Speculation: 2022 Off-Season | Dethroned: What next?

[Coopers Gum]

Hard disagree on McD. #2 dmen are hard to come by. Who would replace him? I don’t have any faith someone within the org can take on his assignments and minutes. He was very clearly injured most if not all playoffs. Do we make it past the leafs without him? Panthers? Rangers? I would doubt it.

Can you say the same for someone like Killer? No. Keep McD.

 

[Rschmitz]

We don't have the money to sign both Paul and Palat, I give it 50/50 we sign either. Sorry guys

 

[DMB06]

I think we can make the postseason easily still, but responsible power forwards in the posteason are a premium and I'm pretty sure both have priced themselves out of what we can afford, unfortunately



You say we are top heavy but list a bunch of middling players to get rid of. Not sure that makes a lot of sense

By top heavy I meant we're too reliant on our top guys to score.

 

[Lightningdraftslast]

Pierre Cedric-Labrie is on the Crunch. Bring him up. Trade Vasy and find Lindbach. Let MacD go and see if Matt Carle can still skate. Don’t post while on Ambien.

 

[Coopers Gum]

Pierre Cedric-Labrie is on the Crunch. Bring him up. Trade Vasy and find Lindbach. Let MacD go and see if Matt Carle can still skate. Don’t post while on Ambien.

Let’s see what Mike Angelidis is up to next season

 

[JTBF81]

We don't have the money to sign both Paul and Palat, I give it 50/50 we sign either. Sorry guys

Of course they have the money to sign both, as long as the contracts are reasonable. Killorn would have to be traded, and Rutta would be gone, but there is room for both.

 

[Rschmitz]

By top heavy I meant we're too reliant on our top guys to score.

Feels that way but if you analyze the past three years as a whole that hasn't been the case. Agree with you this year especially though, highlighted by Killorn our secondary scoring let us down.

Of course they have the money to sign both, as long as the contracts are reasonable. Killorn would have to be traded, and Rutta would be gone, but there is room for both.

We will see, "reasonable contracts" is pretty ambiguous

 

[TheSchmidt]

Trade Killorn for Ethan Bear and a pick, trade Bellemare for a late pick, sign Walker and Guttman, extend Paul and Palat, bring up Perbix and Koepke. Essentially inject youth and speed to this team and retool

I like the Ethan Bear idea. Not sure if Carolina has bigger plans for him next season with Deangelo likely getting a big payday elsewhere, but those are the kinda guys we need to take a risk on.

I feel dirty for saying this, but try to take a page out of Florida's book and find those young guys who may be out of favor with their organizations and see if they will flourish here.

 

[Point21]

I like the Ethan Bear idea. Not sure if Carolina has bigger plans for him next season with Deangelo likely getting a big payday elsewhere, but those are the kinda guys we need to take a risk on.

I feel dirty for saying this, but try to take a page out of Florida's book and find those young guys who may be out of favor with their organizations and see if they will flourish here.

Bear got permission to seek a trade from the Canes

 

[Summer Rose]

Cry. Cry a lot. I didn't even get to watch game 6.

 

[DarrylshutzSydor]

I dont see who will take on Killhorns contract in a trade. Id rather keep Palat and Rutta than Palat and Paul

 

[JoVel]

I've been quite vocal on the 'f*** draft picks' stance but I think now is the time to stop sacrificing every bit of our future for success. Stop using every first rounder on the TDL. 2nd rounders or later, fair game. We'll be among the top contenders for the next... 3 years or so? And still a playoff team from that point onwards. The downfall will come eventually but we're starting to be at a time where we can decide how bad and long it'll be.

I dont see who will take on Killhorns contract in a trade. Id rather keep Palat and Rutta than Palat and Paul

He had a shitty playoffs but he still had a 59 point season. There's been like one year on his contract where he hasn't been worth the price tag. I'd be highly surprised if no one's willing to trade for him.

 

[2020 Cup Champions]

Killorn has to go. McD could go but it'd have it be a pretty good trade. Trading Serg or Cirelli better just be an absolute lights out trade for a blue chip on an ELC. We've got to figure out our Game 1 and 2s.

 

[JTBF81]

Killorn has to go. McD could go but it'd have it be a pretty good trade. Trading Serg or Cirelli better just be an absolute lights out trade for a blue chip on an ELC. We've got to figure out our Game 1 and 2s.

Yeah, only so many times you can go down 2-0 or 2-1 and expect to rally. They had really good chances in G1 and G4 to make sure at worst this was going to a G7 after tonight, but failed to capitalize.

 

[Stammertime91]

UFAs that catch my eye:

Andrew Copp
Evander Kane
Val Nichushkin (might take a minute here...)
Reilly Smith
Anton Stralman

Not sure of each team's status as far as resigning them goes but those are the only notable ones to me at first glance. This, of course, is if Paul and Palat are too costly. Copp will probably go for a pretty penny given the season and postseason he put together. Kane is a question mark and in hindsight JBB probably should have grabbed him. Hate to say that cause I cannot stomach the dude, but, he would've been our leading scorer more than likely and we could have used some goals. Nichushkin is an interesting case given how slow it took for him to arrive to the party but he's here. He more than likely will be very expensive, either in Colorado or elsewhere. Smith is an interesting one to me because whenever I watch Vegas he is a player we sorely lack on the team. Not sure if he's lost a step or what, but he's the playmaker mold we lack on our second line. Lastly, steady Anton. He wont' get +5M again from anybody but he's still a good RD option.

I think another move being overlooked is the status of Foote. He did improve this year and seemed to get it together but is the asset useful sitting in the press box? He's good enough for the regular season most games, but in the playoffs, he is still exposed by the speedier opponent. He did well when called upon but it doesn't seem like he's part of the team going forward. If Cernak and Bogo are two of your RDs, do you play Foote or Bogo in the top 4 nightly? Neither. Bogo is cheaper and signed for another year. Bit injury prone but nothing we couldn't get by with a call up from Syracuse if need be. Point is, we might be in the RD market if Rutta is gone and Stralman is available. Not sure if anybody has seen him play lately..

 

[LightningStrikes]

Scoring depth or rather the lack of scoring depth was our downfall. It’s tough to judge without Point obviously but outside of the top line and the fourth line all other lines underperformed offensively. They all sacrificed their bodies and blocked shots like crazy to get back to the SCF. But as we saw that’s not a sustainable route.

Killorn is the big topic here. Amazing regular season and terrible playoffs offensively. He’s on a good contract though so it wouldn’t shock me if he’s back next season. On the defensive side he was alright I guess?

For what he brings Cirelli shouldn’t be playing higher than third line in an ideal world. Amazing shutdown player.

Palat should be looking to get paid and as things stand it won’t be here. We can’t give up two to three other players to make it work, that would only further reduce our scoring depth. But what a run he’s had!

Same goes for Paul, his value is going to be as high as it gets right now. I would love to keep him but some GM will throw big money at him.

Hagel and Colton will stay due to their team friendly cap hit.

MCDonagh is a shot blocking machine but for the first time in three runs he’s looked human. Whether it’s age or injuries but he wasn’t the rock we’re used to back there. Lots of bad decisions and unforced turnovers that are uncharacteristic for a guy like him. His offense has dried up. I’d look into moving him maybe.

Serg gets shit on a lot here but he showed in the Avs series what he’s capable of. Logs a ton of tough minutes, plays both sides and unlike McD has offensive upside. Plus he’s like 10 years younger.

The most interesting question of course is: Who’d you bring in? Our pipeline doesn’t provide instant impact players as of now. Where do you get players that fit our game plan and attitude but have scoring upside and are on reasonable contracts?

I wouldn’t want to switch with JBB right now. Tough decisions to make and we’re at a crossroads: Do we stay on top or was this the last big dance?

 

[Stammertime91]

Scoring depth or rather the lack of scoring depth was our downfall. It’s tough to judge without Point obviously but outside of the top line and the fourth line all other lines underperformed offensively. They all sacrificed their bodies and blocked shots like crazy to get back to the SCF. But as we saw that’s not a sustainable route.

Killorn is the big topic here. Amazing regular season and terrible playoffs offensively. He’s on a good contract though so it wouldn’t shock me if he’s back next season. On the defensive side he was alright I guess?

For what he brings Cirelli shouldn’t be playing higher than third line in an ideal world. Amazing shutdown player.

Palat should be looking to get paid and as things stand it won’t be here. We can’t give up two to three other players to make it work, that would only further reduce our scoring depth. But what a run he’s had!

Same goes for Paul, his value is going to be as high as it gets right now. I would love to keep him but some GM will throw big money at him.

Hagel and Colton will stay due to their team friendly cap hit.

MCDonagh is a shot blocking machine but for the first time in three runs he’s looked human. Whether it’s age or injuries but he wasn’t the rock we’re used to back there. Lots of bad decisions and unforced turnovers that are uncharacteristic for a guy like him. His offense has dried up. I’d look into moving him maybe.

Serg gets shit on a lot here but he showed in the Avs series what he’s capable of. Logs a ton of tough minutes, plays both sides and unlike McD has offensive upside. Plus he’s like 10 years younger.

The most interesting question of course is: Who’d you bring in? Our pipeline doesn’t provide instant impact players as of now. Where do you get players that fit our game plan and attitude but have scoring upside and are on reasonable contracts?

I wouldn’t want to switch with JBB right now. Tough decisions to make and we’re at a crossroads: Do we stay on top or was this the last big dance?

I think we can stay on top but there needs to be a reprieve. We saw a Point-less team miss it by two wins. Stamkos was awesome for once. Our defense as a whole was unimpressive compared to the last two but still good enough. Vasy wasn't as stellar but he's still the best and I wouldn't pin the blame on him. The issue is up front.

Killorn is not a top line winger, nor is anybody on the team able to replace the loss of Palat. Unless he demands the moon I'm hoping we can keep him. He's been terrific all three runs, primarily 2020 and this one.

Paul I'm a little less adamant about but I would still want him. Brings size, strength and some wheels that we lack in the bottom six. Him, Cirelli and whoever would be a nice third with Point back in the lineup.

If we go into the season with Stamkos, Point, Kucherov, Cirelli, Killorn and Hagel as our top six then God help us.

 

[Felonious Python]

Hagel has been disappointing for the price, but he doesn't need to get traded this off-season. They could trade him mid-season.

 

[2020 Cup Champions]

If McDonagh would work with us on a trade, Ken Holland is the guy we need to be talking to (even if McD is on the young side for Kenny).

 

[DMB06]

What's crazy is training camp starts in like 2 1/2 months. Opening night is 10/11. I don't know how this tired team is going to play yet another high level season with very little rest once again. I almost wouldn't mind a "rest" season where our main guys play reduced minutes, even if it meant missing the playoffs. And then go for it again in 2023/24.

 

[LightningStrikes]

What's crazy is training camp starts in like 2 1/2 months. Opening night is 10/11. I don't know how this tired team is going to play yet another high level season with very little rest once again. I almost wouldn't mind a "rest" season where our main guys play reduced minutes, even if it meant missing the playoffs. And then go for it again in 2023/24.

They won’t do a “rest season” but we better prepare for a long and sloppy regular season. Like this season but worse.

The entire team was obviously playing on one leg and without their wrists if you know what I mean. Gonna be interesting which injuries will be disclosed in the next few days.

 

[J T Money]

When Paul got traded hear, the first thing he did was go house shopping in South Tampa. I’m pretty sure he’s expecting to re sign and stay with the team for a bit.

 

[Maelmoor]

Right, after having slept on the loss, I feel more optimistic on what is to come and actually rather excited for the next season. It hurts to lose a final and it will sting over the summer, but it is what it is now.

I don't feel we need to do any big changes for the next season. Look, we got superstars like Vasi, Point and Kuch in their prime, guys like Hedman and Stamkos still got many good seasons in them if they can stay healthy and we got plenty of other good pieces, such Serg, who still is really young!

I don't think secondary scoring was the issue in the final series, really, apart from things like the game 4 situation and missing Point, the biggest difference were the special teams. That can be due to injuries or guys being exhausted, cause we know that we normally can do well both in the PK and PP.

We lost speed with Point missing, hell, I still marvel how we could make a run like this without our top center, with him back, we will get back some speed. I know we are disappointed in Hagels production, but I actually think he can thrive playing with Point and that would give us a line with amazing speed.

I really hope we can keep Palat, but we will have to see on that and like everyone else, I'm really disappointed in Killers playoff performance.

Fourth line was really good, probably the best fourth line in the playoffs. If we look at depth scoring in general Perry scored 6, Colton 5, Paul 5 and Maroon 4, that's not bad at all. Yes, Cirelli, Killorn and Hagel do stand out, at the same time, they shut down lot of top lines and made a huge difference in that way. If a line like that can shut out the opponents best players, then scoring can come elsewhere.

We won't be favourites to win next year, but we will for sure be contenders. You never know how things goes in the playoffs but I know we are damn difficult to play against and we got the means for several more deep runs.

Go Bolts!

 

[justloveleafs]

Didn't feel any better when I woke up. Still crushed. No matter how you slice or dice it, it just really sucks to lose in this life.

Losing at home in a Stanley Cup final. Woof.

I don't know if you ever do quite frankly. In terms of feeling better.

Its a deep wound. The third Stanley in a row was there to be had.

Cooper squeezed every ounce out of this team without killing them.

Three was so available, so there. Four nah. I would have said take the entire season off next year, but three, it was there.

It blows and it sucks. Why wax poetic, it just sucks.

 

[Fabiobest]

It's very interesting to read all you comments.
I want to post mine as well.
We cannot pretend to win again without a guy like McDonagh. I'd not trade him right now: his pair with Cernak fits perfectly in our roster. If it's true his post season was not the best, it's also maybe true he was banged up (we'll see it later).
I'd trade Killorn, for example: we'd save like 4M for a player that brought almost nothing offensively.
I hope we'll be able to sign both Palat, with a friendly deal, and Nick Paul.
Colton and Cirelli, are gonna stay here I guess, unless a team will offer us the moon for one of them.
Interesting to see what the free agency offers and what JBB will do at the deadline, next year.
I do not think our window is close but, hell, we MUST BE healthy.