Justin

@kelsey_surmacz4 I’d flip Soderblom and Koivunen but otherwise like it!

Hot take: Chinakhov-Crosby-Rakell Mantha-Kindel-Rust Soderblom-Novak-Brazeau Koivunen/whoever-Dewar-Acciari (Operating without 71 and seeing that Mantha is on the trip, of course).

@JP8830763240 The fact you’re still complaining about your GM from 4 yrs ago is sad. The current state of your team should be far more concerning, also the Minten + a top 10 pick in this draft has a strong chance of being a worse deal for the leafs lol

Good to see, because he was apparently only worth a 30 second phone call when Kyle Dubas ran him out of Toronto🙄... #LeafsForever #GoAvsGo

@Jason_Shetler I totally get his position tho, he can’t lose focus on the actual plan of making this team a contender not just trying to get in the playoffs for Sid and Geno. Tha being said I thought a good middle 6 guy like Laughton would have been nice for a low price.

In my honest opinion, Dubas didn’t do enough at the deadline. A change of scenery type forward in Söderblom didn’t have to be the only move. Dubas clearly needed center depth, and I was surprised he didn’t add another defenseman.

@yyzsportsmedia @RealKyper @jtbourne Live shot of Brad cleaning up his own mess

So @RealKyper & @jtbourne had BT on asking “Is there a game plan & are you the guy to lead it.” BT:“there will be a plan. Those decisions will be made by others; I want to correct the things .“ hands down the least confident, assuring answer since taking GM role.

@NHLRumourReport Of course he does that way he can fire multiple Coaches and GM’s before he gets gassed lol

David Pagnotta: I don't think [Brendan Shanahan] wants a GM role, I think if there's a President of Hockey Ops type thing, I think he'd like to go back into that type of role - Devils Rink Report (2/27)

@SamAMcKee @KPapetti That Gardiner Reilly pairing wow must have been a dynamite shutdown pair…

@KPapetti MacWilliam - Erixon 💀

Toronto's lineup the last time they lost 7 in a row: van Riemsdyk-Bozak-Kessel Lupul-McKegg-Booth Panik-Komarov-Kozun Lindstrom-Carrick-Bailey Brewer-Phaneuf Gardiner-Rielly MacWilliam-Erixon Bernier Reimer

@jtbourne I like Schenn for a playoff push but man that’s a steep price to pay for a guy with 28 pts and 2 more years at 6.5

Don't hate Schenn for the Isles. COL pick is gonna be pretty late, has a couple years of term (could always re-flip), helps make a push in a year Metro is a mess, team suddenly has a very playoff build w/ few youthful pieces and more coming. Best-of-7, NYI a major pain in the ass

@JoshYohe_PGH I wonder if Geno is looking for a 2 yr deal bc that would definitely give pause to Dubus imo

Kyle Dubas' full answer on Evgeni Malkin's future with the Penguins: "I think that, No. 1, the players here, it's not as though you're talking about any normal player or normal situation. I think it's the most unique situation in sports, the number of seasons Geno, Sid and Kris have played together, how much success they've had in Pittsburgh. You want to be very cut and dry about it. That's my job to some extent. You also want to treat them with a different level of respect. The team knows what they've contributed to the community and the Pittsburgh Penguins. In the end, we have to do what's best for the Pittsburgh Penguins. With players who get to that age, it's not always a simple answer. Sometimes you feel one way as a player, but then you go through the year and you feel differently. We've communicated with J.P. (Barry). We've communicated with Geno. Geno has communicated with the public, which is his right. He's earned that. But I don't think it serves -- as much as everyone else in the room and the public would like for me to comment further -- I don't think it's in the best interest of the Pittsburgh Penguins for me to do so. It's all been communicated to J.P. and Geno. We'll continue to be in close conversations with them and do what's best for the team."

@jtbourne That’s what happens when your coach tanks your value by not using you properly imo

Laughton, on a deal retained down to $1.5 now, for a 2nd (or 3rd if they miss playoffs), considering what just happened over the past couple days (Nick Dowd, say), is surprising. Fully went to "just get something" mode in the last minutes.

@DefiManic @JoshYohe_PGH They’re 2nd in the metro and there is no way ownership would be on board with a sell. It’s intriguing bc the prices but they wouldn’t do that to Sid imo.

@JustinWoolacott @JoshYohe_PGH I'd be selling if I were the penguins and bring up more the young guys. If you are getting teams to overpay for players you change course

Some of the players getting traded for first-round picks should serve as a reminder that Dubas doing nothing this week isn’t the worst thing that could happen. I expect him to be active. But just saying.

@Medrzec71 @JoshYohe_PGH Agreed, and I’d much rather have Chinakov with his RFA status and age at that price way before those players who are max 3C’s

@JustinWoolacott @JoshYohe_PGH Honestly though the 2nd he gave up wasn't ours, and Colorado 1st will be very late round. My guess is those picks maybe 10 spots different at most.

@CarloColaiacovo You’re missing the fact that Tre is useless and likely couldn’t manage a Boston Pizza. Guy is terrified to make a decision and will end up dumping guys for less than ideal returns last minute bc of it.

Dickinson & Laughton comparables Dickinson fetches a 1st? Laughton would be a cheaper cap hit with retention What are I missing here?

@Takhar77 In this same time frame Dubushas made 41 deals in Pit lol

List of Treliving trades so far as Leafs GM. A depressing list that points to a level of incompetence that was entirely predictable the moment he showed up.

@NHLRumourReport Kent Johnson, or Elias Pettersson? They have the cap but Pettersson that’s scary as hell…

David Pagnotta: Reclamation projects are something they like in Pittsburgh, they're gonna fish for that; if there's an opportunity to add somebody...that has term, the Penguins wouldn't mind utilizing some of their assets - NHL Now (3/2)

@jonassiegel We can only hope

Is Craig Berube’s fate with the Maple Leafs being sealed? nytimes.com/athletic/70783…

@JacksonDog1127 @JoshYohe_PGH @HunterHodies I agree it hasn’t and hope it won’t, but why rush an extension? The guy is 40 and next season won’t have a 3 week break built into the middle of it, so they need to get the value right. Makes perfect sense to wait and reevaluate after the season.

@JustinWoolacott @JoshYohe_PGH @HunterHodies Yeah, that was what was supposed to happen this year, huh? It hasn’t happened.

I spoke privately with Geno Malkin after he commented that no new deal will be discussed until following the season. You can feel Malkin's frustration. He badly wants to return next season. Really interesting to see how this will play out.

@JacksonDog1127 @JoshYohe_PGH @HunterHodies People need to remove the emotion from this and look at it logically. Geno is inevitably going to have a steep decline and he’s stated he won’t play anywhere else so it’s smart for Dubus to delay as long as possible in case that decline hits and resets his value.

@JoshYohe_PGH @HunterHodies C’mon Josh. You know better than that. Clearly Geno had a different interpretation of what was discussed prior to the season or he wouldn’t have said what he did today.

@Allie874 @HunterHodies Dubas did this a lot in Toronto where he builds guys up on low risk contracts and if they price themselves out then he moves on. Some good some bad like Bunting, Hyman, Campbell, etc

@HunterHodies They can afford it, but also sounds like Dubas is thinking bigger.

Skinner? I understand. I wouldn’t want to have to face that locker room if you’re Dubas and you trade away the top 6 forward on a playoff team. Not sure that’s the message you wanna send, unless it’s a pure hockey trade or something ridiculous.

@HunterHodies Felt like we didn’t see enough of him tonight, would love to see them creep his mins up around 15-17. Could have given the 2nd PP more ice bc the 1st unit looked rough at times imo

Total beast mode stuff tonight from Kindel. From making Hischier look like a pylon in the first period to the last scoring chance, he’s been everywhere. That break is going to do him wonders for the stretch run.