Speculation: 2014 - 2015 Coyotes Roster

[IPreferPi]

Come on now, Korpikoski is not chopped liver and is worth more than Klink and Chip. A lot of posters want to dump players like Schlemko and Korpikoski, but if we do trade them I believe they both have pretty good trade value in a package deal.

Korpi should have decent trade value. But Schlemko is an oft-injured bottom pairing defensman (at best) who doesn't have size and who doesn't do anything particularly well. Plenty of those guys hit waivers w/o being claimed.

 

[Jakey53]

Korpi should have decent trade value. But Schlemko is an oft-injured bottom pairing defensman (at best) who doesn't have size and who doesn't do anything particularly well. Plenty of those guys hit waivers w/o being claimed.

Schlemko is a proven third pairing Dman with a good contract and plays a decent game. I think he is worth more than you think, mind you, I'm one of the few that like Schlemko.

 

[The Feckless Puck]

Dumped with all the other refuse like Klink and Chipchura.

Ouch. What did Chipchura not do this season that merits that kind of response?

I love Bobby K. but he's a fourth-liner at best and probably will end up back in the A soon. But Chipchura was solid all year on the fourth line and he's a cheap, gritty, veteran forward. Not sure why we'd dump him.

 

[XX]

Ouch. What did Chipchura not do this season that merits that kind of response?

He's inconsistent. He also doesn't PK, so the edge goes to any better player that can be used on special teams or faceoffs. It's easier to change him out for a fresh, more eager face than it is others.

I'm not opposed to moving him to the wing or keeping him as an extra forward.

 

[IPreferPi]

Ouch. What did Chipchura not do this season that merits that kind of response?

I love Bobby K. but he's a fourth-liner at best and probably will end up back in the A soon. But Chipchura was solid all year on the fourth line and he's a cheap, gritty, veteran forward. Not sure why we'd dump him.

Despite being one of the few who stepped up at crunch time at the end of the season, Chip was a total non-factor on offense between November and March - in fact, I think like 75-80% of his 20 points all came either in October or March. Granted, offense is just a bonus for a 4th line energy forward, but Chipchura certainly wasn't as much of a physical force for us as he was in season's past either. Combine that with meh defensive play and one can certainly find upgrades for Chip that wouldn't cost that much more than the 875K he's due next season. That being said, I'm not opposed to keeping him on as a 13th/14th forward either.

 

[The Feckless Puck]

He's inconsistent. He also doesn't PK, so the edge goes to any better player that can be used on special teams or faceoffs. It's easier to change him out for a fresh, more eager face than it is others.

I'm not opposed to moving him to the wing or keeping him as an extra forward.

Actually, Tippett used him on the wing more than a few times this season. And I may be misremembering but I am pretty sure he was on the PK several times too.

I just recall that the only time the fourth line wasn't just giving everyone else time to rest was when Chipchura was on the ice. And his inconsistency pales in comparison to the inconsistency of Vrbata, Korpikoski, Ribeiro, etc. I'll be honest, when we signed Chipchura I didn't like the move because I didn't like him, but he's won me over with his effort and flexibility in the depth chart.

 

[XX]

Actually, Tippett used him on the wing more than a few times this season. And I may be misremembering but I am pretty sure he was on the PK several times too.

He played just shy of four minutes worth of PK the entire season. Totally expendable. It's not that he sucks or is useless. Chip just doesn't bring anything to special teams and doesn't play any particular role .He's easily replaced by a more useful player.

None of it is going to matter if Tippett keeps giving his fourth line less than ten minutes a night.

 

[cobra427]

He played just shy of four minutes worth of PK the entire season. Totally expendable. It's not that he sucks or is useless. Chip just doesn't bring anything to special teams and doesn't play any particular role .He's easily replaced by a more useful player.

None of it is going to matter if Tippett keeps giving his fourth line less than ten minutes a night.

I think the biggest tell tail sign of our forward problem is exactly that, Tip plays the 4th line 8 minutes a game. Bottom line is he does not trust them. If one you guy steps up (Domi), we sing or trade for a UFA forward, and we pick up a PK forward/3rd/4th liner, we would be good to go. Hopefully we can do it without loosing Verby or trading core assets, because we can't afford any subtraction....

 

[Bonsai Tree]

Chipchura is a good fourth line player. If our first 3 lines produced more goals than there wouldn't be such a need to limit 4th line ice time. It all starts at the top. Revamping the 4th line might be fashionable, perhaps because it wouldn't entail the loss of any fan favorites, but it won't improve the scoring much.

 

[IPreferPi]

Scoring remains our biggest issue, but physicality/sandpaper were definitely issues this season as well. How many times did OEL and Smitty get run at and the only person sticking up for them ended up being Yandle? Unacceptable.

Nothing personifies hungry "hockey the hard way" better than an effective, consistently energetic 4th line that's tough to play against while also not being afraid to stir **** up. We need to regain that hungry pack mentality - **** with one of us and we will **** you back. Chipchura is an average 4th liner, but there affordable upgrades out there.

 

[Bonsai Tree]

Scoring remains our biggest issue, but physicality/sandpaper were definitely issues this season as well. How many times did OEL and Smitty get run at and the only person sticking up for them ended up being Yandle? Unacceptable.

Nothing personifies hungry "hockey the hard way" better than an effective, consistently energetic 4th line that's tough to play against while also not being afraid to stir **** up. We need to regain that hungry pack mentality - **** with one of us and we will **** you back. Chipchura is an average 4th liner, but there affordable upgrades out there.

I would prefer to move Moss and Bissonette and even Halpern to bring in some grit. Chip played well against the boards and I thought was quite effective in his role.

 

[Bonsai Tree]

None of it is going to matter if Tippett keeps giving his fourth line less than ten minutes a night.

Yep, a clear sign that this team lacks talent from top to bottom.

 

[cobra427]

It seems like the coyotes are going to have to go out and pay top dollar for a solid top 3 forward either through trade or a UFA. They need one sure fire, can't miss forward. It would be great if they could pick up a young cost controlled forward like Skinner, but those players are highly coveted. The young guys on ELC's are cost controlled and the team basically has all of the leverage. Teams can sign guys to decent deals and the team actually has a chance of the player actually playing better then or being worth more then their contract. We are kind of there with OEL, Bods, Hanzal, and Yandle.

In the last few major deals we have signed for veterans, the team has all the down side risk but little upside. Doan, Smith, and Ribs are examples of guys that we won't get more value then what we paid them, only the same, or less so far with Smith and Ribs. Verby might be the next guy we sign with no upside for us as a team, as he won't exceed a 5 mill deal in production.

It just seems like signing major UFA's is a trap. You pay top dollar as it is a bidding war. The team has zero upside in these deals. I hope we can figure out a way to trade for a cost controlled top 3-6 forward that will work and use the UFA route for a back up goalie, and third and 4th line players at 3 mill or less. There is less risk in these transactions, like us picking up Erat.

 

[Cashville]

Hey guys,

Have there been any updates on discussions with Vrbata? I poked around the thread, saw a mention that he and his wife just had a new child, but haven't seen much else indicating one way or the other. I hate playing against Vrbata and would hence love to try to steal him obviously

 

[letowskie]

It seems like the coyotes are going to have to go out and pay top dollar for a solid top 3 forward either through trade or a UFA. They need one sure fire, can't miss forward. It would be great if they could pick up a young cost controlled forward like Skinner, but those players are highly coveted. The young guys on ELC's are cost controlled and the team basically has all of the leverage. Teams can sign guys to decent deals and the team actually has a chance of the player actually playing better then or being worth more then their contract. We are kind of there with OEL, Bods, Hanzal, and Yandle.

In the last few major deals we have signed for veterans, the team has all the down side risk but little upside. Doan, Smith, and Ribs are examples of guys that we won't get more value then what we paid them, only the same, or less so far with Smith and Ribs. Verby might be the next guy we sign with no upside for us as a team, as he won't exceed a 5 mill deal in production.

It just seems like signing major UFA's is a trap. You pay top dollar as it is a bidding war. The team has zero upside in these deals. I hope we can figure out a way to trade for a cost controlled top 3-6 forward that will work and use the UFA route for a back up goalie, and third and 4th line players at 3 mill or less. There is less risk in these transactions, like us picking up Erat.

Erat was a special case with his move out of Nashville and his subsequent clashes. I don't think any opportunity like that would surface again any time soon. Plus, there's no telling on how he will pan out yet; we 'll reserve judgement.

Trading for cost controlled players are very difficult (unless you can offer-sheet someone and force a trade); teams usually don't give up high-value cost controlled players. If any trade happens like that, the other team is likely to want your young, cost controlled players back. In the long run that does nothing to improve the team.

Most team speed up build using primarily two ways. One is to trade older vets that might help other teams' runs for high picks, which allow the teams to accumulate young talent, in exchange for crappy seasons (likely not an option the next few years). The other would be to wisely pick out critical pieces among UFAs, or deal for pending UFAs as rentals (then convince them to stay long term), that can help your team in the long run. Some teams that can do a combination of that well (Hawks, Bruins), usually end up in a much better situation than they began.

 

[IPreferPi]

I would prefer to move Moss and Bissonette and even Halpern to bring in some grit. Chip played well against the boards and I thought was quite effective in his role.

Again, not totally opposed to keeping Chip. But improving the 4th line (and ideally crafting it in the image of the puckhound buzzsaw that is Brandon MacMillan) isn't mutually exclusive with attempting to improve our scoring talent either.

 

[hbk]

Hey guys,

Have there been any updates on discussions with Vrbata? I poked around the thread, saw a mention that he and his wife just had a new child, but haven't seen much else indicating one way or the other. I hate playing against Vrbata and would hence love to try to steal him obviously

He's going to hit free agency, assess his asking price at that point, then have a discussion with Maloney to see if we are in the ballpark or not.

 

[Cashville]

He's going to hit free agency, assess his asking price at that point, then have a discussion with Maloney to see if we are in the ballpark or not.

Thanks! Good luck in the offseason

 

[SniperHF]

Kinda OT but whatever.
Wonder how Laviolette would impact Vrbata potentially signing with Nashville. He played for him back with the Hurricanes and was traded from one of his teams. Long time ago now, but even then I'm not sure the styles mesh.

 

[IPreferPi]

Vrbata's time in Carolina is pretty much ancient history by now, don't you think?

 

[zz]

When it comes to the 2014-2015 roster, it finally dawned on me....

 

[IPreferPi]

Let the Spezza speculation begin: Kypreos has tweeted that Spezza (and Phaneuf) is being shopped to Western teams.

 

[KG]

I would vastly perfer Spezza over Riberio

 

[IPreferPi]

A top line of Ribeiro - Spezza - Vrbata could certainly do some damage. Even if Spezza is a playmaker, he does shoot the puck a lot and is a 4 time 30 goal scorer. Certainly better than Ribs in the dot, though I wouldn't say he's that much better defensively. Due 4M in salary next season - the last on his current contract.

I'd have to wait and see on what Ottawa's asking price would be for their Captain, though. I'm absolutely not interested in giving up our 1st for him, at the least.

 

[XX]

Softest line in hockey, Pi.