Moron...Vrbata was a STEAL hes not going anywhere LOL

Weber = not more than a depth defenseman. Provides offense which is nice for a moribund PP like ours (how did we finish top 10 lol) but he's atrocious in his own end. Can move the puck OK but gets beaten by both strength and skill too easily. He'll be overpaid because he racked up goals.
Matthias = as one-dimensional as it gets. Yeah he also scored some nice goals but guy literally doesn't do anything other than take the puck to the net from the wing. Good 4th liner to have but he'll want to be paid like a 2nd-3rd liner due to his goal totals and he just doesn't provide that sort of value.

Both of them should walk. We got plenty of youngster to take Matthias' spot and Clenndening/Corrado should take Weber's.

We're still going to be tight against the cap even if they walk, so Benning will need to figure a way to get rid of guys like Miller, Burrows and/or Bieksa. Dorsett and Sbisa are impossible to move with their deals. If he can't find a way he'll trade/lose forwards actually providing what their paycheck is worth like Higgins and Richardson.

^ Burrows and Bieksa leaving would definitely be the best case scenario. Both are on the downside of their respective careers but are being paid like they're in their prime (about 9M combined cap).

And I agree about Weber. I do like him as a depth guy but he can easily be replaced by Corrado or Clendening. Getting rid of Bieksa also makes room for these young guys.

Unfortunately, we need cap space, moron.

Green on McCann: "You can see he is a real high-end skilled guy. Has a good shot and good vision."
Green on Virtanen: "Big, powerful kid. Great release and a strong skater. Looks like your prototypical power forward."
Green says "there is a lot to be excited about" with both Jake Virtanen and Jared McCann. Wants to get a better look at both.

This post was edited by Farine on May 6 2015 10:51pm

Just some analysis based on things I've read on Virtanen and McCann (I haven't watched either play with my own eyes):

Virtanen obviously has all the tools but some are afraid he has no toolbox. I guess you can compare him to Kassian in that you see the potential for him to be a great power-forward but he may not put it together. Great shot and physical abilities but needs to learn how to use his teammates and play without the puck.

Haven't seen many criticisms of McCann other than a few complaints about him shying away from the physical game. Even if this is true, it hasn't hurt his defensive game or possession/advanced stats numbers. Like Green said, he has a good "all-around" skill-set.

Just read that Thomas Gradin (our main Euro scout) was very upset that we chose Virtanen over Nylander.

This year, Nylander had a strong half-season as an 18 year-old in the AHL whereas Virtanen put up disappointing numbers in the WHL.

Critics of our draft choice say that Virtanen was a "PC" move because new management thought drafting a rugged BC boy would help the team reconnect with the fans. There were arguably better choices available, particularly Nylander, Ehlers and Ritchie, but only time will tell.

Obviously, with our luck, our tank year got us the 6th pick in a draft that had a "big 5".

This post was edited by LuLer on May 7 2015 05:46am

Utica lost game 1 of the 2nd round in QUAD OT. Markstrom made 65 saves on 67 shots but it wasn't enough. Fortunately we won game 2 the next day in single OT.

Cassel's Generals are up 1-0 in the series against McDavid. Cassels was named 1st star




Game 2 is going on right now.

Delaware's Cole Cassels named first star tonight in Oshawa's 4-1 win over Erie. Had two assists, +2, held Connor McDavid to one assist, -2.

From game 1

And the assist came when Cassels wasn't on the ice