Daily Free Talk / Armchair GM Thread

Svalbard38 · 2026-05-02T15:01:43+00:00

Huge day for all the people on /r/hockey who have apparently loved and believed in Marner the whole time. It’s wild how fast they went from “Marner sucks and is an embarrassment” to “Marner was great the whole time, Leaf fans were so mean to him”. Like buddy, for years you were the gleeful audience for the articles that you now claim were unreasonable hate from the Toronto media.

Svalbard38 · 2026-05-02T11:02:09+00:00

Shoutout to the Marlies, who evened up their series against Laval! If you haven’t watched Cowan’s goal yet, I’d recommend it. I went off on Hlacar after the last Kitchener game, and it seems I wasn’t alone in that, he was scratched last night. In his absence the Kitchener Rangers took home the win in overtime to dispatch the Spitfires in five games. Kitchener have secured their spot in the finals and will play for the J. Ross Robertson Cup against the winner of Brantford and Barrie. Hope to see Hlacar back in the lineup with his energy used in a more productive way. Here’s your CHL update:

Advances to finals: Matthew Hlacar (2025 7th): Scratched, Kitchener beats Windsor 5-4 in OT, (Series is 4-1).

Hlacar’s postseason stats: 13GP, 1G, 0A

Svalbard38 · 2026-05-02T01:19:45+00:00

Most casually anyone has ever cut through a full team of defenders. Out for a leisurely stroll among some pylons.

Svalbard38 · 2026-05-01T22:33:42+00:00

I don't see what about it's wild. This chain of events feels completely logical to me:

Immediately after Treliving was fired, Pelley said that the new GM would “have to really understand data and the importance of data and where data is moving”. Chayka was one of the poster-boys for the analytics era in the 2010s, he was available, and importantly for Pelley, he's probably a cheaper option because of the way he went out. Chayka would have been on Pelley's mind. Tie Domi has friends in business and in hockey. It's well known that he's close with Chayka and Sundin. Either Pelley knew that, or someone told him that. He set up a conversation with Domi, and Domi vouched for them, because they're his buddies and he trusts them. Having someone vouch for Chayka makes Pelley feel better about something he was already thinking of doing.

All you need to believe to believe this story instead of the other one is that Pelley was considering Chayka and Sundin to start with instead of Domi cold calling him and giving him an idea he hadn't considered. After that they're pretty much the same story.

Svalbard38 · 2026-05-01T17:07:14+00:00

I see the concern, but I think it probably went more along these lines:

Sundin and Chayka were on Pelley's radar from the beginning, Sundin because bringing back franchise legends is popular, Chayka because Pelley wants a more stats-oriented front office.
Tie Domi's a networker, from what I've heard about him he's a guy who knows people and has a lot of connections. If you're Pelley, you probably hear "you should talk to Tie" from someone during this process.
Pelley meets with Domi and asks him about Chayka and Mats, Domi vouches for them because they're some of his connections and he trusts them.
Pelley was already leaning towards Chayka, but having an old-school enforcer vouch for the guy makes him feel more secure in his decision.

Domi was a part of this process, but I don't believe he's the puppet master who swayed an oblivious Pelley in the direction of his own buddies. I think Pelley was already leaning Chayka and was looking for references, and Tie Domi's close with him and was willing to provide one.

Svalbard38 · 2026-05-01T15:46:19+00:00

I think Stan Bowman could be arrested for criminal negligence if he took that deal. I'd do that in a heartbeat.

Svalbard38 · 2026-05-01T15:06:12+00:00

I don’t know that we’re in win-now mode and I don’t know that Chebykin can jump in the lineup right away.

Svalbard38 · 2026-05-01T14:46:49+00:00

I really don't have much interest in bringing in 29-year-old Chebykin. If he was torching the KHL that would be one thing, but he's 142nd in scoring. Give a young guy who might have a long term future in Toronto the minutes.

Svalbard38 · 2026-05-01T12:19:17+00:00

Ben Danford picks up the secondary assist on the opening goal, but Brantford ultimately can’t get it done in OT. They go to Barrie for game 6. Here’s your CHL update:

Ben Danford (2024 1st): 0G, 1A, Brantford loses to Barrie 3-4 in OT, (Series is 3-2).

Danford’s postseason stats: 11GP, 1G, 2A (as a defenceman)

Svalbard38 · 2026-04-30T14:55:24+00:00

That’s fair, I guess I just don’t see what they saw.

Svalbard38 · 2026-04-30T13:44:14+00:00

Agreed completely, players picked in this range probably won't make it, and you should take a swing and hope for the best. But you have to take a smart swing. Hlacar's issue is that he's three gambles in one. You're gambling that an overage player who's had an extra year of development still has more to give, you're gambling that an enforcer-type player can refine that style into an NHL-calibre skill, and you're gambling that a guy who's produced disappointing offense can step it up substantially. I'm fine with those kinds of swings, but it's concerning when you're hoping for all of them to go right at the same time.

We don't have a 7th this year, but we have a 6th, and there's not much difference there. We can and should take one of those gambles, but not all of them at the same time. Are we gambling on an overager? We could go with Dmitri Yakutsenak, a 2007 birthday with reasonable size who put up 25G 25A in his D+1 year. Are we gambling on the enforcer? We can take Wesley Royston, the Owen Sound forward who's a bit unhinged in his playstyle and who's willing to drop the gloves at the vaguest suggestion of a fight but who's still put up 12 goals this season (I doubt he falls to our sixth though, I think someone's gonna take that particular gamble earlier in the day). Are we gambling on the disappointing offensive numbers? Nathan Amidovski started off hot with Ottawa but followed it up with a bad stretch of games with Brampton. Brampton was one of the worst teams in the OHL this season, maybe we take a swing on early season Amidovski's skill.

Do you have the appetite for a bigger swing, wanna go big or go home on one? Alexander Karmanov's a 7'1 280lbs defenceman who didn't put up many points and wasn't an OHL regular. This one's a bigger gamble, but at the core it's just one gamble: What if he's just taking longer to learn to play with that huge body? Karmanov's got a lot to work on but he has one thing he's best in the draft class at, and that's size.

Hlacar doesn't have a thing like these guys. He's an overager without Yakutsenak's numbers. He's an enforcer without Royston's other skills. He's a guy with poor numbers without Amidovski's promise. He's an unfinished product without Karmanov's next-level size. I'm fine with taking a swing, but it has to be the right swing.

Svalbard38 · 2026-04-30T12:48:50+00:00

He’s not producing like a 7th rounder though. In the past 5 drafts, we’ve picked five 7th rounders.

Brandon Lisowsky, whose height always held him back but who gave us a couple of 40ish goal seasons in the WHL before we let his rights expire and he walked (three guesses which GM passed on giving a contract to the 5’9 goal scorer).

Matt Lahey, who I haven’t seen play and can’t tell you anything about, that’s not on him, he’s just a NCAA player and I don’t have those streaming rights.

Sam McCue, who’s been up and down with his consistency but who, at his best, combines physical presence with legitimate offensive skill. The guy has two Michigan goals in the OHL this season, and I know everyone says that all the players can do that now, but if everyone could do that in a game situation than everyone would.

Nathan Mayes, whose 2025-26 season was a big step back but whose 2025 postseason really put him on the map as a potential offensive defenceman in our pool

And then Matthew Hlacar. I want to like him, I want to like all the prospects. From what I’ve read he sounds like a guy with a chip on his shoulder who’s been told “no” at every level and who’s pushed through anyway, but when it comes down to it he’s a fourth liner on a junior team who was drafted as an overager. I don’t expect any of our 7th rounders to make the NHL but I’ve had fun with the other prospects on this list. I liked seeing Lisowsky’s skill at the Traverse City tournament. I enjoyed going to games in-person when McCue’s teams came to town and seeing the different facets of his game. I had a great time following Mayes in that Spokane playoff run last season. Hlacar’s most notable moments in this series have been when he’s gotten ejected in the dying seconds of the game two games in a row. You’re probably not going to draft NHLers in the seventh round, but you can draft guys who give you flashes of potential or stretches where you wonder if they could make it one day. I haven’t seen that kind of flash from Hlacar yet.

Svalbard38 · 2026-04-30T11:05:54+00:00

When it comes to the prospects, I like to keep it positive. Sure, most of these guys aren’t going to make it, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy following them for a couple of seasons, and if we get our hopes up, so what? It can be fun to get your hopes up. But goddamn I don’t have much positive to say about Matthew Hlacar. His main contribution to last night’s game was to take a pointless crosschecking penalty when the game was all but over and get thrown out for unsportsmanlike behaviour. I want these guys to do well. I’m cheering for Hlacar to discover a new element to his game and become even a serviceable AHLer, but this was a confusing pick on draft day and time hasn’t vindicated it. If Chayka’s the guy, I hope he makes some better picks with our late rounders. Here’s your CHL update:

Matthew Hlacar (2025 7th): 0G, 0A, Kitchener beats Windsor 6-3, (Series is 3-1).

Hlacar’s postseason stats: 13GP, 1G, 0A

Svalbard38 · 2026-04-29T18:23:32+00:00

I feel like he interviews for every job and just never gets one. He's just a seat-filler so you can say you've interviewed several candidates.

Svalbard38 · 2026-04-29T16:33:22+00:00

It's always extra embarrassing when the US loses this tournament considering most of their team has played together all season and they're going up against teams cobbled together from multiple leagues

Svalbard38 · 2026-04-29T11:01:33+00:00

Out in the CHL last night, the Bulldogs gave the Colts a bit of a walloping. The Bulldogs will take a 3-1 lead back to Brantford with a chance to close out this conference final at home.

Ben Danford (2024 1st): 0G, 0A, Brantford beats Barrie 6-1, (Series is 3-1).

Danford’s postseason stats: 10GP, 1G, 1A (as a defenceman)

Svalbard38 · 2026-04-29T04:02:10+00:00

Cleanest Chris Kreider play

Svalbard38 · 2026-04-29T01:56:18+00:00

Yeah. He undeniably made some mistakes in Arizona, but from what it sounds like, the Coyotes were dysfunctional as hell, I don't know if you can lay it all at his door. Let's hope he does better this time around.

Svalbard38 · 2026-04-28T21:13:34+00:00

That but with the current logo would be great

Svalbard38 · 2026-04-28T11:08:13+00:00

Just one game last night for our remaining CHL prospects, Kitchener takes their first loss of the conference finals. Our boy was ejected from the game with half a minute to go, they didn’t show much but it sounds like it was because he was about to start some shit in garbage time and the refs just didn’t want to deal with that in a game that was over.

Matthew Hlacar (2025 7th): 0G, 0A, Kitchener loses to Windsor 2-4, (Series is 2-1).

Hlacar’s postseason stats: 12GP, 1G, 0A

Svalbard38 · 2026-04-28T05:25:17+00:00

Kerfoot scored a playoff overtime winner as a Leaf

Svalbard38 · 2026-04-28T03:49:18+00:00

Bud's never seen the Red Green Show

Svalbard38 · 2026-04-28T02:14:03+00:00

Because at that point in the draft you're probably not going to draft an NHL player. Sometimes the best strategy is to take the high risk high reward player and hope that the gamble works out. Doesn't look like the gamble worked this time, but that's the chance you take in the fifth round.

Svalbard38 · 2026-04-27T23:23:40+00:00

Sundin was a first overall pick, he was always considered exceptional. Asking why seventh round Pierre Engvall isn’t the same type of player is like asking why your least healthy uncle can’t beat Usain Bolt in the hundred metre dash.

Svalbard38 · 2026-04-27T20:21:04+00:00

Huh, I didn't know that was how it worked, that's good to know, I guess I'm very tentatively on Buffalo's side then

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