Das 2025-2026 NHL Regular Season Thread: If Connor McDavid were a real team player, he’d sign for the league minimum

[Cacophony]

Maybe the Goil or Jerts should pay an insane premium for Gus

[practice]

Yeah it's a great year to be a seller

[practice]

I am sorry to the Edmontonions I love so dear but the oilers being so bad has been the only bright spot in my experience of this season

[sutterfamily]

Didn't realize Nonis was in Calgary. Not a great sign for a team that seems... I dunno, bad and rudderless? Anyway, obviously you've GOT to lock that down

[sutterfamily]

Habs finally made a bad move, Matheson 5 x $6 mil

[Grand Moff Larkin]

I think it makes sense in the abstract of “We need a veteran defenseman to babysit these kids” but five years seems like a lot.

[Cacophony]

Wild good?

[Cacophony]

JERTS already in closed door meeting mode

[nick]

They really, really stink

[sutterfamily]

What's the deal user nick?

[sutterfamily]

So this was a fun game

[Cacophony]

They really, really stink

Do they? I don’t really know. Yeah they rely on Helly a bunch but idk seems like they have a pretty solid team?

I don’t watch a ton of games these days so I don’t really know.

[Cacophony]

My god Wallstedt

[Grand Moff Larkin]

So this was a fun game

Seider had a +5.65 against the Broons, a reverse Hutson

Yesterday I listened to Monday's episode of The Athletic Hockey Podcast, in which they talked at length about whether the teams currently in playoff spots in the East (then Montreal and Boston) would make it. The consensus seemed to be that Florida and Ottawa would get in, but it's pretty funny that the night after listening to it, Ottawa and Detroit are in, Boston and Montreal are out, and Florida's in last place in the East. What a silly season.

[sutterfamily]

I legit have no clue who will make it. So many teams

I feel like Ottawa SHOULD be ahead of Montreal, Boston, and Buffalo for sure but there's nobody in the entire east below .500, even. A bad couple of weeks will result in a huge drop off, at least in terms of standings position.

Atlantic is, so far, particularly mid. Ottawa' 2nd but 7th in the conference by points.

SNES basically need to add top-line scorer (easy) if they want to try and separate.

[sutterfamily]

Sieder was pretty good, yeah. Not quite Tyler Kleven level good but... you know, good!

[sutterfamily]

Montreal was so ass even Kurtis MacDermid looked ok.

[Grand Moff Larkin]

The biggest surprise with me about Montreal is that Montembeault has been bad this year. Like .861%? I didn't think he was a top-tier goalie but man, even Gibson's save % is better!

That report about how Nashville wants a 1st and an A-level prospect for O'Reilly is both insane and probably close to accurate in terms of what the returns will be like in an extreme seller's market. As much as I hate on the Sabres, it's too tight to say any team in the Atlantic is out of it.

I do wonder if player for player hockey trades will be the only real option. Like Michael Rasmussen seems like a guy (big body, good defensively) that other teams would covet, even if he's not consistently engaged.

The Red Wings could really use a top four D to give ASP an easier time, but I just don't see any realistic options out there. I'd be happy with a better bottom pair D so Hamonic can be sent into the sun.

[nick]

What's the deal user nick?

I mean, maybe with Hellebuyck they don’t really, really stink, but they’re quite a flawed team. They have an all-world first line, but the secondary scoring after that drops off a cliff pretty fast; they’re old and their pace and uninspired forechecking a lot of time shows it; they have a top-10 Dman in the league but the rest have been mediocre at best, leaving aside whatever vacuum is on the third pair (too often Schenn or Stanley). Are they a playoff team? Probably, they don’t have anywhere near the guns to compete with Colorado or Dallas or Vegas (the likeliest of first round matchups I’d say).

[sutterfamily]

Was maybe losing Ehlers more of a big deal than it seemed?