You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
PHR Live Chat With Brian La Rose: 12-20-18
powered byJotCast
Brian La Rose
6:05
Hey everyone, welcome to tonight's live chat.
I'll let some questions roll in and then we'll get going.
Jackson
6:10
Kind of off topic Brian, how many questions do you usually get per week for the Mailbag thing.
Brian La Rose
6:11
It seems to vary each time we run them.  Some weeks there are only a handful posted on the site, others we get quite a few between the ones in the comments and the ones submitted on Twitter.
6:12
A lot of it depends on if there's a major discussion point at that time.  Alex Pietrangelo got a lot of attention last week while at one point, there were enough questions about the William Nylander contract situation to warrant its own column.
Dan
6:13
What can caps do to improve d core?. Niskanen is washed, but have some young forwards who could be worth something to teams who need offense.
Brian La Rose
6:13
I think this would be a good spot for a potential Andre Burakovsky swap.
6:14
Washington will need to match money given their salary cap situation so moving someone like him ($3MM) would give them a chance to take on a somewhat established player.
6:16
Beyond that, patience will be needed.  I like what they've done lately on the back end with adding Lucas Johansen and Alexander Alexeyev - both of them should help before too long.
6:17
Timothy Liljegren has been ruled out of the World Juniors.  That's a big blow for Sweden.
Jerry
6:17
How does the Berglund case differ from others ?  Mutual termination is said
Brian La Rose
6:19
I was shocked to see that Berglund was willing to agree to a mutual termination.  It actually isn't any different from players like Sergei Shumakov, Tomas Plekanec, or Radel Fazleev, who also cleared today.
He will be off of Buffalo's books entirely.
6:20
I have to think he has something lined up fairly quickly to walk away from that much guaranteed money.
Jerry
6:20
Secondary scoring so weak in Buffalo yet he couldn’t mesh with anyone here.
Brian La Rose
6:21
I'm surprised he struggled as much as he did.  I thought he'd be a nice third line center for them and hover around the 15-goal mark.
6:22
Clearly, that didn't come close to happening.
6:23
Now that Buffalo has a lot more money to spend, how active are they going to be in the next couple of months?
Bill
6:25
Goalie options for Philly?
Brian La Rose
6:25
They're looking to add but with Carter Hart on the horizon, I think they should be prioritizing a short-term addition.
6:26
Not necessarily a rental player though - someone signed for next season would work as well and allow Hart either a little more development time or a chance to ease into a full-time NHL role.
6:27
I suspect Ottawa would be willing to move Craig Anderson and with Thatcher Demko on the horizon, Jacob Markstrom would be a decent fit as well if Vancouver wanted to move them.  They're not true number ones but they'd be upgrades on their current situation for sure.
slash1001
6:28
Injuries granted, the Predators still seem a player light - just a notch less talented than TBL, WPG, COL.  They're a very good team, not a great team, and sometimes very good teams (Caps) win the Cup.  But do you think the Preds should do something to up their chances, or just wait out the injuries and stand pat?
Brian La Rose
6:28
For now, wait out the injuries and stand pat.
6:29
P.K. Subban may be back soon and Filip Forsberg/Viktor Arvidsson are probably a couple of weeks away.
6:30
Get into January with this core and give them a few good weeks to assess things.  Then by the end of the month, David Poile will have a much better read on whether or not he needs to add.
I'd target a middle-six forward if I was them, just to give them a little more depth in case injuries strike in the postseason.
Mark
6:31
Why do I keep letting myself become convinced that Jake Allen will become a top 10 goalie?
Brian La Rose
6:31
Allen has shown just enough flashes of being one that makes it tough to give up on him entirely.
6:32
However, at this point, I think it is what it is with him - he's capable of being the number one at times but he will also struggle.  If St. Louis wants to keep him in that role, they'll need a reliable number two playing behind him.
Tim
6:32
Who’s getting Jimmy Howard and what is detroit getting out of this deal?
Brian La Rose
6:33
I think he signs a contract extension, to be honest.  There's mutual interest in getting a deal done.
6:35
If they do decide to move him though, I think the Islanders make sense as a landing spot.  A first rounder isn't likely but a second rounder and perhaps a half-decent prospect shouldn't be out the question if he can keep up his current level of play.
Mark
6:35
Will the Kings hang onto Quick, or will they move him and go with a longer term option?
Brian La Rose
6:36
I suspect they'll hold onto him.  With that contract (four more years after this one), he is their longer-term option.
6:37
I like Cal Peterson and I could see those two forming a duo in Los Angeles for a few years.  With Quick's injury history and the contract, teams would only want him if they're selling low which isn't ideal for the Kings.
Calvin Pickard
6:38
CALVIN. PICKARD.
Brian La Rose
6:38
He'll be sticking around in Arizona for at least another week with the roster freeze now in effect.
Bob
6:38
Thoughts on where the Ducks are at?  Seems like the corsi numbers have improved as of late?  You encouraged?  Also, do you like what you see from Sprong?  Future 30 goal scorer?  Thanks!
Brian La Rose
6:40
I'm encouraged in the sense that they keep hanging around despite a boatload of injuries but I have questions about whether they can keep it up.
6:41
Sprong's fitting in nicely so far but it's early.  He had stretches like this in Pittsburgh too before it went sideways.  Consistency has been an issue going back to his time in junior - how will he respond when he starts to struggle?  How much rope will he get from the team?  I think it's early to say he'll get to 30 but the upside is there for sure.
Load More Messages
Connecting…