No thanks

So Matheson just takes the place of Gardiner as the problematic 4Mish D contract on Carolina's cap next (EDIT: next next season rather) season or

Ya, I figured with Garnder out and Cole and Brendan Smith UFA after this season and the Canes without many or any LHD prospects, Matheson would be good fit. Especially with Carolina being in 1st place.

That was my thinking. Matheson can score and skate. The fastest skater on the Pens team. He’s just makes too many mistakes defensively and joins the rush too much in my opinion.

Dude is a good offensive D-man though. Look at his stats. His offensive stats are good.

And Carolina gets the 4th and 5th picks in return too.

But either way, not likely to happen. Just an idea. That was thinking though anyways. Matheson would for sure be an upgrade for them this season. I don’t know if that would be enough for Carolina to take on his term though.

Carolina has a load of good LD prospects...

Lorentz is a big-time player when it comes to the bottom six. He's versatile and can play on the 3rd and 4th line... there's no reason to move him, especially for a problematic D man like Matheson. Maybe a 3rd straight up could be talked about, but the Canes won't take on Matheson. That's just not a good fit.

Who are the Canes LHD prospects..? A.Nikishin, who is 19 years old.?? They don’t have another LHD pick higher than the 3rd round. And none close to NHL ready. None over 20 years old.

Jesper Sellgren would be the best of the bunch right now. He was great with Lulea and Frolunda in Sweden and is the first call up a couple of LD men get injured (Since Smith and Cole can play both sides). On top of that, Fensore is probably the best D prospect in the organization right now, Seeley looks promising. I'm not as high on Nikishin as others, his underlying numbers are a trainwreck, but he's also playing in the KHL at a young age so, what do I know?

The chances of Late round picks having a good NHL career are slim.

Sellgreen, 6th round pick, smaller D-man too. 1st year in the US and AHL, transitioning into the US game(smaller ice rink, more physical game).

Has 1 assists in 8 games so far in AHL. He needs to spend atleast a year in the AHL. D-man take longer to transition to the US game too. I guess we’ll see though. But even so, not a high end prospect. (C, C+, B- prospect at best).


Fensores isn’t even signed yet. Playing in NCAA and is 5’7, 150 pounds. I wouldn’t consider a high end prospect either.

Seely is a 7th round pick and playing in the WHL. Still 19. Far off from the NHL. Again, not a high end prospect.

I would say M.Lajoie is the 1st LHD call-up from the AHL.

That’s a weak LHD prospect pool. Even if u look at them through roses colored glasses and not a late round pick who’s chances are slim to make the NHL. Let alone make an impact and a solid career.

That Matheson contract is too rich for the Canes. We got already got a lot of big names to pay next offseason.

Sellgren has dominated a mens league in Sweden, and dropped out of the 2nd to the 6th out of fears he wouldn't sign, a la Alexander Pashin. He's a fantastic prospect, and just because he's a smaller guy means nothing. The league is moving away from size and muscle, and it has been for years. He can play on the puck, and he's been relatively successful with a Wolves squad that isn't up to the state of former Canes farm teams. He's not *quite* NHL ready, but we said this about Jarvis and he's been sensational.

Fensore isn't signed, fair enough. But he's incredibly talented, and he is the best D prospect in the system. He's not signed because he cannot sign as an NCAA athlete.

Seeley was a 7th, but was also viewed as a steal. Arguably could have gone in the 4th in that draft. Not likely a high end guy, but still a solid prospect. Went back to junior because he wasn't going to be NHL ready this year, doesn't mean he won't be soon.

Ya, definitely a big contract and term for a 3rd pairing LHD. Can play 2nd pairing minutes or be 2nd pairing D-man but needs to be paired with a good Defensive D-man.

Good offensive d-man though. Just makes too many mistakes defensively and joking the rush too much in my opinion. Super fast though too. And good offensive stats.

Good luck my man. That a very weak LHD prospect pool in my opinion.

Fensore is 5’7, 150 pounds. Far, far away from the NHL.

Again, Sellgren has to translation to the NHL game. 1 assist in 8 games in the AHL so far.

I wouldn’t expect any to and to have a good NHL career. Even a career as long or as good as Mathesons.

I think you need to look at these prospects instead of judging them based on draft position and size alone. ESPECIALLY Fensore and Sellgren.

None would be on any top 100 or top 150 prospect list. Good luck. The odds of them having a long career amd making a impact in the NHL. Are slim. Having a better career than Matheson is slim.

5’7, 150 pound D-man. U can have that. But I’ve been wrong b4 man. Like I said, just not a fan off the midget D-man.

You realize that the reigning Norris Trophy winner is only 5'10 right?

The SHL, Liggia, KHL are very different leagues. They go through 3-4-5 games sometimes with no penalties at all.

Sellgren,1 assist in 8 games in the AHL so far. He’s 5’10, 170 pounds. Adam fox is 5’11, 185 pounds. Fensore is 5’7, 150 pounds.

NHL much much more physical that KHL, Ligga, SHL, and the smaller rink is hard on D-man to transition too. Less room to skate, everything is way more bunched up, D-man have to use passing and the boards way more, etc.

And tell Tampa Bay the game is changing. Hockey will never move away from being physical. And I just hate midget D-man, 5’10 or smaller. Just not a fan. You have to pair them with stay at home/Physical D-man (most of time).

And sure their are outliers, but u want me to name all the 5’10 or smaller 6th, 7th round picks that didn’t make it?? Let alone the 1st-5th round picks smaller than 5’10. Again, the odds are against them.

Again, Sellgren dropped to the 7th round, he was a better player than that. Using draft position to say how good a player is really shows that you have no idea what this prospect is good at, or what he's bad at. You're also using scoring to argue that a defensive defenseman is having trouble in the AHL, which is comedic. But you didn't know he was a defensive specialist, and just looked at his height and weight. Does he have the muscle you would want him to for the NHL? No, fair enough. But his height is fine...

I'm assuming you've never watched European hockey. The rules are enforced so you can literally get away with murder. Czechia's league's are the main suspect for this. And the DEL sees more hits thrown per game than any other league in the world. European hockey isn't "less physical". It's not got the same backlash when you are physical, there's a massive difference. Less room to skate and needing to be good with board passing is a very good point. But you say that like it's never used in Europe or IIHF hockey.

Tampa know the game is changing. Their 2 best players are 5'10 and 5'11....

A bunch of nothing for Holl is the new trendy thing to do on here I see.

Good deal. I get your point, I think u get mine. I’m not gonna just repeat myself saying things different ways or and read your posts saying the same things different ways too.; or insult you cause I don’t agree..lol.

It’s an obvious transition from the NHL, SHL, Liiga to NHL/AHL though. Almost totally different. Every prospect scouting report always says; “they will need a year or two in the AHL to get used to the American game”.

You can just google differences b/ween European and American Hockey too. Physically will be the 1st answer.


It’s fine though. I get your take. We just have different player evaluations and likes. Most do. Even GM’s. It’s why no trades are fair in everyone’s eyes; real life or fantasy.

And obviously you think more highly of your teams prospects: just like I think more highly of the Pens prospects than you probably do.

It’s fine though. I hope both Sellgren and Fensore have long, HOF and SC winning careers. It’s not like I’m rooting against them. I hope they do well.

We all want every prospect from our own teams to do well, but I do try to be realistic. There's a lot of prospects that will just not work, and I do ironically believe one of them to be Nikishin who you came up with being the Canes best LD prospect. We all want every one of our team's prospects to become Hall of fame guys, we all want great success from homegrown talent, and we'll be wrong with that. But I do just think that your dislike of shorter defensemen is irrational. That's all. D men without muscle? That I understand, but I digress. It seems we have agreed to disagree in a civil way, which is a major success on this website. I hope you have a great day!