6 x 8.5. Seems fair.
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I was hoping Holland would be in the mix for Ehlers,

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DarkLeftHand said:
Holland very well might have been, but we’ve already seen quite a few instances of players rebuffing the Kings advances. I’m sure the Canes play a much more appealing style of hockey to a guy like Ehlers. Less travel. Cost of living and far lower state taxes. Etc etc…
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I think this is part of it. Say, Fiala was a UFA and had been playing for the Wild. He has a chance to play for a defense first team, or a more offensive minded team.... where would he probably sign? That is not the whole equation, but I am sure it is a piece of the puzzle.
 
VCRW said:
www.nhl.com

Michkov, Askarov among top breakout candidates for 2025-2026 | NHL.com

Will Smith, Demidov, Nazar also on cusp of becoming difference-makers in NHL
www.nhl.com www.nhl.com

Notably absent from this list is our young Mr. Byfield. I honestly don’t know if QB will ever be the impact player we hoped for after his draft at #2 overall. That 1C position may be a problem spot for a while longer.
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I’ve long since accepted that most of these publications are heavily slanted against the West and especially the Kings.
The hockey media thinks all hockey revolves around either Canada (particularly Toronto and Montreal) or the large New York market.
I find very little value in these rankings.

Byfield has had a slower pace to the start of his career than we would have hoped. Injuries and illness have impacted him. But it’s also how this organization has handled him. He is a Center but has played the majority of games as a winger. We have really only seen QB as a third-line Center for one season.

QB is going to be worthy of his draft position. Once he gets slotted correctly and is on a line with top players we will see his real value.

The Kings have question marks. But I honestly don’t see Byfield as one, other than how high his ceiling truly is. At least that’s how I view it.
 
DoubleMinor said:
I’ve long since accepted that most of these publications are heavily slanted against the West and especially the Kings.
The hockey media thinks all hockey revolves around either Canada (particularly Toronto and Montreal) or the large New York market.
I find very little value in these rankings.

Byfield has had a slower pace to the start of his career than we would have hoped. Injuries and illness have impacted him. But it’s also how this organization has handled him. He is a Center but has played the majority of games as a winger. We have really only seen QB as a third-line Center for one season.

QB is going to be worthy of his draft position. Once he gets slotted correctly and is on a line with top players we will see his real value.

The Kings have question marks. But I honestly don’t see Byfield as one, other than how high his ceiling truly is. At least that’s how I view it.
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I respect your opinion but my belief is Q will probably land as a quality complementary 2C. His game has never shown either the consistency of play or the dominant attitude one sees in a true #1. However, Q will need to occupy the top slot after Kopi abdicates until the real deal arrives.
 
DoubleMinor said:
I’ve long since accepted that most of these publications are heavily slanted against the West and especially the Kings.
The hockey media thinks all hockey revolves around either Canada (particularly Toronto and Montreal) or the large New York market.
I find very little value in these rankings.

Byfield has had a slower pace to the start of his career than we would have hoped. Injuries and illness have impacted him. But it’s also how this organization has handled him. He is a Center but has played the majority of games as a winger. We have really only seen QB as a third-line Center for one season.

QB is going to be worthy of his draft position. Once he gets slotted correctly and is on a line with top players we will see his real value.

The Kings have question marks. But I honestly don’t see Byfield as one, other than how high his ceiling truly is. At least that’s how I view it.
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Over the final 41 Games of the season:
Fiala 21G 17A 38P 18:46 TOI/G
Byfied 14G 20A 34P 19:11 TOI/G
Kempe 15G 19A 34P 18:47 TOI/G

Byfield also led all forwards in ice time in the playoffs at 22:26.
 
Kopitar was let free to be pure offense under Crawford and had to take his game a step back to learn the 200 ft game. His production dropped initially. Last year was the first time Byfield showed a real 200 ft game from the start, and production finally picked up after.

Not saying Byfield is Kopitar, few can be, but he is going to occupy that spot. 70 points should be his target this year to really show he’s ready for number one C. Having Fiala will help him reach that number. Laf needs to progress as well to help him get there. But I’d say it has to be 60 minimum, which would still be a little disappointing.
 
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