Waiting for the Garland/Miller trade to roll in

we have been saying this forever, but it just makes sooooo much sense

How does the cap even work as of now?

Something has to roll in because Hextall's moves so far are ****

He’s done a very good job so far

Hextall has had an excellent off season so far, not sure if we are talking about the same Hextall if you say that

Yes he has. Until today. These UFA's do not make us better. Rutta does not kill penalties. Trade Dumo or Marino and that leaves a giant hole on the PK. Imagine if we trade both. Let E-Rod and Heinen walk for Archibald, Caggiula and Larsson? They are not going to add anything to scoring depth if they manage to actually stay healthy. These phantom trades he cant seem to make better be a miraculous influx of talent, because we are not better today than yesterday

Ruuta does kill penalties, not sure where you got that from. Be averages 1:11 minutes of PK time per game last year. Hextall quote:

“We felt like we wanted to get a little bit heavier on the backend,” Hextall said. “We feel Jan is a very good penalty killer. A real solid guy to play with really any (left-handed defenseman) on our team. We feel like it’s a good addition to our team. We feel like we got better and added a little bit of the girth that we feel like we needed in front of the net in penalty-killing situations. We like the (addition).”

Ruuta is also much cheaper than expected, considering Leddy and Gudbranson just sign 4 M AAV contracts. Ruuta is also an ideal partner for either matheson or POJ.

Caggiula will play in the AHL all year, archibald will probably be the 14th forward, Larsson is one of the leagues most underrated defensive forwards - his analytics are incredible defensively - and he put up decent numbers last year for a defensive guy. These three are incomparable to Heinen and Rodrigues. Heinen wants 3 mill and Rodrigues will probably be in the 3s if not 4s. I imagine all 3 of the guys we signed will come in at less money combined than Erod. Larsson is the only one who will consistently be in the lineup. So in short: bad point, as caggiula/archibald/Larsson are not comparable to Heinen and Erod.

As for the trades, what’s the rush? Hextall said we will be trading dmen for either forwards or futures. Both things we need. Team doesn’t have to be cap compliant until the start of the season. I would much rather him wait for the right trade then make some trigger happy error!

Overall this is a great day for Hextall in my opinion. Ruuta and Larsson are excellent additions. Caggiula will be a full time AHLer so that doesn’t really matter. Archibald contract doesn’t seem necessary but it is pretty insignificant as he will probably be 13/14th forward or in the ahl.

*clears throat

I would like to report a murder

I'm sorry I should have stated Rutta played 1 min of the 12 min of PK time per night. In other words, he sometimes was on the PK when a penalty killer was in the box. I'm a scout and played Div I. I'm also a physician, so injury history is also a factor. I look for weakness and strength that will help a team and players who will compliment the roster. What I see is probably not what you see. Rutta is not a player who plays a multi-faceted game. Given he is 32, that is unlikely to change. He is depth. Definitely is not a difference maker. He has size, but he doesn't use it. He's a serviceable 3rd liner in a sheltered role with the right partner. He was a 7th Dman before this past season and spent most of his time with Hedman. He is well known for his defensive lapses, has very limited offensive skills and is pretty bad on zone entries. He is not a player who's salary should have doubled and is only a slight upgrade from Ruhwedel. Larsson is a decent defensive forward, but he has spent a lot of time on IR. He's a 4th liner who is good in his own end, but that's because he spends so much time there. He is terrible on transitions and has very little to add offensively. If his contract is over $1M it was too much. He would compliment Blueger. My main concern is that these players may not transition well to Sully's speed game. When I mentioned letting Heinen and E-Rod walk, I was not talking about price. I was talking versatility. They could play up and down the lines. E-Rod could be a 1st line winger, 3rd line center and played PP and PK. Heinen could play on any line and either side. That is not true of the players we signed. Archibald is an undersized, unvaccinated player with a heart condition. He was noticeably affected when he returned to the ice. Obviously, my opinion of these players is based on a different set of evaluation standards than yours. We can agree to disagree, but there were better players out there for the same price. We basically signed duplicates of what we have and did nothing to replace what we lost. Hopefully that changes, but Hextall is not know for his blockbuster moves. He also needs to stop giving everyone NMC/NTC's

oh BTW.....I'm alive and well. Thanks