You can’t garuntee a tank to land a 1st overall pick, for example the year we landed Kadri we were supposed to tank, Fletcher/Burke did the tradional rebuild thing that year and we finished with 7th overall. It’s never a given. Look at NYI they’ve been tradionally rebuilding for years and outside of Tavares their isn’t anything there.

A GM should be swinging for the fences at the draft, in the trade market and in free agency. Burke is on the record saying he won’t sign quality UFAs. That should be enough to cost him his job. Sign good players, draft good players and address positional needs by trade. Most important establish a core of superstars to build around (that’s a big oops on the part of the current management team, oh well I’m sure Brad Ross and Greg McKegg will make awesome 4th liners one day).

So now we have new owners putting Burke on the ‘you’d better make the playoff leash’ sound farmiliar? There is the potential of long term damaged done to our roster this season when we could just cut our losses and axe the irishman this summer.

Can someone paint the picture of what Burke is going to do to improve this team over the course of the next year? If not why keep him?

Again, I don’t know to expect from him (I don’t think anyone does), I have no clue of the direction of this franchise.

haha sorry, I had to.

The deal best case for Columbus is a 70 point player for two 40 point players. While that seems like a decent exchange, 40 point players are easy to replace and are signed / developed all the time.

Howson should have told Nash that the offers are pitiful and if he doesn’t expand his trade list then he will remain a Blue Jacket for another season. Maybe find a team who is willing to make an impulse trade and get a top-prospect or player in addition to or in place of the crappy 1st rounder you got.

Rangers win big time. Even if you consider Nash waaaay overrated.

That’s not bad, but I mean considering that they never managed to get any of the Rangers preferred prospects or major pieces, it really feels like they settled. Dubinsky is a solid 2nd line player with an edge, but coming off his worst season. Erixon is a good defense prospect lookign to make the jump, but it seems that his career upside is top 4 steady all around guy, but nothing spectacular. Anisimov is a solid NHLer with top six upside, but at 24, it’s not like he’s likely to explode into a constant 30 goal threat number 1 center, and the Rangers 1st figures to be between 22-30 next year.

I really feel like the Rangers won out big here, and Howson looks like a Chump.

Thoughts?