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I think so. Chisholm is our best PP dman, but he just can't stop making bad plays at the worst times.

That's not unreasonable to consider, but I was only looking at NCAA points. He had 50 points in 42 games last year. He has 46 in 39 games so far, so very close. Those 6 points in 7 world championship games were huge though, particularly that last assist for the championship winning goal.

So, last night started the WHL playoffs. Medicine Hat, a 1 seed won, Ryder Ritchie chipped in a roughing penalty Prince George a 4 seed won 7-6 with Riley Heidt getting a goal Calgary also won with Kalem Parker chipping in apple These stats didn't show up on Elite Prospects last season, so we kind of have to go 1 by 1.

CBJ did us a favor last night, taking away the 2nd point from the Canucks in a shootout. Utah fell in OT too, which probably pushes them out of the playoff picture. Jets had their way with the Devils and hopefully softened them up for us, but, Devils played Jake Allen last night and saved Markstrom for us. Also, it appears that we are at 45/50 contracts, with 3 more ready to go but off the books. I think the goalie got signed to a PTO in Iowa, but won't be playing 9 games to kick in the ELC contract. Wutzke is only 18. It appears that some enlightenment has come from the Jiricek injury. He suffered a lacerated spleen. I'm not sure how long that takes to heal. Chisholm is listed as day to day with an estimated return time off today. April 6th for Kaprizov and Ek (via puckpedia).

Gaudreau did get the bounce back season that some of us thought he'd have once he got fully healthy again. We haven't had many shootouts, so that aspect of his game hasn't shined, but he has stepped up when few have with everyone else injured. $2.1m doesn't look like such a bad deal now. 34 points so far for that contract has to be considered pretty good value. Even Johansson is up to 27 points now. 30 points at around $2m is adequate for a forward, I would think. The nice thing about having Freddy, even as a 4th line player is that he can move up and down due to injuries. He's that type of depth every club needs. He's adequate in the face off circle and provides that RHS we seem to be lacking. While most have thought his contract will not age well, it appears with the cap increases coming that it will. Freddy also has shown he's a pretty durable player.

Where do you draw the line at the 50 points? For me, I think he's already there because I'm counting the 6 in the WJCs. I think it's perfectly fair to do that, as those guys were the best of their peers. So, to me, he's at 52 points for the season.

I've heard no rumors, but I'd have to think that Detroit is in the mix. Fletcher used to be real good at getting these CFA, I'm not so sure that Shooter is. Washe, to me, seems like a Sturm type of player and we could use one of those. Also out there, I would consider signing Matt Davis the DU goalie to a PTO in Iowa after their year is up. A PTO wouldn't count against contracts, and he have an ELC for next season, likely in the minors. He may be part of the battery for the Heartlanders, but he also might back up Vaj in Iowa. With the graduation of The Wall, we still need goalies in the system.

Zeev Buium's game. A nice 3 pointer versus Providence. One thing I noticed was that Denver plays a much faster game than MSU does. Their skaters are faster, their movements are sharper, and they seem to have a better offense. That being said, what it looks like we get in Zeev is a very talented, great skating defender with a lot of offensive upside. He defends much like Brodin's style where he doesn't really take much of the body. He played PK and I really didn't like that style, but, with the threat of a stretch pass if he gets control, that can back off some forwards. What I learned from last night was that Zeev is too good for the NCAA. He also seems to have that Faber gene where you don't get tired with long shifts and can recuperate quickly and hop back over the boards. The key question here is: Can Zeev make a seamless transition into the best hockey league in the world? Zeev would need to ramp up his speed and decision making a bit more to be as effective. Also, Denver looked really good last night, and I expect the upcoming game against BC is going to be very, very entertaining. I also happened to like the Denver goalie, and I think he might be a guy to look at and invest in if he's undrafted. Davis is 23 and a quick check on elite prospects shows him as available. This would be one of my signings coming out of college, he should be a senior. I'll be honest, I am torn between saving an ELC year with Buium vs. getting him into uniform and seeing what he can do in our playoffs. Watching our PP go against Washington where they took all defensemen off the #1 unit scared me. Are Faber and Spurgeon really that bad? Or, are they conserving some TOI because they're exhausted? Buium could help, but what would really help is getting Kaprizov and Ek back for that top unit.

Thought I could add this as my late contribution. https://russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2025/03/27/alex-ovechkin-kirill-kaprizov-sushi-bar-capitals-wild-game/

I missed this game thread with you guys. Had an 8:30 beer-leaguer and sure as shit they had some new goofball referee who was wearing ear-warmers and couldn't skate. On a shit call, they score and tie it at the last second. In OT, guess who scored the winner??? 😃 Seeing the Wild's win and comments went good with the suds. 👌

Ummm what about trenin, Hartman, gadreau, or foligno.... a ton of money tied up in 4th liners. So they get more?! What is going to change? They will overpay for more aging vets or blow the bank and sign very good but not ELITE players to WAY overpriced contracts for too long.... and the mediocrity will continue. When you see the pattern...

A goal and 2 assists in their 5-1 win over Providence to open the Frozen Four? It's a nice start! I believe it puts him back on pace to hit 50 points again if they can play a few more games, but Boston College will be a tougher opponent on Sunday.

Bucks up 3-1. Denver blew out Providence. No Buuim on Monday.

In Buuim we trust producing offense on PP1

Let's go Providence Buuim Monday.

I've been singing Freddy's praises all year, and am happy he's continuing to shine late in the season. He was kinda known as, "that shootout wizard." But he's doing what he can this year to erase the bad...BAD taste last year brought. He's not the "star" player by any stretch. What he is is a guy who does good at everything and lives under the radar in a good way.

Per Russo, DJ suffered a lacerated spleen and will be out of order until beginning of next season.

Yeah the guy is a major liability when he gets caught down low and the puck gets turned over. He is the slowest guy in the league. Since his only game is at the net it is almost guaranteed that we will give up a few opportunities just to put this guy on the ice.

I'll have to double check but I thought he was on the roster today. Actually, I think you're right. I tried looking at the stats during the game and I didn't find his name, but they might have only had players listed at that time who had registered a statistic in the 1st period. I see now that he had 2 hits in the game. My mistake. Hopefully Yurov gets stronger and delivers some points in the upcoming games. If not, could be a short playoffs for his team.

I have egg on my face. I apologize to Frauddy, I mean Freddy. I thought his 1 good year was a fluke. I was wrong.

I'll have to double check but I thought he was on the roster today.

Yurov's KHL team lost without him in their 2nd playoff game, this one 3-2 in OT, putting them down 0-2 in their best of 7 series. If they don't win the next game, it might be possible he doesn't get into any games for the playoffs, but I think he's getting close to returning.

Boldy played hard last night so did Zuccy. Merril is off my shit list and Lightwinds is on it now. Good game Boldy.

Plug him in ASAP

if you meant that at the start of his next contract (26/7) we'll have money to afford him - then please look back at my witty remark that said Billy is likely to trade Rossi for Boeser and then sign Nelson - both of whom would leave NO money left for Kaprizov, even with the increase in Cap. The point still stands that no free agent they sign or player they trade for this this off-season or during the 2025-26 season will prevent them from re-signing Kaprizov. again i doubt nelson and boeser (in my scenario) would be signed for a year so YES their contracts do impact our ability to sign Kap.