Random Snapshots: The Coolest Game On Earth

Photo credit:© Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

4 years ago

Just some random things on my mind….

Still can’t believe the Canucks signed Tyler Myers to that deal they gave him and I really can’t believe the Penguins gave Brandon Tanev not only a six year deal, but a no movement clause to boot… And unlike a lot of Jets fans, I actually liked both those guys.

We’re not even mid-way through July, so I am trying really hard not to panic – especially when Kevin Cheveldayoff and the Jets are famous for keeping a tight lipped ship when it comes to contract talks – but I think given the uncertainty around the club the last few months and the fact that we are a little bit over two months away from the opening of training camp, it would be nice to see Kyle Connor and Patrik Laine inked to deals sooner rather than later.

I really don’t know if a Dmitry Kulikov buyout is worth it to be honest. Anyone else get the feeling he’s going to be given the Ondrej Pavelec treatment this fall and handed a one way ticket to the AHL? He along with Steve Mason will always be in that “seemed like a good idea at the time” category of signings.

If we have learned but only one thing this summer, it’s that Marc Bergivin proved why GM’s don’t (and really shouldn’t) offer sheet RFA’s

Two seasons ago the Vegas Golden Knights didn’t exist or have any players on their roster and now they are a club fighting to get under the cap. It’s rather remarkable and for as much grief as the Columbus Blue Jackets got for going “all in” at the trade deadline with nothing to really show for it (outside of a stunning upset of the Lightning of course) Vegas has maybe a two year window to win a Cup before handing out mega contracts to the likes of Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty and Marc-Andre Fleury doesn’t start looking like a massive blunder.

Remember the “coolest game on earth” ads that aired in the late 90’s and early 00’s? The NHL would be wise to revisit that and do at least one ad for every team.

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Jacob Trouba hasn’t signed with the New York Rangers yet and his arbitration hearing is set for July 25. I don’t know what point I am making in pointing this out and negotiations are said to be going “amicably” between Trouba and his new club (which when you think of it, is more info than what we know about how negotiations are going between the Jets and their RFA’s) so maybe this isn’t a big deal, but then again with Trouba yet again in a bit of a contract impasse at this point, maybe it is.

Jake Gardiner would look really good in a Jets uniform, and I feel like the longer he goes unsigned, the better a chance Chevy would have to sign him for even just a short – thinking two year – deal which would be possible if one of Laine or Connor go for a bridge deal. He wouldn’t be a proper replacement for Trouba, but suddenly you have a top four of Byfuglien, Morrissey, Niku and Gardiner with Beaulieu, Poolman and Pionk in your fifth and sixth spots and that’s not too bad at all.

Speaking of bridge deals, ideally if you’re the GM of the Jets, Connor is the one you bridge and Laine is the one the Jets should sign long term. Unfortunately I think the agents for both players – Richard Evans and Michael Liut respectively – would like the opposite for their clients. Connor is at a point where his base stats will require a big salary (which he can thank both Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler for in a lot of ways) and he’ll look to lock that in for a good length of time. Laine had an up and down year and while no one questions his shooting, everything else about his game is under scrutiny and thus it would be wise for him to bet on himself, take a smaller bridge deal and look to cash in big time in a few years when those other skills develop.

The five Jets prospects I am most intrigued by for one reason or another: David Gustafsson, Mikhail Bedin, Logan Stanley, Kristian Vesalinen and Harrison Blaisdell. These aren’t my “top five” per say, but the five I am most interested in seeing how they develop.

Last word to John Malloy who sums up the existence of hockey fans in 2019 very well with this one tweet:

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