Racki:
Have they not been using Eager most games? I think they have. Eager was sick the past game or two, so that’s why he was out. He’s actually been played quite a bit by Renney, I’d say… especially more recently as he seems to be making a name for himself.

I take a bit of a different view on the Yakupov and slam-dunk d-man ideals. I’d say if Yakupov is falling on our laps we trade the pick (if we can) for a big name young defender.. like your Pietrangelo / Weber / Doughty types. Might be easier said than done though. But I think if we fix the back end up with a stud d-man that can play well in his own zone and move the puck up ice, the offense will start to come from other lines. I’m just not sure how feasible it is to have Hall, Nuge, Eberle and a Yakupov. I’d have to figure that we’d be tying up BIG money in forwards. It would be nice, if not for that, however.

Goaltending is definitely a huge issue.. agreed there.

If the deall is there to get your Pietrangelo type, I agree. Otherwise you wait and trade later in the summer or next year.

I take a bit of a different view on the Yakupov and slam-dunk d-man ideals. I’d say if Yakupov is falling on our laps we trade the pick (if we can) for a big name young defender.. like your Pietrangelo / Weber / Doughty types. Might be easier said than done though. But I think if we fix the back end up with a stud d-man that can play well in his own zone and move the puck up ice, the offense will start to come from other lines. I’m just not sure how feasible it is to have Hall, Nuge, Eberle and a Yakupov. I’d have to figure that we’d be tying up BIG money in forwards. It would be nice, if not for that, however.

Goaltending is definitely a huge issue.. agreed there.

As for the management, there are definitely some areas that need desperate attention, and again, same thing every year. Go out and get a couple D that make it easier to clear the zone and stop the opposition. Nothing slam dunkish neeeded here. There are always serviceable D out there every single year. Get one and maybe pick up a top guy in a trade. I agree on Whitney. I’d be looking to trade him. You should get a capable defender back and hopefully a cheaper one too if we sweeten the pot.

Khabbi. Why did we not trade his ass when there was reportedly three teams willing to take him on? Again, one has to hope he is traded this summer or at the draft. Maybe the fit wasn’t good, but we are looking at another bottom five finish if he is our answer to goal next year. Dubnyk, I’m thinking this experiment is done. His potential is to be a “B” level back up at best. Again, I wouldn’t mind keeping him, but we had better have a bonafide number one who will steal games in net. No more old goalies. I want a young guy who will be here for years to come and stabalize the team. This used to be our strength. We have not had a good starter since Salo. Sorry Roloson fans, but he wasn’t a true starter. I want a guy who can play 60-70 games if needed and play them well.

The draft will be interesting. I still say we take BPA and if Yakupov should magically land in our laps, we jump on him and pick him. Don’t forget we still have one of the lowest goals for totals in the league. As great as the kids are, we could use more offense in addition to woefully needed D and goal.

This is Tambi’s make or break summer in my eyes. No more free passes. Time to gear up and become a complete NHL team and not a partial AHL/NHL mix that we have seen for three years now. No excuses.

Ultimately it may be the players mistakes but it falls on the coaching staff to correct and right now I see no improvement in this area.