Coconuts

All-in talk thirteen games into the season? Man.

I'm not convinced Draisaitl will extend if they don't figure things out sooner than later, and if he goes I reckon McDavid might too It may be too late to salvage this season but they need to address being competitive next season, they should be in their window but it could all come crashing down very quickly

As we've said, Pettersson's in the driver's seat and the Canucks will pay what he asks Pettersson could very well bring home hardware, I'm not sure that'd change things in regards to price so much as maybe entrench numbers

Finally, quality content

I was thinking about Lindholm earlier, I question whether he'd have any interest signing in Edmonton. If he doesn't such an acquisition makes no sense. Tanev makes a lot of sense but he'd also need an extension. RNH could be a good piece to move, but it'd limit Edmonton's ability to stack both McDavid and Draistaitl together, which makes me think trying to move a winger is more likely. Having always been an Oiler I also question whether RNH would waive his NMC for Calgary. They don't have any easy moves as the players who hold value also have control of their destination, or whether there even is a potential destination. A more defensive minded 2C would be a good start though, assuming they could find such a piece. I generally look at Nuge as being a 2C, although I think Edmonton tend to flip back and forth between him and Draisaitl being 2C. Oil are really limited in what they can do because of clauses, if they'd built their roster properly they'd be in a position where they could be looking for pieces to put them over the top but it looks like they may have to move pieces to simply overhaul their roster.

Agreed, if the Oil can bring in even one defensive defenseman and pair them with Nurse they probably look much better. They also need either a two-way top six center or a defensive-minded 3C at the very least. Oilers are extremely top heavy, their scoring outside their top six has pretty much been non-existent thus far. If they're not scoring they need to at least be able to mitigate their goals against. Nuge should be good value on that contract, doubt he's moved. Problem is all of him, Kane, and Hyman have NMC's. That really hamstrings their flexibility. Not sure how the Oil are going to open up the cap space they'll need to address things. They may have to force a move with Campbell, paying to do so or paying to swap, and hope Skinner can be their guy going forward. If there's any indication that Draisaitl or McDavid don't want to stay we'll likely be looking at a full-on Oilers rebuild. Turning things around is key, because if Draisaitl doesn't want to extend I doubt McDavid will.

Blues sold last season but they have a good enough roster to make the playoffs, just wasn't working for them last season. They added three first round talents to their prospect pool, if anything they'll look to compete while retooling. Going out and getting Hayes at 50% from Philly is evidence of this. They're not a high scoring team thus far but they are absolutely in the mix.

Robidas island? Leafs may be better for it.

Blues are in a bit of a weird place where they were sellers last season but still probably have a good enough roster to be competitive. For whatever reason it wasn't working last season, but they're a little over .500 thus far. The first round picks they wound up getting for Tarasenko and O'Reilly were late but three picks in the first round should really bolster their prospect pool. They walked out of the first round with a couple forwards in Dvorsky (10) and Stenberg (25) before taking a D in Lindstein (29). They're fourth in the Central with a 6-5-1 record, not blowing anyone away by any means but they're still in the mix. 8th in the West right now, tied with Arizona and Seattle but with games in hand. Minny is a point behind them. If Nashville keeps losing they could be out of it early, Chicago should slide at some point. Whether Anaheim can keep it up is anyone's guess, they sit 7th right now. Calgary could get back into it if they put together a winning streak, they have 9 points. Edmonton sits at the bottom with San Jose, it may be to late at this point. If it's not, it will be soon if they keep losing, clock is ticking for the Oil. It'd be interesting if the Blues sold at this point, but the Oil need change now. Oil are 30th on the PK, their goals allowed is 31st, it's killing them. What's also killing them is their shooting percentage, which sits at 30th despite them being 1st in shots on goal. Usually they can outscore their defensive issues, but an abysmal team shooting percentage of 7.4% has been devastating to their competitive chances. This is in spite of their 9th ranked powerplay. You'd have to think that'd change eventually but it could be too late. The Canucks on the other hand have the top shooting percentage in the league at 16.1%, so we're probably due for some regression offensively. This is despite our being 27th in shots on goal, which means our shooting percentage is likely inflated by our 4th ranked powerplay and some opportunistic scoring. Take away our 10-1 and 8-1 beatdowns of abysmal defensive teams in San Jose and Edmonton and our goals for probably looks a lot more normal. I think some regression is inevitable, but we're also a better team than we were last season. Could see them firing Woodcroft if they feel a coach like Gallant might spark the team. Holland should probably be on outs if the Oil miss.

Edmonton goes from having the leagues most dominant powerplay in years to not being able to score a powerplay goal against the Sharks

Kings get at least a point

5-3 Leafs Nylander

4-2 Habs Caufield

I understand potentially moving Bouchard for a more two-way D of similar age, but I don't necessarily believe Parayko would be the answer. I'm not convinced he'd waive his NTC for the Oil either. I think the Oil need to shift their approach, they aren't going to score their way to a championship with questionable defense and goaltending. If things don't change I'm not sure McDavid will extend in Edmonton. I'm not even certain Draisaitl will.

Yeah, Kotkaniemi is having a very good start. Byfield is another one I've spoken to. I think folks sometimes forget how hard it is to step into the world's hardest league as a teenager or as someone in their early twenties and have immediate success. Even for top picks, it's not necessarily easy. I think it's easy as an observer to take that for granted sometimes. We as Canucks fans have been a bit spoiled by first round picks in Boeser, Hughes, and Pettersson stepping in and making an immediate impact, it's more likely that first round picks don't have that kind of impact right off the hop. I think Podz is a more realistic take on what you sometimes get, it's hard. I hope folks are willing to be patient with Willander too, being an 11OA pick more than likely means he'll need time to stew. The further you get from the top of the draft the more likely it is that it'll take prospects time to develop into NHL'ers.

I'd be surprised if they moved Bouchard, he strikes me as someone they should probably keep. Ekholm was a good add, but they could really use another top 4D, preferably one in the mold of a defensive D. If Tanev makes it to UFA I'd be surprised if they don't show interest, could have interest in Zadorov too. Nurse is overpaid but they'll have to live with that one. Problem is they'll need to make space, which involves moving either a winger or a tender. Could maybe try to move Ceci. Draisaitl has one year remaining on his deal, he's due for a big raise. McDavid has two more seasons and likely sets a new bar for the NHL's largest contract. Clock is ticking.

LaFreniere with a goal and two assists tonight, lead the Rags to another win. This gets him up to 9 points in 13 games, is he finally taking the next step? Gotta remember, he's only 22.

Not sure Binnington is the answer, not sure any goaltender is the answer until they place more emphasis on bolstering their defense. Not just in the form of D, but their bottom six as well. Binnington has been pretty average the past couple seasons, the rest of the Blues haven't been great either though so I'm reluctant to blame his stats entirely on his own play. With them winning again tonight they're officially over .500 though, gotta wonder what's in it for them if they were to swap Binnington for Campbell.

We're always doing a thing until proven otherwise, and even then we may not choose to believe we're not doing a thing

Young Crosby was absolutely bonkers

I think we'd have the edge in net, I think their forward depth might be better though despite our top six talent having done more. Our scoring really falls off after after our top six, and a good complimentary player or not, PDG is not a top-six caliber player. I'm not sure we'd beat them with our speed, would probably be an even series if the Canucks can maintain their level of play. https://www.capfriendly.com/depth-charts/canucks https://www.capfriendly.com/depth-charts/kings I'm not as sold on us yet, we've faced some pretty tame opposition thus far. The only wins we have against impressive teams were our beating a Florida team missing it's top 2 D and our beating Dallas imo. Our shooting percentage is also probably due for some regression, we lead the league with a shooting percentage of 15.4. We're 4th on the powerplay, which probably contributes to our shooting percentage whereas we're only 25th in shots on goal. Goals allowed is 2nd, but I attribute that more to Demko thus far this season. PK is 18th, shots on goal is 18th. We're one of the more undisciplined teams in the league at 20th. Our defense drives our offense more but that's largely driven by Hughes and Hronek, I wouldn't necessarily say our group is better at defending. I think we could beat them but I'm not sure I'd consider either team to be the favourite at this point. Our star power has shone brighter thus far though, no question.

Two cups, two Selke's, two Lady Byng's, Leadership award, all-star, regularly in the mix for a Selke, 400 goals and 750+ assists in just over 1300 games. He's signed for another two seasons after this one, could very well finish his career with 1300+ points. 6'3", 225, #1 center who's good in the dot. He's basically a better version of Ryan Getzlaf, without the international accolades. But hey, can't hold that against him considering Getzlaf was born in Canada whereas Kopitar is Slovenian. I think very highly of Kopitar, wish he'd had that kind of career as a Canuck.