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squashmaple

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Member Since
Apr. 29, 2022
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Columbus Blue Jackets
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Anaheim Ducks
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Forum: Armchair-GMFri. at 12:31 p.m.
Forum: Armchair-GMThu. at 2:15 p.m.
Thread: Fixing the weak links
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>CaseyFlyman</b></div><div>That's all very reasonable. If this was Columbus' offseason, I'd be stoked heading into next year.

Re: Cousins, though, He definitely is that, and Columbus <em>could </em>use more of those, but just not <em>him</em> IMO. Those types of players in regards to a Jenner, Gudbranson, Olivier, Kuraly to an extent, and even a Malatesta are great, but Cousins specifically I just don't have respect for. He regularly crosses the line and refuses to answer for it. Intending to injure other players and then never being held accountable isn't something I want to pretend to root for. </div></div>

I look at it this way: If Cousins is a Jacket, he's not hurting Jackets. I watched him dog Kent Johnson like a cheap suit jacket in a game in 22-23, clearly targeting. Sure he's a turtling piece of garbage, but maybe worth having on the roster so he's the problem for 31 teams who aren't Columbus. He's also not without some skill.
Forum: Armchair-GMThu. at 10:39 a.m.
Thread: marner cbj
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Garak</b></div><div>I know it's an overwhelming mess, and I get why you feel that way. But I don't believe it. Not all of those contracts are bad, you just have to identify what or who is holding the team back and cut it out like a tumor. Fantilli and the rest of the kids are gonna be good faster than that. I think there is a recipe there for success, and sooner than you think. But, we'll have to wait and see.</div></div>

That's kind but overly optimistic. Nothing done in the rebuild pre-Fantilli matters because they've already ruined or wasted them all. Sillinger might be a 3C, Kent Johnson is a middle-six wing at best, Jiricek can't skate or defend, Corson Ceulemans is never going to make the NHL, Mateychuk is a serviceable bottom 4 LD that every team has six of, and most of them can't stay healthy enough to stay on the ice anyway. Boqvist is a bust. The Russians are complementary pieces who have no one to complement. Every other legit prospect is a tiny wing. There's no goaltending (no, Jet Greaves is not a prospect). Even Fantilli is iffy--he's just big and fast and barely missed the cutoff to be a 2022 draftee so he was the oldest one in his draft. Jesus, now that I've typed all that out, they're not even Buffalo. At least Buffalo's high picks were useful, even if not ultimately as Sabres in some cases. Turns out that Columbus managed to lose the Seth Jones trade after all.

Essentially they're starting the reuild from the same time Chicago is, with a worse collection and nothing to sell. And they're in a conference where every single other team is better in every dimension. Chicago could make the playoffs in 2026; Columbus will lose the lottery and watch Pittsburgh draft Gavin McKenna.