78 Comments

What did you think of the Donato / Dubnyk trade to San Jose? Similarly, any free agent targets for the Sharks?

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What are your opinions on having defensemen playing strictly on their own side (LD, RD), and how important is it really? How much does it show in analytics when a player is played on his off-side? And the most important question, will you be getting NHL 21? Cheers.

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Not sure about the analytics, but most players/coaches prefer it that way. Takes an extra second to make plays along the wall.

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I for one would LOVE a person like JFresh to do NHL 21 ratings. If only he could release them and everyone be able to download them. Roster sharing is one thing I NEED for EA to put into the game.

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I do NHL custom ratings every season and will be releasing them shortly after the game comes out/first roster update hits.

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What do you think are the main priorities for Boston? I think it should be a retool of the scoring depth, but also we're probably not going to get Krug back, so finding somebody who can fill his role is also pretty important.

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I like Grzelczuskdhdyk, but a 4/5 type LD would be a nice add for them. They could also use some plug-ins in the bottom six. I don't see why they're so worried about their top six, I say keep DeBrusk and Kase on that 2nd line.

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It's okay man, I'm a Bruins fan and I still have no clue how to spell it. lmao

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1) What do you think of Mikael Granlund?

2) Who is the best fit for a top 6 LW for the Oilers?

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I'd love to hear how much you think the Habs overpaid for signing Josh Anderson. And how much of the overpaying do you think is inevitable due to the tax situation in Quebec? Is there a way to quantify how much better/worse a place is--i.e. Tampa vs. Montreal (no state income tax in Florida, for example).

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Would trading Schmidt and acquiring Pietrangelo or Krug be a substantial improvement to Vegas’s defense?

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It would definitely be an improvement in terms of they're better players than Schmidt, but they don't address what I would consider to be their biggest need.

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Net front scoring? Would need to be a LW, and after they hopefully resign Cousins. Hinostroza? Someone else a better fit?

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Best Conn Smythe performance of the 2010s, according to analytics?

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I think Dom L has an article about this, WAR and RAPM and stuff aren't available for the playoffs so it's tough to tell from the stats I use.

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What is the best avenue for the Habs to improve their offensive potency before next season?

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Hire a new powerplay coach

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Duncan Keith in his prime: overrated or underrated?

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Overrated but I get it

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Overrated offensively or defensively?

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How good were guys like Zetterberg, Datsyuk, and Marty St. Louis in their best seasons of the analytics era? Would be fun to hear your thoughts on them.

Would you rank them as literally top 3 in the league in their best seasons? Anything fun or weird that stands out about them?

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Datsyuk and St. Louis were elite, especially Dats who was arguably the analytics GOAT. Zetterberg looks less exceptional, maybe unfairly due to how much he played with Datsyuk.

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If you're TBL's GM what is the threshold price wise at which you don't match a potential offer sheet for Sergachev (i.e what's the max you're willing to pay him)?

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Probably around 6.5. He's a middle pair guy right now and I don't think they can afford to pay him star money.

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The Kings are in the market for a reasonably-priced, bottom-six forward on a two-year deal. Who would you take?

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Vinnie Hinostroza

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What are your thoughts on TJ Brodie, Chris Tanev, and Radko Gudas?

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You can find them here: https://jhanhky.substack.com/p/whos-the-leafs-next-rhd

Except Brodie, who I think is probably the best defensive defenceman on the market.

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Who do you think the Leafs sign?

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Jankowski and one of Stecher or Benning

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Many avs fans think a 3C is needed to be added this offseason. As a big Tyson Jost fan, I think his age, projected contract, and underlying numbers say he should be the obvious choice to be given the reigns. What do you think about Jost? Is there a better value to be had at 3C?

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I like Jost plenty, and between him and Compher I don't see 3C as an issue for the Avs. I think they need some short-term help on defence until the kids are truly ready to go.

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Agree, I would explore trading Timmins + for a Severson/ Weegar #3 type to solidify things. Then your current and future is looking like Byram-Makar

Girard-Severson et all

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Do you think Taylor Hall takes a 1-2 year deal?

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Wouldn't surprise me but man I'd love to see Carolina get him.

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You think strome/2nd next year get it done for the hawks to get korpisalo?

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That's a massive overpay in my mind for a goalie I don't think is very good. I personally wouldn't trade Matthew Strome and a 2nd for Korpisalo haha.

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Dylan you mean?

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No, I mean like I am so low on Korpisalo that I wouldn't even be willing to add Matthew Strome, let alone Dylan Strome to a 2nd to get him.

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Wow. Ill have to go back through the data to see if I would agree. Hmm

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Oh one more that I know you cant know the answer to but do you have a hunch any historical players had terrible advanced stats or were underrated for impact? Like do you think Doug Harvey was a real Drew Doughty in his late 20s?

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The stats we have on late career Adam Foote are awful, wouldn't surprise me if he was a "stay at home" plugger.

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What!?!? But he was on the legendary 06 olympic team with Draper and Redden?!

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Hi, I was looking at Moneypuck yesterday, and Henrik Lundqvist was 11th in the league at 5v5 save % above expected. Georgiev for comparison sake was 23rd. Where Hank struggled this past year was on the PK (same with last year) which really dragged his numbers down. I then looked at the hockeyviz isolated charts and when Hank was playing, the Rangers PK Defense was a shocking 42% worse than the league average. When he wasn't on the ice it was a still comical 25%. Do you have any feel as to why Hank has generally been fine at 5v5 but has gotten dragged on the PK. And seeing that he performed so much better than Holtby last year, what kind of boost would we see for the capitals?

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Could be good, he'll definitely be motivated. Goaltending is such a crapshoot but he certainly projects better than Holtby did.

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If you're Ken Holland what do you do to make the oilers a contender with small cap space and a bunch of ugly contracts

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Moneyball it, which I don't expect them to. Walking away from Athanasiou was a good start. I'd like to see them find a more defensively responsible player to line up with McDavid, but most important is finding some offence for the blueline. Not sure where that'd come from though.

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How should teams like Ottawa best weaponize their cap here on out? Do you think only trading one of their picks for assets (Matt Murray) during/prior to the draft was a failure?

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If they were smart they would build out their war chest of assets on cap dumps but it looks like they're just gonna purchase a bunch of bad "character" players without getting any sweeteners.

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Should Calgary have targeted Max Domi? if Josh Anderson got a Domi and a 3rd I feel like Calgary could have got Domi and maybe a 2nd for Monahan. Any other thoughts on how Calgary can break away from mediocrity?

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Monahan's value is pretty low in my mind. Honestly I kinda think the only way for CGY to break away from mediocrity is to tear it down.

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Oh I agree about Monahan haha hes really limited but he has strong counting stats (besides this year) so I was hoping he could be moved for decent value. And yes that is sad to hear but probably true. Your newsletter is great by the way, you're very talented

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From a fan perspective, who would you like to see the Penguins sign?

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Craig Smith would of course be fun but they need a playmaking 3C really badly. If they could get Wennberg really cheap I'd be interested in that.

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After Niskanen's retirement, do you think Pietrangelo is a possibility for the Flyers if they manage to move some cap (eg. Ghost or JVR)?

There have been plenty of rumors about Laine to Philly, but he's likely gonna cost too much unless Winnipeg is willing to sell low. What sort of package would get the trade done? I assume it starts with Sanheim or Myers.

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Don't really know why Laine would be the guy for Philly, but yeah one of those two would for sure have to be the starting point. Pietrangelo seems like a weird fit considering their expansion draft issues.

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I love Rocco Grimaldi but how good is he actually?

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I like him! It'll be interesting to see how he does without Bonino and Smith though.

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For sure. That was our best line by MILES. If the Preds were to rebuild and trade him what would you want in return?

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Probably couldn't get much for him to be honest

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;-;

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TJ, Killorn, Gourde. Which one would you take?

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Gourde. Would love him on the Penguins. Forecheckers with talent are the next big thing in the NHL, you mark my words.

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Is there anyone the Sens should go after this offseason? Whether it's FA or Trade

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There are just so many things the Sens need to do and could do. If there was ever a team that needed "veteran leadership" right now, it'd be them, so I hope they get some who can play. Big opportunity for them to go short term big money to get to the cap ceiling and help out their kids. I like the Murray acquisition

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Fair point. Another question about the Sens if you don't mind, do you think the Sens will regret the Sanderson pick at 5 when other players like Rossi, Perfetti and Drysdale were available?

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Not a prospect guy but everyone I know who is sees Sanderson as a Dumoulin-type 3D at best.

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Which teams do you think will surprise you in free agency (sign more/fewer guys than you thought, etc)?

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Not sure, but it'd be funny if Fleury kept Vegas from being able to do anything.

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you're literally asking him "What do you think will happen that you don't think will happen"

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Yes

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Any realistic targets for the Devils?

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With their analytics-heavy front office I wonder whether Craig Smith might be a guy they look at

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Would Koivu be a nice add for any team or is age too much of a factor?

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As a 4th line centre or depth guy? Sure. As a 3C? Combination of his 0 offence and age make that a tough sell for me.

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Best value defenseman that could help the Devils in a lot of areas?

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Would love to see them snag a guy like Toews or Weegar with an offer sheet, but Brodie would be a nice add for them.

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