Salary Cap: Cap Crunch Part 6: At Least We Have Rundblad

[Any Colour You Like]

Continued from Part 5.

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[hawksrule]

Anisimov has more than 400 NHL games under his belt.

Signing Darling for an extra 2 years after all of 7 NHL games seems like a bigger leap of faith in terms of knowing a player in the NHL game.

That's an odd comparison, Darling having played more than 7 nhl games notwithstanding.

Darling's getting approximately $650k/year for two years to be a backup. That's a bigger leap of faith to you than five years at $4.55m for someone who hasn't yet played a single game with the team?

 

[Illinihockey]

Anisamov isn't some guy coming from Russia. He's a long time NHL veteran.

 

[fatbeard]

Preemptively overpay when you don't know what you're getting. What a philosophy

What a gamble that playing on a line with Kane instead of Columbus' 3rd line stiffs will improve his numbers! Oh boy, I hope we don't take it on the chin with this one, eh boys?

 

[hawksrule]

Anisamov isn't some guy coming from Russia. He's a long time NHL veteran.

If the point is that is that 5 years/$22.5m for AA is less of a leap of faith than Darling at 2 years/$650k per year as a backup, then I'm failing to see how your non-sequitur leads to that conclusion.

 

[hockeydoug]

That's an odd comparison, Darling having played more than 7 nhl games notwithstanding.

Darling's getting approximately $650k/year for two years to be a backup. That's a bigger leap of faith to you than five years at $4.55m for someone who hasn't yet played a single game with the team?

My point is that they have enough information to deduce what kind of player they're signing. That's why TVR and Darling get seemingly premature extensions. They wouldn't have been interested in trading a piece like Saad for a rental and a question. They're not going to go by a small sample size of a few games to make a determination. 30 games, 50 games, in a new system isn't going to change what he is.

They know what he is just like they knew what Hossa was or Oduya was or what Daley is.

Forgetting the giant sample size, video, and the fact that every vet on the roster has played against him, Morin, Bass, Erixon, Roszival, and Richards played with him. There's no shortage of input about the player.

The only serious question the franchise, like most franchises would have in a similar situation, is about his health.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

The only issue that I have with Anisimov's deal was with the fact that it was done when we still had contract/trade work to do with the guys still on the roster. I have high hopes for what he can do for our team and I think it'll work out well for us, but to sign him to a nice, longterm deal when we already had the rights to him while the Oduya and Kruger were just sitting and twiddling their thumbs and the questions about if we'd trade or not trade Sharp, Bickell, or Versteeg just didn't sit right with me, nor do I think it was necessarily a good idea to commit millions in cap space while there were uncertainties like those abound.

Hopefully a sign that the team's very confident in what they've got up their sleeves, but if they were confident going into that move and then what we got for Sharp and Johns is what came about after the fact.... eh....

 

[hawksrule]

What a gamble that playing on a line with Kane instead of Columbus' 3rd line stiffs will improve his numbers! Oh boy, I hope we don't take it on the chin with this one, eh boys?

Yeah, playing with Kane ensures that his earning potential will be far beyond what the Hawks just signed him for. What a dumb argument.

 

[hockeydoug]

The only issue that I have with Anisimov's deal was with the fact that it was done when we still had contract/trade work to do with the guys still on the roster. I have high hopes for what he can do for our team and I think it'll work out well for us, but to sign him to a nice, longterm deal when we already had the rights to him while the Oduya and Kruger were just sitting and twiddling their thumbs and the questions about if we'd trade or not trade Sharp, Bickell, or Versteeg just didn't sit right with me, nor do I think it was necessarily a good idea to commit millions in cap space while there were uncertainties like those abound.

Hopefully a sign that the team's very confident in what they've got up their sleeves, but if they were confident going into that move and then what we got for Sharp and Johns is what came about after the fact.... eh....

I understand the concern, but isn't it better to be out in front of the priorities? Anisimov, right or wrong, is going to be a more important piece if they're contending again than Oduya or any of the other players in my opinion.

That's why I'm indifferent about the timing. Bowman has been good about prioritizing while still dealing with other issues and this appears to be no different. I wouldn't have thought twice had they waited until later in the summer, but I would have been griping like crazy if they had traded Saad for what looked like a rental.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

For sure, but that's always why I think it's important to point out that we had rights to him until the end of next season. We essentially committed $4.5m in cap space to him starting 16/17 when we had a huge number of question marks in the air for next year and were still in negotiations with other teams on roster moves largely due to our limited cap space. Who knows? Maybe if we had open space in our multiyear forcast we'd have slightly more leeway in negotiations than we would now?

As I said before, I think that Anisimov will work damn well for us and I think that his contract will overall be okay for us, especially as I think that this management has earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to cap and roster development. I'm just not sure that signing a contract in June or July was really necessary when we'd have a much better idea about our overall roster in August or September.

 

[LandofLincoln*]

What a gamble that playing on a line with Kane instead of Columbus' 3rd line stiffs will improve his numbers! Oh boy, I hope we don't take it on the chin with this one, eh boys?

Anisimov got what a 50 point player gets paid. He's never hit 50pts... He's going into prime 28-31 age for an athlete. Stan was wise to take the risk!

 

[fatbeard]

Yeah, playing with Kane ensures that his earning potential will be far beyond what the Hawks just signed him for. What a dumb argument.

I am mystified by your apparent insistence that a GM can only spend money when he knows with 100% certainty what the return on that money will be. What a strange little reality you must live in, where risk does not exist and every outcome is a sure thing. May I come visit you in La-La Land any time, or is there some sort of golden ticket scavenger hunt involved first?

 

[Hossabeast]

Anisimov got what a 50 point player gets paid. He's never hit 50pts... He's going into prime 28-31 age for an athlete. Stan was wise to take the risk!

That's the key point. It's a risk. While I agree it's a good one there is no way to know for sure. All these guys whinning about Bickell. At the time that was a good risk...didn't play out. Hard to measure that perfectly. Hindsight is twenty twenty for the manager wannabe but three cups is proof. I'm trusting the risks stan's taking

 

[hawksrule]

I am mystified by your apparent insistence that a GM can only spend money when he knows with 100% certainty what the return on that money will be. What a strange little reality you must live in, where risk does not exist and every outcome is a sure thing. May I come visit you in La-La Land any time, or is there some sort of golden ticket scavenger hunt involved first?

I see your propensity for logical fallacies is matched only by your lack of wit.

 

[BK]

The way I saw it at the time, they knew they were trying to trade Leddy long before they actually pulled the trigger, yet they kept floating the Oduya trade rumor all summer. They kept Leddy in the dark the whole time.

I might have that wrong, and would be happy to be proven so. Like I might've had unrealistic expectations or missed a rumor or two, but that's the way I remember seeing the whole thing at the time..

This is 100% not true. Stan was honest with Leddy and his agent the whole time. I know this because the summer he was traded he was on my boat and I asked him about that. He said he knew this was a business and he knew it was a possibility. Did he want to get traded? No but he knew it could happen.

 

[BK]

Yeah, playing with Kane ensures that his earning potential will be far beyond what the Hawks just signed him for. What a dumb argument.

Playing with Kane for a season could potentially price him out of the Hawks cap if we waited to sign him. Stan and the organization clearly think they know what they are getting. AA could potentially score 60 pts with Kane and that would have commanded a lot more cap space.

 

[Killer Boots Man]

Playing with Kane for a season could potentially price him out of the Hawks cap if we waited to sign him. Stan and the organization clearly think they know what they are getting. AA could potentially score 60 pts with Kane and that would have commanded a lot more cap space.

I agree with you, but it's not like AA played with scrubs. He played on the same line as Foligno most of the time who had 31 goals and 73 points last year. Both higher than Kane, albeit with a few more games.

 

[SimpleJack]

Maybe time to just give in and realize Bickell will be here next year:

Panarin - Toews - Hossa
Dano - Anisimov - Kane
Bickell - Teravainen - Garbutt
Desjardins - Kruger(2.3) - Shaw
Tikhonov

Keith - Seabrook
Hjalmarsson - Daley
TVR - Rundblad
7th defenseman(Prospect/Rozsival?) .8

Crawford
Darling

Trade Versteeg for whatever it takes and that roster fits in at right around 71.2mil. No need to move Crawford anymore, though it will be very tight and assuming we can get Kruger to resign at a very reasonable discount.

Or, if we can convince someone to take Bickell with us eating 1-1.5mil of his cap hit and throwing in Danault/Hartman/Baun then maybe do that and keep Versteeg instead.

If things are still too tight regardless then id prefer to do whatever it takes to resign Kruger at this point, so possibly move Versteeg AND Bickell(retaining half his salary). Either way.....things could be worse. Still an exciting team to look forward to. Hopeful that Daley does indeed flourish in this system and that TVR can stay healthy and build off his impressive rookie performance.

 

[SimpleJack]

I wish i could go back and see some of the projected 2015/16 rosters that we considered "best case scenarios" for Stans cap managing entering the offseason. Everyone's ESSENTIAL MUSTS were bringing back Saad, Oduya, and Kruger with Richards becoming a popular "Darkhorse" to return. I bet it went something like:

Panarin(.9) - Toews(10.5) - Hossa(5.3)
Saad(4.5) - Richards(2.5) - Kane(10.5)
Hartman/Baun/McNeill/Danault(.9) - Teravainen(.9) - Shaw(2.0)
Desjardins(.8) - Kruger(2.3) - Nordstrom(1.0)
Hartman/Baun/McNeill/Danault(.9)

Keith(5.5) - Seabrook(5.8)
Oduya(3.7) - Hjalmarsson(4.1)
TVR(.9) - Johns/Reilly/cheap vet/Pokka(.9)
Johns/Reilly/cheap vet/Pokka(.9)

Crawford(6.0)
Darliing(.7)

That comes out to 71.5mil....slightly over...and as we've learned that was also counting on overly optimistic discounts for Saad and Richards as well as Oduya, and Kruger(still hopeful). Also counting on getting essentially no cap space in return in the Sharp and Bickell trades(which we've also now learned was rather impossible).

IMO thats really not AT ALL far off on paper, forward or defensive depth, overall skill/talent level, or potential from what we can project to be next year(see my previous post) given what happens with Bickell and/or Versteeg. So, really no reason for so many to continuously act as if SB has made poor choices that have doomed our roster, when in fact we are retooled, just as fast if not faster, younger, fresher, and ready for another deep playoff run if we're healthy.

 

[Taze em]

The only issue that I have with Anisimov's deal was with the fact that it was done when we still had contract/trade work to do with the guys still on the roster. I have high hopes for what he can do for our team and I think it'll work out well for us, but to sign him to a nice, longterm deal when we already had the rights to him while the Oduya and Kruger were just sitting and twiddling their thumbs and the questions about if we'd trade or not trade Sharp, Bickell, or Versteeg just didn't sit right with me, nor do I think it was necessarily a good idea to commit millions in cap space while there were uncertainties like those abound.

Hopefully a sign that the team's very confident in what they've got up their sleeves, but if they were confident going into that move and then what we got for Sharp and Johns is what came about after the fact.... eh....

Always get them negotiating during the honeymoon period.

 

[Bubba88]

Just look at Stastnys last 2 years and tell me he is 2.5 Million better than AA

 

[Marotte Marauder]

Playing with Kane for a season could potentially price him out of the Hawks cap if we waited to sign him. Stan and the organization clearly think they know what they are getting. AA could potentially score 60 pts with Kane and that would have commanded a lot more cap space.

Some thought Bolland would light it up with 88 too

 

[fatbeard]

Maybe time to just give in and realize Bickell will be here next year:

I think that hinges on his vertigo. As long as it persists he's unmovable. If it lasts until the regular season he can be stashed on LTIR.

 

[BobbyJet]

Anisimov got what a 50 point player gets paid. He's never hit 50pts... He's going into prime 28-31 age for an athlete. Stan was wise to take the risk!

His offensive numbers are not a concern, imo. If he can play a 200 foot game as the 2nd line center and take some of the pressure off of Toews to be everything for this team, he will be doing the job. Points will come but there is plenty of fire power on this team if his point production isn't that great - and lets face it, without PP time, not many Hawk players are going to reach anywhere close to ppg numbers.

 

[fatbeard]

His offensive numbers are not a concern, imo. If he can play a 200 foot game as the 2nd line center and take some of the pressure off of Toews to be everything for this team, he will be doing the job. Points will come but there is plenty of fire power on this team if his point production isn't that great - and lets face it, without PP time, not many Hawk players are going to reach anywhere close to ppg numbers.

I think the concussions are the real concern. Even if Anisimov can't hack it as the 2C, he ends up as a very good though overpaid 3C with size and who plays a two-way game. His contract won't really be a problem unless he can't stay on the ice.