1. Montreal is currently in the 8th spot, Ottawa in the 7th. Philly is coming on strong and may well knock one of the current playoff teams out, but they are currently 9th.

1. That may be how things project now, but I see the dynamics already starting to change and a separation developing between genuine contenders and also rans. I also suspect that Carolina will pull itself out of the basement with a surge. In any event, I believe that it will take 90 points or more to get in. You MIGHT have an 8 seed with 88 or 89.

It will be tough for Garth to navigate between building for the future and being concerned about the morale in the room. Of course, I listed the possible trade assets and whether they are traded will, of course, depend on what’s offered. In fact, if we did manage to pull off the trade with Ottawa I proposed, we might not need to make too many more apart from Sutton and Biron…and even then it would depend on what was offered.

As to the rest of your argument, DP is obviously part of the core for good or ill unless he retires. He did have a promising first start, so I am hopeful. I am VERY confident about Anders Lee. To my mind, Hillen and MacDonald have proven their worth and it is more a question of what pairing they will be on with future Isles teams. Given Mikko’s quick progression, I am very hopeful about him. Anders Nilsson will depend on how things go with DP and Mikko. I am very hopeful about Joensuu, Niemi, and Petrov. Finally, I would add Moulson, Hunts, and probably Bergy to the last bunch.

Don’t see Garth buying at all. More a question of who he will sell.

several weeks ago….and I can only conclude—given that Nino is ranked 14th among NA skaters—that what came out today does NOT reflect what happened in the WJC at all. Of course, if Nino’s value to other teams was such that Garth could maybe move up with a second rounder and get him and use the first pick for Fowler, that would be ideal. Nino seems like a tough physical and talented PF who will go hard for the net AND the boards. I think we need someone like him more than Hall and hopefully Kirill will mature into an everyday player on second line RW.

I can’t see the Isles having the assets to trade for another 1st rounder – so I think that is unlikely (unless it is very low in the 1st round).

You are PROBABLY correct. The one scenario that makes some sense to me is if DP is lights out, Garth MIGHT be willing to part with Roly and I could see Murray up in Ottawa deciding that he cannot risk another non-playoff year. Because of cap considerations, I would include Sim and Cheechoo. We get Cheechoo and their first rounder along with either their fourth rounder or the 2nd rounder they got from SJ in the Heatley deal.

Failing that—and I admit it is a longshot—Garth would likely pick Hall or Fowler if available or trade down for somebody like Nino. If he has the assets, he might also trade up the second rounder.

If I recall correctly, Mirtle generally uses around 90-95 points as the cut-off for playoff (last year it was 93 points if I recall correctly).

That has been in years past, and he’ll adjust it during the year depending on how teams are doing.

Now this year might be a funny case with how many East teams are bad. But I can’t help figuring enough Eastern teams will go on a run to make 90-93 the cutoff same as most years. There have been more OT games this year so far, and if that continues, it’s bound to keep the playoff bar high.

well, if the isles keep playing well, and nino’s stock rises, we’ll have to trade up to get him, lol