.....if they intend to pay Ilya THAT kind of money, at LEAST two good, MOSTLY-reliable players will HAVE to be let loose - from where I sit, once Bails leaves, Pageau (losing HIM on faceoffs, WILL be problematic - at BEST) Mayfield & even POSSIBLY Pulock - JUST as he's appearing to REGAIN his form, will STILL need to depart : ( Holmstrom is an UNQUESTIONABLE (and MINOR, yes) trade chip THIS summer for SURE then.....
.....if they intend to pay Ilya THAT kind of money, at LEAST two good, MOSTLY-reliable players will HAVE to be let loose - from where I sit, once Bails leaves, Pageau (losing HIM on faceoffs, WILL be problematic - at BEST) Mayfield & even POSSIBLY Pulock - JUST as he's appearing to REGAIN his form, will STILL need to depart : ( Holmstrom is an UNQUESTIONABLE (and MINOR, yes) trade chip THIS summer for SURE then.....
NHL conspired against the Isles in 1984 by changing the format of the finals to 2-3-2. They wanted the Oilers to win.
Think they also wanted to save $$$ on travel. Same format next year vs Philadelphia I believe.