2014 CBJ Offseason Thread II (All proposals, "blog" rumors, speculation in here)

[major major]

I'm of the belief that we can't keep all of the defensemen, and going with only three legitimate veterans in our lineup (Wisniewski, Tyutin, Johnson) would be a mistake. Imagine if one of those guys goes down long-term ... Then, factor in that Savard and Murray aren't going anywhere. Savard proved a viable option as a #5/6 guy who can play spot duty on the second powerplay unit. And, as a right handed shot, he's a nice fit on the third pair. Ryan Murray is ... well, Ryan Murray. Capable top-4 defensemen are hard to come by, and Ryan Murray is still only 20 years old.

That leaves one spot, which I think Dalton Prout is suitable enough for. Sending Erixon or Goloubef back to the minors is a mistake ... both guys are capable of playing in the NHL. Take your pick of the three, as to which one you retain ... I went with the big, physical presence. Add to that, we'll probably see greater returns on Erixon and/or Goloubef. Prout is a capable enough #7 guy for me.

On our team the kids babysit the grandpas. We lose scoring if Wiz or Tyuts goes down, but our defensive game isn't worse with Goloubef and Erixon, if anything it improves. Nick Schultz is solid too, but I don't think he gives you anything Goloubef doesn't, and trading Erixon now is selling low on a whole lot of upside.

I see no reason to keep Jack Skille around, personally. Especially if we sign Ryan Callahan ... Skille would at best be our 4th right wing, and would probably split duty with Jared Boll. I would love to keep Derek MacKenzie around, but I think Michael Chaput is going to make the team out of camp. MacKenzie is the only guy that I would really argue for keeping around out of the group you mentioned ... I thought he was stellar for us all year long, and played excellent in the playoffs.

Regarding Mackenzie, why is this even a question? Of course he should be brought back. Offer him a raise if you have to. And why not Skille? I think if Jared Boll is your 12th best forward then you're not deep enough. With our normal injuries every guy has to be able to play up a line.

I think you sign MacKenzie for sure, I've made my thoughts pretty clear about him. With the Hjarmalsson signing, I think that makes Skille's chances of being re-signed shaky. If you don't re-sign Skille, then both Erixon and Goloubef are signed. If they choose to re-sign Skille, then I think Erixon will be back and Goloubef will be traded or not qualified.

Did you mean Nick Schultz? I'll assume, because what we do with our forwards and defence are independent decisions - there's no shortage of $$$.

 

[Sore Loser]

On our team the kids babysit the grandpas. We lose scoring if Wiz or Tyuts goes down, but our defensive game isn't worse with Goloubef and Erixon, if anything it improves. Nick Schultz is solid too, but I don't think he gives you anything Goloubef doesn't, and trading Erixon now is selling low on a whole lot of upside.

Regarding Mackenzie, why is this even a question? Of course he should be brought back. Offer him a raise if you have to. And why not Skille? I think if Jared Boll is your 12th best forward then you're not deep enough. With our normal injuries every guy has to be able to play up a line.

You can't re-sign everyone ... there isn't enough room. We have at least two guys who could step in and play for us at forward next year in Chaput and Wennberg. The right thing to do is let Wennberg develop for another year; but if he comes to camp and is flat out better than someone, how do you leave him off the team?

So, by signing Skille and MacKenzie, you're handcuffing your ability to make rational decisions. I can see keeping one (MacKenzie), but keeping them both isn't necessary, and Skille spent most of the year in Springfield. That leaves the option for me of having either Skille, or a free agent/trade acquisition ... which for me was Callahan. I went with Callahan over Skille, so shoot me.

As for the defense, see above. You can't keep them all ... it was already a logjam this season, and legitimate NHL guys aren't going to want to play in the American Hockey League forever. Decisions have to be made there, as we cannot have 9 defensemen on the roster. Starting the year with two sophomores and a rookie in your top-6 is no way to aim for a playoff run. Even with Nikitin, the team felt it needed another veteran and added Schultz ... so, one of them will be back next year, or there will be another veteran added via free agency. Two of the young guys have to go, or will have to be happy being buried in the AHL again. I chose Erixon and Goloubef to not be on the roster because they weren't on the roster last year, and we did just fine without them.

 

[EDM]

Perhaps JK's real test will be in his determination as to how to use his assets--who to trade and for what and who to keep.

 

[blahblah]

The easy thing to pick at here is 2.9mil for Schultz. I want Erixon in the lineup but if it's a big deal to have a vet I'd rather just pay Nikitin. Schultz is better then Edmonton made him look but I don't really want to pay him 2.9

I'd be ok with a 1 or 2 year deal as a veteran 7th d-man. Nikitin is going to cost more more than Schultz and the goal is to replace a dmans minutes.

 

[major major]

So if I was actually GM, this is what I really want to do:

CapGeek Armchair GM Roster
FORWARDS
Boone Jenner ($0.778m) / Ryan Johansen ($5.500m) / Jordan Eberle ($6.000m)
Nick Foligno ($3.083m) / Paul Stastny ($6.600m) / Nathan Horton ($5.300m)
Matt Calvert ($0.988m) / Brandon Dubinsky ($4.200m) / Cam Atkinson ($1.150m)
Derek MacKenzie ($1.250m) / Mark Letestu ($1.250m) / Jack Skille ($0.875m)
Jared Boll ($1.700m)

Trade Anisimov + Tyutin for Eberle. Sign Stastny to some ridiculous contract, which I hate, but I think it makes us a better team and we can make room for it. Hjalmarsson and Wennberg can make the team if they absolutely force their way on, and we have enough $$ to send Boller or Skille down to Springfield even if they're on one-way contracts.

DEFENSEMEN
Jack Johnson ($4.357m) / David Savard ($1.745m)
Ryan Murray ($0.894m) / Cody Goloubef ($0.868m)
Tim Erixon ($1.251m) / James Wisniewski ($5.500m)
Dalton Prout ($0.693m) / Nick Schultz ($1.8m)

As some of you know, I have different ideas about our defence. I think we're better off giving the reins over to Savard, Murray, and the kids and offloading Tyutin. This is not the way I'd run other teams, and I never thought I would say this, but with our current group of d-men I think the kids are more responsible than the parents.

GOALTENDERS
Sergei Bobrovsky ($5.625m)
Thomas Greiss ($2.250m)
BUYOUTS
Mike Commodore ($1.142m)
RETAINED SALARIES (2.14% of upper limit)
R.J. Umberger ($1.518m—33.00%)
------
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(estimations for 2014-15)
SALARY CAP: $71,100,000; CAP PAYROLL: $64,516,600; BONUSES: $2,715,833
CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $6,583,400

 

[jackets4life]

FORWARDS
Boone Jenner ($0.778m) / Ryan Johansen ($5.500m) / Jordan Eberle ($6.000m)
Nick Foligno ($3.083m) / Paul Stastny ($6.600m) / Nathan Horton ($5.300m)
Matt Calvert ($0.988m) / Brandon Dubinsky ($4.200m) / Cam Atkinson ($1.150m)
Derek MacKenzie ($1.250m) / Mark Letestu ($1.250m) / Jack Skille ($0.875m)
Jared Boll ($1.700m)

DEFENSEMEN
Jack Johnson ($4.357m) / David Savard ($1.745m)
Ryan Murray ($0.894m) / Cody Goloubef ($0.868m)
Tim Erixon ($1.251m) / James Wisniewski ($5.500m)
Dalton Prout ($0.693m) / Nick Schultz ($1.8m)

GOALTENDERS
Sergei Bobrovsky ($5.625m)
Thomas Greiss ($2.250m)
BUYOUTS
Mike Commodore ($1.142m)
RETAINED SALARIES (2.14% of upper limit)
R.J. Umberger ($1.518m—33.00%)

It's beautiful!

 

[FreeBoomer61]

So if I was actually GM, this is what I really want to do:

CapGeek Armchair GM Roster
FORWARDS
Boone Jenner ($0.778m) / Ryan Johansen ($5.500m) / Jordan Eberle ($6.000m)
Nick Foligno ($3.083m) / Paul Stastny ($6.600m) / Nathan Horton ($5.300m)
Matt Calvert ($0.988m) / Brandon Dubinsky ($4.200m) / Cam Atkinson ($1.150m)
Derek MacKenzie ($1.250m) / Mark Letestu ($1.250m) / Jack Skille ($0.875m)
Jared Boll ($1.700m)

Trade Anisimov + Tyutin for Eberle. Sign Stastny to some ridiculous contract, which I hate, but I think it makes us a better team and we can make room for it. Hjalmarsson and Wennberg can make the team if they absolutely force their way on, and we have enough $$ to send Boller or Skille down to Springfield even if they're on one-way contracts.

DEFENSEMEN
Jack Johnson ($4.357m) / David Savard ($1.745m)
Ryan Murray ($0.894m) / Cody Goloubef ($0.868m)
Tim Erixon ($1.251m) / James Wisniewski ($5.500m)
Dalton Prout ($0.693m) / Nick Schultz ($1.8m)

As some of you know, I have different ideas about our defence. I think we're better off giving the reins over to Savard, Murray, and the kids and offloading Tyutin. This is not the way I'd run other teams, and I never thought I would say this, but with our current group of d-men I think the kids are more responsible than the parents.

GOALTENDERS
Sergei Bobrovsky ($5.625m)
Thomas Greiss ($2.250m)
BUYOUTS
Mike Commodore ($1.142m)
RETAINED SALARIES (2.14% of upper limit)
R.J. Umberger ($1.518m—33.00%)
------
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(estimations for 2014-15)
SALARY CAP: $71,100,000; CAP PAYROLL: $64,516,600; BONUSES: $2,715,833
CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $6,583,400

I would love for this to happen, but the only issue I see with the moves to add Stastny and Eberle is that we are going to have to pay up for Dubi Foligno and Bob over the next two years when their contracts expire, and that could handcuff the team financially. Not to mention give raises to Cam, Calvert, Boone etc.

 

[major major]

I would love for this to happen, but the only issue I see with the moves to add Stastny and Eberle is that we are going to have to pay up for Dubi Foligno and Bob over the next two years when their contracts expire, and that could handcuff the team financially. Not to mention give raises to Cam, Calvert, Boone etc.

The Eberle trade would save salary, actually, with Tyutin and Anisimov going the other way. I haven't checked the numbers for a few years down the line, admittedly. That's the concern with the Stastny deal.

Edit: By my rough calculations this puts us at about $73m in 2017, if we resign all the guys we want to resign on top of Stastny. So the cap would have to keep going up or we have to pare back.

 

[blahblah]

lol Eberle.

 

[cbjfaninmo]

Perhaps JK's real test will be in his determination as to how to use his assets--who to trade and for what and who to keep.

You are right. This summer will go a long way in determining his succes over the long haul. It will be interesting to see how he manages his assets. Fun, fun, fun!

 

[Fro]

lol Eberle.

do you not want him?

do you think its a bad offer?

do you feel he is not available?

you continually state you don't want to get into value discussions but then post something like this with no added explaination. Trying to gather what this post means

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

Trying to gather what this post means

It means laugh out loud Eberle.

 

[Fro]

It means laugh out loud Eberle.

you're better than that...maybe...

 

[Cash for Nash]

So if I was actually GM, this is what I really want to do:

CapGeek Armchair GM Roster
FORWARDS
Boone Jenner ($0.778m) / Ryan Johansen ($5.500m) / Jordan Eberle ($6.000m)
Nick Foligno ($3.083m) / Paul Stastny ($6.600m) / Nathan Horton ($5.300m)
Matt Calvert ($0.988m) / Brandon Dubinsky ($4.200m) / Cam Atkinson ($1.150m)
Derek MacKenzie ($1.250m) / Mark Letestu ($1.250m) / Jack Skille ($0.875m)
Jared Boll ($1.700m)

Trade Anisimov + Tyutin for Eberle. Sign Stastny to some ridiculous contract, which I hate, but I think it makes us a better team and we can make room for it. Hjalmarsson and Wennberg can make the team if they absolutely force their way on, and we have enough $$ to send Boller or Skille down to Springfield even if they're on one-way contracts.

DEFENSEMEN
Jack Johnson ($4.357m) / David Savard ($1.745m)
Ryan Murray ($0.894m) / Cody Goloubef ($0.868m)
Tim Erixon ($1.251m) / James Wisniewski ($5.500m)
Dalton Prout ($0.693m) / Nick Schultz ($1.8m)

As some of you know, I have different ideas about our defence. I think we're better off giving the reins over to Savard, Murray, and the kids and offloading Tyutin. This is not the way I'd run other teams, and I never thought I would say this, but with our current group of d-men I think the kids are more responsible than the parents.

GOALTENDERS
Sergei Bobrovsky ($5.625m)
Thomas Greiss ($2.250m)
BUYOUTS
Mike Commodore ($1.142m)
RETAINED SALARIES (2.14% of upper limit)
R.J. Umberger ($1.518m—33.00%)
------
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(estimations for 2014-15)
SALARY CAP: $71,100,000; CAP PAYROLL: $64,516,600; BONUSES: $2,715,833
CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $6,583,400

You can't let Tyutin walk and not replace him with an NHL'er. For this reason I'd pass on Stasny and go with Niskanen. Slide Boone to the 3rd line Center if need be. We should not have a D than green and inexperienced though. Can't happen.

 

[Kev22]

I may be one of the few that does not have a problem with our defense. The way I look at it is you've got three veterans and now you have three young defenseman that are going to take step this upcoming season. I actually think if there are no changes in personnel, our defense is going to be better.

In my mind, all the improvements need to be made in the top six. I like some of the names being thrown around here, but some are pipe dreams. We just can't give up what would be required. I have a hard time deciding which young players I would be willing to give up to possibly get an upgrade.

Johansen- NO
Jenner - NO
Atkinson - YES
Calvert - Maybe

This summer is going to very interesting. I've almost convinced myself that one top six forward will come via trade. Our first I think is as good as traded. Now, what do you pair with it? We have an extra second potentially. Do those two picks and one of our defensive prospects get the job done?

 

[Fro]

You can't let Tyutin walk and not replace him with an NHL'er. For this reason I'd pass on Stasny and go with Niskanen. Slide Boone to the 3rd line Center if need be. We should not have a D than green and inexperienced though. Can't happen.

We have enough Niskanens IMO...we need a more defensive type...

 

[major major]

You can't let Tyutin walk and not replace him with an NHL'er. For this reason I'd pass on Stasny and go with Niskanen. Slide Boone to the 3rd line Center if need be. We should not have a D than green and inexperienced though. Can't happen.

Here's my thought process: Tyutin, Wiz, and JJ all have stretches of play that are abominable, where if it happened to a young guy you'd say he just isn't ready to play consistently and you might send him down to the AHL. In the past two years I've only seen Savard (in 2013) and Prout (this past year) struggle like that. Murray and Golo hardly ever screw up. They are the rocks back there. If you want to know how responsible a d-man is, you can look at their age, but in this case I think age belies who is actually responsible.

 

[Cash for Nash]

Here's my thought process: Tyutin, Wiz, and JJ all have stretches of play that are abominable, where if it happened to a young guy you'd say he just isn't ready to play consistently and you might send him down to the AHL. In the past two years I've only seen Savard (in 2013) and Prout (this past year) struggle like that. Murray and Golo hardly ever screw up. They are the rocks back there. If you want to know how responsible a d-man is, you can look at their age, but in this case I think age belies who is actually responsible.

Agree to disagree.

 

[Cash for Nash]

I may be one of the few that does not have a problem with our defense. The way I look at it is you've got three veterans and now you have three young defenseman that are going to take step this upcoming season. I actually think if there are no changes in personnel, our defense is going to be better.

In my mind, all the improvements need to be made in the top six. I like some of the names being thrown around here, but some are pipe dreams. We just can't give up what would be required. I have a hard time deciding which young players I would be willing to give up to possibly get an upgrade.

Johansen- NO
Jenner - NO
Atkinson - YES
Calvert - Maybe

This summer is going to very interesting. I've almost convinced myself that one top six forward will come via trade. Our first I think is as good as traded. Now, what do you pair with it? We have an extra second potentially. Do those two picks and one of our defensive prospects get the job done?

Good post. I agree about the draft. Thinking our 1st +maybe 2nd gets bundled somewhere. Question is who goes with the picks. Atkinson would be my guess.

 

[EDM]

We had only three 20 goal scorers last year, RyJo, Cam and Anisimov. Yet in the name of getting more skill virtually every proposal involves trading one of those three. I am not sure how moving sideways is moving forward. I hope JK does not see that the only way improve the speed and skill is to trade the current guys with those qualities.

 

[db2011]

It means laugh out loud Eberle.

Wait I though it meant lots of love Eberle

 

[EspenK]

When thinking about trades I think it is important to look a couple of years out. In say three years our centers could be Joey, Wennberg & Dubi. Where does that leave Arty who is a UFA after the 2015-16 season? In my mind on the trading block either this year or next year.

I wouldn't mind an Arty + something like a 2nd for Sharp. That would mean moving Jenner to center or rushing Wennberg in. That's the thing I don't like about trading Arty this year. It leaves us short a center and does nothing for our RW shortage. If we sign Stastny we're back in the center glut in 2 years. Maybe if they see Wennberg as a winger it isn't as much a problem.

Then I think the only thing that really makes sense is to sign a free agent to play RW. Vrbata would be my choice at around 4 mill for 3 years. Get a couple of years out of him and then trade him or buy him out. We fill out the top 6 and don't create a bunch of roster glut down the road.

It seems to me we're a year or so away from having the depth to be able to make the kind of trades we need to make. I guess we'll find out in the next 6 weeks or so what Jarmo will do.

 

[FreeBoomer61]

When thinking about trades I think it is important to look a couple of years out. In say three years our centers could be Joey, Wennberg & Dubi. Where does that leave Arty who is a UFA after the 2015-16 season? In my mind on the trading block either this year or next year.

I wouldn't mind an Arty + something like a 2nd for Sharp. That would mean moving Jenner to center or rushing Wennberg in. That's the thing I don't like about trading Arty this year. It leaves us short a center and does nothing for our RW shortage. If we sign Stastny we're back in the center glut in 2 years. Maybe if they see Wennberg as a winger it isn't as much a problem.

Then I think the only thing that really makes sense is to sign a free agent to play RW. Vrbata would be my choice at around 4 mill for 3 years. Get a couple of years out of him and then trade him or buy him out. We fill out the top 6 and don't create a bunch of roster glut down the road.

It seems to me we're a year or so away from having the depth to be able to make the kind of trades we need to make. I guess we'll find out in the next 6 weeks or so what Jarmo will do.

But having Letestu, Dubinsky, Mackenzie (if resigned), Johansen, Jenner, etc. all under contract can make Anisimov expendable. Letestu could definitely fill the shoes of a serviceable third line center, and Jenner can continue to play with Joey on the top line.

Having this glut of centermen both coming up and already on the team is a good problem to have. Gives us a lot of flexibility and assets to strengthen the team in areas that we are lacking (i.e. skilled top line/top 6 player). I personally am all for flipping Anisimov+pick/prospect for a high caliber player like Sharp.

 

[Kev22]

Any chance that Jarmo trades for the UFA rights to Ryan Callahan? The more I think about this, he makes a lot of sense here. Speed, he's got some skill and plays physical. Last time the Jackets did that, I believe it was Wiz that signed. I'm a firm believer that once you get a player here in town, they're as good as signed. Columbus has so much to offer and is really an underrated city IMO, biased, by my opinion.

 

[major major]

Any chance that Jarmo trades for the UFA rights to Ryan Callahan? The more I think about this, he makes a lot of sense here. Speed, he's got some skill and plays physical. Last time the Jackets did that, I believe it was Wiz that signed. I'm a firm believer that once you get a player here in town, they're as good as signed. Columbus has so much to offer and is really an underrated city IMO, biased, by my opinion.

Not true. Remember Ehrhoff to the Isles? And remember Callahan forced his way out of NY (where he was captain) because he was asking for a fortune. If we get his rights he's not going to lower his demands.