ChiLla

Because it's not just about getting high draft picks alone, but I'm sure you know that. Spending to the Cap, being able to sign sought-after UFAs, proper player development, smart trades, and adding leadership/mentorship through veterans all help, as shown by Pittsburgh, Chicago, Washington, and Tampa Bay – and who knows, maybe Colorado, the Oilers or the Leafs are up next? The "once you get in" mantra applies to all teams, I'd rather improve my chances by having legit talent on the roster. True, the 2011 Bruins as they had no real gamebreaking supperstar, but they did have prime Chara

It was just an example, and like I said in my original post, individual categories are absolutely debatable and that's fine. I do think Laine is unique in a sense and that he can be a game-changing factor at even strength though, as his recent highlight goal shows: Is he doing that regulary enough to be considered truly elite? Probably not. His shot, which wasn't even a factor here, is clearly elite though. That doesn't change the fact that if given the choice, I'd take Matthews over Laine any day of the week, so I tend to agree that they probably don't belong in the same catego

At the risk of arguing semantics, I think there are generational players like McDavid who essentially have their own category. Then there are guys with a certain game-breaking ability based on being exceptional/elite in one or more specific aspects of the game (e.g. Laine, Matthews, Kane etc.), followed by legit first-line forwards based on individual production. Who belongs into which specific category can certainly be debated and is ultimately subjective. What we can all agree on, I think, is that we don't have any generational talent on the roster and we're also lacking players who can sing

Thanks, in that case I‘ll happily take back my rant and think it’s a great idea to gibe him some practice time with NHLers instead 👍🏻

Why not let him play in Laval then? No clue about their schedule and too lazy to look it up, so apologies if this is an unwarranted rant

Maybe the season will have to end early and we get another free ride to the playoffs

Absolutely, and we play them 4 more times in April... These are big games, the boys better be ready.

Thanks for the insight, I don't really get a chance to follow him that closely from across the pond. I know that the knock on Mantha always was that he's not using his size/reach to his advantage enough and I'm really happy we got Anderson who's a scoring threat and a physical presence. As a Red Wings fan, I probably wouldn't be upset with the trade either given what they got from Washington in return. It's probably not quite an offer you can't refuse but you're right, as a rebuilding team you generally don't trade away scorers in their prime years unless there's something you're not happy wit

Brad Marchand would probably like to have a word with you. Just kidding, I hate the rat but he also happens to be a pretty good hockey player despite all the antics.

The part in bold is key I think. If he focused on what he's actually good at, he'd be a better hockey player. He's not like the Tkachuks for example, who thrive in an agitator role and can be quite smart about getting under someone's skin. He strikes me as a hothead who has issues keeping his emotions in check and more often than not, his game suffers because of it. After more than 400 games in the league, I have little hope that he's going to change.

Absolutely, in a perfect world I'd use both Chiarot and Mete as #4-6 dmen and pair them with guys that complement their skill sets well. Given our roster, we don't have that luxury though

True, but I do value goals higher than assists, especially on a team like ours and in today's NHL. If Drouin scored around 25 goals per season, or even 20+, I'm sure people would see him differently. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case during his time in Montreal. Mind you, I'm really not a Drouin hater. I didn't like the trade but that doesn't change the fact that I see him as a very valuable player with a ton of talent.

Looks like a great trade from our perspective

Interesting numbers indeed, I wasn't aware at all. I definitely don't like losing him for nothing but I believe Mete's biggest flaw as a dman was his lack of scoring, usually smallish dmen make up for that disadvantage by putting up solid numbers, otherwise they're too easily replaceable. If you're outscored by Jordie Benn though, there's a bit of a problem I think. I may be wrong but off the top of my head, I can't think of any undersized NHL defender who's not scoring at a somewhat decent rate and still plays a regular shift. You're right though, Mete is still young and there's probably stil

Don't get me wrong, I like Anderson a lot and we haven't had that kind of player for as long as I can remember. All I'm trying to say is that from a pure scoring perspective, Mantha has outpeformed him by a fair bit in essentially the same number of NHL games. Statistically, last season was maybe Mantha's best, he was close to PPG pace despite missing ~40 games to injury as well. Come to think of it, I actually wouldn't mind adding Mantha, having both him and Anderson on the same team could be really fun to watch. The point is moot though and we certainly have more pressing needs than acquirin