JotCast | PHR Live Chat: 1/22/25

PHR Live Chat: 1/22/25

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Josh Erickson

1:52

Hi everyone! I'll start getting through questions at the top of the hour.

1:58

Why not get started a tad early

Medic Mike

1:58

It’s hard to place blame on Bedard when he spends have his time on the ice in the defensive zone and when they do have the puck in their zone half that time it’s fighting against the boards. How can Chicago get better? It’s painful to watch.

Josh Erickson

2:00

Agreed on all fronts. From what I understand, GM Kyle Davidson held off on being aggressive in free agency until a better 2025 class rolls around. I assume, imagine, and hope for Bedard's sake that they'll go after multiple top 10 forwards available, especially since they passed up Demidov in the draft last year. How much better does their short/mid-term outlook fare with Ivan in the picture instead of Levshunov? Quite a bit, I'd say.

DStars

2:00

Bischell for a RHD Ristolainen and a high draft pick?

Josh Erickson

2:01

If you're saying a draft pick going Dallas' way along with Ristolainen for Bichsel, that's not happening. The Flyers are in no rush to move him and will gladly hold onto him if they don't receive a rich enough offer. They're certainly not in any position to give up a draft pick to unload him considering they're receiving unprompted interest from other teams.

2:02

Everything else aside, he's a humongous Dumba upgrade and if they can make it work, they should. Bichsel one-for-one might do it, maybe a mid-round pick heading from Dallas to Philly, too. But there certainly won't be additional assets heading from the Flyers to the Stars, at least not a high pick.

Jason

2:03

What moves do you see Golden Knights making before the trade deadline?

Josh Erickson

2:05

Vegas is out of LTIR and will have just short of $5MM to spend on deadline day if their roster remains as it is. Their defense doesn't need polishing, even among their press box fixtures. Hill and Samsonov have both been good. Not elite, but certainly good enough. I'd imagine their focus is a middle-six winger. There's certainly no appetite to bump Barbashev off the top line with the season he's having, but Alex Holtz has had a tough year and I imagine they want to get him out of a top-nine role.

BB-STC

2:05

When will we hear news of a Krill Kaprizov extension? What will it look like?

Josh Erickson

2:08

He's not eligible to sign one until July 1. They can discuss before then, but the deal can't register/become official until the league year turns over and he officially enters the final season of his current contract. With how aggressively the cap is set to rise (and some recent good news on that front, such as escrow not being withheld from player's paychecks for the rest of the year as an indicator), I would be shocked if it's under $13MM per season on an eight-year deal. Likely sniffs closer to $14MM per season. Not sure he passes Draisaitl so quickly after he signed that mega-deal, but he'll get close.

Blue Note

2:09

The Blues are treading water without a clear direction. The worst possible situation for a team that is not really good enough to make the playoffs and not going to get a number 1 pick. What moves should they be making as the trade deadline approaches?

Josh Erickson

2:11

Yeah, they're middle of the pack in pretty much every stat imaginable. They did a lot of retooling on the trade market last summer, trimming some salary but still taking some marginally overpaid assets in return. They need to do so again, but more aggressively. Financial flexibility allows a team to go in the direction they want to go, whether it's rebuild or reload. Get rid of as many iffy contracts as possible between now and July 1, namely Saad and Joseph up front. Leddy might be LTIR fodder at this stage, so I'd wait to make a determination on him. I'd at least listen to offers on Justin Faulk, too. He's having a tough year offensively.

Blue seats

2:11

Ok, in your opinion do we go for jt miller ? Im thinking take pass on him unless vancouver would take lindberg, chytil, and maybe a prospect other than othmann and perreault.

Josh Erickson

2:13

From what I understand, that's what the previous trade offer was (or close to it) with NYR's 2025 first-rounder included as well. The conditions on that pick were the main holdup. I'd imagine the two sides re-engage, and everything indicates to me that the Rangers are still the front-runner. There's other places he can go – I can't imagine Vancouver keeping him after all this – but still think likelier than not it's NYR.

Medic Mike

2:14

What are your thoughts on the McDavid suspension?

Josh Erickson

2:16

Warranted, and the response from the Oilers' camp has been nothing short of jaw-droppingly out of proportion in my opinion. Yes, Garland should've been called for something – but that doesn't give anyone the license to dole out a cross-check to the face without supplemental discipline. The narrative that the NHL doesn't protect their stars also isn't grounded in fact. McDavid's just one of four skaters with at least 100 penalties drawn over the past three seasons.

2:17

His +59 penalty differential is third only to Hischier and Elias Pettersson during that span, too. McDavid is very McValuable in that regard, too.

BB-STC

2:18

Chances Brock Boeser or Brock Nelson ends up in Minnesota? What would the return need to be?

Josh Erickson

2:20

Both are good fits and they obviously have interest in both. It's still up to the Canucks and Isles to decide where they're actually for sale, though. The acquisition cost for Boeser would be a bit higher, I'd think, but the rental market is always hard to predict. I'd rather invest in Boeser long-term, too, which they should have the cap space to do once they get a good idea of what extensions will cost for Kaprizov and Rossi.

2:21

But assuming both are being traded as rentals, I think you're starting with a first-rounder for Boeser and a second-rounder for Nelson.

Blue Note

2:21

Leddy, Suter, Krug, Fowler, Parayko, and Faulk are all on the wrong side of 30. Broberg and Perunivich are only D-men playing regularly who are under 30 and now Tucker. Will Leddy play this year or is he done? At the trade deadline, do they trade from their over 30 d-men for picks, or close to ready forwards or d-men?

Josh Erickson

2:23

I truly have no clue on Leddy. Still out indefinitely. Krug's career may be over. If LTIR is a factor for those guys for the remainder of their deals, they're obviously not an imminent concern. I think they likely trade one defenseman before the deadline, not sure about multiple. Everything about Armstrong/Steen's recent approach tells me they'd target more polished prospects in return instead of draft picks.

draft

2:24

Based on the depth of the 2025 draft, would you say that any pick from the 5th to 7th round is of little value ?

Josh Erickson

2:24

When you're getting that late in the draft, it's purely magic beans. The value of those picks, especially on the trade market, doesn't change from year to year.

Medic Mike

2:24

If/when the Blackhawk's start trading their Veterans away I think they should be targeting prospects and not draft picks. Am I off base here?

Josh Erickson

2:25

Not at all. You can only kick the can down the road for so long, and it's starting to be harmful for the players they're banking on to lead them out of this. Time to hit the gas pedal.

trade bait

2:29

If Chicago is looking to trade Hall, isn't playing him now on a 4th line counterproductive ?

Josh Erickson

2:30

You betcha, although three points in his last five games ain't bad. It's more about average ice time than specific depth chart role. He's still good for around a half a point per game on a bad team in more limited minutes, so I imagine his trade market is still decent.

paul

2:30

what moves should/could Capitals make to take the next step for a SC run? 3 C? another winger? And what would it cost them?

Josh Erickson

2:32

Yeah, Eller's been a tad underwhelming since he was reacquired. The thing is, when you have Dowd as your 4C, you can get away with a more sluggish 3C, at least offensively. I'd like to see a depth defense upgrade on Alexeyev/McIlrath, which shouldn't cost anything more than a mid-round pick if it's a rental, and potentially another bottom-six wing like you said.

potential

2:33

Eyebrows were raised when Sennecke was taken 3rd by the Ducks in the 2024 draft. Do you think they may have gotten the best forward after Celebrini ?

Josh Erickson

2:34

I'm not a huge proponent of Sennecke's, but even then, I think it's unquestionable that Demidov still has the highest degree of potential for that second-best forward spot by a sizable margin, given how his KHL season has gone.

2:35

That said, I'm still not sold on Sennecke as a top-five forward from that draft, even. I prefer a lot of players who ended up being taken in the mid-first or elsewhere in the top 10 like Catton, Hage, etc.

He's had a good year, but Sennecke's only raised his floor, not his ceiling, in my eyes. I like the pick better than on draft day but still don't like it.

activity

2:37

Which 3-5 teams do you think will be the most active at the trade deadline ?

Josh Erickson

2:39

Pittsburgh is certainly one. I'm not sold that they'll make huge-magnitude moves outside of M. Pettersson, but they'll wheel and deal on a smaller scale to try and get some life in the organization. Boston should make multiple deals in the same vein. Dallas will be aggressive. Seattle, I imagine, will move out multiple players. Not a definitive list, but a good place to start.

prospects

2:39

Who do you like better as a pro prospect, Ryan Greene or Oliver Moore ?

Josh Erickson

2:40

Moore by a good bit. He's got both a lower floor and higher ceiling.

NotKyle

2:40

What do you think the Pens could get for rentals (Pettersson, O'Connor, etc) and for players with term (Karlsson, Rakell, etc.)?

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