Player Discussion When Will Evan Bouchard Surpass Cody Ceci?

[Burnt Biscuits]

So we signed Cody Ceci to fill in that 2nd pairing RHD spot and he is signed for 4 years, how long can he keep Bouchard from taking his spot (leapfrogging him in Time on Ice)?

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[Llamamoto]

Where's the "He already has" option?

 

[CornKicker]

i think it happens soon, as in mid nov and i have a couple reasons.

1. bouchard is a fantastic player
2. Having ceci on the 3rd pairing allows tippet to move in lagesson or call up broberg if needed. you dont want to have bouchard with another young dman because he will have his lapses

 

[Mr Positive]

that depends on how you define it.

Some people will look at how they played last night and recognize that Bouchard has the better tools.

However, to me as of now Ceci is clearly ahead of Bouchard. The biggest indicator is the TOI and usage. The coach trusts Ceci more, and for good reason.

Both Dmen have been prone to mistakes. People are just wound up to bash Ceci, and also Keith btw. Part of me likes that it goes that way for veterans, just because I do think rookies like Bouchard could use a soft touch from the fans while they are developing, and Bouchard is worth far more to this organization than Keith or Ceci together, plus more.

I do say that Bouchard does overtake Ceci, and I'll guess it will be close to or during the playoffs.

 

[MettleMcOiler]

tbh I don't think too much of it. If it happens, it happens. Hopefully both of them keep growing and progressing. Ceci will get better once he gets to know our system, and he has the tools to be competent in his position. Bouchard will get better just through experience. I want both of them to do good. If Ceci is here for the next 4 years, I want him to make it extremely hard for Bouchard to move up, this can only push Bouchard to up his game.

 

[bone]

In a perfect world, the three right shot d-men are all right up in that 18-22 per game mark, with the player getting up to the 22 minute mark being based on how the special teams go that day or circumstance around the score or if a particular player is having a special game.

Left side, I like the 25, 20, 15 split with Nurse being 25+, Keith ~20, and the 3LD getting up to 15 unless it's a high PK game, then maybe the 3LD gets closer to Keith minutes.

 

[Fixed to Ruin]

Where's the "He already has" option?

After watching Ceci in preseason i don't disagree that it might already have happened.

 

[Mr Positive]

it's hard to really make this comparison. Ceci has a much different role expected of him. Bouchard's potential is to be a top pairing offensive Dman for the PP. Ceci will be a minute muncher, likely out there for the PK and shut down time.

The really interesting question is, when does Bouchard overtake Barrie?

 

[Jumptheshark]

I thought Ceci was our 5/6 guy? If so, this year

 

[BudBundy]

It’s extremely early, but at this point I already feel better with Bouchard on the ice than Ceci.

 

[CornKicker]

it will take ceci a few weeks before he settles in. you have to remember hes never played this system, or with any of these players. THat was keiths first game. im not going to judge him on the ice until hes had that chance to settle in to the team.

if bouchard pushes him down 4 mins a game thats a good problem to have imo

 

[FlameChampion]

I think he already has to be honest. When the coaching staff makes the change, we will see.

But to be fair, I think we need to judge Ceci on his regular season. Some vets just dont care about preseason. I dont know the player well enough.

I mean Tippetts already called Bouchard the x-factor so I think he expecting Bouchard to be a bigger impact than bottom 6. I also dont think coaching staffs utilize defensive pairings the way we draw them out on paper on a forum board. Regardless of what pairing Bouchard is on, I think hes going to get more opportunity than a bottom pairing guy would in the traditional sense of the phrase.

 

[CornKicker]

some really good thought out posts in here today i was expecting ceci is trash and holland is an idiot to have taken over by now. Also the D so far in the preseason isnt giving up many grade A scoring chances, which bodes well for koskinen because he is good at gobbling up easy saves, he has been good all preseason, little iffy in the first yesterday but i can live with that. his rebound control has been top notch.

 

[ManofSteel55]

Where is the poll for when Bouchard passes Barrie.

 

[Beerfish]

Ceci is awful so it shouldn't be long, except for one thing. They handed ceci a fat 4 year deal and having him drop to bottom pairing would look really bad.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

Ceci is awful so it shouldn't be long, except for one thing. They handed ceci a fat 4 year deal and having him drop to bottom pairing would look really bad.

$3.25M is fat now? It seems to me a decent amount that if he's passed by a guy on ELC, it works nicely.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

I'll say that after 10 games, Bouch will really settle in and take off.

 

[alphahelix]

$3.25M is fat now? It seems to me a decent amount that if he's passed by a guy on ELC, it works nicely.

In a buyout-laden frozen cap world, a 3.25m contract with term isn’t a small contract. Maybe Ceci’s isn’t ‘fat’ but its no budget deal, and you only get to pay a few guys over 3m if you are paying others 12.5. We’ll be lucky if we’re looking back at this signing in a few years in the same way we ruefully worried over Kris Russel’s 4M deal. It’s going to prevent us from re-signing certain players, or improving the defence in a meaningful way.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

In a buyout-laden frozen cap world, a 3.25m contract with term isn’t a small contract. Maybe Ceci’s isn’t ‘fat’ but its no budget deal, and you only get to pay a few guys over 3m if you are paying others 12.5. We’ll be lucky if we’re looking back at this signing in a few years in the same way we ruefully worried over Kris Russel’s 4M deal. It’s going to prevent us from re-signing certain players, or improving the defence in a meaningful way.

Yes, it's definitely going to cost the team a Yamamoto or a Bouchard.

 

[TopShelfGloveSide]

Why are people writing off Ceci before the end of pre season? What a joke. After the first period last night he was actually fairly effective.

 

[Canovin]

The better poll would have been, "When will Berglund surpass Ceci and become the Larsson replacement?"

 

[alphahelix]

Yes, it's definitely going to cost the team a Yamamoto or a Bouchard.

That ~2.5Mish over a replacement level player to be a 6/7 will easily wind up being the difference between a ~3M offer and a ~5M+ offer, which probably does result in an exit from one of the guys bubbling up (assuming they have success).

 

[bone]

$3.25M is fat now? It seems to me a decent amount that if he's passed by a guy on ELC, it works nicely.

Though I haven't been overly impressed so far as there's been about a goal per game where he played a significant role in the breakdown, but it's pre-season for a vet on a new team, so I'm not going to panic until at least a few games into regular season.

He's currently the 107th highest cap hit in the NHL right, which is kind of middle of the pack cost for 4th Dman. It's a little high if he becomes de facto number 5 or 6, but he's only 27 so it's reasonable to think he can hang around at the 4 spot, or if he gets surpassed it's because of the quality of Bouch, rather than failing of Ceci. That's the hope because if he's still playing decently but just has been passed, he could still hold enough value to be able to trade him.

 

[Mr Positive]

I thought Ceci was our 5/6 guy? If so, this year

Ceci is our 2nd pair RHD. A downgrade on Larsson, but a cheaper one. Many say he should fall to bottom pairing duties. I dont think so

 

[TopShelfGloveSide]

Last game what was the offensive zone start difference between Ceci and Bouchard?