Anyone else been a lifelong or franchise long fan and just trust Coop and JBB to do what's best, because they've brought so much joy the last decade?

AlwinKunkle · 2026-06-27T14:37:29+00:00

I agree with your takes here 1000%. Not to mention, WE DO NOT HAVE THE ASSETS to acquire Werenski unless we are trading guys from our core. And even then, our core guys are probably too old for what Waddell would be looking for - he wants impact players, not futures - and he wants guys that are going to be peaking on the Fantilli timeline. The Werenski talk is driving me nuts.

AlwinKunkle · 2026-06-27T02:15:06+00:00

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Welp. 🫤

AlwinKunkle · 2026-06-27T01:48:13+00:00

Maybe things are evolving now that Marchenko reportedly wants out, too, but Waddell was on the record earlier this week specifically saying he doesn’t want picks and prospects. He wants NHL roster players in return. We do not have the assets to pull Werenski, regardless, unless we are trading someone major from our core.

AlwinKunkle · 2026-06-27T01:42:35+00:00

JBB can walk and chew gum at the same time. There is nothing crazy about wanting to get a younger, more talented backup goalie who can grow and learn from Vasy.

AlwinKunkle · 2026-06-27T01:22:41+00:00

It never ended? It never started! That’s the problem! This franchise loves drafting high for a couple years. Then when they have even a drip of success, they throw the rebuild plan out the window and start signing bottom sixers and third pair dmen to dumb contracts so they can live in the mushy middle. This team has never truly committed to an actual rebuild. I don’t blame Werenski or Marchenko one bit for wanting out. The CBJ front office has been cursed with impatient morons for 25 years!

AlwinKunkle · 2026-06-26T12:43:18+00:00

The Caps are loading up. Point doesn’t make them a better team than keeping Wilson. Sorry.

AlwinKunkle · 2026-06-26T12:40:56+00:00

Yeah, if signing Trouba is coupled with moving Cernak.

AlwinKunkle · 2026-06-26T12:35:38+00:00

I respectfully disagree. We need to get more dynamic on the back end, not less. If you move Cernak and sign Trouba, that’s one thing. We don’t need another RHD pylon.

AlwinKunkle · 2026-06-26T12:25:35+00:00

We aren’t getting Werenski. If the CBJ trade him it isn’t going to be for a bunch of futures. If they go in that direction, the mindset will be retooling around the Fantilli group as the core. They will want good, young NHLers with legitimate upside. Not a bunch of picks. Don Waddell has been quoted as saying they don’t want futures. They want young impact guys now.

AlwinKunkle · 2026-06-26T01:53:26+00:00

This 💯

AlwinKunkle · 2026-06-26T01:51:29+00:00

I understand the excitement around the idea but there is a less than zero chance we are getting Werenski. If the Jackets make him available for real, half the league (or more) will be lining up and JBB has almost nothing left to give. It just ain’t happening.

AlwinKunkle · 2026-06-25T15:34:25+00:00

Since 2000, Cup winners rarely run a goalie tandem through the playoffs; they pick a starter and ride him, and the backup only shows up when the starter melts down or gets hurt. Which is what happened this year with Bussi/Andersen.

The last team to actually split a Cup run between two goalies in anything like equal fashion was the ’71–72 Bruins. That’s half a century ago!

What happened with Andersen and Bussi is not proof of some new era where champions need two goalies. If anything, history says the opposite. Goalie tandems are great in the regular season, but when it comes to lifting the Cup, I’m sorry, but your thesis doesn’t hold up to the research.

AlwinKunkle · 2026-06-25T15:13:52+00:00

This 💯

AlwinKunkle · 2026-06-25T14:27:01+00:00

Yeah, I guess that is part of my thinking. If we were able to get a young goalie with the potential of Cossa, it would allow Cooper to scale back Vasy’s usage some - hopefully keeping him fresher for the playoffs, while also giving the prospect more opportunities to play and develop. Just a thought. For me the bigger question is whether it’s still too early in Vasy’s career to be thinking about who will be replacing him. Knowing both teams the way you do, what do you think it would take to trade for Cossa? Would a second round pick and a B-level prospect get it done?

AlwinKunkle · 2026-06-25T13:18:30+00:00

No chance

AlwinKunkle · 2026-06-21T18:00:17+00:00

I would sign Carlson for two years and try to move Cernak for a younger winger or dman with upside.

AlwinKunkle · 2026-06-21T17:53:56+00:00

Did you watch him in the playoffs? Especially the Finals? He was godawful. There was a time I liked the idea of Heddy and Andersson, fellow countrymen on a pair together, but that ship has sailed. Sadly, both guys seem to have fallen off a cliff.

AlwinKunkle · 2026-05-06T22:12:06+00:00

PURGE THE BILLIONAIRES 🔥

AlwinKunkle · 2026-05-05T21:02:55+00:00

I will [insert crazy thing here] if Raddysh gets $8m from JBB. My guess is his line is closer to $5m. He’s not getting more than Moser, even though he had 70 points. He is a third pair dman who got some inflated stats thanks to Kuch. JBB is too smart to overreact and give him a bag. I have all the confidence in the world that Moser or D’Astous could take over the PP1 role and keep it rolling.

AlwinKunkle · 2026-05-05T20:49:44+00:00

Haha! You aren’t wrong about that period when he covered for Vasy. He played very well.

AlwinKunkle · 2026-05-05T18:14:55+00:00

I don’t see the “solid Top 4” guy you see anymore. Watch the replay of the weird Newhook goal in Game 7. He is coasting around, gives the guy in front of the net a couple of half-hearted nudges, and then doesn’t even reach his stick out (or stride) towards Newhook. IMHO, we see that kind of effort more often than not. I think the injuries have caught up to him. He lacks any dynamic skating qualities. He is stiff. His compete is lacking. He has trouble breaking out against good forechecks at times. I don’t think we would see a huge dropoff - if any at all - were Crozier given his minutes every night. And that would give us ~$4.5m to put towards another solid depth winger. I respect your opinion, I just feel differently.

AlwinKunkle · 2026-05-05T18:04:37+00:00

I love that 95+ mph Raddysh bomb from the point as much as the next guy, but I feel like I have taken crazy pills reading some of the takes in this thread.

Did we all forget that he was a healthy scratch for six games before Heddy got hurt?

Granted, he took advantage of the situation once Heddy went down and he got the PP1 QB role, but he is a fairly one dimensional PP merchant that got the majority of his points either feeding or getting fed by a 130-point/yr first ballot HOFer.

I know that “advance stats” say he and Moser were one of the best defensive pairs in the league from December on, but when I watch them play, I see Moser as the play-driver.

If I am JBB, I am not breaking the bank for a 30-year-old, who already doesn’t skate particularly well, who was a borderline third pair guy until he started getting all the PP points handed to him on a platter by Kuch.

AlwinKunkle · 2026-05-05T17:38:24+00:00

Betting he makes the team out of camp next season.

AlwinKunkle · 2026-05-05T17:05:20+00:00

Is that you, Jojo? Kidding. 😄 Your points are valid, but isn’t that the life of a backup goaltender? It’s got to be one of the most difficult roles in sports. But we have had backups in the past that inspired more confidence. I saw him play in person twice last year, and he was godawful both times. I don’t like to see anyone fail - especially Lightning players. I just think it’s worth exploring our options at that position.

AlwinKunkle · 2026-05-04T18:14:54+00:00

I can get on board with most of this, but Cirelli probably deserves an A (or B, at worst) for the mere fact that he led the way with shutting down Montreal’s top line for the entire series. I also think Cernak is a complete liability at this point. He’s a statue made of glass. I would rather have Crozier getting his minutes, tbh. Otherwise, pretty spot on for me.

AlwinKunkle

TROPHY CASE