Observations IV

[Dave is a killer]

continuing on

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[Top 6 Spaling]

Re: Re-signing RFAs being "Easy enough"

What else are they going to do? I don't see why they'd hold out. We have the cap space to not lowball them, so I don't see us doing anything dumb. Wilson and Smith should get ok raises, but nothing too big at all. I'd guess somewhere around 4.0 AAV for Wilson and 3.5 AAV for Smith, depending on term. Fisher and Ribs: 5 AAV or so each, short-term deals. Beck, Bourque, Jarnkrok, etc. will be cheap (under 2.0 for sure). Santo...who knows, we'll have to see how he fits.

We have a huge need on this team for young centers. Ribiero, Fisher, and Gaustad are all old. Jarnkrok is a nice piece, but he's just one. Watson and co. in Milwaukee don't project to top 6 roles. Kamenev is a nice prospect, but he's a 2nd rounder, who knows how he'll end up. We have some guys that could play C but now play W (Smith, Wilson, Forsberg, etc.) but I like them at wing. We could really use another guy or two like Jarnkrok. Maybe that's part of why we got Santorelli.

 

[Pred303]

i'm fine with the santorelli pick up. gives us another top 9 piece to work in all our line shuffles and kicks bourque and beck to alternating 4th liners.

I still scratch my head over the franson add though. another right defenseman, just when jones seems to be starting to get it even strength and on the pp? and with ellis good work on the pp? I guess we see franson as an improvement on the 2nd pair over ellis defensively. maybe so. but still the pieces don't really all seem to fit right (the 4 right handed right d-men).

it's possible that this is just a step before another deal involving ellis (or even jones). but with franson a UFA and those two with very good contracts that would be a very high risk long term move. and now we basically have 5 pp defensemen, with someone being an odd man out.

in NHL video games, handedness doesn't matter. but here in the real world it does. I know some will say now we just move jones to the left side because we tried that before. and I suppose we do. but. it just now appears jones is starting to 'get it'. while he played left side some last year, we seem to be forgetting he played left side very, very poorly too. which is the very reason we moved him back.

again. i'm ok with this deal. but still things have to become clearer in my mind about how it really is going to work.

 

[NSH615]

i'm fine with the santorelli pick up. gives us another top 9 piece to work in all our line shuffles and kicks bourque and beck to alternating 4th liners.

I still scratch my head over the franson add though. another right defenseman, just when jones seems to be starting to get it even strength and on the pp? and with ellis good work on the pp? I guess we see franson as an improvement on the 2nd pair over ellis defensively. maybe so. but still the pieces don't really all seem to fit right (the 4 right handed right d-men).

it's possible that this is just a step before another deal involving ellis (or even jones). but with franson a UFA and those two with very good contracts that would be a very high risk long term move. and now we basically have 5 pp defensemen, with someone being an odd man out.

in NHL video games, handedness doesn't matter. but here in the real world it does. I know some will say now we just move jones to the left side because we tried that before. and I suppose we do. but. it just now appears jones is starting to 'get it'. while he played left side some last year, we seem to be forgetting he played left side very, very poorly too. which is the very reason we moved him back.

again. i'm ok with this deal. but still things have to become clearer in my mind about how it really is going to work.

Wasn't this also the reasoning for the Klein deal? To even out the RHD vs LHD situation. Jones could then go back to RHD and Del Zotto was supposed to slide in next to him at LHD. It didn't work out, but I believe that is the true reasoning for that deal.

 

[Byrddog]

i'm fine with the santorelli pick up. gives us another top 9 piece to work in all our line shuffles and kicks bourque and beck to alternating 4th liners.

I still scratch my head over the franson add though. another right defenseman, just when jones seems to be starting to get it even strength and on the pp? and with ellis good work on the pp? I guess we see franson as an improvement on the 2nd pair over ellis defensively. maybe so. but still the pieces don't really all seem to fit right (the 4 right handed right d-men).

it's possible that this is just a step before another deal involving ellis (or even jones). but with franson a UFA and those two with very good contracts that would be a very high risk long term move. and now we basically have 5 pp defensemen, with someone being an odd man out.

in NHL video games, handedness doesn't matter. but here in the real world it does. I know some will say now we just move jones to the left side because we tried that before. and I suppose we do. but. it just now appears jones is starting to 'get it'. while he played left side some last year, we seem to be forgetting he played left side very, very poorly too. which is the very reason we moved him back.

again. i'm ok with this deal. but still things have to become clearer in my mind about how it really is going to work.

Steve I think we have to consider that Franson indeed makes one of Jones or Ellis one the way out. Poile has not often moved the 1st rounder without a plan to resign the player acquired. Our loaded D is overflowing right now. The more I think about it the more I think Jones will be the piece moved. For the fact hes gonna want to be a number 1 and would use a few of his prime years behind Weber and Josi. Is now the time Poile moves him or would it be offseason. The team still has a number of years to draft and develop more D. There no way I can make sense of picking up a top 4 guy like Franson in the situation this team is in.

We have been surprised before but this is not like the Gaustad, Sillinger or Foppa trade deadline. Poile May well dangle Jones for a top 6 winger or heaven forbid put a package together for a young 1C.

 

[Jonesey]

I am thinking this means Ellis is in worse shape then we have been led to believe.

 

[Bringer of Jollity]

Steve I think we have to consider that Franson indeed makes one of Jones or Ellis one the way out. Poile has not often moved the 1st rounder without a plan to resign the player acquired. Our loaded D is overflowing right now. The more I think about it the more I think Jones will be the piece moved. For the fact hes gonna want to be a number 1 and would use a few of his prime years behind Weber and Josi. Is now the time Poile moves him or would it be offseason. The team still has a number of years to draft and develop more D. There no way I can make sense of picking up a top 4 guy like Franson in the situation this team is in.

We have been surprised before but this is not like the Gaustad, Sillinger or Foppa trade deadline. Poile May well dangle Jones for a top 6 winger or heaven forbid put a package together for a young 1C.

You think it remotely possible that Poile dangles Jones for just a run-of-the-mill top 6 winger? I'm not seeing it. Ellis maybe.

 

[BigFatCat999]

So here I am stuck in the middle of very frigid Fort Wayne Indiana and I am in my very warm hotel room and this trade comes up. what do I do? I order some very spicy chicken tikka masala. take a nap. Drive for a little bit. I digest this trade like my chicken tikka masala is digesting my stomach lining. I think we're going to see Seth Jones play on his offhand till Ryan Ellis comes back and we see possibly a trade for Ellis. Nashville basically traded for a much larger version of Ryan Ellis. Too much redundancy on the right-hand side and too much redundancy in skill set

 

[NSH615]

So here I am stuck in the middle of very frigid Fort Wayne Indiana and I am in my very warm hotel room and this trade comes up. what do I do? I order some very spicy chicken tikka masala. take a nap. Drive for a little bit. I digest this trade like my chicken tikka masala is digesting my stomach lining. I think we're going to see Seth Jones play on his offhand till Ryan Ellis comes back and we see possibly a trade for Ellis. Nashville basically traded for a much larger version of Ryan Ellis. Too much redundancy on the right-hand side and too much redundancy in skill set

Ummm you do realize we now have 3 healthy RHD without Ellis, why would he play his off hand?

 

[INDhockeyfan]

I think Ellis is nowhere close to coming back. Volchenkov is injured again as well which got lost in the shuffle the last few days. Will wait to hear what Poile has to say in a few hours at his press conference.

 

[NSH615]

I think Ellis is nowhere close to coming back. Volchenkov is injured again as well which got lost in the shuffle the last few days. Will wait to hear what Poile has to say in a few hours at his press conference.

I thought he was just being benched for stupidity, I didn't realized he was injured, but now that you mentioned it, I do remember him limping off the ice in that Jets game.

 

[jstreet]

During the last broadcast didn't they say that Ellis had skated with the team? I heard that somewhere, might have been radio but I did hear it.

 

[NSH615]

During the last broadcast didn't they say that Ellis had skated with the team? I heard that somewhere, might have been radio but I did hear it.

He skated prior to the team during morning skate

 

[BigFatCat999]

Ummm you do realize we now have 3 healthy RHD without Ellis, why would he play his off hand?

Correction after Ellis comes back

 

[Flgatorguy87]

What does our lineup look like? Anybody want to guess?

Forsberg Ribs Neil
Wilson Fish Smith
Cullen Jarnkrok Santa
Nystrom Goose Beck

Josi Webs
Jones Franson
Ekholm Bartley

???? No idea honestly

 

[NSH615]

What does our lineup look like? Anybody want to guess?

Forsberg Ribs Neil
Wilson Fish Smith
Cullen Jarnkrok Santa
Nystrom Goose Beck

Josi Webs
Jones Franson
Ekholm Bartley

???? No idea honestly

^ Best case Except right now Jones and Franson can each play RHD since both Bartley and Ekholm are LHD, that would be the only change there. I'd put Bartley with Jones and Ekholm with Franson.

 

[Flgatorguy87]

^ Best case Except right now Jones and Franson can each play RHD since both Bartley and Ekholm are LHD, that would be the only change there. I'd put Bartley with Jones and Ekholm with Franson.

I was thinking that best case scenario Ellis can come back in a week or 2 and jump in for Bart. While Jones paying his off hand now would give him a little more time to make that transition before playoffs start?

Just thinking out loud.

 

[Infinite Jest]

What does our lineup look like? Anybody want to guess?

Forsberg Ribs Neil
Wilson Fish Smith
Cullen Jarnkrok Santa
Nystrom Goose Beck

Josi Webs
Jones Franson
Ekholm Bartley

???? No idea honestly

Let's see if Cullen and Smith found their mojo together again after last night.

Forsberg-Ribeiro-Neal
Wilson-Fisher-Santorelli
Cullen-Jarnkrok-Smith
Nystrom-Gaustad-Beck

Josi-Weber
Ekholm-Franson
Bartley-Jones

 

[token grinder]

He skated prior to the team during morning skate

no, he took morning skate with the team. The team said so.

On the pregame, Brent Peterson was asked about it and he said They didn't have the luxury of many practices to get him ready. He said that Ellis would have to get to game speed by playing in games not this week, but the end of next.

I thought he slipped up giving a timetable like that. I would think he has a better idea than any blogger/writer. SO I will go with what he says

 

[token grinder]

Steve I think we have to consider that Franson indeed makes one of Jones or Ellis one the way out. Poile has not often moved the 1st rounder without a plan to resign the player acquired. Our loaded D is overflowing right now. The more I think about it the more I think Jones will be the piece moved. For the fact hes gonna want to be a number 1 and would use a few of his prime years behind Weber and Josi. Is now the time Poile moves him or would it be offseason. The team still has a number of years to draft and develop more D. There no way I can make sense of picking up a top 4 guy like Franson in the situation this team is in.

We have been surprised before but this is not like the Gaustad, Sillinger or Foppa trade deadline. Poile May well dangle Jones for a top 6 winger or heaven forbid put a package together for a young 1C.

He has signed one of three. Witt and Forsberg both left. 33% retention rate.

 

[nomorekids]

He has signed one of three. Witt and Forsberg both left. 33% retention rate.

To be fair, there was mutual interest in Forsberg sticking around, but the injuries and the fire sale precluded such a thing from happening.

That said, if they can resign Franson...I'm all for it. He's better now than Ellis, and Ellis could be a valuable trade chip over the summer.

 

[Armourboy]

Say what you will, but it makes the team better, which is what trade deadline deal are all about. Yeah he may not be done, and may move someone else, but I think ultimately the Franson trade is done because for at least the next couple of weeks we are relying far too much on guys that really shouldn't be playing any kind of minutes in the NHL.

Secondary to that it gives you the freedom to either make another deal or gives you some pretty serious depth going into the playoffs. We've seen it before, someone always seems to get hurt, too much of a good thing generally doesn't happen in the sports world.

 

[hockey diva]

There will be some interesting conversations at the casino night tonight.

 

[Enoch]

So I like both players for what they do, and I hate the cost of rental players at the same time.

That said:

- Pushing Volchenkov and Bartley out of the lineup minimizes the dumb penalties and huge gaffes that can lead to high precision chances. This is huge in the playoffs.
- Santorelli is a much better fit on our third line. This should allow some offensive capability.
- these upgrades are key to us having sustained success ....

That said, it chafes to give up a 1st round pick to re acquire a player we gave away previously, not to mention the stupid as soon as completed MDZ trade that lost us Klein. As for Santo, he was a 1/1.5 deal this offseason. We could have easily brought him in.

You live and learn. We all knew a trade was going to be made. Hopefully this pushes us past the blues or Blackhawks.

No way Franson resigns with the current roster build. If that is the case, it's possible we can recoup some of the lost value in a rights trade. Of course, getting past 2nd round would be amazing.

 

[tampa pred]

I think the lines will stay similar to last night, with Santa added to Forsberg's line.

Wilson Ribs Neil
Cullen Fish Smith
Forsberg Jarnkrok Santa
Nystrom Goose Beck/Bourque

Weber Josi
Jones Ekholm
Franson Bartley/Volky

Gives us 3 righties on D again. When Ellis returns (if he does), someone will have to kick over to play the left side.