Prospect Info: Patrik Nemeth

[Frozen Failure]

Y'all are crazy if you think Gonchar is going anywhere.

We so crazy.

 

[BigG44]

2 years, 10m for an offensive defenseman who is going to be 41 when that contract is up. Maybe we can argue over whether it was a smart move, but it certainly wasn't a small one and it represented a big risk. To move Gonchar now we would need to eat half that cap hit and if free agency doesn't result in a major offensive addition to the second line it is going to be because we have a bunch of cap space invested in guys who don't bring much to the table.

I don't care what the money is. 2 years is nothing in today's NHL. He took the lesser of two evils when every option comes with a significant risk. If you want to nitpick and ignore outside factors that is your right.

 

[BigG44]

Y'all are crazy if you think Gonchar is going anywhere.

Something crazy is going to have to happen.

Option 1: Do nothing .... That's crazy

Option 2: Move Gonchar .... You feel that's crazy

Option 3: Move Daley and or Goligoski .... That's crazy. I think it's the option to go with, but I think it's unlikely to happen. They want to improve the D. You improve the D by shuffling out crap for workable pieces. To them, regardless of what HF feels, Goli and Daley are good for them. They're stronger by adding to them than subtracting them for someone else. My hope is that Nill just doesn't want mostly smaller, offensive defenders and he moves one regardless. Like I said though, I would not be shocked if he'd see subtracting one of those two as virtually a lateral move.

 

[Klockis]

How is Gonchar movable?

 

[Stars99Lobo37]

Something crazy is going to have to happen.

Option 1: Do nothing .... That's crazy

Option 2: Move Gonchar .... You feel that's crazy

Option 3: Move Daley and or Goligoski .... That's crazy. I think it's the option to go with, but I think it's unlikely to happen. They want to improve the D. You improve the D by shuffling out crap for workable pieces. To them, regardless of what HF feels, Goli and Daley are good for them. They're stronger by adding to them than subtracting them for someone else. My hope is that Nill just doesn't want mostly smaller, offensive defenders and he moves one regardless. Like I said though, I would not be shocked if he'd see subtracting one of those two as virtually a lateral move.

I didn't say moving Gonchar was crazy.

I said it's crazy to believe it's going to happen. He's here more now for Nichushkin IMO than anything. I can deal with one more season of that if it makes Nuke comfortable.

 

[Mr Misty]

I don't care what the money is. 2 years is nothing in today's NHL. He took the lesser of two evils when every option comes with a significant risk. If you want to nitpick and ignore outside factors that is your right.

I think you should care what the money is, and there is a lot you can do with $5m in capspace or in cash under your budget. Obviously things turned out OK this season, but we had no flexibility at the deadline when prices were rock bottom.

 

[haf]

I think you should care what the money is, and there is a lot you can do with $5m in capspace or in cash under your budget. Obviously things turned out OK this season, but we had no flexibility at the deadline when prices were rock bottom.

I think Horcoff is a bigger issue. Defenseman are expensive right now. Bottom 6 forwards with some special teams skills are not. Not that you could move Horcoff.

I will never understand all of the Daley hate on this board. I really like his game.

It will be interesting to see how Nill handles the D this offseason for sure.

 

[Mr Misty]

I think Horcoff is a bigger issue. Defenseman are expensive right now. Bottom 6 forwards with some special teams skills are not. Not that you could move Horcoff.

I will never understand all of the Daley hate on this board. I really like his game.

It will be interesting to see how Nill handles the D this offseason for sure.

I think we will keep Goligoski and Daley because they have played so well recently and that we should keep both. As long as Nemeth continues to look like an NHL player I don't see changes being made on D. Regarding Horcoff, there are few players with the kind of 1st overall pick gathering experience that he could bring to the many teams that covet MacDavid. Plus he is paid less than his cap number so if one of those floor teams is looking to save a buck he might be a good candidate

 

[haf]

I think we will keep Goligoski and Daley because they have played so well recently and that we should keep both. As long as Nemeth continues to look like an NHL player I don't see changes being made on D. Regarding Horcoff, there are few players with the kind of 1st overall pick gathering experience that he could bring to the many teams that covet MacDavid. Plus he is paid less than his cap number so if one of those floor teams is looking to save a buck he might be a good candidate

That's an excellent point. I feel like he was brought here to groom young players. Other teams could see value there as well. Florida? Who else?

 

[Hull Fan]

Getting rid of Gonchar isn't nearly as big a deal as some of you think. Personally for me if Nill can get Ruff to buy in and stop the veteranocity, Gonchar is your ideal 7th defender. He's still a mentor, can be counted on to step in when necessary and hangs around Nuke. Then you buyout/dump Rome and come to a decision on whether Connauton stays or if they deal one of Daley/Goligoski.

As long as they can then move one of Cole/Horcoff the money will be there to make other moves with the forwards or on defense. Sceviour is 24 and forced their hands. McKenzie is 23 and getting to that point to where they need to test him in the NHL rather than the AHL and Ritchie may be too good to keep down. It's also coming to a point to where they'll want to see if Glennie can be a checking/energy guy with the big club or if it's time to cut bait. There are plenty of options if they can either find a taker for Cole or flat out buyout Horcoff.

 

[Hull Fan]

That's an excellent point. I feel like he was brought here to groom young players. Other teams could see value there as well. Florida? Who else?

If Wang doesn't sell right away then Horcoff's cap but smaller salary might be a good thing for them. They and a few others also might covet Trevor Daley for that very same reason. Good deal, veteran, can soak up minutes, isn't going to cost a ton but can mentor a young developing defense. He's also a guy while pretty good isn't going to single handedly carry a club out of the lottery pick they probably want and allows a team to keep their young stud prospect in the AHL where he probably belongs developing.

 

[glovesave_35]

Getting rid of Gonchar isn't nearly as big a deal as some of you think. Personally for me if Nill can get Ruff to buy in and stop the veteranocity, Gonchar is your ideal 7th defender. He's still a mentor, can be counted on to step in when necessary and hangs around Nuke. Then you buyout/dump Rome and come to a decision on whether Connauton stays or if they deal one of Daley/Goligoski.

Getting rid of him isn't a big deal but the way that is done is to make him a 7th D and get rid of Rome?

 

[Hull Fan]

Getting rid of him isn't a big deal but the way that is done is to make him a 7th D and get rid of Rome?

I don't want him playing. That has nothing to do with whether he's on the roster. As far as money goes it's actually cheaper, easier to dump Rome than Gonchar because of the over 35 contract thing. Dallas is basically going to eat that unless they retain half and find a trade partner. While I'd like his contract off the books via him retiring or going back to Russia I'm certainly not counting on it so some other way of managing things is going to have to happen. Nill providing Ruff with better guys and instructions to play them through the growing pains should be on the table for the long term growth of the club. That isn't to say play Connauton even if he sucks for 25+ games but if they're going to bring up Klingberg or Oleksiak or keep Connauton they all need to play far more than Gonchar does, unless you seriously believe Jordie Benn will eat a scratch, which I highly doubt no matter how much he infuriates me icing the puck.

 

[haf]

I don't want him playing. That has nothing to do with whether he's on the roster. As far as money goes it's actually cheaper, easier to dump Rome than Gonchar because of the over 35 contract thing. Dallas is basically going to eat that unless they retain half and find a trade partner. While I'd like his contract off the books via him retiring or going back to Russia I'm certainly not counting on it so some other way of managing things is going to have to happen. Nill providing Ruff with better guys and instructions to play them through the growing pains should be on the table for the long term growth of the club. That isn't to say play Connauton even if he sucks for 25+ games but if they're going to bring up Klingberg or Oleksiak or keep Connauton they all need to play far more than Gonchar does, unless you seriously believe Jordie Benn will eat a scratch, which I highly doubt no matter how much he infuriates me icing the puck.

I increasingly like Jordie's game. He occasionally makes me crazy but that is all defensemen outside of about 10 in the league. He is getting more consistent in the things he does well. I actually want him on the ice these days.

 

[glovesave_35]

I don't want him playing. That has nothing to do with whether he's on the roster. As far as money goes it's actually cheaper, easier to dump Rome than Gonchar because of the over 35 contract thing. Dallas is basically going to eat that unless they retain half and find a trade partner. While I'd like his contract off the books via him retiring or going back to Russia I'm certainly not counting on it so some other way of managing things is going to have to happen. Nill providing Ruff with better guys and instructions to play them through the growing pains should be on the table for the long term growth of the club. That isn't to say play Connauton even if he sucks for 25+ games but if they're going to bring up Klingberg or Oleksiak or keep Connauton they all need to play far more than Gonchar does, unless you seriously believe Jordie Benn will eat a scratch, which I highly doubt no matter how much he infuriates me icing the puck.

I can say with a good bit of confidence that Gonchar playing over Connauton makes us a better team. Wanting to rid yourself of the guy is a choice but it's not the one I expect Nill to make. You keep saying that Nill isn't in the same situation Nieuwy was and you fully expect him to make a move to help the defense, but you've given nothing in the way of facts to back up that position. It sounds like you have your ideas how you see things should be done and are projecting that onto what Nill must be thinking.

I disagree with your method a bit and tend to think that we will see status quo next year, sorta. When you play a rookie the last 6-7 games of the season and he plays the whole next season for you in the NHL you can't call that keeping things the same. I'm pretty sure Nemeth is an NHL player from here on out. With the other guys we've got coming along in Austin and how close they are, I can easily see Nill letting them work their way in rather than blocking them with players on 3-5 year contracts.

One more year of Gonchar isn't going to hurt anything.

 

[Hull Fan]

One more year of Gonchar won't help anything either. Connauton with Gonchar bad, Connauton instead of Gonchar next season is probably an upgrade, or at the worst not so bad a downgrade that the experience KC gets is worth the tradeoff. If they don't believe in him even that much he needs to go in a trade because he's part of the problem. It's probably fair to say he'll eventually be passed by others but being in and out knowing a mistake will put you back in the press box it's hard to play free, loose and excel at the aspects of the game, rushing the puck & creating odd man situations because of his skating. I doubt Nill is ready to give up on him yet but they'll never get very much from him if he's the #7.

 

[glovesave_35]

Let's say that Connauton and Gonchar offer the team relatively the same level of play. It only helps to play Connauton over Gonchar if the old man is gone. If it's a cost-cutting measure in order to help the roster elsewhere I'm fine with it. But keeping Gonchar and his salary and benching him in favor of Connauton just doesn't make sense to me. More to the point, it ain't happening. Ruff has shown that he will play kids and he will play vets. Whether we disagree with his assessments of any players is tertiary at the moment because the point is he plays guys he likes. I don't really see what Connauton can do from now until next year to put himself ahead of Gonchar when he clearly hasn't distinguished himself this season.

 

[Cin]

So keep Oleksiak down for another season? Can't afford to lol.

 

[Zrhutch]

Gonchar is like the ****** roommate. We all want him to leave, we all know he can and should leave, but, sadly, we all know he won't leave.

 

[Dr Pepper]

Here's hoping Nill learned a lot from that gong show, most importantly that in order to progress as a team, the Stars NEED to improve their blueline.

That should be priority #1 this summer.

 

[haf]

Let's say that Connauton and Gonchar offer the team relatively the same level of play. It only helps to play Connauton over Gonchar if the old man is gone. If it's a cost-cutting measure in order to help the roster elsewhere I'm fine with it. But keeping Gonchar and his salary and benching him in favor of Connauton just doesn't make sense to me. More to the point, it ain't happening. Ruff has shown that he will play kids and he will play vets. Whether we disagree with his assessments of any players is tertiary at the moment because the point is he plays guys he likes. I don't really see what Connauton can do from now until next year to put himself ahead of Gonchar when he clearly hasn't distinguished himself this season.

Connauton is going to have to play himself onto the roster a few games at a time. Gonchar isn't great anymore or really solid even, but KC has been worse. If KC plays even with gonchar, with his physical tools I think plays. I think Nill wants kids beating out vets rather than being handed spots. I agree with this.

Nemeth - much better feet than advertised. Would love to see him and Dillon against Anaheim.

 

[Hull Fan]

How do you win a spot if you never play? This BS about KC not beating out Gonchar almost impossible to prove, especially since one got pp time and the other didn't and they played together where their styles and abilities didn't mesh at all. The benefit of playing KC is that he grows and improves like most young defenders. Gonchar isn't going to do that nor is Connauton ever going to get better in the pressbox. There's no logical reason he should sit tomorrow, even if Dillon is healthy. Ruff won't bench Gonchar but he should.

As for Daley, that awful sequence where he missed the net twice and killed the cycle and zone time is the reason he should be traded this summer. He's the reason offensive chances die way too often.

 

[glovesave_35]

As for Daley, that awful sequence where he missed the net twice and killed the cycle and zone time is the reason he should be traded this summer. He's the reason offensive chances die way too often.

Daley also set up Seguin's goal late in the 3rd by holding onto the puck and making a smart pass/shot. He's not perfect but Daley is far from holding this team back.

This thread is getting to lunacy levels. Yes, trade Daley he's terrible! Then we can make way for Kevin Connauton while we enjoy his meandering forays into the offensive zone that end up in the shins of defending forwards. Surely that will make us better.

 

[Mr Misty]

Am I crazy for wanting to delay the call up of Oleksiak until after Nemeth gets about half a season in Dallas? Have Gaunce, KConn or Rome on press box duty then move Gonchar during the year to make room for Jamie if he is ready. Even though both will have some NHL games under their belts, I don't like the idea of blooding two rookies at the same time either on the same pair or separately.

 

[glovesave_35]

Am I crazy for wanting to delay the call up of Oleksiak until after Nemeth gets about half a season in Dallas? Have Gaunce, KConn or Rome on press box duty then move Gonchar during the year to make room for Jamie if he is ready. Even though both will have some NHL games under their belts, I don't like the idea of blooding two rookies at the same time either on the same pair or separately.

I think that's the right way to do it. Hopefully the Aaron Rome experiment gets dealt with in the summer to get rid of that as a press box option.

Connauton's future with this franchise depends heavily on how he is viewed by his coach and GM. I could see him moved in the summer if he isn't given a very big vote of confidence by Ruff. There would appear to be a decent chance of this happening. I will be even more sure if Rome plays tomorrow in lieu of KC.

Gaunce may have more use helping along our other prospects in the AHL rather than being healthy scratched in the NHL most nights. Hell, Gaunce may not even be retained given that he's a RFA and isn't an NHL caliber player.

Jokipakka would be my choice for 7th defenseman if Rome and Connauton aren't here next season.