While there hasn’t been any activity on the ice lately, there has been plenty of news recently off of it as the NHL continues its preparations for games resuming in August, the bizarre Draft Lottery results, a new CBA agreement in place, and much more. With that in mind, it’s time for another edition of the PHR Mailbag.
Our last mailbag was split into two parts – among the topics in the first one was free agency and the impact the salary cap freeze may have on the open market while the second discussed Seattle and the draft, among other topics.
You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on Twitter or by leaving a comment down below with the mailbag running on Saturday.
When play stopped, the Oilers offense was looking very strong while the Blackhawks defense was a mess. Because of the long suspension of play, Chicago will have Calvin DeHaan back for sure and could have Brent Seabrook back as well.
They also have some younger, talented players who won’t have played a grueling campaign before jumping into a playoff. If Corey Crawford can stay healthy and in net, what are the chances this is a more competitive series, perhaps one Chicago can steal, than it looks to be at first glance?
What teams should be on upset watch?
For our dynasty league I have the misfortune of having the 4th pick. One through 3 are expected to be Lafreniere, Askarov (goalies are gold) and Byfield. Scoring cats for skaters are Goals (G), Assists (A), Points (P), Plus/Minus (+/-), Penalty Minutes (PIM), Powerplay Points (PPP), Shots on Goal (SOG), Hits (HIT). Trying to figure out which of the following would be best at 4th. Marco Rossi, Lucas Raymond, Tim Stutzle or Alexander Holtz. All of the top prospects from previous drafts were picked up. The only one that might be worth considering is Victor Soderstrom.
Are all the remaining games going to be nationally televised?
Do you see the Sens making any draft day trades with their draft capital? I know many are hoping for 3&5 to be packaged for #1 which I don’t see but could they move the Islanders pick (assuming it ends up being this year’s) for a roster player. With the cap crunch, that or one of their many 2nd’s could land them a decent roster piece.
Thoughts on the Lindy Ruff signing by NJ and where do you think some of the more prominent names could end up going?
Do you think Buffalo is considering moving Jack Eichel? If so, what would they want in return, High end talent that is already in the NHL or a slew of draft picks (#1’s, #2’s)? Finally, if they were open to moving Eichel, don’t you think the team that wins the Lanfriere sweepstakes would be smart to try to acquire Eichel?
How long can the NHL realistically stay finacially viable in all of its markets if fans can not attend games in person even heading into the 20/21 season and thus not able to provide NHL teams with gate revenues?