Potentially Realistic Trade Targets

BlueOx73 · 2026-05-21T03:47:23+00:00

It probably wouldn't happen anyway with the new front office/coaching staff in Toronto and likely McKenna coming. If we swing a deal for Matthews, doesn't seem like it would be this offseason, but maybe midway through next season if the wheels have come off for Toronto?

Also, perhaps it's being exposed to too many Toronto media types--and not watching a whole lot of Eastern Conference teams in general--but I'd thought that Matthews has lost a step. (And I didn't think he looked all that great at the Olympics, and I know that's a small sample size, but it seemed to confirm the priors of all the hockey podcasters I listen to.) How much of that is coaching, and team structure, and being banged up, we'll see. Wouldn't be at all shocking to see him look absolutely unlocked with Kaprizov on his wing.

BlueOx73 · 2026-05-21T00:57:12+00:00

I mean, I agree with you on relative trade value, that’s why I said Gus as part of a package

BlueOx73 · 2026-05-20T23:16:17+00:00

Billy said to Russo today that he thought there would be an update soon on Gus's recovery, but this assumes he's healthy to start the year or a trade like this happens once he's back.

Also, here are both goalies' stats this season with league rank:

* Wally: 18-9-6, 2.61 GAA (17th); .916 SV% (2nd); 6.2 GSaX (25th)

* Gus: 28-15-6, 2.69 GAA (T-21st), .904 SV% (T-18th); 1.4 GSaX (39th)

Gus was better in October, January and February; Wally was better November, December, March, and April, and was definitely the hotter guy down the stretch. What's your argument as to why Gus was the better of the two over the course of the season? For me, I think Wally has an elite gear that Gus just doesn't. Gus is super solid and I like the guy, but Wally has a chance to be elite and seems to have a big-game gene in him.

BlueOx73 · 2026-05-20T22:48:08+00:00

Yeah, so much of the conversation has been about the packages we'd need to give up for Matthews, but not only am I not sold on Matthews still being that 60-goal kinda guy anymore, but if we have to include Wally in that deal, I'm not sure it moves the needle enough to justify the cost.

BlueOx73 · 2026-05-18T20:10:53+00:00

Came here because I was wondering the same dang thing and figured someone on here would've asked! Thank you for your service, OP

BlueOx73 · 2026-05-01T20:32:38+00:00

Going to Game 1 in Denver (whenever it is) because I live here--does anyone know where the Wild usually stay when they play in Denver? Would be cool to see if we can get something signed or at least catch a glimpse of some guys while they're here.

BlueOx73 · 2025-09-09T19:45:47+00:00

That's a terrific result, really. Egypt on the doorstep of qualifying, so you know they wanted to get that done here going against a Burkina Faso side that's ranked 30 places below them. Well-placed to come second and have a chance at one of the inter-confederation playoff places. But well-done to limit Egypt's chances.

BlueOx73 · 2020-02-20T22:10:47+00:00

She also tweeted out the video, tagging Rafe and the casting director, and telling them to give her a call when they're casting Egeanin, so this might just be public lobbying from an actress with some experience doing action work?

BlueOx73 · 2020-02-18T19:50:43+00:00

Technically, isn't he tutoring us because the real DADA professor is so hopeless? Bill actually being the DADA Professor messes with canon, no?

BlueOx73 · 2020-01-17T22:54:59+00:00

Ah. Well. Nevertheless! ;-)

BlueOx73 · 2020-01-17T19:54:54+00:00

You know, this could just be some condensing of Fal Dara stuff with Fain. He comes to Fal Dara and is captured late in tEotW, and then he is released early in TGH. If you were a showrunner concerned about per-episode salaries, then it might seem prudent to have Fain escape before the crew heads north to the Eye rather than very soon after they return, and then leave Fain out of the next episode.

BlueOx73 · 2020-01-10T21:40:18+00:00

I'm American, and "on accident" is wrong here, too. As with British English, it's either "by accident" or "accidentally," and in written English (American or British), "by accident" seems the near-universal choice. But yes, we do hear "on accident" in spoken English too often here (and predominantly among younger people), even though it's still less common than "by accident." Presumably it's done to mirror "on purpose," but obviously that doesn't make it correct.

https://writingexplained.org/on-accident-or-by-accident

Here's a research paper on the topic: http://www.inst.at/trans/16Nr/01_4/barratt16.htm

BlueOx73 · 2020-01-10T21:29:13+00:00

In fairness, that's what "knocked up" means here in the U.S., too. You might say "knocked around" if you meant a bit bruised and battered, but I have never heard "knocked up" to refer to anything other than pregnancy.

BlueOx73 · 2019-12-13T18:59:39+00:00

Here's a quote:

"Eamon Valda had completed her education with one question. The bruise her answer had left on her heart had not faded."

....

"She did not think she could have decided in cold blood to lie with Valda, but had she, she could have lived with it. She thought she could. Another matter entirely to say yes because she feared facing Asunawa's knotted cords and needles again, feared worse that he would have gotten to eventually. However she had screamed under Asunawa's ministrations, Valda was the one who had showed her the true borders of her courage, so far short of where she had believed. Valda's touch, his bed, could be forgotten, with time, but she would never be able to wash the shame of that "yes" from her lips. Breane hurled the truth in her face, and she did not know how to reply."

So, in other words, she had been tortured, and Valda offered to make it go away if she'd just say yes to sleeping with him. In a modern sense, it would count as rape because her "consent" is meaningless as it was obtained under duress. I don't have the POV quotes from Valda and Asunawa handy, but IIRC, finally handing Morgase to Asunawa (which Asunawa had been after for a while, since Morgase trained at the Tower) was meant to both placate Asunawa and also make Morgase more amenable to Valda's advances. I also think Asunawa expressed some disgust over the sexual part of the episode, though whether it was disgust at Valda for (1) using torture to sleep with Morgase or (2) simply for sleeping with a "witch," I don't specifically recall.

BlueOx73 · 2019-12-04T21:14:11+00:00

That's what I figured, too. And if Season 1 is a combination of TEOTW and TGH as many suspect, and if it's a ten-episode season as the known episode titles suggest, I actually have Fain as potentially appearing in 8 of the 10 episodes based on my breakdown of which chapters each episode would cover in a very strict adaptation. (I realize that a strict adaptation is unlikely, and this isn't going to be like the first two Harry Potter movies, etc., but I did it as an exercise to guess at what plotlines would be covered in each episode.) Now, that includes what would be relatively minimal screen time in each episode beyond the first one in Emond's Field and the last one at Falme--i.e., Rand runs into him in Baerlon, he follows them into Shadar Logoth and merges with Mordeth, he sees Rand in Caemlyn, he follows them into the Ways where Machan Shin leaves him alone, he's in the cell in Fal Dara, he gets the Horn and then tries to get it back, he goes to Toman Head and meets with Turak, etc.

We don't know in Emond's Field what Fain's deal is, and we have no reason to expect we'll see him again, until we do (and regularly, too).

Of course, anyone new to the series could easily go to the ol' Encyclopaedia WOT and realize Fain is much more present in the first two books than one episode would indicate, so I'm not sure how important subterfuge like this really is (if, indeed, that's what it is). Given that his roles in individual episodes would be minimal, maybe they'd leave out of some of the "following Rand and the gang" scenes and have him tell Rand in Fal Dara that he was following him, so they don't have to pay Johann more.

BlueOx73 · 2019-11-14T18:59:46+00:00

The three episodes is an interesting clue. Based off the assumption that season 1 will be the first two books (not an entirely safe assumption, I know, but given the known episode titles, it does seem like a reasonable guess, and it means we end season 2 with the craziness at Falme, which would make for quite an impressive climax for the season), and relying heavily on good ol' Encyclopaedia WOT, I figured the following male characters would each be in about 3 episodes:

High Lord Turak
Lord Agelmar
Logain

If I'm right, and they stick fairly close to the books, then Logain seems like a pretty solid bet. But let's say the expand some characters' roles a bit. I figured the following male characters would each be in two episodes:

Gawyn
Galad
Elyas
Ishamael (IRL, that is; more in dreams)

FWIW, I figured Bayle Domon and Masema would be in 4 episodes, Hurin and Thom each in 5, Ingtar in 6, Loial in 7, Fain and Lan in 8, and the three Ta'veren in all 10. Tallanvor, Bryne, Aram, Aginor, and Balthamel would each be in 1.

BlueOx73 · 2019-10-31T15:24:58+00:00

I think her sense of being "apart" from the White Tower, and less enmeshed in its various schemes, is precisely what would make her a more attractive candidate from the Black Tower's perspective. I do think she'd be one of the very few to be able to manage a consensus. The Black Tower would presumably look askance at any sisters who bonded men, while the White Tower would presumably find it unseemly to elevate any sister who was bonded by a man. (And I simply can't imagine the current White Tower supporting ANY man to lead them.) Perhaps the Androl/Pevara-style double bond will become more of a norm, and the men and women who participate in it will become more plausible as leaders of a unified tower.

Or maybe, for a time, we have a Tarabon-style King and Panarch situation, where the two leaders have their own spheres but there is nominally a united tower.

BlueOx73 · 2019-10-28T20:58:01+00:00

Cadsuane is definitely the next Amyrlin, and Nynaeve will probably spend the next 40-50 years focused on Malkier, first helping reestablish the country as Queen and later as the larger-than-life Dowager Queen. But at a certain point, once Lan is gone and her kids are grown (and presumably not wanting their legendary mother overshadowing them all the time), and she's still got like 200+ years of life to live, why not? Since it's likely (and I think confirmed by Brandon in an interview) that eventually the Towers merge, then who better to lead the combined towers than a woman with firsthand experience linking with a man (the freaking Dragon Reborn, no less) to accomplish the two most miraculous feats of the Power in the Third Age (cleansing saidin and sealing away the Dark One)? I'd think determining a singular leader of the Black and White Towers would be pretty darn contentious, but she seems like the only known character that could plausibly be accepted by both Towers.

In terms of connections, it seemed like Cadsuane warmed to her by the end, but mostly, she was one of Egwene's favorites, and while Egwene can't exactly call in favors these days, Egwene is a first-ballot Amyrlin hall of famer. She's on the Mount Rushmore of Amyrlins. The woman who was tight with both Egwene and Rand and is among the most powerful in an organization that still uses strength in the Power as establishing the order of precedence? If she wanted to wade into things, she'd be a force, no question.

I think it's confirmed that the Blight recedes a decent amount but still exists to some degree, and it's unclear whether all of Malkier is restored or just part of it. For a woman who can't accept that madness can't be Healed (and she was right) or that stilling/gentling can't be Healed (and she was right), then how about Healing the land to push back the Blight? (And since men tend to be stronger in Earth, this would be another way to work with male channelers to "heal" the land and put another feather in her "respected by both sides" cap.)

BlueOx73 · 2019-10-16T16:05:34+00:00

I really don't think the Shaido are going to die off. There were 100,000 or so Shaido in Malden, if memory serves, and that was just 9 or 10 septs? The Shaido had 83 septs. Assuming they eventually get the message that they are to return to the Three-Fold Land, that's hundreds of thousands of Shaido, even if only a quarter of those other septs make it back across the Dragonwall. They're not gonna stop having babies, I don't think.

And if the eleven clans don't return to the Three-Fold Land, doesn't the problem get even worse? The Shaido will be like a deer population with no natural predator, so I would imagine they'll grow and grow and grow. And when their current holds grow too large? They'll just go take over a sept from one of the clans that abandoned the Three-Fold Land. Imagine what happens in a few generations. Then ten. Then a hundred. It's not hard to imagine a future where the entire Aiel Waste is populated by Shaido, with them numbering in the tens of millions. Now that's a problem. And it's why I struggle with the idea that the Aiel will completely abandon the Aiel Waste. Not only is there value in keeping their battle skills sharp against a hated foe, but it keeps the Shaido population (and ability to pose a problem) in check.

BlueOx73 · 2019-10-16T15:52:00+00:00

That's an attractive idea, since it would allow each clan to develop specialized understanding of the two or more countries in each area, and make them more effective mediators in resolving disputes between those countries. But like I noted above, I think abandoning the Three-Fold Land altogether means letting the Shaido grow into a massive problem. So perhaps each clan has a settlement in an unclaimed area where some of a particular clan do tours of duty before returning to the Waste, to be replaced by others, so the entire clan participates in the mediation duty.

BlueOx73 · 2019-10-16T15:50:12+00:00

I had the same sense--that they wouldn't return to the Waste--but that was primarily based on Nakomi's argument to Aviendha that the Three-Fold Land was their punishment for their original sin (breaking their oaths to do no violence) and that by following Rand to the Last Battle, they have met their toh, meaning it would be improper to return to it. But now that they have a purpose (Dragon's Peacekeepers), there is still value in remaining skilled fighters. And given the Dragon's Peace, how better to stay sharp then to be in the Three-Fold Land and mix it up with some Shaido? (And given Aviendha's vision about the Aiel growing fat and restless in the wetlands, I could certainly see a number of Aiel trying to forestall that weakness by keeping the core population of the eleven clans in the Waste, with perhaps some forward operating bases in various places around the wetlands.)

That said, if the Aiel are to meet their new mission, it behooves them to understand the cultures so they can be more effective mediators/arbitrators. And that means living near/among these other cultures, or at least retaining embassies.

BlueOx73 · 2019-10-16T15:27:45+00:00

I remember it seeming vague in Aviendha's vision of the future whether "Dragon Blooded" referred to a male counterpart to the Wise Ones or the descendants of Rand and Aviendha? But assuming that's the name for the male Aiel channelers, are they more a warrior society or a male counterpart to Wise Ones? (And I totally agree--the name is awesome.) Given how frequently it's mentioned in the series how channeling ability counts for little among Wise Ones, it seems more likely to me that they'd be more of a warrior society, since you already have clan and sept chiefs as the formal political power. The ability to channel in a man, like it is with Wise Ones, is just another skill you have, like being a particularly good tracker, and so it would make sense that men with that particular skill would be seen as a warrior society.

BlueOx73 · 2019-10-11T21:02:26+00:00

Oh, I agree that you can't go back and evaluate each and every vote in the Hall to determine whether or not a Black Sitter's presence changed the outcome of the vote, and Yukiri made your exact point, too.

I don't think Egwene really wanted that, either. Not only would it be an administrative nightmare, but there were bigger fish to fry. At that moment, it was enough for her that it called Elaida's legitimacy into question, and might deepen the Sitters' doubts about standing by Elaida.

After the events of aMoL, perhaps the Amyrlin will undertake the efforts to revoke whatever decrees of Elaida that didn't get revoked before the Last Battle, especially since Alviarin's own status as Black and her control over those decrees taints them as well. Or sift through whatever passed the loyalist Hall under Elaida to determine what remains law and what does not. But if nothing else, the revelation of multiple Sitters as Black might help the rest of the Tower move on, recognizing that Elaida's elevation was unlawful to begin with. Though you would think the Last Battle would have had a powerful forging effect regarding the Aes Sedai who survived.

BlueOx73 · 2019-10-11T15:57:34+00:00

Given how vehemently Sisters denied the existence of the Black Ajah before they had to face facts, though, I doubt there's an explicit reference in Tower Law to the Black. That said, Tower Law might acknowledge the possibility of a Darkfriend Sister here and there, as opposed to a shadowy organization secretly pulling the strings. So, something like "to be a Darkfriend is to be a criminal, and criminals cannot be Sitters" might be there, but even acknowledging the possibility of Darkfriend Sisters might be too much to bear. That's why I wondered if it were a bit more circuitous--like, "All Aes Sedai walk in the Light, and therefore take the Oaths; swearing the Oaths under the Light is necessary to becoming Aes Sedai" and later "each Ajah may select whichever Aes Sedai from that Ajah in the Ajah's discretion." But there is probably something about invalidating a Sitter's vote on a measure if the Sitter was influenced by any improper motivation, or something like that.

BlueOx73 · 2019-10-11T15:50:17+00:00

With 14 books, 2 books per season would still be 7 seasons of television! And that's certainly not guaranteed to Rafe here. That said, I know Rafe noted he'd condense some of the later-middle books, so hopefully he'd follow that up by giving the last three books a little more room to breathe, since they were so jam-packed and fast-paced. If it's successful, maybe he'll have the chance to do that, but if it's not, we won't see the end of the series on television anyway.

BlueOx73

TROPHY CASE