I don't think Pavs is bad. He's having another really productive season for the Stars; but I do think he's 39 and looks like it at times. I mean it's pretty glaring now that Wyatt has moved up to the first line. The first line is fast and highly skilled, and Robertson and Roope's production have gone up since the change. Pavs is still highly effective on the PP and when in possession in the offensive zone, but he's become a liability going back towards his own net, and we do that a lot right now. We also have two elite prospects just lurking and waiting for their chance on the big club.

Still life left in Pavs, but he's no doubt slowing down. I think if we win it all this year, he'll hang em up. If not, I could see him giving it another go.

Pavs, Duchene, and Smith are UFAs. Steel & Dellandrea are RFAs. You also have Faksa and Dadonov going into the last year of their deals. I would love to see Pavs and Duchene back and stick Pavs & Benn with the young kids to ease them in. Then you can still use them on the PP. Fun to think about this potential lineup next year:

Hintz, Robertson, Johnston
Marchment, Seguin, Duchene
Then a combo of these guys making up your bottom 6:
Benn, Pavelski, Stankoven, Bourque, Steel, Dellandrea*, Faksa*

*have to think one of these is gone at this year's deadline or in the offseason

Pavelski getting bottom 6 minutes but still playing with young skill would probably squeeze whatever's left out of him.

power play goals this season pic.twitter.com/y34HxCcnQb

— Dimitri Filipovic (@DimFilipovic) January 28, 2024

Half season renewal prices are out. My renewal price is going up by 9%.

Purchasing a new plan if you weren't already a plan holder is going up by 32%. Tickets were $34 this year and a new plan would be $45 next year.

Half season is also losing the concession discount. Have to buy one preseason game which effectively raises my ticket price by another 5%.

Basically it works out to a 14% increase after adding the preseason game which has no value.

Was just coming here to post about the increases myself.

Full season up 9%. My seats are going from an average of $87 to $95. This average factors in the 3 preseason games.

Mine is going up 9% as well. Guess that's why they've been telling everyone a double-digit percentage increase. "Soften the blow". Ha.
This sucks.
I'm looking at $9 more per ticket x 2 tickets x 44 games. Extra $792 for the season.

Yikes. Mike Ribeiro is facing up to 50 years in prison if convicted.

"Mike Ribeiro, 43, of Fresno, Ca., who played over 1,000 games in 17 seasons for five different organizations, including the Dallas Stars, was indicted on three charges of sexual assault which allegedly took place on June 23, 2021. The indictments were handed down in January of 2022, and Ribeiro was seen for jury selection in a Franklin County court on Monday."

https://www.kltv.com/2024/01/29/sex-assault-trial-ex-nhl-player-franklin-county-continues-with-nurse-testimony/

Sad it's come to that. I used to see Ribs all the time when he played for the Stars. He was a good dude and we talked quite often.

The "culture" around hockey is really taking a hit right now. Between this, the Carter Hart, Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube, and Cal Foote sexual assault situation, and the Joel Quenneville situation the last couple of years, hockey looks like it's a pretty toxic culture at times, especially at the junior level.

USA hockey emailed today that neck guards will be mandatory for youth as of August 1.

Moves already being made in the West. Vancouver has acquired Elias Lindholm from Calgary. Great pckup for the Canucks.

Interesting article about Esa being part owner of his former Finnish club.


Esa Lindell and Teuvo Teravainen are helping to save their former Finnish hockey club, Jokerit

Jokerit, a historic Finnish hockey club, faced financial struggles after joining the Kontinental Hockey League and losing sponsors due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Former Jokerit players Esa Lindell and Teuvo Teravainen, along with other investors, have acquired partial ownership of the club to bring it back to Finnish hockey.

Jokerit will start its rebirth in Mestis, the second tier of Finnish hockey, with the goal of eventually returning to the top-flight SM-liiga.

The club is currently homeless as its former arena is still Russian-owned, and they are playing games in the building of their rival, HIFK.

Jokerit holds a significant place in Finnish hockey history, having won five SM-liiga titles between 1989 and 2014.

https://www.dmagazine.com/sports/2024/01/esa-lindell-jokerit-finland/

Very cool story. Here's a companion piece. They played this at the AAC a while back.

TV Casualty said:

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Everyone just chugs as many beers as possible during the intermission.

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The Jack Daniels Club Jack & Coke strategy.

Everyone must like hatchbacks there!

Emotional Support Cobra said:

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Everyone must like hatchbacks there!

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An all wheel drive hatchback is the standard vehicle there. You will see a good amount of Skoda's on the road.

FWAppraiser said:

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Moves already being made in the West. Vancouver has acquired Elias Lindholm from Calgary. Great pckup for the Canucks.

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I'm a Canucks fan and feeling pretty great about this move. Kuzy should turn out fine in the right system given time to develop. Good attitude and good dude and he has some real juice but not a great fit for Tock's system of hard-nosed play at this time. Lindholm gives us a veteran presence and a solid 2-way versatile forward with experience for a playoff push. We kept our best prospects In hand and only gave up a late first round pick and some lesser prospects.

NHL All Star Skills Competition is tonight. I always find these events to be very entertaining but it sounds like the format is changed this year and the same smaller set of players will compete against one another in every skill instead of breaking into teams.

Is it just me, or are the sweaters this year the worst I've ever seen? They look like they were designed by a 10 year old.

Quote:

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The jerseys were designed in collaboration with drew house, the fashion brand co-founded by global superstar Justin Bieber.

The 2024 NHL All-Star jersey collection distinctively features four versions of the jersey (one for each All-Star team) in vibrant colors -- blue, red, yellow, and white. The collection brings a culturally-relevant streetwear collaboration to the NHL All-Star Game while respecting the invaluable tradition of each individual NHL team through the incorporation of a team shoulder patch.

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I don't love them, but every time I see them they grow on me just a tad. They don't really make any sense with it being in Toronto, but I guess that's probably part of the bit.

Winnipeg picked up Sean Monahan for a 2024 1st and 2027 Conditional 3rd. Not a great trade for Habs imo.

I actually don't hate it for either team. Montreal now has 2024 & 2025 1st rounders from Monahan (got the 2025 when they acquired him), they didn't have to retain salary, he's a UFA at the end of the season and has had like half a dozen surgeries. Sure he's ha ing a good bounceback year, but I'm not sure it's sustainable (especially in Bowness' system). The talent they'll end up with will far outweigh anything Monahan has or would have given them. He's definitely not worth 2 1st rounders, which is what they eventually end up with. They probably could have squeezed a little more out of a trade had they waited closer to the deadline, but I don't think much more. They could have gotten more had they retained some salary, but there are only 3 slots available for that. Since they didn't, I think they'll be getting some major assets in future trades where they will retain salary. They certainly have the space to retain more than Monahan's puny salary.

Winnipeg definitely got better with the trade. They needed an upgrade at center for that Perfetti/Ehlers line. Monahan is that upgrade. Apparently they wanted Lindholm, but Vancouver was aggressive and stole that plan.

I'd say an A for both teams.
Jim Nill, you're on notice: the west is getting better.

The only reason I say I don't love it for the Habs is because it's more likely than not that Winnipeg's pick will be a late first rounder, and the Habs need to get out of this rebuild their in. I would've preferred a player in the trade of some kind.

In regard to the Stars, I still don't see anyway we make a major move unless we can move at least one of Faksa, Hakanpaa or even Suter. We just don't have the cap space. The only "major moves" we have in the bag I can see is someway to add either one of or both Stankoven and Bourque. I think they are both that good, but again we're soooooo tight on cap space.

Definitely get where you're coming from, but I fully expect Montreal to get some good pieces in another trade where they retain some salary. They're definitely not done.

I think Hakanpaa and/or Faksa are going to get moved before the deadline. Possibly Dadonov. Nill may have to get creative with a 3 team trade though. There are teams out there with cap space that will retain salary, if you can get the right pieces involved. I don't think a $4-5M defenseman is out of the realm of possibility at all. It won't be a blockbuster, but upgrading a defenseman slot and better play from Otter may be all that's needed. One you can control. The other is entirely up to Jake.

Getting another defenseman with feet that aren't set in cement would go a long way for this team. Our biggest issue is that we are so unbelievably heavy footed, especially in our own zone. This would help Otter as well because maybe our defenders could close down space that much quicker and limit a few more shots on goal, but yes overall Otter has to be a lot better in the second half.

The more I think about it, the more I really like getting Tanev. He's a right handed defenseman that would be an upgrade over anyone not named Heiskanen or Harley. Plus, Calgary has all 3 of their retention spots and could retain 50% of his salary. Plus, the prevailing wisdom is a prospect and a 2nd rounder may be enough. Maybe trade Hakanpaa or Faksa, a 2nd rounder and a mid-tier prospect and I think you get it done. Kyrou maybe?

I think you're pretty spot on with what it would take, and he would definitely slot into the top 4 immediately. Tanev is probably the one guy that would make sense. Also, I'd think about trading Lundqvist before Kyrou. Just my personal choice.

I'd probably prefer that too, but I was reading something the other day that said Nill and DeBoer think Nils is heading in the right direction after he was given the opportunity to play with Miro out. (Funny how a guy needs to play consistently to improve). So I'm not sure they'll go that route anymore. Will depend on who else they trade. They need to keep at least 7 NHL defenseman so they have to keep either Lundkvist or Hakanpaa. Kyrou is just a name I've seen thrown out there.

He's no doubt gotten better, especially going forward. He's really become an asset moving and shooting the puck in the o zone, but his defensive awareness is still pretty rough at times. It's amazing how guys get better when they play hahaha

Otter had played great in the All Star game and looks like he will be getting part of the million dollar prize for the winning team.

I enjoyed the new skills format last night. It really amped up the level of competition for the entire event. Apparently McDavid helped design a lot of it so it's fitting he won and for the cash.

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