GDT: WQCF Game 2: Chicago Blackhawks @ Vegas Golden Knights | 2:30PM | Lets do last game but better.

[The Duck Knight]

I’m not confident the team can acquire a decent backup for Fleury. I would prefer that option. Last season there was talk of an upgrade at backup and the team decided to keep Subban.

I’m not ready to give up on Glass yet. I strongly prefer him over any goalie prospects the team has.

Yes, having 5m+ sitting on the bench every single game is not good cap management, but I would say the big mistake was giving Fleury that big extension, not giving a younger Lehner his money.

With Stastny they should have about 4.5m to split between Stephenson and a goalie. I think with the flat cap and the lack of open goalie spots through the league you could get a guy like Greiss or Khudobin for less than 2m.

And I'm still a big believer in Glass too. I don't want to give up on him at all, but the fact is he's had what 3 or 4 knee injuries dating back to Portland? Him getting hurt is a very real concern and then the center depth is totally shot. You're left with Karlsson and Stephenson and that's pretty much it.

 

[CupInSIX]

With Stastny they should have about 4.5m to split between Stephenson and a goalie. I think with the flat cap and the lack of open goalie spots through the league you could get a guy like Greiss or Khudobin for less than 2m.

And I'm still a big believer in Glass too. I don't want to give up on him at all, but the fact is he's had what 3 or 4 knee injuries dating back to Portland? Him getting hurt is a very real concern and then the center depth is totally shot. You're left with Karlsson and Stephenson and that's pretty much it.

I think a deal can be worked out with a team like the Ducks to buy out Fleury and bring him back. There's one bridge that probably hasn't been burned too much. They have some forwards and D they may want help protecting next season...say Vegas 'borrows' them and returns them in the summer?

The league won't like it but we'll have to pay them off again

 

[21]

We saw how bad the Sharks goaltending was with DeBoer and I’d hate to see our team have that problem. Lehner is really fun to watch. It’s a big reason this Knights team is fun to watch (admittedly Stastny is another reason too).

I'm a Swede and thus I'm not super loyal to a specific team, I tend to follow my favorite Swedes. I love watching Lehner, powerful, skilled, outspoken and entertaining. Really, really high capacity with a true winners attitude but it's really important he is balanced, perhaps he has a a demon or two hunting him. He is definately ready for the Swedish national team as well even though Markstrom is playing well in Vancouver.

Lehner had his father as a coach many years, the same coach as Henrik Lundqvist.

Tough love: Robin Lehner | Ottawa Citizen

 

[Super Cake]

Hangman is now 5-0 in gdt wins. 6-0 if you want to include the exhibition game.

I think we all know who is going to be creating the rest of the gdts.

You got this Hangman.

 

[Vegan Knight]

I think a deal can be worked out with a team like the Ducks to buy out Fleury and bring him back. There's one bridge that probably hasn't been burned too much. They have some forwards and D they may want help protecting next season...say Vegas 'borrows' them and returns them in the summer?

The league won't like it but we'll have to pay them off again

I think the league specifically stated teams couldn't park players, as they called it, in Vegas until after the expansion draft as a way to circumvent it.

 

[CupInSIX]

I think the league specifically stated teams couldn't park players, as they called it, in Vegas until after the expansion draft as a way to circumvent it.

They said teams couldn't get players back after the 2017 ED too but it turned out that wasn't the case.

VGK would just need to hang on to them until just before the next training camp, obviously they can't take them at the deadline & return them at the amateur draft - that's too obvious.

 

[The Duck Knight]

I think a deal can be worked out with a team like the Ducks to buy out Fleury and bring him back. There's one bridge that probably hasn't been burned too much. They have some forwards and D they may want help protecting next season...say Vegas 'borrows' them and returns them in the summer?

The league won't like it but we'll have to pay them off again

I can say with absolute certainty the Ducks wouldn't be a team to do that. Their internal budget wouldn't allow it and they don't have any issues with the Seattle draft at all. Hell Seattle could take a forward and a dman and I wouldn't blink an eye. "Borrowing" players def wouldn't fly either.

Given the price on the Marleau deal last year you'd probably be looking at a 1st+ to move Fleury to a team willing to buy him out. That's the only way I could even see him allowing a trade to begin with, is if he knows he can pick his destination afterwards.

 

[CupInSIX]

I can say with absolute certainty the Ducks wouldn't be a team to do that. Their internal budget wouldn't allow it and they don't have any issues with the Seattle draft at all. Hell Seattle could take a forward and a dman and I wouldn't blink an eye. "Borrowing" players def wouldn't fly either.

Given the price on the Marleau deal last year you'd probably be looking at a 1st+ to move Fleury to team willing to buy him out. That's the only way I could even see him allowing a trade to begin with, is if he knows he can pick his destination afterwards.

For the full salary? Probably. Marleau was a giant, almost one time cost of under 5m actual dollars(3m+sb plus 800k+ over 2 years) + 6.25m of cap space. A MAF buyout would be 8m+ actual dollars with a cap hit fluctuating between 2-3m over 4 years.

If Vegas retained around 2m the buyout would be a bit less.

If there's a way to do this (possibly involving a 3rd team) I'd like to see them explore all options while bringing him back at the end of the day. I think we still don't know when the buyout period will be.

 

[Vegan Knight]

I can say with absolute certainty the Ducks wouldn't be a team to do that. Their internal budget wouldn't allow it and they don't have any issues with the Seattle draft at all. Hell Seattle could take a forward and a dman and I wouldn't blink an eye. "Borrowing" players def wouldn't fly either.

Given the price on the Marleau deal last year you'd probably be looking at a 1st+ to move Fleury to a team willing to buy him out. That's the only way I could even see him allowing a trade to begin with, is if he knows he can pick his destination afterwards.

Considering our pick is likely to be in the 27-31 range (I'm confident this team can make the WCF) I would do a 1st to trade Fleury and that cap hit, I'm not confident he can be a Cup winning starter next season or the one after and they've gone pretty all in on now.

Try to make it up somewhat by using the expansion draft to swing a good trade later. Rely on our scouts to hit a good player at 68 or 90-93.

 

[The Duck Knight]

Considering our pick is likely to be in the 27-31 range (I'm confident this team can make the WCF) I would do a 1st to trade Fleury and that cap hit, I'm not confident he can be a Cup winning starter next season or the one after and they've gone pretty all in on now.

Try to make it up somewhat by using the expansion draft to swing a good trade later. Rely on our scouts to hit a good player at 68 or 90-93.

I'm with you there. I'd 100% be in favor of moving a late 1st if it allowed us to keep our stacked forward group and keep Lehner long term. I just don't see it being a realistic option.

 

[CupInSIX]

I'm with you there. I'd 100% be in favor of moving a late 1st if it allowed us to keep our stacked forward group and keep Lehner long term. I just don't see it being a realistic option.

Let's not get crazy here. Even at 31(God willing) Bob Lowes can find a great player.

I'd be willing to move some 2nds and prospects to teams but that's the max I'd go.

Say Vegas retains 1m and moves him to team A. Team A: retains 2m, gets a 3rd and a B prospect and moves MAF to team B. Team B then buys him out at around 3.5m actual salary and gets a 2nd and 2 B/C prospects.
That's much more preferable than giving up another top pick/prospect.

 

[willy702]

I still think Lehner is an underdog to be resigned. While I appreciate the move MAF ideas, I think its going to be really hard to move him because he can't be parked and you'd have to find someone who actually planned to use him as a #1 because VGK can't retain that much salary. Plus the whole take advantage of the expansion draft idea is just sitting there for them to take advantage of. Of course the problem is MAF got too much money and too long an extension, but it is what it is. Feels to me like they strike a deal with a team that figures to lose a goalie early on, maybe before the season starts even and its a guy with a future that can take on close to half the load next season and with the understanding he's got #1 duties soon to come. MAF plays a lot for awhile, but also takes some time off as he always does mid season and the transition begins. Then Stastny's contract ends, MAF is only a year from his ending and the Knights continue to be in an offensive position because they have no bad contracts and cap room returns they start using some youth. If you sign Lehner to the deal he deserves and can't move MAF, then you are cap limited and start making moves from a defensive position. And don't tell me you can't win a Cup with MAF and you can with Lehner, teams win Cups with questionable goalies or guys that get hot and then turn out to be kinda questionable later. Matt Murray anyone? How's Holtby doing?

 

[Vegan Knight]

I still think Lehner is an underdog to be resigned. While I appreciate the move MAF ideas, I think its going to be really hard to move him because he can't be parked and you'd have to find someone who actually planned to use him as a #1 because VGK can't retain that much salary. Plus the whole take advantage of the expansion draft idea is just sitting there for them to take advantage of. Of course the problem is MAF got too much money and too long an extension, but it is what it is. Feels to me like they strike a deal with a team that figures to lose a goalie early on, maybe before the season starts even and its a guy with a future that can take on close to half the load next season and with the understanding he's got #1 duties soon to come. MAF plays a lot for awhile, but also takes some time off as he always does mid season and the transition begins. Then Stastny's contract ends, MAF is only a year from his ending and the Knights continue to be in an offensive position because they have no bad contracts and cap room returns they start using some youth. If you sign Lehner to the deal he deserves and can't move MAF, then you are cap limited and start making moves from a defensive position. And don't tell me you can't win a Cup with MAF and you can with Lehner, teams win Cups with questionable goalies or guys that get hot and then turn out to be kinda questionable later. Matt Murray anyone? How's Holtby doing?

Holtby has had like one bad regular season his entire career and is still playing now.

Murray had a bad regular season. He wasn't bad this playoffs, watched it all and he looked fine, had fine numbers, despite losing and having a poor defense.

None of that has anything to do with our goalies though. Lehner is much better than Fleury at this point of their careers, and probably by a wider margin the next two years, more likely you can win with one a lot easier than the other.

We're a team built along the wings. Stone, Pacioretty, Smith, Marchessault, Tuch. That's where most of our money is tied up in; Karlsson, Glass, Stephenson and Roy should be good enough centers with the line driving wingers we have.