2018/19 Armchair GM

[Curufinwe]

Boston really wish they never signed a greedy mercenary like Chara in free agency.

And Pittsburgh feel sick over trading for a mercenary like Kessel.

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

There is only so much certain prospects can do at their current level. I think Frost is too good for the OHL right now and would be fantastic in the AHL right now, but he's not old enough. With a year of that, he'd be up, but with Tavares signed, Frost would be relegated to the 4th line as he has no history of being a winger. Then we also have to think about when it comes to paying for Konecny, Provy and Patrick in the next couple years. Also, if Hart really comes in and seals the deal, I could imagine him getting a huge contract as well. Sanheim would also need an extension during that time, and if he does well, that would be a bunch of money as well. What I'm getting at is, why should we pay at least 1/8 of the entire salary cap to one player and for a shit ton of years?

Also, I have to ask right now, considering the contracts of Voracek and Giroux, what makes you think that Tavares is worth 11M on this team? In the grand scheme of things, outside of our bottom 6, we really had no issues scoring goals and we were one of the best 5 on 5 teams in the league. Hell, when the PP was actually working, we were deadly as hell, and that's without Tavares. While Tavares can put up 30+ goals a year, he's not worth 11M. Hell, it's possible that someone like the Habs would pay more than that just to have him.

As someone mentioned before, Tavares would be a Homer type of deal and I doubt we would go this route. You saw how cheap we were even with goalies.

Boston really wish they never signed a greedy mercenary like Chara in free agency.

And Pittsburgh feel sick over trading for a mercenary like Kessel.

The difference with Kessel is that he was also traded to fill in a positional need. Tavares would not be this type of deal.

 

[BernieParent]

I'm on the fence about the prospect of signing Tavares (while considering it's a few ticks north of impossible), but I find that some put too much absolute into 1st / 2nd / 3rd line. If the Flyers were to add as supreme a talent as Tavares to their C line-up, the balance that could be struck would be remarkable, which means less wear and tear through the regular season, and a bare minimum of 4th-line dreckiness on the ice. Line can slide up and down based on their level of play game by game (insert cynical Hakstol quip here), and we discount the potential of injuries.

Tavares @ $11 million as an addition to the current Flyers roster would represent a huge leap forward in competitiveness.

As for contract burdens, one important variable is the inability of owners to get out of their own way in dictating how the league is run, leading to a regularity of lock-outs and subsequent rejigging of the CBA. I fully expect another Get Out of Jail Free card being added to the GMs' self-enriching arsenal within the next 5-7 years.

... but I'd still prefer a top-pairing defenseman or legit starting goaltender with my first wish, Genie.

 

[Ghosts Beer]

Explain why this team can’t afford Tavares at 7/11M per.

Technically, I guess they could afford it.
But that’s a heck of a cap hit for 7 years. Scary term. And the Flyers have young players they’re going to want to extend to sizable contracts during that span, such as Provorov & Konecny.
As much as I want Tavares, I get almost claustrophobic at the idea of 7/11M per.

 

[duffy9748]

Technically, I guess they could afford it.
But that’s a heck of a cap hit for 7 years. Scary term. And the Flyers have young players they’re going to want to extend to sizable contracts during that span, such as Provorov & Konecny.
As much as I want Tavares, I get almost claustrophobic at the idea of 7/11M per.

There’s risk in any big deal like that. I just think Tavares is one of few players worth it. He doesn’t have a ton of miles on him and by all accounts, he’s the ultimate professional. The fact that he hasn’t publicly blasted the Islanders yet says all you need to know about his personality. I can’t think of any major injuries with him outside of the knee injury from the Olympics in 2014.

I would think Hextall will do everything in his power to sign Provorov, Patrick, and Konecny to long term deals as soon as possible. Provorov will be the only one with a case to make more than 6M per.

Best case scenario, those 3 are due for new contracts when Tavares’s is 7 years is up.

 

[Curufinwe]

There is only so much certain prospects can do at their current level. I think Frost is too good for the OHL right now and would be fantastic in the AHL right now, but he's not old enough. With a year of that, he'd be up, but with Tavares signed, Frost would be relegated to the 4th line as he has no history of being a winger. Then we also have to think about when it comes to paying for Konecny, Provy and Patrick in the next couple years. Also, if Hart really comes in and seals the deal, I could imagine him getting a huge contract as well. Sanheim would also need an extension during that time, and if he does well, that would be a bunch of money as well. What I'm getting at is, why should we pay at least 1/8 of the entire salary cap to one player and for a **** ton of years?

Also, I have to ask right now, considering the contracts of Voracek and Giroux, what makes you think that Tavares is worth 11M on this team? In the grand scheme of things, outside of our bottom 6, we really had no issues scoring goals and we were one of the best 5 on 5 teams in the league.

The Flyers were 16th in 5 on 5 goals scored with Giroux, Voracek and Couturier all having career years in ES scoring. All three of those guys are very likely to score fewer ES points next season.

NHL.com - Stats

NHL.com - Stats

 

[MacDonald4MVP]

Why not just trade Couts when time is right and he is due to his fat ufa deal when he will be older, slower skater and less talented player when compared to Tavares? I bet Montreal will have a franchise level d we could trade him for.

 

[Ghosts Beer]

There’s risk in any big deal like that. I just think Tavares is one of few players worth it. He doesn’t have a ton of miles on him and by all accounts, he’s the ultimate professional. The fact that he hasn’t publicly blasted the Islanders yet says all you need to know about his personality. I can’t think of any major injuries with him outside of the knee injury from the Olympics in 2014.

I would think Hextall will do everything in his power to sign Provorov, Patrick, and Konecny to long term deals as soon as possible. Provorov will be the only one with a case to make more than 6M per.

Best case scenario, those 3 are due for new contracts when Tavares’s is 7 years is up.

I don’t know that Tavares doesn’t have many miles on him. He’s already played almost 700 regular season games in the NHL, & would be in his 16th NHL season in the last year of a 7 year deal.

He’ll probably still be at or near the top of his game the next 3 or 4 seasons. Then it’s sort of a crapshoot how much he declines.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to have him. But 7 year deals that take a player several years into their 30s scare me.

 

[Rebels57]

Not signing Tavares because you're afraid to block Frost in a few years would be foolish. Frost will most likely play 18-19 in Juniors. He could then either start 19-20 in the AHL or playing the wing. Its a piece of cake for Centers to play wing. Ask Giroux. Then before you know it, Couturiers contract is nearly expired. Tavares could also shift to wing if need be. So many options.

Imagine..

Giroux - Couturier - Konecny
Tavares - Patrick - Voracek
Lindblom - Frost - Allison

You make it work when you have the chance at a top 10 forward.

 

[46zone]

$20M a year? And for how many years?
The problem with JT isn't 2018-19 and 2019-20, it's 2020-21 and going forward for four more years.
And he isn't good enough to make this team a Cup contender the next two years without a goalie.

You would be competing for a cup in 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 with Tavares, isn't that what we want? Tavares is an elite player in his prime and I seriously doubt, short of a devastating injury, his play will fall off a cliff in 2020-2021.

In my mind, the rebuild is over. It's time to start adding. Hextall sitting on his hands for another off-season will make me pine for Holmgren.

 

[deadhead]

You would not be competing for a Cup with Tavares, he'll help the 3rd line scoring, but he's not going to contribute much to the power play (i.e. whoever he replaces, Patrick or Couts, is probably as good). So maybe he adds 10 net goals. We added 40 net goals after trading Schenn last year. So they'll be a little better than they'd be otherwise, depending on who they'd bring in as the 3C.

Tavares is not an elite player, unless you are really expanding the definition, he wasn't even the top scorer on his own team (Barzal had 7 more ES points). Barzal was E +/- + 9.5, Tavares -8.3, Barzal was CorsiRel +8.3, Tavares +2.6, Barzal 3.6/3.2 GF/GA/60, Tavares 3.5/3.9. You could make the case that the 20 year old undersized rookie center is already a better player.

Tavares won't play goal or defense.

 

[deadhead]

delete

 

[deadhead]

Its a piece of cake for Centers to play wing. Ask Giroux.

Giroux was a wing in junior hockey and when he first joined the Flyers, then moved to center.
Moved back to wing as a 10 year veteran.

Frost's skill package is better suited to center, he's not an explosive scorer like TK, but he's extremely smart and can control the pace of the game at center and that also allows him to use his defensive skills.

 

[MacDonald4MVP]

He is a road kill, can't handle big boys down the middle.