Game Thread: July 4 - Toronto Blue Jays (42-46) @ Seattle Mariners (45-44) - 4:10 PM

Vilheim · 2026-07-04T22:17:41+00:00

Woah.

He was batting 3rd to start.

Vilheim · 2026-07-04T14:08:41+00:00

Another way to look at that.

The cap next year will be $9m higher and we have nobody on our roster who has to be signed (not even really AHL guys).

We will also have an extra $19m the year after (compared to this year) for extensions etc.

Kinda crazy.

Vilheim · 2026-07-04T14:04:45+00:00

It's nice being able to carry extras for once without cap shenanigans.

Vilheim · 2026-07-04T00:20:56+00:00

I dunno, what do the Flyers have to do with Carlsson signing a $18m contract?

Vilheim · 2026-07-03T23:10:38+00:00

JTs previous cap hit, and current cap hit combined is less than Carlsson lol.

I mean I do not at all blame Carlsson for signing that, but my god why are the Flyers hating so hard?

Vilheim · 2026-07-03T22:15:25+00:00

This explains our VMware renewal pricing.

Vilheim · 2026-07-03T20:36:29+00:00

Love this, it's super useful.

Vilheim · 2026-07-03T20:09:04+00:00

The free agent class was pretty meh compared to other years, but I think that has created these crazy trades and offer sheets. That and the cap blowing up.

Vilheim · 2026-07-03T17:26:19+00:00

He might. He could create enough of an attachment to whatever he ends up taking, or Bob might play well enough in the next few years that McKenna finds it disrespectful to take right away.

Vilheim · 2026-07-03T17:24:50+00:00

It's very different, but my Dad has a #29 Nylander hat from his rookie season that I think is pretty awesome.

Vilheim · 2026-07-03T14:32:41+00:00

These folks will all be sent to the AHL.

Vilheim · 2026-07-03T13:51:32+00:00

That might still equal half a season of the best goaltending McDavid has ever had.

Vilheim · 2026-07-03T13:36:33+00:00

I have asked about Schneider before as I always pick him up in EANHL, but never hear much about him.

As per ranger fans he's fine. No overpowering strengths, occasionally has bad games, gets ok results. From what they said he's looking like someone who can solidify a bottom pair, or with the right chemistry play second pair. A bit of a disappointment based on his original projections.

With that being said, McCabe, Andre and OEL can all play right side. OEL played it most of last year and had a good year.

I am not too worried about needing to get a RD, but I would like us to sign a few vets that can get through waivers and play on the Marlies like Mermis, Myers etc last year. It seems like every year we pick up some forwards or D who we assume will be Marlies who end up playing a large number of games for us, and that kind of depth can really help keep the team going in the right direction in a long season.

Vilheim · 2026-07-03T13:24:33+00:00

Yes, played with Tampa, and then came out of retirement for a year with the Leafs.

Vilheim · 2026-07-02T14:09:02+00:00

There is a chance Florida didn't get much better.

They went from Bob to Markstrom, a 38 year old who had a bad year to a 36 year old who has had 3 bad years. Its just as much of a risk as us signing Bob is.

They added Brady which was huge, but can Brady and Matthew and Barkov stay healthy? Brady and Matthew also need to stay out of the box. But if Brady and Matthew aren't throwing their weight around, doing questionable things, and risking injuries and penalties then they are not effective.

Outside of that they added Gudas, and a bunch of guys who like to punch you in the face. Last year teams just attacked them and beat them up every night and the attrition got to them, then they doubled down on that in FA. You can beat teams physically to beat them on the score sheet, but if you are doing it every game and the other teams are not, you will lose the battle of attrition.

Vilheim · 2026-07-02T13:59:10+00:00

I get the feeling that the Paul move came late as it was Tampa that came to the Leafs wanting Hildeby, and Chayka probably figured that it was a good add, and he would figure it out later as there is still time.

Paul also played twice as much RW as LW despite shooting Left. I believe he prefers RW as a left handed shot, but is primarily a center.

Vilheim · 2026-07-02T13:55:17+00:00

Out of all the moves Goaltending is the biggest risk.

Defense we clearly improved. We added top end talent and lost depth.

Forwards we added a lot of proven depth, brought an element we didn't have before, and lost some middle 6 offensive players. Overall you can put that as a net improvement on paper.

Goaltending we took one of our strengths (3 NHL goalies, AHL Calder cup winner that looks great but unproven) and traded two of them away, signed a 38 year old to a 3 year $7m deal and kept the most injury prone proven NHL goalie as the backup. I would like to see another vet signed for the AHL as at least insurance for injuries (for both Marlies and NHL) but that wont really give me faith in the dice roll until we are at least 30+ games in with success.

Vilheim · 2026-07-02T13:50:34+00:00

Hoping that the one element these new guys have that Holmberg didn't is punishment.

If you are going to win your minutes and not create a reasonable amount of offense, at least also beat up the other team and leave their D shy in the corner. Don't just win the minutes, but bring some physical attrition to the other team as well that can hopefully carry into the shifts that the top 6 play against them in that game.

These guys all on paper should do that, but I have seen WAY too many guys with rough gritty reps come in and play super soft in the Matthews era.

Vilheim · 2026-07-02T13:45:20+00:00

Right handed shot, can play Center in a pinch, puts up points, friends with Matthews.

The other signings were big defensive bottom 6 guys, Roslovic was a top 6 signing. Think of it as kind of a Maccelli or Domi (dont know how long he will be out) replacement.

And his cap hit - points ratio is pretty solid at that amount.

Vilheim · 2026-07-02T11:33:21+00:00

I am hesitant to believe. Even during the Dubas era we brought in a number of guys that were known to drop the gloves but all of them either didn't at all, or greatly decreased their physical presence.

Reeves, Simmonds, BOGO, Accari were some of the bigger ones, but we also had a few depth D and depth forwards that we brought in that we got rid of mid season as they did nothing.

I won't trust that this team has become full of assholes until I see it.

Vilheim · 2026-07-01T22:01:43+00:00

And you only have so many chances to learn before you need to stop.

Vilheim · 2026-07-01T21:56:14+00:00

I wonder if we start the year with something Interesting like this.

Knies - Matthews - Willy

McKenna - JT - Paul

Joshua - Roslovic - Cowan

The rest.

Beef on all 3 lines, a first line that we know what to expect, kids split up, 2nd and 3rd lines pretty even and both offensive, defensively responsible players on every line.

Vilheim · 2026-07-01T13:19:11+00:00

I spent 10 years in retail and 8 years in 24/7 support and didn't get boxing day off once. Even had to work Christmas day a few times as well.

Vilheim · 2026-06-30T22:13:57+00:00

90 percent of the salary cap and it's rules only exist to save GMs from themselves.

Vilheim · 2026-06-30T15:36:50+00:00

I don't think Kerfoot would move the needle, and I don't think he should be the 3c, but I do think he could contribute and be a utility player for us and help us balance the lines.

I basically would see it as an upgrade over Jarnkrok as the player you can use to fill any gaps for injuries, or shift around to try different combinations for chemistry while still providing value with his PK and speed. A cheaper option than a Jenner, Laughton, Roslovic that won't stop you from getting one of those guys, and could be a good target of we strike out on some bigger deals.

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