Episode 334

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Published on:

9th Sep 2024

2024-25 NHL Central Division Preview Part 1

We preview the NHL's Central Division for the upcoming 2024-25 regular season.

Transcript
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Hello and welcome to Overtime Hockey Talk.

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I am Mark Paul.

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This is my co host, Justin Baker.

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Justin, it is, we're back on the train here and getting out of

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the summer vibes where we do a show every three or four weeks.

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I know

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man.

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glad to be back at it.

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it is.

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and, this is our first show that we've done since the horrible tragedy, of the

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Goodrow brothers, Johnny and Matthew.

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And, I don't have a whole lot.

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To say other than it's just freaking terrible.

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And I, in my lifetime, don't think I ever remember someone who was

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still really like playing and was this good and is just gone.

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And it.

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is, it's horrible.

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Like from a hockey standpoint, horrible from a family standpoint, unimaginable.

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Yeah, it's, it sucks, right?

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that's the only way to put it.

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It's just, it's a shitty thing and, another, I hate to say it,

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but, you always harp all the time, don't drink and drive, call Uber.

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there's reasons we have these options available, right?

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And, Yeah, it's terrible, man.

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I think that, the closest thing I was thinking about it the other day

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was, just the Vladimir Konstantinov.

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I know he, he ultimately didn't lose his life, but, it was still,

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it's still hit pretty hard.

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And,

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And in a lot of ways he lost, he definitely lost the life he was living

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before.

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And as far as his hockey career, it definitely ended in a flash.

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And I think he probably would have gone on to win a Norris.

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Maybe Lidstrom has one fewer Norris if it's Not for

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that, but as he was a very underrated defenseman.

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but yes, our, of course our hearts go out to, the Goodros family.

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And, and at this point, we just hope that something can.

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out of what, what occurred that, impacts people in a positive way.

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And I think we're seeing a lot of, a lot of hockey players and

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people around the world showing a lot of love to their family.

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And, it is cool to see how people rally around each other.

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you just wish that you didn't have to do that.

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All right, we'll leave it at that.

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And, we will move into our central division.

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Preview, for the 2024, 25 season and no easy transition between

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that and, talking about a preview.

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but we have the entire NHL to preview here before the regular season begins.

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So we are going to start with the central division and, the, we'll just go

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alphabetical order through the teams and.

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Talk about what we think about what they did in the off

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season and where they're going.

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And ultimately we'll give some predictions and, maybe the order that we think

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the central division will end in and, here and there, some surprise things

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that we think will crop up, maybe some players that you might not expect to

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make the team that, may be able to slide into the roster and make an impact.

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And, Also some guys that have had good seasons and maybe we think,

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Hey, this guy's going to slide off the bandwagon here a little bit.

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And, different players hit 30, 35 and things can change real quickly.

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So let's start with the Chicago black Hawks.

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They once again, are maybe the easiest team to talk about in this

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division, because I think once again, They are, if not the worst,

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they're likely to be near the bottom.

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Yes?

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Yeah, that's an easy prediction right there.

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I, I.

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I think if just looking at it, obviously we could talk all day about, Utah.

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I think that's going to be a big focus with this division.

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But for me, really Chicago's right there at the bottom.

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I, I think when you look at, what other teams have done and

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it almost seems like, every team.

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To me is going to almost take a step forward.

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Whereas I think Chicago, even though they added pieces, I just don't

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even see them taking a step forward.

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The only thing to talk about really with this team is a dart.

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And that's really, yeah, Todd Bertuzzi or Tyler Bertuzzi signed, they signed

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a couple other, veteran pieces,

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Yeah, Pat Maroon comes in there, which like, he's not moving a needle, he's

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just Pat Maroon is a good luck charm.

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That's really all he is.

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a good guy in the room, but he is the four leaf clover.

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he's the guy that you, he's the rabbit foot that you're hanging from your

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locker room door in hopes that he does something positive for your team.

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the decent little signings like Laurent Bressois.

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I like that addition.

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3.

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3 million bucks.

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he gets paid, I think probably more than he would have gotten anywhere else.

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I'm sure that's why he went there, but yeah, he's been, he

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was good behind, hello buck.

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And I think that he maybe looks at this as an opportunity to finally

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sneak his way into being a legitimate, at least a one B type of goalie.

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I think we've seen those flashes from

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Yeah,

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him.

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he was good last year.

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he wasn't.

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And I wouldn't, listen, we all know Murazic has a lot of health issues, right?

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He constantly gets injured almost every year.

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so I think this is a good signing for Chicago because they got a guy who, in

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my opinion, he'll probably end up playing 30 to 40 games, so he'll be able to just

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slide in there and, as bad as I think this defense is going to end up being

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anyways, I don't think there's going to be any loss as far as goaltending

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quality if it's Mrazic or Brassois, so either one, I'm happy with, I think

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this is going to be a decent enough tandem for a team that we all know,

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again, it's going to be at the bottom,

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Yeah.

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Goaltending is.

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for a bad, for a team that is going to be bad or not going to be, I'll

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say this, I don't think they're going to be easy to play against.

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I think that's why they went out and went, let's target,

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Hey, let's target a Pat Maroon.

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Let's target a Tyler Bertuzzi.

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Let's target.

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TJ Brody,

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is TJ Brody that great anymore?

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No, but is he going to, is he going to give everything he's got?

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Yes.

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Alec Martinez, another guy who is he going to give all he's got?

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Absolutely.

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he's got a Stanley, he's got two Stanley cups.

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He has a Stanley cup winning goal, I believe.

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Yeah,

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And,

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and then, Hey, two votes here at Rynan, not a bad signing there either.

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he's, he is someone I'll say he will push the needle.

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No, he's, he isn't necessarily somebody that you can have be by

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himself, but you get them with Bedard.

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I think that's a lot better option than what Taylor hall

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was coming in there last year.

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I think a healthy Taylor Hall is going to help push the needle a

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little bit, but is he the line driver heart trophy guy he once was?

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No, but I still think he's capable of a 60 to 70 point season.

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again, it depends on who he plays with, but he could still be a

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guy that contributes well enough.

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I think to, again, to make this team exciting, and tough to play against.

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Yeah, And the, when you look up and down this roster, they bring in Ilya Mikheyev,

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they re sign Dickinson, they've got, Nick Foligno there for another couple years.

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It really is a team that they have done a really nice job at going,

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we just need to surround Bedard with some guys that can play.

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I'll say, I think they're going to be more competitive than last year.

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That doesn't mean they're going to be better in the standings per se,

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but I do think that there'll be more competitive because of the players that

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they're surrounding themselves with.

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They've done a better job this year than they did last year.

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in terms of the talent, like Tara Vinan and Bertuzzi alone are.

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Those are two good players to bring in on the wing and to fill out your top six.

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yeah, let's I'll be honest, they're not going to score a league low

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179 goals next year, so they'll do a little better than that.

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Let's yeah, let's hope not.

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That's you think you'd think that's a, that's not going to be the case, but

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you there, maybe the issue isn't going to be, can the forward score the issue

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really is going to be who is going to pass the puck up to those Seth Jones is

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It's only Seth Jones.

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Is Seth Jones.

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I was thinking about Seth Jones, trying to go, where is Seth, when he got

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traded to Chicago, there was still a lot of talk about, who Seth Jones, or

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is it Wierensky who is driving that?

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And I think a lot of people lean towards Wierensky.

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Seth Jones and Darnell Nurse, are they not?

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In the same conversation, like if Seth Jones is on a good team, because let's

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face it, nine and a half million dollars is a lot, for a cap it, but does it do

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anything having them there in Chicago?

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No, actually it helps them because it gets them to the floor.

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If he's on a good team, we're talking about how bad his contract is.

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Nobody's talking about it.

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Cause he's in Chicago and it doesn't matter anymore.

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Yeah, I agree.

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I don't give him, I don't think he's as bad as darn ill nurse, but, that

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contract man is just not, he's not good, not fun to look at if again,

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if he's on another team, right?

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Yep.

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Yep.

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And yeah, I just, I don't look at Alec Martinez as a guy who's.

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Going to drive play from the back end.

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I don't definitely don't look at that way from TJ Brody.

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Brody, if there's any redeeming quality, it's just his ability to lock things up in

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the corner, but he's not moving the puck.

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uh, Alex Vlasic.

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He's, he can move the puck somewhat, but it's not as if he's somebody that

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is going to go out and grab you 50 assists over the course of a year.

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so I just don't know who's going to move the puck for them.

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No.

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the fact is the Blackhawks have a lot of young defensemen in the pipeline.

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And I think even though.

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Yeah, I agree with you.

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These guys aren't going to move the puck.

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They're not going to move the needle.

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but Alec Martinez, TJ Brody, they're good veteran guys to have in there to

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help mold and, help grow these youngsters and hopefully in, in the next, three,

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four years now we're talking about, a team that's developed and these young

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defensemen have come up and they've, again, developed and grown into, to,

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capable top four, top six defensemen.

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And, again, we were talking about a playoff Blackhawk team.

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Yeah.

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The, the athletic did rank Chicago with the number one prospect

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pipeline in the NHL, which, Is,

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a good and a bad, it's a good and a bad list to be on.

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No, but Dard's not on the pipeline.

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He's already in the, on the team.

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So now he doesn't count, but, some, some nice guys that, that are going to

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be coming up, Merrick, Menacker and, it's the Blackhawks are, of course,

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you're going to have a pipeline of players because you've been terrible.

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So you're drafting high.

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Those players are all ranked high.

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So yeah, the pipeline to me, there's been a lot of teams

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that, Oh, they have the best.

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Watch how good this team is going to be and it doesn't necessarily

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mean that your team is going to go and win the Stanley Cup.

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It just means that you have a lot of you drafted high.

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And so you drafted a lot of highly rated players.

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Anyways, Chicago Blackhawks.

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I think we're in agreeance that they're going to be definitely near the bottom of

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this division, but maybe more fun to watch

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more competitive.

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and you just want to see them score maybe an extra 40 goals, get up

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above that 200, two to 10 mark.

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And then you're probably winning an extra four or five games.

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But, here's the real question, right?

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Bidart, over or under 80 points, where you got him?

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Oh, over under 80 points.

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I think with the additions that they made this year, if he's healthy all

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year, I say that he's over 80 points.

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I think that, that.

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The development arc and looking at where he was last year, I think it's

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very safe to say 80 points is a, I think if he's less than 80 points.

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I don't want to go as far to say that it would be a disappointment,

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especially if he's showing some improvements defensively, I think

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that if he's under 80 points, they, the Blackhawks probably didn't score

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more than 200 goals again, right?

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Like he only has 80 points.

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Who else is going to get the other 120 goals?

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Not that he's getting 80 goals by any means, but,

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Right.

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yes, they would have to, at 52 points last year, they won 23 games.

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I think an extra five wins, with those, 30 to 40 goals.

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And you look at it like 290 goals against, that's a lot of goals

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against, only what the sharks, the ducks, the blue jackets had more

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goals against than the black Hawks.

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So it not with Bruce wall, you get that second goalie in there

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who can play, maybe you let in 20 less goals throughout the year.

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Yeah, maybe.

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And if you can get 30, 30 or 40 more the other way, you're looking at least

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a five, five, but even a 10 game swing, even with 33 wins, they're still only

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at 72 points, which still has them last place in the central division.

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Oh, they could be third to last in the Pacific, the way the Pacific was going.

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Okay, let's move on from the Blackhawks and we'll ultimately, we'll give a full

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prediction of the entire division, but let's, let's go to the Colorado Avalanche.

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Ah, yes.

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Yes.

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The Avalanche are in a really.

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Is it like an awkward position because of what's going on with

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Natchooshkin and Landis Cog?

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Those

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are two key Cogs in your top six.

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And I know Landis Cog, it's almost like, he he wasn't there last year.

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So you're used to him not being there, but that's just a, you're

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wondering, is he coming back?

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what's going to happen here?

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I, I.

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What do you think about what with Landis Cog?

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What do you think

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I've heard he's coming back.

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The rumor is that he's going to be available to season at what point?

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That's a whole other question, right?

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I think they're trying to get him back for training camp so he

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can start the season with him.

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But I don't, I haven't been keeping up on it if I'm being completely honest.

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But, I think regardless, you still have to plan around him not being available.

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Just like you have to not plan on Nachushkin being available.

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And I don't know, again, if he's going to, once he gets out of, the NHL

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assistant program, what his availability is going to be like, or what kind

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of player he's going to be like.

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And then, of course, does the team welcome him back in the room as well?

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obviously, Landeskog, right?

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It's an easy transition.

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You can start him off with some less minutes and just slowly work

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him back after being off for, Gosh, it feels like five years now, but

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with Nachushkin, you got to build back that trust factor too, right?

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And I think, a lot of that gets a little easier because if you just

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show up, you go play and you produce guys will, Guys will welcome you

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Yeah, people can get over it.

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I don't, the issue to me with Natchooshkin is gonna be somewhat of

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a trust issue and whether or not, I understand addiction is not a, oh, you're

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all better now and You can say, you shouldn't, you can't be mad at somebody

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because they struggle with something.

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that, that's just, yes, you can say that it's just not rooted in reality.

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It doesn't mean you can't be angry at somebody and it doesn't mean

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that you ever have, you never have to trust that person ever again.

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That's a, that's your right.

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Yeah.

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if you say, Hey, I understand like this person's working on this.

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That doesn't mean that you have to want to be their teammate.

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You could say, Hey, I'm rooting for you, but I can't have you in.

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my life either.

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there's, there are a lot of other people to consider.

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And the fact that this is not just the first time this

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happened, this is the second

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time that this happened.

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I think that it would be fair if some players said, I

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don't want him on the team.

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I don't trust that he's going to be here.

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We're going to rely on him all season.

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And what's going to happen?

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We don't know.

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unless you can, unless Natchushkin is willing to put himself onto a leash

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and lock himself in a hotel room.

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And there's going to be some people that don't trust them.

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And

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I,

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hotel room.

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you're not wrong that if a player starts to produce and they're doing

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well, guys will, people have short term memories, people will go.

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Whatever.

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Okay.

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he's putting a big points.

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He's helping us win.

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Let's see how, let's see if this lasts.

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It doesn't mean that you necessarily believe that he's

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going to, that it's going to last.

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You probably hope that it will, but, that's a tricky situation

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Yeah.

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it's the second time.

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if it, if this, if we're talking the first time that something happens,

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people are far more forgiving.

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and hopefully, hopefully they can all figure it out.

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But, with Landis cog, actually, they're going to be doing an Amazon docu series,

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and he's one of the 10 players that are going to be following.

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So he will definitely be back if, if he's on board for some kind of documentary,

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then he'll be, I'm assuming he'll be back.

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So for me, if he's back, you've got a healthy McKinnon and Rantanen

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and Nichushkin returns, which.

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I don't think that Natchooshkin has been cleared from the assistance program.

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So I think that, that's going to just be

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seeing where that kind of all ends up.

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Maybe he starts the season on.

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I don't think that it's, do you start the season on IR?

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yeah.

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You,

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LTIR and not count against the cap?

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yeah, that's right.

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yeah, but you don't get scammed, but the problem is for, a Colorado team that

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lacks a lot of depth, they still can't spend that money because the, you don't

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have any control when he comes back.

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Once the NHL players, this is a program clears you that cap just

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starts right back up, regardless if you want to have him on your team or not.

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So for a

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Yeah.

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because they can't trade him right,

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now.

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that'll be it.

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Like when he comes back, do they trade him?

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No, and let's, 6.

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125 for the next four years, it's a longer deal.

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He's only 29.

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So the deal ends when he's 33 at 6 million bucks.

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maybe he, you go somewhere else.

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It's not as if he's a bad player.

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Like it's not as if he just got bad at hockey.

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he's good.

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he puts up almost a point per game.

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He's valuable.

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And I think if you can.

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If you can bring him back into the fold, I think he's probably more valuable

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to you at this stage of Colorado's, this iteration of the avalanche.

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you need high level players and you're not going to trade in a Chushkin and

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bring back up another high level guy.

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You're going to trade in Chushkin and what, maybe get a prospect,

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maybe like a.

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second round pick, like no

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bad teams giving up their first round pick, maybe a second round pick,

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maybe a better team, you trade them to a team in the Eastern conference

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that has some space that isn't worried about their first round pick.

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Maybe they're willing to trade a first round pick

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to

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I wouldn't take that

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Yeah.

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But the, you look at the East and you go what if now, what if Boston is

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willing to trade a first round pick and go up, I can't see it happening.

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I, you're right.

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I can't

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see a team, Maybe Washington.

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Utah could be the one team just because they like to make splashes.

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I think

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Yes, but I don't think they're trading a first round pick because the they'll know,

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Hey, we're not, we're not projected to be.

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Maybe they make the, there may be, maybe we make the playoffs is like,

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Ooh, maybe we could make the playoffs.

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Like it's very,

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it's definitely top 10 protected if I'm trading it.

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That's for sure.

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Yeah.

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Okay.

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Okay.

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That's, and that's fair.

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like a team like Carolina, they could use a guy like Rod Brindamore or,

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I don't know, maybe do some things, but anyways, he can't be traded and.

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And until he returns and we'll find that out, the other thing that is

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going to be up for a discussion is going to be Miko Rantanen.

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He's only 27.

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He's about to be a UFA at the end of the year.

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He's at 9.

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25 million.

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And Yeah.

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I say that he's definitely due for a raise.

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So

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Colorado is going to have to figure that one out.

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And that deal has definitely.

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What was that?

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A six year deal at 9.

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25 and that deal has, it's worked out, I'd say for both player and team.

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It was a good deal at the time.

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It remains a good deal.

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It's not like nobody's getting ripped off.

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Nobody's getting huge benefits.

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but I'd say that next year, we're looking at William Nylander kind of money.

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I was going to say our Timmy Panarin money, right?

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That 11

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Okay.

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Yeah.

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11, which is, I think that's what me landers at 11.

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So Yeah.

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I, you're looking at least that now maybe he's willing to go 10, five or something

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like that for on an eight year deal.

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Yeah, we'll consider the fact that if they sign him to an eight year deal,

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he'd be what, 36 at the end of it.

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And even on an eight year deal, I think he'd probably want 11.

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So that's going to be a tough deal for Colorado and he can sign an extension now.

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And so you gotta, maybe be asking the question, what's

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what's Colorado thinking here?

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I would assume that they don't think that they can lose them.

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No, you already.

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you're hurting as far as death is concerned already, right?

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you brought in Casey Middlestad.

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You gave up a, Tremendous defensive product or prospect or player, whatever

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you want to call him in Bowen Byram.

Speaker:

And then, again, you managed to keep Drury on the cheap.

Speaker:

And so that just to me is already proof that you're struggling cap wise to

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maintain depth because you have guys like McKinnon and Rantanen and Landis

Speaker:

Gog who are going to eat up a ton of cap space and you just don't have the

Speaker:

money to bring them guys to replace them.

Speaker:

So if you lose a guy like Rantanen, you're not going to go out and free

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agency and sign somebody to replace him.

Speaker:

So It's going to be a, it's going to be a hit and you can't even, I would be,

Speaker:

argue to say that even if you sign two guys at, five and five, you're still

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not going to replace that productivity.

Speaker:

And and the cap's going to go up.

Speaker:

They've got 17 million available next year.

Speaker:

And there's a, there's not a whole lot of other UFAs that you're go,

Speaker:

they also got to sign this guy or like an RFA, Kovalenko's an RFA and

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not like a huge deal for, money wise.

Speaker:

Brandstrom will be an RFA, but.

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We're not sure what that's going to end up looking like.

Speaker:

And then really your only other question Mark going into next year

Speaker:

would be the goaltending situation.

Speaker:

Gorg, Georgiev will be a UFA.

Speaker:

but the goaltending situation to me right now is probably their

Speaker:

biggest question Mark, because can, do you trust that Georgiev can

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win you not just a playoff series?

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Cause this is a team that.

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Has Stanley cup aspirations.

Speaker:

can he win you the, that big game?

Speaker:

he had some good games in the playoffs, but he had some rough games and his

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regular season was not great, eight, nine, seven save percentage for a high

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level team is not good enough and.

Speaker:

when you're having to rely on your backup goalie so often, you Frank

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who's was hurt a bunch of last year.

Speaker:

And, I'm just wondering, is your, you have the answer or are you out

Speaker:

here looking for another goalie?

Speaker:

just waiting in the weeds, seeing what kind of, what transpires and

Speaker:

eventually you're going to go out and grab a guy, maybe at the deadline,

Speaker:

Yeah.

Speaker:

I definitely think they're going to give, gosh, how do you pronounce his last name?

Speaker:

And Noonan.

Speaker:

Yeah.

Speaker:

They're going to give him a shot at an opportunity.

Speaker:

he looked good in limited.

Speaker:

in limited opportunities last year, now if you put the pressure on him,

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because I don't think you want to try to play, Gorgia have 60 plus games again.

Speaker:

So you're going to give this kid is 24 year old, untested,

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goaltender, an opportunity to play 20, 30 games in this league.

Speaker:

And.

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Can he hold up, right?

Speaker:

So if he doesn't hold up, I do think you're going to see Colorado

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take a stab at a goaltender.

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And they could even hit the free agent market, bring in a Martin Jones or

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somebody like that, who could come in and give you 15 good games and,

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hopefully provide some stability, especially if there's any kind of injury.

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God forbid, Gore Gab goes down.

Speaker:

I think you're just, you're up shits Creek.

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So

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that's what I'm looking at is that

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either guy goes down, who are you bringing up?

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Cause you're two goalies that are, right now in the minors are

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Kevin Mandoli's and Trent minor.

Speaker:

That's,

Speaker:

I'm not confident.

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my guess is that they're out, there, there are some goalies that are out

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there like a martin jones, so my guess is, they're, they've been looking

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around and that those conversations usually at this time of year, training

Speaker:

camp comes in, we start to see some of those other goalies get snagged up.

Speaker:

Uh, my guess, maybe there's been some conversation with Rantanen And they're

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going, are we going to sign into an extension or are we just letting

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this, are we letting it hang out?

Speaker:

And as of right now, I haven't heard a whole lot about that

Speaker:

extension, but that doesn't mean that they're not in communication

Speaker:

about, I'm sure that they are,

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Yeah.

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And I'm sure Gore gives hope and he has a bounce back season for that contract too.

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Because if you're his camp,

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Oh yeah.

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For him.

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Yeah.

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as low as it can be right now.

Speaker:

So

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yeah, he played 60 games.

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He won a lot of them.

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So there's that, I don't think that he's not going to go out and be able

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to get another 3 million contract, but I think the hope certainly was that.

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Hey, I'm number one goalie in Colorado.

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Let's go out, seize this.

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And I can be a five, 6 million goalie.

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And so far that has not happened.

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where do you drop this avalanche team in terms of, where they

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fall in the central division?

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We didn't really hit a lot on defense, although I would say

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that defense is their strength.

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as far as their depth, they brought in a Shillington, they bring in a Dahan

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and, Brandstrom as a, an experiment.

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but Makar, Taves, Gerrard and Manson, there's few teams with

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a better top four than that.

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So it's almost like.

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Yeah, we can talk about all these other things, but ultimately they've got a lot

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of guys who can get their star forwards the puck and then, Mikhail Makar is

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basically Conor McDavid on defense.

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yeah, you could almost say that.

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listen,

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I did say it.

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You did say that.

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That's very true.

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I still think, especially considering, I think the subtractions that Winnipeg

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has, yeah, I'm confident Halibut's gonna have another sna like season

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Willie win the sna, who knows?

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But it's still gonna be a good season from him regardless.

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and I'm starting to get worried too, because he's one of those guys that,

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you know, over the, gosh, over the course of the last five, six years,

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he's played more games than anybody.

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So I start to wonder when we might start to see a little regression

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or when they say, you know what?

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We got to play this guy only 55 games, right?

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We got to give him a break, but, all that being said, I think Winnipeg

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fell a little bit in my eyes.

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And so I still think Colorado is still capable of finishing in

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that top three in this division.

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Okay.

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Yeah, I definitely don't see the missing the playoffs by any means, unless

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the goaltending really falls apart.

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but I think it's more likely that Georgiev bounces back a little bit.

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And has a little bit better of a regular season.

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If he's not playing as much, let's limit them to 50 games and then

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see what else can come in there.

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I just think they're just too dynamic offensively, not

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to be in the conversation.

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and if Natchooshkin comes back and you at, or you just add Landis cog and he's

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healthy and he actually can, if he's just a shell of himself, it might be

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tough to watch, but, it doesn't sound like that's, the case, I think that.

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Hey, you didn't have your captain all last year and now he's back.

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So that's a big boost.

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All right.

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let's go to the Dallas stars.

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Definitely one of the favorites for the division once again.

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And, he had a pretty decent season last year and, that they find

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themselves in this, similar position.

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They didn't have to go out and.

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Do a whole lot in terms of it's not like they had to give anybody huge deals

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or there, there wasn't a ton to do for the Dallas stars this off season as

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they prepare for, what is going to, how their team's going to be shaped over

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the next three years, because a Jamie Benz, a UFA at the end of this year.

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And that's a huge anchor to take off.

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It doesn't mean that he won't stay, but he won't be eating up.

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9.

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5 million of the cap.

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And, that's, they bring back, do Shane's still there at 3 million bucks.

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Dad and I was still there, Wyatt Johnson, he will be an RFA at the end of the

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year, so he'll get a big deal there.

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There's going to be some reorg of where guys fall in terms

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of the salary cap structure.

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Hey, walking into this next year, the Dallas stars look pretty similar.

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to what they look like last year, other than Joe power tires.

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Yeah, that's a big loss.

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not only just from a production standpoint, just.

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from a locker room standpoint, right?

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But I think, again, this Dallas stars team, they're very well built.

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They have a lot of, they have great leadership in that locker room already.

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And yes, losing a guy like Joe Paz is going to suck, but I think they've got

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enough guys in there that are leaders like Jamie Ben, for example, They'll be fine.

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they're a well run organization.

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They have a great culture there.

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and, winning doesn't hurt, right?

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So they've got guys who know how to win there.

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they went out last year and beat Vegas in the playoffs, which I thought were the

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two best teams in the Western Conference.

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And somehow, that's why I hate the current playoff format.

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They ended up playing in the first round and, it, it turned out to be a great

Speaker:

series, but for me, I'm interested to see how this backend plays out because

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right now we've got, Harley not re signed.

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He's an RFA still no contract in place.

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I think they'll eventually get something done, but, if you start missing training

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camp, history has shown us that guys that.

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again, hold out on contracts and miss training camp.

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They just have a shitty year.

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So, when you've got to rely, outside of height, mural high skin, and

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you've got Matt Dumba who joins in there, Brendan Smith on the back

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end, Esalen Dell, I'm just on, he's an okay number four defenseman, but

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outside of that, you don't have much.

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how are these new guys on,

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I was going to say, I really didn't love the two defensive signings this

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off season for Labushkin and Dumba

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Labushkin three years at 3.

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25 million for a guy who is really a six defenseman is.

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Not one of Jim Nils best signings.

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maybe they feel like he's the perfect fit for something.

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I'm guessing, after losing Tav, like Tav was a fantastic fit.

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he goes and he signs in Toronto, I'm guessing that they went

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well, we can't have Tav.

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So let's like, let's go get Dumba and Labushkin and that kind of, there's

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two guys that are tan of light a little bit, but I just don't see that at all.

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Labushkin's not good.

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And

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I know, cause he's been on the Maple Leafs 17 times, they've traded for him.

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Every year for the last three decades, it feels and, he just, he's never been good.

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He has not been good.

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I don't know.

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why they brought him back and he just, he's pretty garbage, but maybe

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they feel like he can fit some role.

Speaker:

Matt Dumba, I guess you're paying them for what he could be again.

Speaker:

Not necessarily what he was last year.

Speaker:

Cause last year he just, he wasn't a good fit anywhere he went.

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but maybe they think they can turn that around.

Speaker:

they did need some right handed shots on their defense as well.

Speaker:

So that kind of fills that need.

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I guess you're going, maybe we can have Labushkin play with Heiskanen and

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it'll, because he did play with Morgan Riley and he still wasn't good, but it

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freed up Riley to go and do some things.

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Maybe they feel that way about Heiskanen and Labushkin.

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I'm not sure.

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I didn't like the signing at all,

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no, I'm with you.

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And I

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not for three years.

Speaker:

no.

Speaker:

Oh God, no.

Speaker:

Yeah, no.

Speaker:

Take a one year flyer on a guy.

Speaker:

But you know what?

Speaker:

three.

Speaker:

I'm still hoping I'm, I keep waiting because Heiskanen to me is still a Norris,

Speaker:

a Norris level type defenseman in this league and they have to continually play

Speaker:

him on his off wing because they can't find anybody to play on their right side.

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And I think that's really to me is what's holding him back is because they lean

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on him a little bit too much right now.

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Um, maybe Thomas Harley, will help, alleviate some of those minutes, but

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they can't get him signed either.

Speaker:

that's, if you just get Labushkin 3 million bucks, what are

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you gonna have to pay Harley?

Speaker:

So

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Yeah.

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Yes.

Speaker:

that's a good, that is a great point.

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okay.

Speaker:

and all that to be said, Hey, Dallas still does have 6.

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2 million left in cap space.

Speaker:

Most of that probably going to Harley,

Speaker:

but yeah, I think it is fair to say, they mostly stayed the same.

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Yes.

Speaker:

They lose Pavelsky.

Speaker:

but.

Speaker:

Bringing back Duchesne at a low cost deal again, like he was very good for

Speaker:

the stars last year and I think with the rest of the, Robertson, the route Bay

Speaker:

hints like this team is still fantastic.

Speaker:

a top two team in the division for my money.

Speaker:

I don't see them going anywhere and we didn't even get to goaltending and

Speaker:

like Ottinger's going to be great.

Speaker:

And he's in a contract year and that means more money for my boy, Jake Ottinger, so

Speaker:

Yeah, that's a good point.

Speaker:

Cause to me, he was just, he was average last year.

Speaker:

and you look at his numbers, they again, just pedestrian.

Speaker:

So I think we're going to see more out of him.

Speaker:

I think he'll be better.

Speaker:

and thank God, no offense to Ryan Suter, but, they got that slow

Speaker:

fricking defenseman out of his way too.

Speaker:

So that'll only help out and you're for sure.

Speaker:

there we go.

Speaker:

Yep.

Speaker:

Yep.

Speaker:

Dallas, I think somewhere in the.

Speaker:

Definitely in the top three of that division.

Speaker:

I don't know, there's a scenario where they get, if they have

Speaker:

an injury on the backend, that could be really tough for them.

Speaker:

we'll see what happens.

Speaker:

I, there, I don't see them falling out of the top three.

Speaker:

Like I look at the rest of this division and I go, what, like who else is going

Speaker:

to see Colorado's in the top three.

Speaker:

And you've got Winnipeg, Dallas, and then Nashville.

Speaker:

that's about it for competing for the top three.

Speaker:

Okay.

Speaker:

let's move on to the Minnesota wild, who maybe are the most up

Speaker:

or down team in this division.

Speaker:

Like they might be the toughest team to pick where they're going to fall.

Speaker:

Cause it wasn't the two years ago they made the playoffs and last

Speaker:

year they really fell off a cliff.

Speaker:

But I think there's a scenario where this team could get back, you've got a whole

Speaker:

year of Boldy and Faber signs is big deal.

Speaker:

8 million bucks.

Speaker:

Like this team's ready to roll.

Speaker:

And, I think there's a chance that the Minnesota wild kind

Speaker:

of have a bounce back year.

Speaker:

Yeah, for me, it's all going to hinge on Marco Rossi, and really what he does and

Speaker:

what his development is because this team, we've talked about it for years, but.

Speaker:

obviously they've been hamstrung by Parisi and Suter's buyouts, but they've lacked

Speaker:

a true number one center for so long.

Speaker:

And you have guys like Zuccarello, who, in my opinion, their contractor,

Speaker:

his contract's way undervalued as far as what he brings in and gets paid.

Speaker:

And I think he's phenomenal on both ends.

Speaker:

And obviously Kaprizov is just a phenomenal.

Speaker:

he's phenomenal to watch.

Speaker:

So when you got those two guys and you have nobody in the middle who can really

Speaker:

dish the puck or nobody that just, provides that responsibility as far as

Speaker:

two way play goes, I think, that's the one thing I think this team really lacks.

Speaker:

And they got lucky last year.

Speaker:

I think with Faber, they found themselves the number one defenseman.

Speaker:

And this kid, I think he's gonna be a superstar in this league as

Speaker:

far as, defensemen are concerned.

Speaker:

yeah.

Speaker:

Gosh, that to me is going to be the biggest question mark, is whether or not

Speaker:

Marco Rossi can take another step and show that he is that guy that they drafted to

Speaker:

potentially be that number one center.

Speaker:

Yes.

Speaker:

Yeah.

Speaker:

and if he can be that guy, that's a huge, if he walks out and he's a

Speaker:

true number one center, that's a, that's an amazing boost for that team.

Speaker:

I'll also say maybe even more.

Speaker:

Kirill Kaprizov had a slow start, but I know he, he still had a, as

Speaker:

far as numbers go, he's, he had a great year, he had 96 points.

Speaker:

It's felt like he started a little slower.

Speaker:

I think that we need to see that.

Speaker:

Pace not be so back end heavy.

Speaker:

I think he started to pick up the pace once the season was gone.

Speaker:

No, you're right.

Speaker:

he traditionally does that.

Speaker:

I've looked at the numbers over the years and he starts slow.

Speaker:

And, again, in this league, you have to get off to a quick start because when

Speaker:

you're chasing teams like Colorado and Nashville and Dallas all year long,

Speaker:

it's going to be tough to get wins when, you're already behind the eight ball.

Speaker:

So I, just as a, just as an aside, I thought, you said they haven't

Speaker:

had a number one center in a while.

Speaker:

And I was like, who would I say are the best centers that the wild have had,

Speaker:

Oh

Speaker:

it's, yeah.

Speaker:

Miko Koivu is really the one number one center.

Speaker:

And he really was more like a, he was a really good number two center, I think on

Speaker:

a team that, that could have won something like he was not going to be the number one

Speaker:

center on any Stanley cup winning team.

Speaker:

Like he, he was good, but he wasn't great.

Speaker:

He was never a superstar, not one iota of a superstar.

Speaker:

He was very good.

Speaker:

like his brother Saku Koivu in Montreal.

Speaker:

He was very good.

Speaker:

He had some years where he was.

Speaker:

He put up some decent points, and.

Speaker:

He's a really good center and he got to play with Marion Gabrick and,

Speaker:

Marion Gabrick absolutely benefited from him being able to, he took

Speaker:

all the defensive responsibilities.

Speaker:

He was a true two way.

Speaker:

Centerman.

Speaker:

And, I'm sure that he was voted up there in the Selkie trophy voting at some points

Speaker:

during his career, but you've got him, I think Pavel Demitra was on the team at one

Speaker:

point and he played center a little bit.

Speaker:

Eric Stahl was a center on the wild.

Speaker:

And I think for

Speaker:

Yeah, he had a 40 goal season.

Speaker:

Yeah,

Speaker:

Yeah.

Speaker:

And, and then I think we're going, Jonathan Erickson, AC is probably the

Speaker:

next best center that's played there.

Speaker:

They just

Speaker:

have had no centerman, over the, and this is a team that's

Speaker:

been in the NHL since 1998.

Speaker:

So for those guys in the 25 years of your franchise's existence, those are

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the four best centers to play for you.

Speaker:

I think you've got an issue.

Speaker:

He got to start identifying some centers.

Speaker:

Now they've had some great wingers, no doubt about it

Speaker:

on the wingers.

Speaker:

Um, can Kirill Kaprizov get going and from a goaltending

Speaker:

standpoint, it's Philip Gustafson.

Speaker:

Can he find himself again and be who he was two years ago?

Speaker:

And Marc Andre Fleury feeling the, in the rest, is Fleury

Speaker:

going to come back and still be.

Speaker:

serviceable.

Speaker:

he's getting up there.

Speaker:

He's 39 years old.

Speaker:

He'll be 40 this year.

Speaker:

So

Speaker:

not too many goalies have successful 40 or 40 year old career.

Speaker:

yeah, he was mediocre last year.

Speaker:

and so was their whole goaltending situation.

Speaker:

I'm not overly optimistic about it.

Speaker:

let me just put it that way.

Speaker:

All right.

Speaker:

yeah, their top six is fine.

Speaker:

Boldy, I think Boldy takes a step.

Speaker:

I think Faber takes a step on the back end and then, we'll see if Marco Rossi

Speaker:

can, and if some things fall into place, if players have really good years and

Speaker:

They're younger players take big steps.

Speaker:

I think there's a chance they Could be, a wildcard team because

Speaker:

more or less, because I think St.

Speaker:

Louis is like, sounds like St.

Speaker:

Louis shopping.

Speaker:

Some guys, they might take a step back.

Speaker:

I don't know that Utah is still very good.

Speaker:

Chicago is not very good.

Speaker:

And there might be a window there.

Speaker:

could

Speaker:

Probably not, but there's a window.

Speaker:

like we said too, if Gorgiev has a terrible year again, obviously Colorado

Speaker:

is going to score some goals, but maybe that costs them a few extra wins.

Speaker:

And maybe Minnesota takes advantage of that.

Speaker:

Yes.

Speaker:

And the best news for the Minnesota wild is that next year.

Speaker:

They get 14 plus million dollars off their cap from the buyout that.

Speaker:

they made a Parise and suitor who suitors just getting paid by a half a dozen teams

Speaker:

in the NHL right now, because he just keeps getting signed and bought out.

Speaker:

So yes, an additional 15 million in cap space next year.

Speaker:

and that.

Speaker:

Includes Brock Faber already being signed to an eight times 8.

Speaker:

5 million deal.

Speaker:

They don't really have other than Marco Rossi will be an RFA next

Speaker:

year, but it's coming off as an ELC.

Speaker:

He hasn't been super productive so far.

Speaker:

Even if Rossi goes out and What What did we say?

Speaker:

Like he had 40 points, let's say he goes out and gets 60 points this year.

Speaker:

He's still probably not getting more than like six, 6 million.

Speaker:

I like a little short term deal because you're going to go, Hey, yes, you had a

Speaker:

60 point season, but let's see you do it again before we sign you to a huge deal.

Speaker:

So I would suspect some kind of bridge deal, unless he's absolutely fantastic.

Speaker:

And in which case that does leave the wild, some room to go out and do some

Speaker:

things, in free agency next year.

Speaker:

That's where they are.

Speaker:

They're just a, like a sitting duck.

Speaker:

They have to wait and see, but I think there's a shot that they'll,

Speaker:

there'll be more interesting this year

Speaker:

because of the progress that their young players made last year.

Speaker:

All Right.

Speaker:

So we have done the first four teams in the central division.

Speaker:

And, I think we'll take a, we'll stop there.

Speaker:

You can head over to the next episode.

Speaker:

We're going to post these at the same time.

Speaker:

So you can head over to the next episode for, the second half of

Speaker:

the central division preview.

Speaker:

That'll be the national predators, the St.

Speaker:

Louis blues, Utah hockey team.

Speaker:

I know the hockey club and the Winnipeg jet.

Speaker:

So go over, listen to the next episode.

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thanks for listening.

Speaker:

Don't forget.

Speaker:

You can find us on Twitter and, or X and Instagram.

Speaker:

Tick tock at OT hockey talk, and we'll see you at the second half

Speaker:

of the central division preview

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About the Podcast

Overtime Hockey Talk
OT Hockey Talk is one of the internet's longest-running hockey podcasts, currently in its sixth year of creating unique hockey content.
OT Hockey Talk is one of the internet's longest-running hockey podcasts, currently in its sixth year of creating unique hockey content from in-season coverage to deep dives into all-time top ten lists, this show is for anyone who loves the game of hockey and follows the NHL.

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Mark Paul