I haven't encountered this before and had to share. The AI Overview I got in Google ended with a prompt to share more information, like you might see from Gemini. There was no place to even add a reply to this question (maybe if I clicked Show more) so I thought that was weird. AI Overviews now getting more interactive, coming soon?
Brady Tkachuk traded to Florida today. Ottawa got only draft capital back. Rebuilding? If so Spence is a great target for us with pick 27 and whatever else to get it done.
I have HotA from Gog. I can't download any custom maps as this computers ability to connect to the Internet is now gone. I need random map templates or included scenarios. I want a long map, one or two opponents, with lots of exploration, economy building, army building, then big clash. What are best for this?
At end of season media days I believe Sheng said Ferraro was looking to test free agency and Desharnais hadn't been approached about an extension. I don't recall anything about a contract for Muk. Am I remembering that right?
I actually hope we re-sign all of them frankly. Ferraro as a bottom pairing, shot blocking penalty killer is the right role for him. And he's a leader in that locker room. I'm hoping he comes back.
Desharnais would be the perfect 7D guy for us who can slot in as needed. He looked pretty decent no matter who he was paired with, and we don't have the luxury to be very picky this summer with a shallow talent pool in free agency.
Muk looks like he will develop into a perfect middle pairing guy. Good size and skating, decent defense, and contributes a bit on offense too. Really well rounded guy I can see on our blue line for a long time.
Have there been any other updates on these guys that I missed? Along with Orlov and Dickinson, that would leave two spots open on our blue line. I really hope Pohlkamp snags one. I'd like to also see a trade for Kesselring. Solid guy, Buffalo doesn't really have a reliable spot for him, and we have more than enough assets to acquire an underplayed middle pairing RHD.
Admittedly, swapping Klingberg and Leddy for Pohlkamp and Kesselring isn't much improvement, but that makes us a little better now and much better in the future as both guys are young and getting better each season.
I was inspired by the recent post looking at the age of each Stanley Cup champion's core players when they won it all. So I dug into their top 6 forwards, top 4 defensemen, and top goalie. I looked at ages and how each player was acquired for each team in the Stanley Cup Final since 2010.
Here's how team's acquired each type of player:
53% of top 6 forwards were drafted vs 37% of top 4 defensemen. Super interesting stuff. This is the average age by position:
Forwards were 27.9, defensemen were 28.6, and goalies were 29.6. Interestingly, Askarov at 23 is probably our oldest core roster player of the rebuild, so that tracks.
What jumps out to me though is how top defensemen, and by a wide margin, are often acquired via trade and free agency. I know we all recognize the need for a true top RHD, but more often than not, those roles are filled via trade and free agency than through the draft.
Not to throw more fuel on the Stenberg vs Reid debate, but I think based on this it is even more likely Grier takes Stenberg personally. The average forward draft position in this dataset is 24. For defensemen it was 49. You can find (or develop) good defensemen up and down the draft, so seems more likely we're getting Stenberg.
I'm curious for help gauging the draft prospects. If Dickinson, Smith, and Misa had been in the draft this year, where would they stack up as prospects? I know this ignores Celebrini but he would still be a consensus 1OA. Would Misa still be an easy #2 pick? Smith the clear #4? Where would Dickinson compare to Reid, Verhoeff and the rest of the defensemen since he was in a defense heavy draft as well?
There is consensus that McKenna and Stenberg are the top two prospects by far. But the crop of defensemen following them are pretty darn good as well. Thinking rationally, we are in a very good spot because we don't necessarily need the second overall pick since we have a strong young core as it is.
It will be great to add, but there are other teams who will definitely need that more than us to get their rebuilds going. Vancouver, NYR, Calgary, Seattle, etc. They would all benefit much more from the second pick than where they landed.
Is it possible a team behind us is willing to move an NHL ready defenseman to swap with us? Could we land Hronek or Fox and still get a good pick to boot?
What an amazing spot to be. Grier really can't go wrong here. Things could not be going better for this franchise!
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