Well, it happened.
In a way, I kind of always knew it would because, in the end, this is Vegas we’re talking about.
Jack Eichel is a Golden Knight.
So is Alex Pietrangelo. So is Mark Stone. So are Max Pacioretty, Robin Lehner, William Karlsson, Reilly Smith, Shea Theodore, Alec Martinez, and Jonathan Marchessault.
For now.
As much as I want to let myself get excited about the idea of one of the best players in the world coming to Las Vegas, I just can’t get my mind off the bigger picture.
Like everyone, I hate the fact that we have to worry about mathematics as much, if not more, than hockey when it comes to discussing our favorite team. Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, and a 1st for the great Jack Eichel!?! That’s an amazing deal for Vegas. And it would be if that’s all there was to it.
It’s a lot like the Mark Stone trade, except unlike that one, the Golden Knights do not have the cap space to make this one happen on its own. In fact, in an alternate reality in which everyone was healthy, the league wouldn’t have even allowed the deal to go through. But, with Eichel, Stone, Karlsson, and Pacioretty all unavailable to play, the Golden Knights were allowed to make the deal and operate almost $10 million over the $81.5 million salary cap.
Thus, unless one or more of the injured players are out for the rest of the regular season and then magically get healthy in the playoffs, the Golden Knights roster we’re currently looking at isn’t real. To play a game in the NHL, you must be salary cap compliant, and so, if VGK want to play with Eichel, Stone, Karlsson, and Pacioretty, they’ll need to make some more moves.
Who might that be and what will the team look like after it happens? That’s where my fear lies.
72.4% of the salary cap is tied to VGK’s best four forwards, three defensemen, and two goalies. That means they have to fill out 11 starting spots with just 27.6% of the available money. We’ve seen teams built this way before and the results haven’t been great. Toronto is the first one that comes to mind, Edmonton is another.
Unless they can play the LTIR game all the way to the playoffs and then get peak performance out of the entire roster, which I’m highly skeptical of, more change is coming and it’s coming to impact players.
Names like Reilly Smith, Jonathan Marchessault, Shea Theodore, Brayden McNabb, and Chandler Stephenson come to mind as those who may be shipped out. When you couple that with Tuch, Krebs, and a 1st, we’re looking at five or six assets, and three or four NHL level pieces heading out to make way for one.
Anyone who has ever watched an NHL playoff series knows how important depth players become as the games go on. The Golden Knights will have the top-end talent to match anyone, but the rest of the team will feel like a bunch of spare parts. Spare parts that are currently being forced to carry the Golden Knights amidst a rash of injuries and are sitting at 7th place in the Pacific Division with the 4th worst goal differential in the league (and that’s with a miracle win in Dallas).
Jack Eichel should make any team better, and if the trade were just what it is so far, he probably would. But that’s not the reality we’re living in.
The Golden Knights have been heading down this path for quite some time and this move cements it for now and the foreseeable future. They are a team of a few superstars and a bunch of extras and they have no wiggle room to change it.
If it works, it will be lauded as one of the most incredibly built teams in the history of professional sports. It will change the way we view the construction of a Stanley Cup-winning team. And the copycat NHL will become a superstar arms race as we’ve grown accustomed to in the NBA.
But if it doesn’t, there’s no way to fix it and it’ll mean a painful rebuild that will take close to a decade to complete if it’s ever completed at all.
Pdawg
Let’s hope we can play the Tampa Bay game — bring Eichel back in time for the playoffs when his salary does not count against the cap. If the surgery happens quickly, with 4 months to recover, the timeline works. But you still have a cap mess next year. This is well above my pay grade, but the Mac twins are paid to handle it.
Dean
You want Eichel to play his first game for the Knights in the playoffs? I’m sure that would work out well after having absolutely zero time to build chemistry with the existing nucleus. I know the management of this organization is clueless but I guess they can get away with it because many fans have even worse ideas.
michael boron
Clueless
SB
wow, how insightful!!
Pdawg
No. Ideally, he would play the last month of the season when the open cap space has accumulated to allow it. “In time for the playoffs” does not mean play the first game in the playoffs. It’s funny. When you read the national media, the overwhelming majority of talking heads believe Vegas won the trade. But reading from the fans on this website, you would think the Knights got fleeced.
Daryl
Exactly how will the open cap space accumulate in the last month of the regular season??? No matter how you look at it, VGK will end up losing another star player or multiple 3rd and 4th liners which would be just as bad. And yes, you are correct, most of the national media does think VGK made a good deal in the trade, and I completely agree with them, it’s the after affect of the deal that will hurt them. Both ESPN and NHL Network has talked about what VGK will need to do in order for Eichel to be able to play and all of them agree, several players are still yet to be traded away.
So, while the trade itself was good for VGK the final outcome may not be
Pdawg
Every game players miss on LTR accumulates cap space. That’s how the Knights make trades every year at the trade deadline. With our walking dead roster, we are accumulating tons of cap space. The real cap management headaches will start next year. And the point you make is a fair point, the trade looks like a steal for the Knights if you just look at the trade and not the impact on the cap management, which was Ken’s point in the article. It will turn VGK into forced sellers, which never nets the best price (see Schmidt, MAF, etc.).
Daryl
@Pdawg….
Fair points and I do agree, but I still think VGK will have to part ways with another top 6 player or2bottom 6 players in order to get under the cap come time being
Bryan
That’s a big assumption that this team makes the playoffs, this is a .500 team at best for the near future at least due to the injuries. Hopefully they can fight enough to get a spot in playoffs then come back at full health
Hdbiker7851
Where did all the nay- posters disappear to. As l recall from many getting eichel was death wish and a money disaster. Now those same people are applauding the deal like it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread. Fickled at best.. it’s another huge waste of cap ,$$$$$$ which will not be the be all that ends all. Teams win the Cup not one ,two etc superstars. This could very well be the final mail in the coffin. I hope his surgery goes well for his sake. Living with back issues is no fun
the hockey God
@hd weak fan base made up of wagon jumpers, you know it
Cody
What about next season and next four seasons?
Herby
VGK = LEAVES 2.0
Cindy Harrison
What…4 years in from a cup final and we’re a “Re-building “ team.???? I say, stupid, but that’s why we’re going down, down, down since then with every “brilliant”, balls out move! We’re making history alright! Sad…
THE hockey GOD
@ cindy, VGK is not in re build mode, at this point in time.
Dean
They’ve been in a rebuild mode and this move amplifies it…..although it does it in a senseless way. We’ve become worse in our current build and gave away assets that may have enabled us to become good again in 5-6 years. Now we are likely 10+ years away from being a title contender once again.
THE hockey GOD
@ dean “They’ve been in a rebuild mode ” no they have not.
THE hockey GOD
jack eichel is not a mucker
he can’t play on bad ice
foggy Buffalo ice, maybe.
jury is out, but I agree with Ken; not a winning recipe right now.
TDubs
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/video/adams-believes-krebs-tuch-will-fit-well-sabres-young-core/
Clay Cates
This will be the straw that broke the camel’s back when we look back at what went wrong with this franchise. The allure of obtaining what everyone considers the bell cow of available players year after year, while admittedly exciting and easy to get caught up in, will be the thing that stops this franchise in its tracks a few years from now.
In the meantime, as a fan, I obviously hope this all forms a perfect little utopia and we contend for the Cup, but it just doesn’t feel that way to me.
Here is what we have:
A goalie that is simply too polarizing (no pun intended). He is likable at times and infuriating at times. He is a very good goalie, but I will continue to believe that the rest of his persona will eventually rub too many of the players the wrong way.
I love Stone and Patch. However, the fact remains, they have proven over the last two years that come playoff time, they can’t stay healthy enough to be effective at crucial times.
We have a coach who has been hell bent on putting his stamp on a team rather than adapting to what he has. While not uncommon with a new coach, any immediate success is usually followed by some lean years of disgruntled players who grow tired of this “stamp”
Salary cap issues combined with the departure of youth and future draft picks is not the recipe for success – certainly not any long term success.
Locker room locker room locker room. I get that this aspect of sports can be overblown, but I feel like our management completely ignores it and is repeatedly trying to force a Cup winner into existence rather than relying on the intangibles that many championship teams possess.
the hockey God
^^^^ another clueless post ^^^
sb
DeBoer’s win percentage with Vegas for his 70 games was .731 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Do you realize that outside of Scotty Bowman, NO COACH in the history of the NHL has even come within 100 percentage points of Deboer’s accomplishment in Vegas over a similar period. I ain’t no DeBoer booster, but man, how can so-called fans continue to trash this guy with this win record? Don’t let the stats get in the way of discrediting another man.
Daryl
Yeah, playing in the Pacific where most of your games are doesn’t hurt… then add in last season where they didn’t play outside of the conference at all!!! Look at his previous history… his record declines as he years add up.
He is a good coach, you can’t really question that, but he isn’t as good as what some on here want to make you think he is, like THG.
John W
To properly grade this trade, We really need to wait and see what moves are ultimately required to get the team cap compliant long term. My take is that Theodore is the most likely piece to be moved. His favorable contract and age, make him likely to bring back young talent or high picks. Until we see what assets come back, I am withholding final judgement. Until then, just imagine Eichel adding a point a game to our offense.
I played a fun game this morning, and priced out 18 players we have on contracts through NEXT season, RFA’s likely to be re-signed, and Reilly Smith on a hometown deal. Theodore was left out.
I came up with 3 pretty strong forward lines, 2 strong defensive pairs, and both Goalies, for a total of roughly 78 million. Feel free to mix and match.
Stone – Eichel – Patch
Misfits
Dadanov – Stephenson – Roy
Patrick – Kolesar – ?
Pietrangelo – Martinez
Hague – Whitecloud
Coughlin – ?
Lerner – Broissoit (sp)
This leaves about 3-5 million to fill in 3-5 spaces.
Saying goodbye to Carrier, Theodore and Howden, which might be tough, gets us a home.
Pessimism is easy. Waiting to hear lots of it today.
John Brown
Pretty much my line up.
BUT, as a former SSA Disability judge who made 6 THOUSAND physical AND mental decisions in 9 years, I NEVER found a spine surgery patient be able to perform higher than 80% of a “normal” non surgical person.
That is why I have encouraged obese/morbidly obese to make better choices as it slowly destroys your spine.
I do not like being the reahab team for physical (Reichel) and mental (Lehner) players.
We have a power play problem (shitty Deboer buddy special team coach), a goalie that has problems with crease pucks after they slam into his obese gut, can’t get off his back went he goes into his turtle on his back mode, and laterally agility is slow as molasses.
Optionally practices ? There is no crying in baseball and NO OPTIONAL practices in professional sports.
Eichel is not the solution.
How about mandatory practices.
How about putting TEN Silver Night players on the ice and MAKE 5 at a time VGK groups try to go from D zone, through neutral zone to O zone, over, and over and over to the point of exhaustion until learn how to pass the FUCKING puck 30-40 feet to another VGK player.
You can’t score if you can’t get in the O zone.
Eichel is not the solution.
I am 72 and go all the way back to Bruins and Bobby Orr.
goalie trade
give me a break Ken. I could care less if DADONOV is shipped out. or Patrick, or Janmark.
and how about Tampa? they lost Gourde, Johnson, Coleman, and Goodrow, BUT they have 2 Stanley Cup rings to show for it, AND they still have their top salary star players.
STEPHANIE
Werent some of their top players prior to this yr being pd less than vgk? I know Colorado’s were
vlad
Need to give Miromanov a stretch of consistent games. He can score and sooner or later someone will figure out thats a good thing
TDubs
Mirimanov career minus player.
Daryl
My biggest worry at this point is who else do we get rid of? And it would have to be a star player and most likely 2 players. When all these injured players return, and all are scheduled to return before the playoffs, VGK will be well over the Cap limit. So while VGK basically gave up very little on the trade itself, it’s still undetermined how much they actually have up
THE hockey GOD
it’s not a winning recipe, is key statement on article above
THE hockey GOD
i hope Eichel doesn’t have same agent as patches and non team player MAF
Cody
Fleury not a team player? Tf does that mean? Insane
Daryl
Look who’s it’s coming from…. the same person that has blindly defended the FO no matter what. He took exception to the back stabbing incident and has been against MAF ever since. When it comes to that situation, you can’t take anything he says with a grain of salt
Bad Vlad
Not only gaining Eichel is good but getting rid of Krebs is just as good. It was a complete waste of ice time that could have been better used by others
Funny how Sabres figured that out immediately and shipped Pylon off to Rochester before the ink was dry on the deal
THE hockey GOD
if he so bad, why did they trade for him in first place ??
dun
dun dun dum
dum dumb
dumb dumb dumb
vlad
for the same reason as vegas was duped into drafting him waaay higher than he should have been
and Pylon’s performance proved exactly that
besides it was krebs or a bag of pucks…. made no diff to the Sabres cuz off he went to Rochester before the ink was dry
THE hockey GOD
so nobody values krebs and his funny face, ok got it
Erik V.
You think Krebs has a funny face? You just traded for the ugliest player in the NHL. But there isn’t anyone who thinks higher of Jack than Jack.
Pdawg
The move had nothing to do with their evaluation of Krebs. The Sabres shipped Krebs to save a year on the RA/RFA roulette wheel. Since they are in rebuild, it makes complete sense. You let Krebs develop instead of rushing him to the NHL — a common mistake the Sabres have made. You get an extra year of low contract pricing.
Len
You forgot to add that the Sabre’s were put over the 23 NHL contracts . Krebs goes to Rochester to hopefully build some chemistry with Peterka and Quinn. He gets a chance to learn the system from the ground up instead of being blindly thrown in.
Let me add that I personally preferred some of Calgary’s prospects over Krebs.
I also think that Vegas has entered the same predicament as Toronto and killed themselves cap wise to make the necessary moves that are required to win a cup. Hopefully for them they have strong enough veteran leadership to keep Eichel’s ego in check.
SB
wow, what a horrible take but I can’t expect much out of you because you continually have the worst takes on the site. According to the majority of scouts who do this for a living Krebs would have been a top-seven pick if it wasn’t for his injury. He’s still only 20 and clearly other GMs value him.
Daryl
I completely agree, which is one of the biggest issues I had with the trade. I know VGK takes a gamble either though, I just wasn’t big on giving up Krebs. And I think the talent pool S deep for the next draft and I hate the possibility of giving up another top selection
T
This all began with the Suzuki for Pacioretty trade. If we would have won the cup then it was worth it, but that was the begining of the end or the beginning of giving up youth and the future for the “win now” mode, again, if we won the cup, it was worth it. As you stated, this is not just losing Tuch and Krebs, we are going to have to cut ties with other top 6 forwards and probably a top 4 defensemen. I hope and pray this somehow works out, Eichel is a great player and a differnce maker but if your 3rd and 4th line are the silver knights we will be paying for this trade for years to come. One thing for sure, we have the best first line LTIR in history.
Daryl
VGK has traded away their first 4 #1 draft picks
the hockey God
no1 draft picks are over rated, especially in bettman’s lottery system where worst team never gets no. 1 . Its another form of BS socialism, like salary cap nonsense.
Daryl
VGK didn’t give away the #1 overall pick…. but their #1 draft pick. Giving up 1 I could see and even possibly 2 but how do you grow a system, as you keep pointing out, when you keep trading away your top pick
Ulf
If a team actually knows what to do with #1 picks they are the lifeblood of your franchise, especially in the salary cap era. A look around the league will show that, VGK didn’t give up much at all to get a chance with Eichel but the lack of homegrown talent as the base of the team is going to really hurt sooner than later.
Dylan
Dumb. Crazy. More Dumb.
Period. Fact.
McCriminal is Straight Trash.
Pdawg
True. But VGK essentially swapped Glass for Patrick, who was drafted second in that same draft. So it’s really more like trading away 3 of the last 4, but I get the point.
sb
And what? Vegas got nothing back? C’mon.
Daryl
You said VGK can build by having the 30th round pick every year yet they traded away their #1 pick for 4 straight years…. so who’s to blame???
sb
You are fooling yourself when you believe that accumulating Number 30 picks leads to successfully building the next generation. With the team Vegas plays, they will consistently finish near the top of the League and be stuck with about the 30th pick. Fifty years of Draft history show that the 60th pick has about as much chance of making the NHL as the 30th pick. It’s a crap shoot beyond pick #10. There’s two sides of this coin – Finish last in the League and get the 1st pick, or finish first and get the last pick. I’ll take the latter every time. Best advice – if you have pick number 30, trade the pick for a productive established NHL’er.
goalie trade
does Julien Brisebois, the GM of the Tampa Bay Lightning, sit around worrying about the cap?
hell no he doesn’t. he sits around admiring his 2 Stanley Cup rings.
vlad
exactly….masters of thwarting cap restrictions
surprising other teams not doing the same
Daryl
Difference is, they knew they had a player who was going to be out up until the playoffs…. all of VGK players will be back before the playoffs
Cody
He thanks Steve Yzerman is what he does
THE hockey GOD
BREAKING NEWS:
the KNIGHTS ON ICE site has officially changed their name to
KNIGHTS ON CRUTCHES
effectively immediately
vlad
and yours should change to THE hockey JACK ASS
THE hockey GOD
There is definitely no breaking news on that front 😉
There’s only jack ass around here
knights fan in minny
yours should be pin head vlad
the hockey God
vlad just blamed SENS first goal on krebs, what a moe !
Daryl
If VGK were to lose to the SEN, the only team to lose to the Hawks, I would probably stop watching hockey the rest of the season
Tim
If I was Reilly Smith expiring contract 5 million you know he’ll be looking at Vegas in his rear view mirror. Theadore should also be worried his play has declined we have lots of D-Men and he’s close to a 5 million dollar hit. The good news about Theadore is the rest of the country thinks he’s a great player but we know better.
Curtis Lovett
Right on Tim. Janmark or Patrick will replace Smith and Theodore is out unless he starts performing.
Daryl
Neither of those players are close to as good as Smith is
Tim
Daryl , it’s all about the money.
Daryl
You said it
the hockey God
one of your smartest posts mr obvious !! 🙂
STEPHANIE
Thats all fine .but who is our new dman? Cuz sorry i think it was an overpay presently for AP
sb
You’re kidding yourself. Smith doesn’t want to go anywhere. No player on Vegas wants to leave. Vegas is a winner that pays them millions to be here. They ALL like playing on a winning team. They all like knowing that MGT is constantly making moves to bring them closer to winning the Cup. Nothing wrong with pressing each of them to compete at their highest level. Players appreciate MGT and Owners who are bringing in the best. Players, like Eichel, don’t like playing on teams that just go through the motions. Every player wants to play on a winning team and they know they must excel at all times to remain. Hey, it’s sports, not a social club. Sports is supposed to be about competition, not a retirement home for muti-millionaires.
Do you think Tuch is happy about leaving Vegas and going to neverending rebuilding Buffalo? See, there’s the answer. No player wants to leave Vegas.
Daryl
You are assuming way too much. Players are after the money and playing on a winning team. Players don’t like moving b/c they have families who they have to pick up and move also. MAF said he didn’t want to move his family to Chicago b/c he’s never lived there and doesn’t want to move his family again. Engelland decided to retire than sign with another team because he didn’t want to move his family. There have been players in the past who were happy to be out of VGK.
I do agree that players want to play on a winning team, but don’t think other factors don’t come into it
Curtis Lovett
…..Painful rebuild? Perhaps, NOT!!! VGK will be able to avoid this fate based on creative thinking. McPhee, MacCrimmon and the Foley Factor, which few discuss. I think Mr. Foley brings a “Non-Hockey World” approach to the team and its’ moves. Don’t underestimate the Foley Factor…….finding a way to make the impossible possible. Right now there are 31 other teams wishing they had Eichel. Foley has him. Do you think Foley is going to ACCEPT A REBUILD AFTER PLUNKING DOWN $500 MILLION? Not!!!!
goalie trade
you are leaving out one other factor. Foley is 77 in December, so he is not going to wait for any rebuild crap.
and this is Vegas, home of the marquee entertainer, not the 4th line grinder
Howard
BS; Vegas loves winners. This is how you assure LOSING. Fans want to see team win a cup and that ONLY HAPPENS via 4 LINES OF SCORING, period. The owner here has the mental fortitude of a spoiled brat child and he’s currently paying for it with The MAF move (check all the empty seats at TMobile), and will continue to pay putting out a perennial loser and will be forced to sell this team within 5 years.
Dylan
The owner sucks. On on so many levels.
He’s Straight Trash.
Yet Kenny Boy here worships him. Calls him “The Creator” lmao ok…
THE hockey GOD
i think not too,, he needs to keep filling that rink and charging 100 , 200 , 300, 400 , 500 and up a ticket. He can’t do that with a re build which would bring more people attending the Silver Knights games.. You hit the nail on the head.
sb
Lovett – absoluetly correct! Foley and this MGT team are the best in the business and Vegas fans are the most spoiled and least appreciative of the BILLION DOLLARS Foley has spent to build a hockey empire in the desert – where the so-called experts said hockey will never make it.
Jon D
People act like VGK management hasn’t already figured out the cap situation before pulling this trade.
Everyone said the same thing after every acquisition. “They are in cap hell” blah blah blah..
I’ll take a team who’s a favorite to win the cup every year and is in cap hell vs. one who isn’t a contender.
Tampa has manipulated the cap in their favor to win their 2 cups. Surprised no one seems to understand VGK doing the same thing.
#CupIn5
Ken Boehlke
Everyone said the same thing… Then they traded Marc-Andre Fleury for nothing.
Stephanie
Perfect !! I think people forget our FO isnt even close to as smart as Tampas
Daryl
Exactly!!!
the hockey God
they didn’t trade MAF for nothing, they got rid of 7 million dollars and his whiny attitude. Last year was trial for RL, he passed. He showed management then didn’t need 7 million choker and his back stabbing agent. Good riddance. Then when he knew he was gone , he stabbed VGK and fans in back a second time thwarting his trade value. What a lame POS .
Daryl
You are right… they got rid of $7m cap space then WASTED that money on other players!!!! So, basically the same thing
How did RL pass last year. He kept getting “injured” like after giving up 6 goals to COL. As for that agent… HE IS STILL AROUND!!!!
And who the hell in their right mind would want to go to Chicago to live or play??? Want to know how a real POS is…. try the beloved MANAGEMENT, who lied to MAF and the fans
Tyson
Fleury is sure looking like an all star and Lehner is looking awful…
I hope my sarcasm comes across okay.
They traded Fleury for $7mil in free cap space. Eichel won’t play until playoffs unless Theo is traded away, and even though teams know we have to trade cap away there are 31 teams that will want Theo so we won’t be getting pennies on the dollar.
Losing Theo really doesn’t hurt us.
Daryl
Have you seen MAF play this year… he had 1 bad game (mostly a bad 3rd period) otherwise he has looked great.
As for the MAF trade, yes they gave him away to free up $7m then wasted that money on 3 players who are useless.
Eichel will be ready a month before the playoffs. VGK will have to lose 2 or 3 more players at that point. Even if they try and are able to push Eichel’s playtime until the playoffs, he will be playing on a new team for a new coach in a new system and hadn’t played for almost 2 years…. he won’t be worth much at that point
Dylan
McCriminal sucks. Foley sucks too.
Fact.
Cody
Vegas isn’t close to a Cup. They are pretty close to being the Buffalo Sabres of 2018.
Dylan
Correct.
Blitz
My biggest worry isn’t who has to go (though it is a worry). My BIGGEST worry is Deboer and this system of his. This system has entirely SHIT THE BED! That is worth repeating. THIS SYSTEM HAS ENTIRELY SHIT THE BED! I have zero faith that we can right the ship. Sure if everyone is heathy playing their best hockey we can beat any one on any given day. Great, how many games do we get this perfect storm? Lose a Patches in the playoffs or a Stone here or there and this team folds. What’s up with the power play and why is it acceptable to any one? Are injuries the big saving grace for this coaching staff?
So here is my, most likely unfavorable, point. Now that we added a super star to go with our other rock stars, we need to move on from Deboer. I don’t think Eichel will make his system magically awesome. He isn’t going to save the PP just like Dadonov didn’t. Like Patrick didn’t. We need a real system. One that doesn’t give up high percentage changes to generate offense (and fail miserably).
The time is now. Move on from this bad decision to bring in Deboer and get the team ready for a different system to hit the ground running next year.
THE hockey GOD
ok you don’t like PDB, got it. You don’t like the fact that he switches things up, changes lines around, puts d men at forward positions, is willing to change things on the fly. It’s not the system , it is players and putting them in right position to use their God given abilities. You can put lip stick on a pig, it’s still a pig. You can put
a tuxedo on a goat, it’s still a goat. You can put a bottle of Stoli on top of Vlad’s big ugly head, and it’s still a big ugly head. :O
Who do you like Mike Babcock ? Maybe bring in Don Cherry ? How about that guy that just quit from Florida ? Or maybe John Totorella ?? Barry on Melrose’s place ? Patrick Roy (pronounced WAH, as in WAH WAH)>? Oh the old Coyote coach is available, GG buddy, he’s a TV anal list. Plenty of options, but won’t get any better results.
Blitz
Who says I don’t like Deboer. Deboer is fucking great!! I can ask an one of my friends who are die hard Sharks fans. They think he is fucking great too! Nothing to see here. Totally didn’t see a team come back this year, healthy fresh off a semi finals, and look like they never played together before. Nothing to see here. Haven’t scored a PP goal in how long, healthy or otherwise. Playoffs or otherwise. Nothing to see here.
You can put tits on a boar its still a Deboer.
vlad
sounds like you have a lot of experience getting lipstick put on you DONKEY
Mommy like to dress you up as well???
Daryl
You can defend PDB all you want but he hasn’t done anything to warrant such loyalty from you. Yes he will move players around, which to a point I do like, but he doesn’t adjust his system no matter what. It’s HIS PP that sucks and has for years and this BS about not getting practice time is a joke.
As for who, right now it doesn’t matter b/c no matter who they get will be better than what we have now
the hockey God
@daryl, Vlad doesn’t wnat your loyalty, he is perfectly happy dressing up like the donkey he is, and sucking up his Stoli. So far PDB and RL (calling out his team after toronto game) are doing a good job of turning this ottawa game around. Assuming they hold on. it’s now three to one.
Daryl
It’s OTT…. they were embarrassed by the Hawks!!!! And sorry, ,they haven’t looked all that good either
sb
For his first 70 games in Vegas, his win percentage is .731. Only one other coach in the history of the NHL has exceeded that win percentage over a similar period of games – Scotty Bowman. A .731 win percentage ….. and makes makes him an idiot???????????
Daryl
PACIFIC DIVISION!!! That is all that needs to be said
t
100 percent agree, two beers need to go! why does he get a pass?! even with the injuries. They choked twice in the conference finals with a loaded roster. Time for a new coach and system.
LVsc
PDB is too defenseman over-reliant…iow, he wants his dmen to carry the puck too much, to run around too much, to pinch too much, to do too much.
How often do we see the Vgk dman out of position, resulting in a 2-on-1 break, or a breakaway against the Knights? way too often…and THAT is the time when most of the goals allowed damage happens to the Vgk.
hey DeBoer, you are not coaching Burns and Karlsson any longer. quit trying to make McNabb and Hague into them.
Blitz
When his system is working it looks great defensively and can lead to offense, or maybe the frustration of the defense on the other team leads to offense etc, but it has little to no adjustability. “Doesn’t matter what they do, if we just play our system”. You hear it every day from the not so compelling press conferences. The problem is when other teams shut you down it doesn’t change. When half your team is hurt it doesn’t change. Its always, “we have to play harder”, “we have to play our system”. Ken/Mike talked directly to this last night in the interference pod cast.
the hockey God
“it’s a process”
Dylan
DeBoer sucks. McCriminal and the VGK Owner also suck. So they all can sit around. And suck together. And suck off each other…
These are not Men. They’re Insecure and Mostly Clueless Baboons.
Curtis Lovett
I don’t think your point is unfavorable at all, in fact, I think it is shared by a great many VGK fans and is likely an opinion shared by Sharks fans. His lack of ownership of the PP is absurd and his loyalty to a proven poor performer in Mr. Spott is reason enough to send him packing.
I agree, dump Deboer. Bring in Torts or someone else who knows how to coach a powerplay.
THE hockey GOD
“lack of ownership of PP” don’t know about that one, he spent a good deal of past summer chatting with various PP coaches through out the league realizing fully that it could be improved**. You would know this if you listened to other broadcasts instead of local yo yo’s.
** hard to improve it when 60% of your PP team is on IR , btw.
STEPHANIE
Ok Stop .the pply was bad prior to spott and is embarassing still .before injuries .certain “buds” should be replaced IF THEY REFUSE TO CHANGE .and they refuse .nothing new has happened on the pply at all .and i refuse to listen to bullshit excuses and so should everyone .its not the players.
Blitz
Are you seriously going to make injury excuses every post? I get it they are injured, but they weren’t injured last post season or the one before it. The fact that the long time NHL professional coach has to ask around to other coaches about how to fix a PP is insane. I have nothing against coaches drinking beers in the off season talking shop, sharing, adding tools to their game, but Deboer has been a pro coach for a dozen years and can’t figure out why his power play operates like total garbage. Tips from good coaches is not going to help.
the hockey God
@ blitz my point was to commentor that “PBD lacked ownership” try not to spin out. FOCUS my friend, FOCUS.
Coaches often go to others in their field, most professionals do the same thing. It is not a flaw.
Daryl
They go to other coaches and seminars to learn new strategies or pieces of another strategy… not to learn how to fix their own issues
Mike StG
I don’t understand the angst. I guess one shouldn’t get married because it will cost you certain freedoms of single life, and you could end up stuck in a bad marriage or worse yet divorced and then paying alimony or child support for years to come.
First, whether or not Eichel plays during the regular season or Vegas wins the cup this year is IRRELEVANT. This is a move to make the team cup competitive for the next 4+ years.
Second, they’re about $10M over the cap if everyone is healthy. So…
Dadonov – $5M (trade)
Janmark $2M (don’t re-sign)
McNabb $2.5M (don’t re-sign)
You’re basically there when you include the cap going up $1M next year.
Or, you could re-sign McNabb @ $3M and trade Marty.
Or, you could let Smith walk as UFA, keep Marty and re-sign McNabb.
Losing Dadonov & Janmark they can either:
A) keep the Misfit line intact and lose 2 defensemen.
or,
B) lose Reilly to free agency and 1 defenseman.
Given they have Hutton, Korczak. Miramanov and Bischoff who could play 3rd pairing or be 7th D it’s conceivable they could lose 2 Ds and be fine.
Losing Reilly to FA would be more disruptive and harder to replace on L2, but they would still have Roy that could take his place at 2RW. Plus, on HSK Cotter and Elvenes are possibilities for RW in the bottom 6.
THE hockey GOD
did you watch 42 yesterday in HSK game vs ontario , not good, not good at all. But don’t tell Vlad, he’s got his head so far up 42 you know what he can’t smell the roses from the you know what. Needs to get a lot better on D, and play full out EVERY SHIFT.
vlad
Played fine…. probably hard for you to watch with your head up your ass
THE hockey GOD
no he did not, -2 , looked to the rafters several times, out of position; clearly not a “60 minute” effort. Work in progress.
vlad
virtually the entire team was a -2 idiot
knights fan in minny
shut up vlad you pussy
vlad
does mommy know you snuck to the computer?
knights fan in minny
all you do is insult people you ass hole vlad why dont you grow up you insecure little bitch
Daryl
You do realize that more and more people are living together and not getting married??? Now I don’t know the exact reason, and I’ve heard financial reasons play a big part, but there is something said about not getting married.
As for your comment about not resigning two players and trading one, that still doesn’t work for this year. They need to get under the $10m Cap this year. I agree with you that losing Smith would hurt more than any other but where do they come up with the money?
the hockey God
living together out of marriage is a disgrace and a sin, a sign that parents are not doing their job correctly, sad state of affairs of how our humanity and culture is falling.
Daryl
You keep telling yourself that…. just because you are too old to adjust your views doesn’t make things wrong or right. I guess they shouldn’t be having sex before marriage either???
sb
Nope. Vegas is $7 mil over the cap. Stop exaggerating.
Chasen
Smith/McNabb or Smith/Janmark/Howden will be shipped out at deadline. Bring me on the emergency podcast, more than happy to discuss all the money/cap factors to make this work and work at an amount that isn’t as bad as it seems.
Mike StG
Chasen, no one is going anywhere at trade deadline. Eichel plays the playoffs and there’s no cap limits after reg szn is over.
Just like last year’s cup winner – TBL. Remember them? 18mil over the cap?
T
Im sure its an unpopular choice here but trade Stone and problem solved, you dont need to blow up the rest of the team, yes, Stone is a great player but hes not an ELITE player. When it mattered most he disapeared. Eichel is ELITE! and you can keep the rest of the team intact and we have a scary good team when we get healthy.
THE hockey GOD
@ T , I like the way you think !!
vlad
kinda like you do about sheep and velcro gloves?
the hockey God
??have no idea what you are posting, still drunk at this hour ??
Mike StG
T – Stone has a no move clause. Plus he’s a former Brandon Wheat King. He’s not going anywhere.
Pistol Pete
Eichel on the trade. Good head on those broad shoulders.
http://www.espn.com/video/clip/_/id/32552999
ulf
just posted that I saw the (preview?) of the Eichel/Elliot Friedman interview. Surprised me but Eichel does not look good – upset or entitled, maybe both.
THE hockey GOD
evidently according to the Athletic, who I post his tweets here quote often, Stone has a back injury.
Back injuries are very tricky. Not good. VGK put him back dated on long term IR today.
IT seems to me that a lot of this year’s players that go on extended , longer term Covid “protocol” , e.g. Janmark are not coming back as strong players on the ice.
Mark Stone RW, Vegas Golden Knights
Mark Stone (lower body) has been moved to long-term injured reserve.
“Stone will be sidelined for 10 games and 24 days as a result. That will keep him out for at least the next three contests, which is the remainder of Vegas’ current road trip. It is unclear if Stone will be ready to return from his lower-body injury once the team returns home, but he has resumed skating.
Source: CapFriendly on Twitter
Blitz
Janmark didn’t look good in preseason, before all the covid stuff. Not that I want to say preseason is the show case for where a player is at in his game, but he looked bad playing against AHL players.
the hockey God
janmark didn’t play many pre season game, i believe he was hurt
goalie trade
Vgk have 32 games after the Olympics. That should be enough time to start moving up, and gain a playoff spot
ulf
Yikes – just watched the Eichel interview with Elliot Friedman. It does not look good on Eichel, you can call it wanting to win, or you can call it entitled… either way I hope he gets well and scores points because he seems either upset or quite a bit of a jerk. Can see why the “C” was taken off, wonder why it didn’t happen earlier.
THE hockey GOD
@Ulf , good he’ll fit right in with no. 7
Pistol Pete
Clip from an Eichel interview with Elliotte Freidman (entire segment to be shown later). Definitely a good head sitting atop those broad shoulders!
https://twitter.com/sportsnet/status/1456329285422223363?s=21
Pistol Pete
Another clip:
https://twitter.com/sportsnet/status/1456336695540989955?s=21
ulf
I dunno man, I watched the same thing and Eichel feels off. Maybe he’s POed which is understandable, but the guy is what, 24 at best at the time he demands a trade from Buffalo, saying he doesn’t want to be a part of the team…he comes off as being very “me” centered, entitled, and certainly not captain material.
Compare v. McDavid who was with sucky Oilers teams for years until arguably this past year. He always stood by the team and demanded better results – plus he made his teammates better.
Jury’s still out but I didn’t like that interview very much. Hopefully he scores a lot of points at least.
goalie trade
totally disagree. I did not see ANY negative in his interviews. He was levelheaded, serious, and stated very clearly that he loved the Buffalo city and fans, and was very excited to play in Vegas.
He also did not blame the Buffalo GM, just said that he wanted to make his own medical decisions that he felt , after consultations with several doctors, was the best for him, and I totally agree with that.
Ulf
On the first part of the clip the guy says “we changed Managment and…it looked like we were going to go into a rebuild…I went to them and said I didn’t want to be a part of that…” the guy is 24 at the time, and he was happy to take their massive $10m contract not long before.
Then, “…they signed Taylor (Hall)…” etc etc, not that I’m a bit K Adams fan but he made some skater upgrades.
Eichel went out and had a bad year.
This whole interview where he’s saying “this is a business decision” , what kind of captain is that? Not of the McDavid / Crosby variety.
Not gonna change your mind but that wasn’t a leader type interview from him.
the hockey God
25
Ulf
He was at best 24 when he first requested a trade from the Sabres because he didn’t want to go through a rebuild. Then GM Adams got Taylor Hall, etc etc and Eichel had a bad year but apparently he’s not responsible says he
Now eichel is 25
Erik
Right you are. Eichel is not a leader. He’s a whiny bitch. Then again, the Sabres have been a tire fire for ten years.
ulf
good quote from the comments on twitter:
“so… Sabres go out and get Hall and make the team better, but Jack has a bad year and the team doesn’t get better so… yeah I want out… Can’t wait to see you gliding back to the Vegas bench and staring at the roof shaking your head after a play doesn’t go the way you hoped.”
I like what Vegas gave up to get him, might as well take a chance…but personal responsibility does not shine through in this interview.
sb
He was injured and still put up nearly 1 pt per game. If that’s bad, the rest of the NHL players are in deep trouble.
Rick
I understand what you’re saying and understand the fear but in some sense you should be happy that mathematics play into because if not he’d probably be headed to the Steadman Clinic in Aspen to get that surgery. Maybe he still will be because of how famous that place is but I’m sure you get my implication.
Hearken back to the mid 90’s forward when every year Pierre LaCroix added, in succession, Patrick Roy, Sandis Ozolinsh, Jari Kurri, Theo Fleury, Pierre Turgeon, Ray Bourque and Rob Blake. At the 2001 All Star game it was still North America versus Europe so the Avs had 5 STARTERS: Roy, Sakic and Bourque for NA and Forsberg and Hejduk for Europe. Two weeks later they acquired Blake so when the Anthems played at their next game 6 All Star starters and 5 future Hall of Famers stood together on the ice. Pretty much in their prime (Bourque finished 2nd for the Norris his last season).
You can’t really do that anymore without paying a price so Panarin goes to New York (he actually called MacKinnon personally to ‘apologize’), Taylor Hall goes to Phoenix and Jack Eichel heads to Vegas. You know they’re going Kucherov him so enjoy this season/playoffs and see what happens. The piper will be paid over the summer.
It’s a gamble though. Not just in the ways you mention – not gonna be a Coleman-Gourde-Goodrow line to play along with him – but health-wise as well. I saw somewhere today that 50% of spine/neck surgeries do not materially improve the patient’s condition. That would be a tough $10 million pill to swallow for a team on the wrong side of the aging curve.
Gopher Guts
Paying Eichel for maybe never playing again v a generational player??….Next year will tell.
sb
If he doesn’t play again, he goes to LTIR and it has zero effect on the Cap. The owner’s insurance company pays it. Stop spreading untrue rumors.
Daryl
Yep, we just lost 1 really good player, a future star player and top draft picks. No harm done
ulf
Tuch is good but injury-prone and replaceable, Krebs is overhyped and may eventually be a good 2C but not a 1C and take a few years to get there, and with VGK’s drafting history that 1st rounder would be totally wasted or traded anyway.
I still don’t like our chances, but that was a tiny price to pay for a shot at an undisputed 1C, even though i’m not his biggest fan.
Daryl
I agree… I was just saying VGK did take a risk with the trade. To say if Eichel doesn’t play again doesn’t hurt VGK is just stupid. They will be out a lot if he can’t end up playing again and at a top level
ulf
@Daryl I hear you, but if Eichel can’t play they get $10m in cap space, which isn’t nothing. Tuch is a supplemental piece they can replace in 30-40% of that budget, Krebs is a question mark (at least the way VGK was using him) and the 1st, well, see above. In VGK terms I don’t think losing those pieces for $10m cap space is that bad, all things considered.
I’m more concerned about the FO actually drafting and developing players well, that’s the way to success in this league since the salary cap was implemented
Galdom
I feel like Vegas is going to circumvent the cap much like Tampa did last year. This wasn’t what I wanted. I feel like Shea Theodore will be a casualty of this eventually maybe in the off-season.
However, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result. We’ve got to get over that semi finals hump. Let’s hope this works
Jason Sheehan
Just read something disturbing on a Caps private forum. This poster has been correct on other news before. Hope this isn’t true. Also the 2022 1st round rick is top 10 protected, meaning Vegas keeps the pick if it tanks?
Insider info I received this morning from someone in the know with the Buffalo organization. There is more than meets the eye when it comes to Eichel. Apparently Eichel (and Reinhart) had a “coke” problem the Sabres tried to keep under wraps throughout these trade talks. Sabres eventually had to disclose this information to other teams inquiring about him and that lowered his value dragging this on further.
The rumored Flames deal was just a rumor though. I can’t confirm if that’s what Calgary really offered anywhere.
Dylan
Blow is apparently a huge addiction in NHL.
Ol Walrus Lehner didn’t behave too well in that Shithole Buffalo, either.
What could possibly go wrong with a Butterhead…living in Vegas?
Maybe Beavis EICHEL can call RUGGS before he settles in?
What a world. VGK sucks now. These losers think they’re playing Fantasy Hockey…
Mister Mister
Bad news is Vegas will receive absolutely nothing for the 2-3 players they will have to trade. Other Gm know they are in trouble with Cap why help them. If i were other team i would offer like a 5th or 6th draft pick for Theodore and Smith. Why give a lot and make a fair trade. Let Vegas drown
Dylan
Clown 1 Foley and Clown 2 McCriminal think they’re playing…
Fantasy Hockey?
Pathetic. So very pathetic.
It won’t work. At all.
sb
If he doesn’t play again, he goes to LTIR and it has zero effect on the Cap. The owner’s insurance company pays it. Stop spreading untrue rumors.