Is Vegas is a really bad position already?

[SlapshotTheMovie]

If they are doing just fine. They can move their depth have a mildly down year and keep their entire core together. Then rebuild in free agency and prospects the year after and be a legit contender again. They pushed going for the cup. Now they have to retool. Its the cap working as intended but i don't see any long term problems on the vegas roster that would be a bad position.

 

[Captain Mountain]

huh? vegas has 7 guys signed for the next 4 years and 5 guys signed to at least 2025, and stone is probably the only one that qualifies as a true core elite player and he's a winger. they have given term to a lot of guys i doubt will be earning their contracts by the end. they are pretty much the definition of an unwieldy top heavy roster cap strapped roster. they are going to have to give up their draft picks and prospects to unload these guys.

Let's go through those names, shall we?

Stone: One of the best wingers in the NHL. Worth it.
Pacioretty: Aging, but still a strong goal scorer with decent underlying numbers. Could be bad near the end, but the term is not terrible.
W. Karlsson: 1B/2 C. 26. Even with a step backwards from an unsustainable season, he'll probably provide extra value relative to his contract for most of the term. Worth it.
Marchessault: 28. Really strong winger that brings value when not producing (and he's really productive). Only 5 mil AAV. Worth it.
Tuch: 23. Already a big body 20 goal, 50 point winger. Adds value outside of producing. AAV under 5 with term. Worth it.
Nate Schmidt: One of the more underrated D-men in the NHL. Term may be a bit long and he's likely to tail of at the end, but I'd say that's a reasonable trade off.
Theodore: Just an amazing contract for what he brings.

Its obviously not ideal to have so much money tied up long term, but most of those guys are more than worth it and extremely moveable. They definitely wont have to move picks and prospects to unload most of those guys.

I also doubt that all of them finish their contracts with Vegas. And with cap growth, Vegas will have more cap flexibility.

 

[viper0220]

If they can find a taker for Eakin, they will be fine. Like already mentioned, there bad contracts are not long and the cap will go up.

 

[Name Nameless]

They are 3,524,999 dollars over now.

That is with 21 players listed in the NHL-group, plus Clarkson. Clarksons cap-hit is included though.

As far as I have understood, they need to be under cap just for a few hours, and then get Clarksons cap-hit on LTIR, when he has been to the doctors on that first day. Still, that means they are over, and that is a problem. Don't know if the rule says 20 inclusive Clarkson, or 20 exclusive Clarkson, but they would still be over if they had had a couple of ELCs to send down. They have none. They have no waiver-excempt players among the 21.

Is none of their expensive contracts so bad the player would pass waivers? Sounds a bit like a luxury-problem, though... Still, they need some tweaking here.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

Vegas is in a great spot. They have a strong roster and a good prospect pool. Being tight to the cap because they have several good players isn't a problem

 

[deckercky]

As far as I have understood, they need to be under cap just for a few hours, and then get Clarksons cap-hit on LTIR, when he has been to the doctors on that first day.

You understand wrong. There are advantages to starting the year under the cap, but teams can start the season exceeding the cap due to LTIR.

 

[krutovsdonut]

Who, specifically, do you think they will need to unload?

well, i am playing the odds based on age of those players and their careers to date. the line between a 5 million and 2 million player is a close one. multiple players tied up for many years who suffer such a regression presents a huge challenge to a team under the current cba.

as a guess i'd say patches will be a problem first but the odds are that multiple guys will regress as they approach 30. none of these guys are superstars other than stone, and stone has hit his prime relatively late and i am not convinced yet it is sustainable.

my basic issue with what mcphee has done is trade term for small amounts of dough repeatedly, which means the piper will be paid eventually. the fact he has signed guys to $5 million instead of $6 million deals is going to do him no good if their performance falls off with two or three years of term remaining.

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

Not sure why fans seem to worship teams with lots of cap space. If your team has lots of cap space, you’re some mix of bad, poor and wasteful. Who brags about that.

 

[redwings25]

they have done a amazing job and will be in the hunt for a cup for quite awhile.

 

[Rich Nixon]

Rumor has it GM’s on opposing teams are upset/don’t want to help Vegas out in this situation because of the great situation Vegas had for their expansion. Some teams are reportedly upset McPhee took a player they didn’t want them to.

I'd like to see either of these statements substantiated.

 

[3074326]

Not sure why fans seem to worship teams with lots of cap space. If your team has lots of cap space, you’re some mix of bad, poor and wasteful. Who brags about that.

Teams who don't win blame their failures on people with bad contracts instead of the management that gave them those contracts. So they think getting rid of the bad contracts will automatically make them better.

That's my theory. I've noticed the same. And draft picks > proven talent on HFBoards.

 

[AveryStar4Eva]

They are in a great spot. They have one of the best top nines, a really strong goaltender, and a couple good defencemen. After this season the cap goes up and most of their important players are under contract long term so they can add depth.

Other GMs shouldn't be mad at Vegas. They had their option of other teams 8th best forward or 4th best defenceman. Somehow they created a good roster out of scraps, they should be mad at themselves.

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

If I'm not mistaken you can have ELCs on a team that aren't counted on towards cap. So they could waive Merrill and Holden and have Whitecloud and Hague in their place, plus Engelland taking a hometown discount. Cody Glass as their 3C.

 

[RoloTonyBrownTown]

Should have taken some of that cap money and paid it to the refs instead! Am I right or f***ing what! It was 3-1 and then 3-0!

The idea that the refs cost VGK the series is almost - almost - as dumb as the idea they are in some sort of cap bind with a quality chock full of quality players at very, very fair contracts.

The dumbest idea of all though was the poster who said that McPhee created a mess and "jumped ship." Dude got promoted within the organization but somehow that absolves him of responsibility?

 

[RoloTonyBrownTown]

Actually, sorry, the dumbest idea of all is that other GMs are upset at Vegas for taking the players they exposed on waivers, or better still, they paid Vegas to take.

"Hey, have this guy for free."

"Cool, thanks."

"HOW DARE YOU"

 

[Voight]

Some of their guys gained big contracts because they had career years during season 1 but they still have a great asset base and own all their picks for the next couple years, which is very rare for a playoff team/contender.

 

[Sam Spade]

That defense is as blah as a defense can be, and counting on MAF is a dangerous recipe. Two of the guys they count on for offense are always hurt in Stastny and Pacioretty.

The Pacific is poo so they will make the playoffs but I don't see them doing much.

 

[krutovsdonut]

Actually, sorry, the dumbest idea of all is that other GMs are upset at Vegas for taking the players they exposed on waivers, or better still, they paid Vegas to take.

"Hey, have this guy for free."

"Cool, thanks."

"HOW DARE YOU"

if mcphee played hardball with his future trade partners in a limited market then that was dumb unless he was prepared to live with the same treatment. what goes around, comes around.

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

View attachment 245271

They are close to the cap because they have a lot of good players. Nothing wrong with that. They have way less bad contracts than most teams in the league.

Ryan Reaves’ contract gets a C?

Is this one of those tests that gets graded on a curve so flattering that nobody can technically fail?

 

[ccman68]

Ryan Reaves’ contract gets a C?

Is this one of those tests that gets graded on a curve so flattering that nobody can technically fail?

Probably because it’s only a year. And there are so many absolutely horrible contracts in the league that giving a few million too much to a fourth liner isn’t even that bad in comparison.

 

[traparatus]

An expansion team that has made playoffs in each of its first 2 years and a Cup final. Looks like one of the favorites to come out of the Pacific next year. Hard to imagine being in much better position.

They might have to replace Eakin with Glass. The HORROR... What if they have to dump Reaves too? Beginning of the end, am I right?

 

[HanSolo]

I do think we're fine. But it would be fair to say that Pacioretty and Fleury are a bit overpaid.

I wouldn't really call what McPhee did easy nor would I agree that he "jumped ship". He was offered a higher position and promoted from within. Sort of a weird take.

He's also very much involved in management processes.

 

[deckercky]

Reaves contract is probably actually a B, since the team would have a lot of suitors if they made him available.

 

[shtorm2005]

Rumor has it GM’s on opposing teams are upset/don’t want to help Vegas out in this situation because of the great situation Vegas had for their expansion.

I think it's more simple than it looks like. Other GMs just wait for cost to get lower. Similar to situation when interessting team waits for player to get other team's bonus before sign him.

 

[Sol]

Expansion team who made the cup finals in their first year, and should have made at least the 2nd round last year if not for the refs. Should be right back next year. They own all their draft picks for the next 3 years besides next year's 3rd rounder, have some good prospects in the wings.

I think they're just fine.

Well, they made the finals all the way from the help of the refs. One call didn't go their way.. One. And they imploded.