GDT: NHL Free Agency Meeting period

[Hammettf2b]

I wouldn't mind getting Gardiner.

 

[Debrincat93]

waiting to improve your team just to do so without a plan in place is what you will get with Nielsen contracts.

Best thing of us to do is bring in kids, save cap, get a player cheap like NJ did with Subban next year and make a splash. There's no reason to overpay on Duchene. There's no dmen who can help us drastically without overpaying (myers) so just save it and let some kids play. Id rather see a kid play and fail on a sub 1m contract then a vet fail on a 6y high price contract.

 

[Debrincat93]

Yes, he should. I don't know what this fascination with not trying to improve your team is. You don't go after crazy long term deals or whatever, but to completely spurn adding any player ever for some "rebuilding" philosophy is crazy.

whats the rationale with adding a 3-4th liner? We have more then enough guys to fill those roles. It would make no sense to add simply to add. Unless its a 1y deal and we can flip him at the deadline for more assets.

As much as people dont want to think it, we're still in the "rebuild/retool" years. NJ is going to be better. NYR will be better. those are two who were out of it last year that should be better.
its going to be tough to get into the show in April.

Im not saying bluntly tank, but play the kids, let them learn so that when we're ready, this was all worth the wait.
you arent going to win with Nielsen deals, and IMO you wont win paying someone like Hayes 6m either. just silly contracts.

 

[Datsyukian Deke]

I was hoping and still hope that at least one of Ericsson or Daley is dealt before the season begins, and especially if Kronwall has to come back.

I long for the day when all 3 are no longer on the roster. Kronwall should have been forced out last year, due to his knees, and Ericsson has been the second coming of Lilja from the very start.

This is why I don't mind the defensive strategy that was performed by Stevie Y in the draft. The defense has been in need of a complete overhaul ever since Nick retired, and is finally getting one. Allow this young D core to grow up together & develop, accordingly.

 

[Steve Yzerlland]

I can see Yzerman going after Gardiner. It's pretty clear building up the D is a priority. Draper mentioned they're hoping Hronek, Seider, and Tuomisto will lock down the right side for a long time. Gardiner's 28 so if they bring him in on a 5-7 year deal, they'll have him until he's 33-35, which seems like a good fit timing-wise for where the Wings are in their rebuild. DeKeyser is signed through age 32. Then you have Cholowski or McIsaac take the third LD spot.

I wonder if Toronto would be intersted in Daley.

Gardiner is 29 on July 4th.

 

[Steve Yzerlland]

For what its worth, in Austrian newspaper it is reported that Vanek and Detroit are in talks for another year

Please no

 

[Syckle78]

Wish we traded for this guy he is awesome.

I'd rather not give up assets for a dude with a bad back entering his 30s.

 

[Winger98]

The D signed past this year are DeKeyser, Cholowski, Hronek, McIsaac, Lindstrom, McIlrath, and Lashoff. Bowey, Kaski, and Saarijarvi will be RFAs. Seider is at the very least a year away from the NHL. Plus, lots of the vets they have now already have injury problems. Is Green even going to be able to play?

They're going to need to add some vets at some point, hopefully guys on the younger side. I think Gardiner would be a good fit.

To sign them this year, you have to fit them onto the roster. Next year we can count on those first three, Bowey, and (imo) Seider. We can look to try to either trade for an impending UFA at the TDL, or go after someone next summer.

If something happens, like Green's far more doubtful than they've let on or Ericsson's various issues have flared up, etc., then wading into the free agent market this summer would make a lot more sense.

 

[Syckle78]

Gardiner is going to be overpaid given the supply market for defense this free agency. And then to decide to come to a bottom five team early in it's rebuild means we're paying a lot more as if our offer was close he'd sign with the contender/better team.

What other teams need to trade players to open up cap space? Gimme a 2020 FRP for that bad contract. I'd have been all over that Marleau deal if Toronto had offered it to us first.

Yep Gardiner is going to get paaaaaaid. Probably over 7 long term maybe even 8aav.

 

[Hammettf2b]

Yep Gardiner is going to get paaaaaaid. Probably over 7 long term maybe even 8aav.

If that's what it will take then I take back my comment on getting him.

 

[The Zermanator]

I'd rather not give up assets for a dude with a bad back entering his 30s.

You wouldn't give up Lindstrom and Kivenmaki + 2 2nds for a Norris winner who just cracked 30?

If I get a chance at a high end piece for 4 assets who are all unlikely to make an impact at the NHL level I do it all day every day.

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

whats the rationale with adding a 3-4th liner? We have more then enough guys to fill those roles. It would make no sense to add simply to add. Unless its a 1y deal and we can flip him at the deadline for more assets.

As much as people dont want to think it, we're still in the "rebuild/retool" years. NJ is going to be better. NYR will be better. those are two who were out of it last year that should be better.
its going to be tough to get into the show in April.

Im not saying bluntly tank, but play the kids, let them learn so that when we're ready, this was all worth the wait.
you arent going to win with Nielsen deals, and IMO you wont win paying someone like Hayes 6m either. just silly contracts.

I'm not saying add simply to add. I'm saying add because on D the Wings have three vets who are either doubtful to start the year or are quite likely to be injured at some point during the year because they have been every single year.

I'm preaching that you shouldn't avoid FA like the plague. You shouldn't be diving headfirst into the pool to get some long term deal that burdens you, but shunning FAs entirely is nonsensical. You add more depth so you don't have a scenario where you've got Oliwer Kaski coming in and being a #3D due to lack of healthy players.

There is a balancing act between "letting the kids play" and "throwing kids that you don't know whether they can swim or not into the deep end". I'd much rather that we have a defense that kind of has the skill to get the puck up to our young forwards and/or provide help on the backend to the goalie than just throw out a bunch of young kids to let them figure it out. Tossing kids out there before they are ready is the one way you can really ruin players.

 

[PullHard]

Yep Gardiner is going to get paaaaaaid. Probably over 7 long term maybe even 8aav.

That's a little extreme and he doesn't compare to any of the guys in that range

If he gets over $7M AAV I think every player in the league will fire their agent and hire his

~$6.0-high 6M range I can see some desperate GM doing

But who knows we've seen some really bad/ dumb signings in the past few years on July 1, you might be right

 

[The Zermanator]

That's a little extreme and he doesn't compare to any of the guys in that range

If he gets over $7M AAV I think every player in the league will fire their agent and hire his

~$6.0-high 6M range I can see some desperate GM doing

But who knows we've seen some really bad/ dumb signings in the past few years on July 1, you might be right

Forward Kevin Hayes just got 7M with a career high of 49 points. Dman Gardiner's career high? 52 points.

edit: Hayes career high is 55 points.

 

[Winger98]

whats the rationale with adding a 3-4th liner? We have more then enough guys to fill those roles. It would make no sense to add simply to add. Unless its a 1y deal and we can flip him at the deadline for more assets.

As much as people dont want to think it, we're still in the "rebuild/retool" years. NJ is going to be better. NYR will be better. those are two who were out of it last year that should be better.
its going to be tough to get into the show in April.

Im not saying bluntly tank, but play the kids, let them learn so that when we're ready, this was all worth the wait.
you arent going to win with Nielsen deals, and IMO you wont win paying someone like Hayes 6m either. just silly contracts.

It depends where the Wings plan on starting the kids. If Ras, Svech, Zadina, etc. are expected to start the year in GR, then get called up as the year goes on, the Wings will have to sign some roster depth. Someone mentioned Vanek further up, that type of signing. Wouldn't mind seeing Flip brought back, either.

 

[PullHard]

Forward Kevin Hayes just got 7M with a career high of 49 points. Dman Gardiner's career high? 52 points.

I can't really disagree with you on that, I can point out different positions, but it doesn't really mean anything because typically C and D are both quite expensive

I guess I will just have to wait and see, I'm expecting him to get no less than $6M, but if it is something like $6.75M or higher AAV with term I will be impressively shocked

 

[obey86]

No interest in Gardiner at this point. I like him but given his age it's not the right time for him. I think next offseason I would feel more comfortable with a Gardiner like signing.

 

[Syckle78]

That's a little extreme and he doesn't compare to any of the guys in that range

If he gets over $7M AAV I think every player in the league will fire their agent and hire his

~$6.0-high 6M range I can see some desperate GM doing

But who knows we've seen some really bad/ dumb signings in the past few years on July 1, you might be right

Comparisons are out the window *. Look at the signings last year and this year. The players and agents are sniffing a big cap increase after the new television deal and they aren't wrong or the gms wouldn't be handing out big deals. 8m might be a tad extreme but i bet he fetches atleast 7.

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

No interest in Gardiner at this point. I like him but given his age it's not the right time for him. I think next offseason I would feel more comfortable with a Gardiner like signing.

That I agree with. There is no rush to add a Gardiner or Myers. I would have gone balls out for Karlsson if he were on the market and feel that we should have done something for Subban or for Trouba (given what both went for) but no rush to add a guy who won't move the needle by himself. But I call him, anyway.

Maybe he decides he wants to stick it to Toronto by signing a way under market deal with a rival?

 

[Frk It]

Forward Kevin Hayes just got 7M with a career high of 49 points. Dman Gardiner's career high? 52 points.

Kevin Hayes can give you something defensively though... lol

Also Kevin Hayes had 55 pts in 71 games this year.

 

[Peter Tosh]

Can we even put him on LTIR? Zetterberg and Franzen are already using up what we have. I thought there was a limit to how much money can be used?

I thought about this earlier today. Trading Franzen’s contract to COL would make some sense. COL would get 3,9 M in cap for the price of 1M, getting closer to the cap floor.

 

[Syckle78]

You wouldn't give up Lindstrom and Kivenmaki + 2 2nds for a Norris winner who just cracked 30?

If I get a chance at a high end piece for 4 assets who are all unlikely to make an impact at the NHL level I do it all day every day.

No because his deal is up in 3 years and we aren't competing in that window. Then you're faced with a 33ish year old with a bad back wanting big money you either pay because you don't want to waste what you trade for him or let him walk and didn't get any real value. There's a reason he went so cheap.

 

[Multigrain]

Are any of these GM's looking for cheaper free agents or are all after making the big splash?

 

[DInTheB]

On Friedman’s podcast, Chris Johnson speculated that Detroit will be in on Gardiner but it was more of a hunch than anything else.

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

I thought about this earlier today. Trading Franzen’s contract to COL would make some sense. COL would get 3,9 M in cap for the price of 1M, getting closer to the cap floor.

Or if you're Colorado, you don't dick around with that nonsense and you just sign Artemi Panarin for $10m/yr and have the most dangerous line in hockey.