Kuba To be Back against the panthers...?

That's fair and he does have to earn it... right now I think he is. I think he and Kuba (pending a possible demotion) will be the guys running that PP in short order.

Kuba getting hurt really screwed with the process thus far but Picard got a golden opportunity and ran with it. So, not all bad.

I'm not sure anymore what Sens have to do with all their extra bodies. I fear it's easier to send Karlsson back rather than trade/bench players on 1-way contracts.

I think Donovan is best on the 4th line, so we've still got a problem with Shannon + Winchester.

Who knows, could be anyone. Big time jam right now but that's not a bad thing.

We are carrying 22 now, and that's including Kuba who was on the IR. We have room to carry Shannon, Regin, Karlsson and Kuba. We'll simply have to bring an extra chair upstairs to the press room. We can also accommodate Winch if we wanted to, since the roster can go up to 23.

N4L wrote:Giving up a 1st for him, FOR SURE Murray was expecting him to be an absolute stud on the PP for them. Remember that first was originally traded for Boyle, that's how I look at it. They expected pretty big things from him.

Traded for Boyle....take 2 steps down....traded for Mez....take two steps down....traded for Campoli.

Thats the ladder.

I believe 99.9% that that trade was made to get a Karlsson-esque player into the lineup to accurately judge the makeup of the team under Clouston. No one besides Murray himself could convince me otherwise.

You also have to remember that that first was originally traded in July, when its value is at whatever 1/30 is. Then, traded again in August, when teams are pretty much just as they're going to be when the season starts. Then traded again in February, when it was already known to be a bottom-10 pick, with a significant chance of being a bottom-4 pick.

If that pick was traded for anything, it was traded for Ryan O'Reilly. Murray said he had his eyes on one player specifically in that 25-35 range and I have no reason to doubt the vision of his scouts. And right now, I would never trade Ryan O'Reilly for Chris Campolli. I've said it was a questionable trade from the start, but I gave it time to play out. Now the only thing I believe we got out of it is a nice kid, but a mediocre player. We got a chance to see life with Karlsson prior to life with Karlsson. Worth it? I dunno..

Gohan wrote:Difference being that Karlsson hasn't earned the PP yet. He will. You were saying by January, he'd be #1 unit (or else!) and I was saying end of November... Still, it doesn't mean he gets slotted there immediately. He's had a chance to play on the 2nd unit (although, if you didn't know better, you'd swear it was the 1st) and he'll soon be a fixture on the 1st unit.

I agree that Kuba-Karlsson makes the most sense, but I don't stand by just handing him whatever he wants. Assuming I understand Clous process, I back it.

Good response. I agree even though I'm contradicting myself by doing so ( ). Count me in as one guy who would love to see Karlsson on PP 1 all the time, threading those passes to Kovalev, Alfie and Spezza, but then again, he can't just get that icetime over guys who have earned it through years and years of hard work.

Kuba should be enough to jump start some things, including the transition game which is already pretty strong. I look forward to Kuba coming back and I also look forward to this team being a little embarrassed after Saturday and coming in all business on Wednesday and Thursday.

Love O'Riely.

Kuba should be good enough and I agree with you that we've seen the effect he has on the team, during this absense. He's not the perfect player, but he gives us enough in all areas to keep me satisfied.

As you've noted, his effect on our PP is to open things up for the others with his passing and playmaking. If only he could use that shot of his...its a definite asset.

He will be a welcome addition, thats for sure. Only question is whether we'll also welcome the subtraction...

Who's "O'Riely" And what the hell is going on with your reputation? I just plus'd you twice to get you back to +1 and now you're back at -4???! Stop pi$$ing people off, man!

Having him back will take a lot of pressure off of everybody (especially the other defensemen) because he's capable of playing 22-23 minutes a game. I think it will make a huge difference in every area.

wprager wrote:Who's "O'Riely" And what the hell is going on with your reputation? I just plus'd you twice to get you back to +1 and now you're back at -4???! Stop pi$$ing people off, man!

Hahaha, if only I cared. I actually hope I get to about -50, that's actually my goal.

Kyle Palmieri was the guy taken with the SJ pick (by Anaheim).

OReilly was taken in the 2nd round, which got me

About the PP, we need Kovalev on the RW, and he needs to shoot like a Gatling gun.

wprager wrote:We are carrying 22 now, and that's including Kuba who was on the IR. We have room to carry Shannon, Regin, Karlsson and Kuba. We'll simply have to bring an extra chair upstairs to the press room. We can also accommodate Winch if we wanted to, since the roster can go up to 23.

We're at 23 right now: the 20 guys on the ice last game, + Donovan + Winchester + Kuba. Can' see us carrying 23 bodies on the roster all year long -- costs your owner an extra $2 mil or so. 21 yes, 23 no.

Only have a second here, but the Shannon hate here is really misdirected. Shannon's a handy player -- the only problem is, he's NOT a 4th liner. Play him in the top-9 or bust. If he's getting beat out by others for that top-9 spot, fine, then sit him. That's something Clouston needs to remember.

Anyway, besides the fact that he just had a CONCUSSION, which I hope we can agree will affect one's play for a time and probably explains his less than stellar performance on the PP this year (he was effective last year, that's for sure), we simply have more invested in Shannon vs. Donovan -- and I don't mean $-wise. Rave about Dono all you want (and I really do like the guy, especially after he signed for less last time around just to stay here), but he's not in our long-term plans. No way we dole out a roster spot to him when we have so many kids itching to make it in next year. Donovan does not have youth on his side.

The flip side: there will be openings in our top-9 in the next year or two, and Shannon is a guy that could fit that role for sure. And he's young. And after the success of the FFS line, we know he can play that role, and we know he can play it with guys on this team, and we know that he can play for Clouston.

So settle down on the Shannon hate. Bad call to play him over Donovan *for the 4th line role*, but that's it, pretty much. And that decision was not on him. Otherwise, I call "mulligan / concussion" on his weaker play so far. After 9 games only -- actually, less than that; he was out with a concussion! -- it's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too early to throw this guy under the bus. Let's not forget that, for half of last season, he was one of our smartest, most effective, and most productive forwards -- no ifs, ands, or buts. That ought to buy him some time and patience from us.

rooneypoo wrote:

wprager wrote:We are carrying 22 now, and that's including Kuba who was on the IR. We have room to carry Shannon, Regin, Karlsson and Kuba. We'll simply have to bring an extra chair upstairs to the press room. We can also accommodate Winch if we wanted to, since the roster can go up to 23.

We're at 23 right now: the 20 guys on the ice last game, + Donovan + Winchester + Kuba. Can' see us carrying 23 bodies on the roster all year long -- costs your owner an extra $2 mil or so. 21 yes, 23 no.

Only have a second here, but the Shannon hate here is really misdirected. Shannon's a handy player -- the only problem is, he's NOT a 4th liner. Play him in the top-9 or bust. If he's getting beat out by others for that top-9 spot, fine, then sit him. That's something Clouston needs to remember.

Anyway, besides the fact that he just had a CONCUSSION, which I hope we can agree will affect one's play for a time and probably explains his less than stellar performance on the PP this year (he was effective last year, that's for sure), we simply have more invested in Shannon vs. Donovan -- and I don't mean $-wise. Rave about Dono all you want (and I really do like the guy, especially after he signed for less last time around just to stay here), but he's not in our long-term plans. No way we dole out a roster spot to him when we have so many kids itching to make it in next year. Donovan does not have youth on his side.

The flip side: there will be openings in our top-9 in the next year or two, and Shannon is a guy that could fit that role for sure. And he's young. And after the success of the FFS line, we know he can play that role, and we know he can play it with guys on this team, and we know that he can play for Clouston.

So settle down on the Shannon hate. Bad call to play him over Donovan *for the 4th line role*, but that's it, pretty much. And that decision was not on him. Otherwise, I call "mulligan / concussion" on his weaker play so far. After 9 games only -- actually, less than that; he was out with a concussion! -- it's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too early to throw this guy under the bus. Let's not forget that, for half of last season, he was one of our smartest, most effective, and most productive forwards -- no ifs, ands, or buts. That ought to buy him some time and patience from us.

You will notice in my post that I excluded Winchester from the list, and said we could even accommodate him as the 23rd. Was he even on the roster officially? He's been injured since before the season started, I thought he was on the LTIR.

As for Shannon, it was pretty much N4L who threw him under the bus. He was also driving the bus. He is right, of course, about Shannon being a wrong fit for the 4th line role. Especially against Boston, Donovan's previous team, how can you *not* play him in that game?

Oh, by the way, in case anyone is worried about poor Shean Donovan taking a pay cut and not getting the ice time to get himself noticed for that next contract, when the guy retires, since he's played over 400 games, he'll get $250K per year in pension. Unless he's living in a $6M mansion like Spezza, that kind of pension will pay for your residential taxes and a few bags of groceries, and leave some money for a trip to the Caribbean a couple of times a year. Wow, I didn't realize they made *that much*.

wprager wrote:Unless he's living in a $6M mansion like Spezza...

Donovan actually has a house near Alfie's in Carp, within walking distance actually. Very nice, but nothing too fancy.

marakh wrote:Kyle Palmieri was the guy taken with the SJ pick (by Anaheim).

OReilly was taken in the 2nd round, which got me

About the PP, we need Kovalev on the RW, and he needs to shoot like a Gatling gun.

My point is that, had we retained the SJ pick, I believe our scouts have an eye for overlooked talent and would have selected O'Reilly. Just my assumption...

ddt wrote:

wprager wrote:Unless he's living in a $6M mansion like Spezza...

Donovan actually has a house near Alfie's in Carp, within walking distance actually. Very nice, but nothing too fancy.

Seems quite in character for Donovan. I really like that guy.

Gohan wrote:

marakh wrote:Kyle Palmieri was the guy taken with the SJ pick (by Anaheim).

OReilly was taken in the 2nd round, which got me

About the PP, we need Kovalev on the RW, and he needs to shoot like a Gatling gun.

My point is that, had we retained the SJ pick, I believe our scouts have an eye for overlooked talent and would have selected O'Reilly. Just my assumption...

I'm not entirely sure that's a fair assumption. And our best scouts are in Europe.