DryKing
Power Forward
Realistically the top 3 prospects should all be franchise players this draft. Sounds like Vancouver will get a Quinn Hughes replacement.
The Pacific Division Thread
- Thread starter Clif
- Start date
Statue4Deano
Super Star
Yeah Canucks will end up with a great young player but I do find it hilarious that their fanbase gets one more kick to the balls on the way down.
DryKing
Power Forward
Hard for me to feel sorry for them - that franchise would likely under-develop any prospect anyways.
They do, however, have their sights set on the Ruck twins which would be pretty awesome for them. Consider the there 4 solid defensemen set to go in the top 10, perhaps they trade down to grab one the D's and both brothers.
Ruck twins would be a huge win for them so perhaps it is a blessing in disguise.
DryKing
Power Forward
Ruck's are from BC so allegedly they would like to play for Vancouver to stay close-ish to their family.
May just be media hype, though.
VCRW
Classic player
Home grown Sedins?
DryKing
Power Forward
Definitely what the fans are hoping for.
Dr. Tran
Super Star
I don’t mind Toronto getting the 1st pick. They were 28/32. The one that sucks is the Sharks. They were 4 points from making the playoffs & now they get another potential franchise player to go with their other franchise player. It’s almost not fair.
Bollocks
Super Star
One thing we can hope for is that they get greedy (Grierdy?) and impatient in chasing a winning team, and eventually desperate, and trade away a lot of good prospects at a discount for questionable pieces. Maybe the Kings can take advantage of that, too...
Fact is their NHL team is at this point incredibly top-heavy. Like Oilers on steroids. They have very poor scoring depth, sub-par role players and leadership, crap D and crap goaltending. Some of their key vets aren't getting much younger either and could implode if the muck around for too long.
A couple of outstandingly talented offensive players nearly got them into playoffs, but they're in a territory where they can end up like Edmonton - perpetually plagued by luxury of (very expensive, eventually) superstars without good enough support.
The era of near-zero impact UFAs on the market makes it that much more difficult to acquire established veteran players and asking prices could rise accordingly, even for middle of the pack veteran role players.
Clif
Super Star
This really sums up how I feel about the Sharks. They have a lot of work to do and why I’m not penciling them in for the playoffs next season automatically. As you said they certainly have the pieces, but how will their rookie GM use them now that it’s getting serious.
There are a lot of questions for teams conference-wide other than COL and VAN. Their paths forward are set for next year.
orpheus
The Dolphin Cares!
I don't think that we think the Kings are completely awful (at least not all of the time, haha) because awful teams don't make the playoffs 5 years in a row. But goals change and not being able to fulfill the current goal of winning a series IS frustrating.
But even at my most bitter, I am glad that the Kings aren't at the level of say the Sabres (or similar franchises in other leagues) who can go a decade without making the playoffs even by accident. Now those fans are suffering fans, haha.
What is annoying is that teams like the Kings look at teams like the Sabres and say, "See, we are not THAT bad." Yeah, but doesn't excuses your own failures.
But even at my most bitter, I am glad that the Kings aren't at the level of say the Sabres (or similar franchises in other leagues) who can go a decade without making the playoffs even by accident. Now those fans are suffering fans, haha.
What is annoying is that teams like the Kings look at teams like the Sabres and say, "See, we are not THAT bad." Yeah, but doesn't excuses your own failures.
hokiecat
Super Star
This concerns me. The FA pool this spring is Tuch and then nobody who isn't old or marginal or otherwise meh.
Salaries are definitely going to increase. That is why I was in favor of Holland trade the first rounder or other picks if it gets talent for term (ideally at a good salary too since it is before the coming salary bump). I have no doubt that a 5-6 million will be the going rate for a 3C in a year or two when it was the going rate for a 2C last year.
What really concerns me is teams like the Sharks (now that they have 2OA) and Chicago (since they have a ton of first rounders over the next 3 drafts) could go out and trade for some top talent and make it work. What if Dallas decides to move Robertson? Or what if St Louis decides to move Thomas for the 2OA and some fillers? SJ and CHI have prospect pools in good shape plus enough trade capital to make a big splash and bring in a key piece and then leapfrog the Kings. Holland is going to have to hit on his FA signings like FL did the last 2 years and even Tampa did with Moser and Raddysh.
santiclaws
I was in the pool!!
There's no one who's at that level in this year's draft supposedly. Obviously they'll still get a very good player. This is why I wanted the Kings to miss the playoffs instead of pointlessly getting mauled by the AVS. They could have gotten a high pick instead. We were right there!
DryKing
Power Forward
Supposedly the top 3 are solid this draft and the claim is the top 8 are "franchise altering". Personally I would put McKenna ahead of where Bedard was, in terms of talent entering the draft, so I think that is pretty solid. Some say Stenberg is as good, or better, than McKenna (personally I do not agree), and there is a pack of project top line defenseman directly after, so SJ should greatly improve post-draft.
Good news is there are a good bunch of players who are pretty similar in talent around the 17th spot so the Kings should be able to choose a talented prospect in the position they prefer. Bad news is that talent falls off pretty abruptly to expected role players after 11th.
This really would have been a great draft to get a lottery pick in.
They wont get another Celbrini, he is even better than Bedard.
Absolutely crucial pick.
Why tank for an average draft, if you are gonna do it , you want a year like 2019. But you cant pick a half dozen dudes in your crucial draft tank.
Rog or Reg?
Super Star
Certainly winning the Cup is not out of the realm of possibility for the Ducks.
Obviously Anaheim's offense is elite, but they just came five seconds away from shutting out the Knights at home, and that makes them a very scary team, in my opinion.
And yeah, as a bonus, if that happens, Kings upper management collective nuts will be screwed tighter than a nun's cooter.
Obviously Anaheim's offense is elite, but they just came five seconds away from shutting out the Knights at home, and that makes them a very scary team, in my opinion.
And yeah, as a bonus, if that happens, Kings upper management collective nuts will be screwed tighter than a nun's cooter.