#nhl free agency

[mitchmrner]

nhl free agency

[kentjohnson91]

Today we are going to discuss trades/ free agency signings that have happened this offseason and how and why they made me upset:

Nikita Zadorov: Vancouver➡️Boston (free agency)

As a Bruins fan SO EXCITED

As a fan of chaos i’m sad

Him and Myers reeking havoc on the ice together was so iconic for the short time we were blessed by it😔

Nick Blankenburg: Columbus➡️Nashville (free agency)

This was like one of very few moves i have not approved of by Mr Don Waddell

He was cooking from the start and then this happened

Like Ik he was probs gonna be in the AHL a lot but like for an undrafted defenseman he is good

He’s like 5’9” (more like 5’8 stop lying Nick) and runs around throwing hits on 6’3 or bigger guys

He’s my favorite little man and i want him back. He rounded out the Michigan group on Columbus too well.

Kevin Bahl: New Jersey➡️Calgary (trade)

Ik i say “im not a devils fan i just love him” about like half their team but like i swear its true

I need everyone to acknowledge the childhood friends to NHL teammates arc of him and the Hughes brothers and that is heartbreaking that it is no more

Also i understand it was an underpay for Markstrom but that will always happen for goalies (see Ullmark trade) so all the Devils fans acting like it was a good thing he was gone and not appreciating the time he put in there or the calgary fans mad they got him and hating him already made me wanna cry

Like GIVE HIM A CHANCE

also he just had a baby right before the trade and that means none of his NJD teammates get to see the baby and that will make me bawl (hehe bawl - bahl) like a baby no joke

John Marino: New Jersey➡️Utah (trade)

TOM FITZGERALD WHEN I GET YOU

This poor man who tends to look like a kicked puppy for no reason seemed so happy there

with Jack, Luke, Nico, Kevin, Curtis, Nate like cmon why would you do this to me

Will never cope with whatever the fuck was goin on with him and Luke honestly

WHY UTAH

Ryan McLeod: Edmonton➡️Buffalo (trade)

this was another one like the Kevin one where the fans pissed me off instantly

“the other guy was such a good prospect he was gonna develop more and play for buffalo”

i’m gonna hold your hand when i tell you that McLeod is 24 (almost 25) and 25 year olds can STILL DEVELOP TOO THIS SHIT SHOULD NOT BE NEWS HELLO???

also people who started using what his brother did as an excuse to not want him

while no one knows for sure, randomly assuming with no real reason that he had any knowledge of his brothers part in the 2018 Team Canada Scandal is so unfair honestly

and ALSO they separated him from his pookie (Bouchard) and his gay dads (Leon and Connor)

Not coping

Linus Ullmark: Boston➡️Ottawa (trade)

where do i even begin

no more hugs

no more feeding each other during post game interviews

no more eating cinnamon buns that Ullys wife made them together

no being Matt Poitras dads together

I ofc understand from the business side but it doesn’t make it hurt less

Jake Debrusk: Boston➡️Vancouver (free agency)

This one stung

we all knew it was coming but like

he’s been here his whole career

him and McAvoy were the ultimate duo

scored their first goals on the same night

if anyone saw Charlie McAvoys post about him and Grizz just know i cried for hours over that shit

Matt Grzelcyk: Boston➡️Pittsburgh (free agency)

another one that hurt a lot

once again see charlie mcavoys post

THE ONES OF THEM FROM COLLEGE TOGETHER

ENOUGH CHUCK

also no more amazing interviews with Mr Grzelcyk (Matt’s dad)

He worked in the Garden forever so Matt LITERALLY LEARNED TO SKATE THERE

HOMETOWN HERO AND A HALF

HEARTBROKEN

Anyways if i think of more im forgetting or something else happens before camp ill make another post but anyways

[stuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu]

HAS ANYBODY CHECKED ON STUART SKINNER????? HAS ANYBODY CHECKED THAT HE’S OK????

[lightsout-awaywego]

reading free agency reviews and just look at these. 10/10 quality journalism.

[annieqattheperipheral]

(x)

[nilasheartxx]

tampa bay lightning massacre of 2024

like sergy AND stamkos cmon

[mitchmrner]

now the preds are going to have the sexiest d-pair in the league with josi-skjei and i don’t think that’s fair

[orrsoared]

I’m fearful this will be me getting free agency notifications

[stuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu]

Guys at least nine billion 9/11’s have hit me today I don’t think I’m ok lmao 🙂🙂

[lullabadbye]

stu starring as toad (again) after they take his emotional support defenseman

[annieqattheperipheral]

ohhhh this hits hard. rly feel for this guy he gave ALL of himself put his own body on the line over and over for his teammates who never stood up for him in return and only got pummeled on by the refs, league, media, hockeybros, hockeymen commentators, other coaches, just everyone. Did not give him a break at any turn.

And he got to the show in the hardest way possible with his family unable to pay for the elite leagues he should've been in w his skill level so he kept chipping away at it in the lower leagues and along came the soo and dubas drafting him into the OHL. i just... y'all this guy hits my feels and I'm so happy he gets a sharp mind like brind'amour to guide him onto his next level of professionalism. He deserves this opportunity so much

And canes fans, know that this guy never takes his on-ice fights off the ice. Every time a reporter tries to provoke him he says "oh that was nothing. That was on ice, i don't bring it off ice" he knows what he's doing, he plays on the edge of rage like so many elite players (natemac im looking at u) and i hope b'a sees the unbelievable potential in him and molds him bc this kid is starved for guidance. keefe did what he could but after so many years in both soo & toronto under his tutelage it was rightfully time for bunts to get cut loose and learn from other experienced hockey minds

set adrift little leafie! float into the hurricane

[kentjohnson91]

[coffee-at-annies]

I think I figured out my feelings on what the pens have done in the last week. It’s safe. That’s all we are under Dubas and FSG. We’re safe. There’s no guts. There’s no sense of impending glory. We’ve had our cake (18 years of love and friendship) and we’ve eaten it (3 cups) and fans are impatiently yelling for more when we’ve got the best baker (of banana bread) in hockey and instead of mixing it up we’re following the recipe.

It’s not that there’s no hope. Through Sidney Crosby all things are possible so jot that down. It’s that we aren’t betting big. We aren’t swinging for the fences. We aren’t doing big moves or signing big players. We did that last off season and it worked out very good with Eller, pretty good with EK, and badly with Graves. We aren’t risking anything with the contracts we’re signing or the trades we’re making. Everyone is getting one to two years at cheap because we aren’t promising anything bigger or longer. We’re signing a bunch of boys for short terms who are looking to have bounce back years hoping at best we’ll find another Ned. Then if we like them we re-sign them and if we don’t they’re gone this time next year. That’s why we didn’t give PO an offer. They’re so scared of arbitration giving him more money or longer term than they offered him that they’d rather let him walk.

It’s hard to feel like this team has a future when it feels torn between this season and when Crosby retires in ???? years (but realistically 2-5). We’re banking draft picks and prospects for that nebulous future but it’s very clear that Dubas doesn’t expect anyone on this current team to still be here at that time (or at least none of the people we’re acquiring - Graves has 5 years, Jars Tanger Rak and Rust have 4 and I think everyone but Tanger is going to get traded when they hit 2 or 1 UFA). If this team is going to change year over year what is there to excite us about? The kids we call up and don’t play? Prospects that are realistically 1-3 years away from Wilkes and 2-5 years away from the NHL? The end of Sid (and Geno and Tanger but mostly Sid’s) career(s)? Idk.

We’re not betting. I know we can’t empty out the cupboards because the cupboards are bare but even in restocking we’re playing it safe. There’s nothing exciting. There’s nothing to distract from the real impending sense we’re at the end of an era and they haven’t invested time in creating a bridge to the next one. There’s no one interesting in the minors that they want us to care about. There’s no one on the team that they want us to get excited about since we’ve not heard from anyone on the team via official accounts since the end of the season. Maybe prospects dev camp next week will give us actual content but there’s nothing coming out of the penguins right now.

Maybe I’ve been fooled by the stability of 8 years of watching Sidney Crosby play. Maybe every team goes through a complete identity change up every 5 years or so and I’ve just been ignoring it as everyone around Sid and Geno left until it was just those two and Tanger still kicking. Idk. We could lose a hundred games like the 2022 pirates did and I’d still be a fan. Management isn’t betting on the team. Why should I?

[sibbycrobby]

JOSTY TO THE CANES AMEN BROTHER

[mitchmrner]

oliver ekmann-larsson scored his first as a panther against us….it was written in the stars

[stuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu]

it’s literally been one day of Free Agency Hell and it already sucks 😭😭 THIS IS CRAZY!! 😫😫