Speculation: 2017-18 Roster Discussion - Part 4

[Bolt 45]

We need a solid backup goaltender who can win face offs and play the right wing.

 

[The Gongshow]

We need a solid backup goaltender who can win face offs and play the right wing.

Must be an ex Ranger. Willing to take a discount and stay long term. Ceiling Top 9.

 

[TampaJay]

I would be looking for an upgrade at 4th line Center and Nate Thompson would be the guy I would be going after. If Budaj struggles I think we found our solution in Dominique and 3rd line RW is a 10 minute gig on this team. Why take away ice time from Kucherov and Johnson ?

So, a 4C that can win D zone draws. If Philly is a seller at the TDL, they have a pending UFA who could fit that description.
Filppula anyone?

 

[Sky04]

Fil also plays RW and has a history with our coach +1 for him.

 

[These Are The Days]

No. No.. NO!!!! H.E.L.L NO to Filppula ever playing another minute for us again.

I will always thank him for his great first year and his never ending skill on shootouts and I'll leave it there. The last thing this team needs is Filppula singlehandedly destroying our finely tuned offensive chemistry because he only plays well with exactly one linemate in Alex Killorn. Callahan going on the shelf means he is not an option for Filppula either. Filppula had a few shining moments with Point because Point plays well with everyone and we don't need him picking up any of Filppula's bad habits. I mean we get on Kucherov for getting cute and trying too hard for a few games. Filppula would do it for weeks.

If we're gonna drop $5 million then we might as well feel out what the asking price is for a guy like Brassard because Ottawa is a ticking time bomb and it is unlikely that anyone but Karlsson is safe. I don't personally advocate Brassard either. I just think he would be a better way to spend $5 million and it would not hurt to just ask what it would cost to get him. It's an easy refusal if the Senators ask too much.

 

[HoseEmDown]

I'd be all for bringing Filpulla back at the deadline if the price is right. Something like a 3rd + prospect like Tammela or Sommpi, maybe Spencer. Wouldn't do it for a 2nd + though. As much as he sucked offensively the end of his run here he was a really good defensive matchup for us especially in the playoffs. I would rather throw Filpulla out against Crosby than Point and it allows Point to get a better matchup. He wouldn't be 5mil against the cap either, will be under 2 at the deadline and we should have over 11mil in space at that time.

 

[These Are The Days]

I'd rather just go for Vermette. The Ducks have about 60 days to get a good streak going because right now they're "only" 2 points back of the final wild card but they're still a full 4 and 5 ROW behind Chicago and Dallas respectively. If they do not make a strong run for the playoffs then he's a realistic option. We don't need to be forking over the extra cost to a fellow Eastern team just so Filppula can play the role of a glorified 4th liner when we're already paying the likes of Killorn and Callahan to do that.

Not one... but TWO players in Point (and Johnson when healthy) managed to be better than Filppula . The fact we have better options in the top 6 does not make the idea of him returning to the Lightning with a lesser role that much better of an idea. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting different results.

 

[The Macho King]

...

Pass on Flip. Hard pass. He is not a shutdown player and he isn't *that* good on faceoffs. I don't want to mess with the chemistry here.

 

[Steazy Doo]

I'd rather just go for Vermette. The Ducks have about 60 days to get a good streak going because right now they're "only" 2 points back of the final wild card but they're still a full 4 and 5 ROW behind Chicago and Dallas respectively. If they do not make a strong run for the playoffs then he's a realistic option. We don't need to be forking over the extra cost to a fellow Eastern team just so Filppula can play the role of a glorified 4th liner when we're already paying the likes of Killorn and Callahan to do that.

Not one... but TWO players in Point (and Johnson when healthy) managed to be better than Filppula . The fact we have better options in the top 6 does not make the idea of him returning to the Lightning with a lesser role that much better of an idea. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting different results.

Having a player that can fill in anywhere in the lineup like a Filppula is always valuable. And it would be a low cost get, we already know Flip can mesh well with the system. If he can play a fourth line roll, there is really no down side to it. The cap hit doesn't matter either with the expiring contract.

 

[These Are The Days]

Having a player that can fill in anywhere in the lineup like a Filppula is always valuable. And it would be a low cost get, we already know Flip can mesh well with the system. If he can play a fourth line roll, there is really no down side to it. The cap hit doesn't matter either with the expiring contract.

For as many good points as you made, I still don't want any part of him. Let's just say I'm turned off to Filppula and don't want any part of him coming back again

 

[Volodya Krutov]

Having a player that can fill in anywhere in the lineup like a Filppula is always valuable. And it would be a low cost get, we already know Flip can mesh well with the system. If he can play a fourth line roll, there is really no down side to it. The cap hit doesn't matter either with the expiring contract.

No, he doesn't, and it's a not surprise the team became instantly better once he was gone. It's a young boys league, Flip's too slow, too damn passive in all situation, and his advanced numbers were absolutely dreadful, like below average bottom 6 center. And Cooper giving him again way more minutes than he's worth is the last thing I want to see.

 

[Steazy Doo]

No, he doesn't, and it's a not surprise the team became instantly better once he was gone. It's a young boys league, Flip's too slow, too damn passive in all situation, and his advanced numbers were absolutely dreadful, like below average bottom 6 center. And Cooper giving him again way more minutes than he's worth is the last thing I want to see.

Absolutely no correlation. Filppula was having a bit of a rebound with us before he was traded, he was playing decent hockey. The run at the end of the year was mostly due to Point being given a bigger role, Kucherov going on a tear, and a some guys coming up and making a better fourth line in place of Brown and Paquette. Flip could have fit into that with how he played leading up to the deadline. I said in a fourth line role anyway, with the ability to move up if needed. Flip at fourth line center come playoff time is 10x more valuable then Paquette or Brown.

He may not be the fastest guy, but he's smart and can play playoff hockey. If we can replace someone like Brown with Flip, you do it.

 

[Sky04]

Absolutely no correlation. Filppula was having a bit of a rebound with us before he was traded, he was playing decent hockey. The run at the end of the year was mostly due to Point being given a bigger role, Kucherov going on a tear, and a some guys coming up and making a better fourth line in place of Brown and Paquette. Flip could have fit into that with how he played leading up to the deadline. I said in a fourth line role anyway, with the ability to move up if needed. Flip at fourth line center come playoff time is 10x more valuable then Paquette or Brown.

He may not be the fastest guy, but he's smart and can play playoff hockey. If we can replace someone like Brown with Flip, you do it.

This. Not sure how any one can complain about Flip in a 4th line role, even him on a line with Gourde and Killorn is a huge upgrade over Brown/Conacher.

Perception is so skewed, he was playing well in his last year here and has always been a reliable playoff performer and the few who provide secondary playoff scoring. Given the additional depth of the team, he would excel in a 4th line role. Not the best option available but certainly not a terrible one.

 

[Shoresy Snipes]

This. Not sure how any one can complain about Flip in a 4th line role, even him on a line with Gourde and Killorn is a huge upgrade over Brown/Conacher.

Perception is so skewed, he was playing well in his last year here and has always been a reliable playoff performer and the few who provide secondary playoff scoring. Given the additional depth of the team, he would excel in a 4th line role. Not the best option available but certainly not a terrible one.

So are you saying he's like another Girardi? As in, wasn't that "great" with us before / not worth his contract, but in a lower role, 4th line, he could make us glad he's back? I could see that, but I still think his contract is too high for that role (in fairness, I really have no idea what his cap hit is now; first impression is too high tho for bottom line)

 

[Sky04]

So are you saying he's like another Girardi? As in, wasn't that "great" with us before / not worth his contract, but in a lower role, 4th line, he could make us glad he's back? I could see that, but I still think his contract is too high for that role (in fairness, I really have no idea what his cap hit is now; first impression is too high tho for bottom line)

Why would it matter going into the playoffs on a guy who's contract expires after this year?

Even if he didn't improve on last time it's on upgrade on Brown, Paquette or Conacher in the playoffs

 

[Shoresy Snipes]

Why would it matter going into the playoffs on a guy who's contract expires after this year?

Even if he didn't improve on last time it's on upgrade on Brown, Paquette or Conacher in the playoffs

I guess. As long as we're not going over cap after bonuses. Still, he's not coming back for free, and if we're "going for it" into the playoffs, it still seems like there would be better options. I'm still thinking we need to get meaner and tougher for playoff hockey, Filp is the complete opposite of that. I'm not Yzerman tho, so I'll just backup whatever he goes with.

 

[DFC]

If it worked cap-wise, Flip in a much reduced role would probably be okay. My only reservation is whether or not Coop would keep that role reduced.

 

[Bolt 45]

If it worked cap-wise, Flip in a much reduced role would probably be okay. My only reservation is whether or not Coop would keep that role reduced.

Lol... you're so right about Coop.

But, yeah, we could do worse than Flip, especially if we're bringing him in as a bottom of the lineup guy. I don't think anyone would've had a problem with him if that'd been his role last year. But it wasn't. We were counting on offense from him and he wasn't chipping in the way we were expecting him to. That wouldn't be the case on this team. Any offense he could chip in would be a bonus, and he'd undoubtedly put up some numbers. Plus, he's reliable, maybe even good, defensively.

 

[Shoresy Snipes]

Conacher: staying or going?

Looks like next game he plays for the big club means he would have to go through waivers before being sent back down. We could send him down now and try Erne or someone else for a while. That or he's here for the long haul. What's everyone's prediction?

 

[These Are The Days]

Why are we advocating bringing back a guy who had 1 goal in his last 30 games with us and managed to be outproduced in goal scoring by Brian freaking Boyle in all 3 years they played together both in the regular season AND the playoffs? Because he's a playmaker? Who is Filppula going to make plays with in a bottom 6 role? Brown? Paquette? Callahan? MAYBE Kunitz? Keep him the hell away from Killorn.... Filppula already had a hard enough time getting anything accomplished being gifted minutes by Cooper. Why would things be any different in a different role?

If we're gonna look for someone who can add offense we need to look for a goal scorer. I fully and completely agree with The Macho Man's suggestion of James Neal. Neal himself probably won't come here because it's likely the VGK make the playoffs. But it is a great idea to get someone who is LIKE James Neal if we want to add offense. But if we're looking for help for the 4th line it needs to be someone who is proficient defensively, wins faceoffs and will not be relied on to be a scoring player. That's why I pick Vermette. He would be fine for that role because he's not going to produce that much anyway. 4th liners are role players.

I'm not saying Filppula's a bad player. I'm saying he's a square peg and we're a round hole because he's not the kind of role player we need. He's an above average player defensively with playmaking ability and streaky goal scoring. But we DON'T need streaky playmakers! We need GOAL SCORERS. We don't need Filppula dishing the puck into the corner to absolutely no one because he thinks he's being clever out there.

I don't trust him in the top 9, I don't trust him on the 4th line. I don't trust him period.

 

[The Macho King]

I disagree with some of Sunny's reasoning, but agree with his conclusion. The biggest issue for me is we're a team that plays fast. Even the guys that aren't very fast (Paquette and Kunitz), PLAY a game that contributes to at least the illusion of speed with their heavy forecheck and quick breakouts.

Flip plays slow. All over the ice. He plays slow on the breakout, he plays slow in the offensive zone, he plays slow on the forecheck. I just don't think he meshes well.

 

[These Are The Days]

I disagree with some of Sunny's reasoning, but agree with his conclusion. The biggest issue for me is we're a team that plays fast. Even the guys that aren't very fast (Paquette and Kunitz), PLAY a game that contributes to at least the illusion of speed with their heavy forecheck and quick breakouts.

Flip plays slow. All over the ice. He plays slow on the breakout, he plays slow in the offensive zone, he plays slow on the forecheck. I just don't think he meshes well.

Oh man... don't get me started. For all those reasons Filppula would be better on a team like the LA Kings but not here. That team is slower than syrup coming out of a bottle. But the truth is for all the teams currently out of the playoff race, our choices for an upgrade in terms of scoring forwards are pretty slim pickings. We're talking guys like Patrick Maroon, Tomas Plekanec, Tomas Vanek, Kris Versteeg. Yuck. Evander Kane is a nice target but f*** that guy. We don't need someone like him on our team.

We could go for a guy like Backlund of the Flames but he's not exactly a stellar faceoff guy either. We'd have to hope he can score those sneaky goals for the playoffs.

 

[Bolt 45]

I won't speak for anyone else, but I'm reading the general consensus as being that we could do worse than Flip, and there's some reason to think that it might work if it came to that. Not that he's anyone's first choice. Oddly enough, I remember Flip as being exactly as was just described in terms of what we need: A guy who can win faceoffs, and is sound defensively, but who isn't expected to chip in with lots of points.

That being said, he does play a slow game. Casual is how I would describe it if I were trying to spin it as a positive. I'd kind of blocked that little detail of his game from memory I think.

 

[These Are The Days]

I beg any and all of you to watch the ghastly turnover by Filppula that led to the 3-2 Detroit goal in the game tonight. Like I said... throwing the puck to absolutely no one because he think's he's clever. And it goes right into the back of Philly's net

 

[Sky04]

I beg any and all of you to watch the ghastly turnover by Filppula that led to the 3-2 Detroit goal in the game tonight. Like I said... throwing the puck to absolutely no one because he think's he's clever. And it goes right into the back of Philly's net

Right because cherry picking a play is a good way to describe a player, can you show me one time Filppula has done something like that, that resulted in a goal against us in the playoffs? Ever?

You mentioned Neal earlier in this thread? You mean the guy who goes around kneeing people in the head and taking dumb penalties like the one that lead to our 2nd goal the other night?

Backlund??? seriously? why would the flames trade him? he's almost certainly getting resigned.