Speculation: 2018 Off-season Thread

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_Del_

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Add a big body center in Brodziak via UFA. Nelson might not get qualified.

Perlini - Stepan - Keller
Dvo - Galchenyuk - Fischer
Cousins/Kruger - Brodziak- Panik
Crouse - Strome - Nelson
Kruger

Nelson puts a proven 20g scorer on Strome's wing. You can hide that line and create matchup problems. All three of those guys have size.

Brodziak centers the new sticky line. If Kruger is ready he slides in at wing on even strength.

Dvo, Kruger, Nelson, and to a lesser extent Cousins can all take shifts at center as needed.
 

rt

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Add a big body center in Brodziak via UFA. Nelson might not get qualified.

Perlini - Stepan - Keller
Dvo - Galchenyuk - Fischer
Cousins/Kruger - Brodziak- Panik
Crouse - Strome - Nelson
Kruger

Nelson puts a proven 20g scorer on Strome's wing. You can hide that line and create matchup problems. All three of those guys have size.

Brodziak centers the new sticky line. If Kruger is ready he slides in at wing on even strength.

Dvo, Kruger, Nelson, and to a lesser extent Cousins can all take shifts at center as needed.
I’d take Brodziak out of there. Just move Kruger over. I’m not as anti Nelson as I was in the idea of sticking him and Strome with Crouse on a sheltered line, just for scoring depth and further center insurance.

Sutter is as soft as Nelson but tries harder and is really good defensively and on the PK. Acquisition cost would be higher, but he’s another C/RW option.
 

Coyotedroppings

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I don't know. I watch a ton of Habs games and watched him dominant at center two seasons ago before he messed up his knee. I was baffled why he never got another look at C upon his return, particularly considering the other options they tried instead - guys like Paul Byron, Charles Hudon, JDLR. It's not like Galchenyuk would have been any worse. I suspect Claude Julien is a very stubborn coach where he's looking for perfect two-way centers. The Athletic had a piece that said Galchenyuk never went back to center because if he did and succeeded, both Bergevin and Julien would have egg on their faces. I hope for Montreal's sake that's not how they manage their roster. I'm pretty confident Galchenyuk will stay at center this season. Hell, look how long Tocchet played Domi at center.
Excellent post, that really got me thinking and I'm gonna ramble a bit and go off topic - read, or Doan read - y'all's choice.

This post got me thinking about how much more discipline is required of today's player than decades ago and questioning if that discipline is what's best for the game, or not.

The rigid structure/systems that Players have been expected to adhere to can certainly stiffle offensive creativity and output. It can also lead to decisions made from a battle of wills, or stubbornness, that originally derived from a negative read of what a given player can't/won't do vs identifying the positive of what he can/will do.

Way back when a player named Gary Unger had what I would deem a highly successful NHL career, despite not being known for his defensive prowess. This man played for years and was a long time reigning NHL iron man, that put up impressive numbers. I can tell you first hand - Gary was capable of playing solid D, the question becomes could he have put up his numbers and still done so? Would he have had the honor of raising the Cup had he played more/better D? He was definitely an entertaining player to watch either way.

I think the situation is like a pendulum, in that the answer lies(as it usually does) somewhere in the middle. I also see times a changing and creativity being allowed to flourish a bit more. Rigid defensive structure is the great equalizer, that not only makes it harder on the offensive minded player/opponent by its very nature, but adhering to it takes away from those same players by taking energy away during every shift.

It's the evolution of the game and while I often pine for the old less structured days, I believe the game is getting better and that "structure" is being coach a bit more than rigid "systems". If that makes any sense at all.

Either way, I'm extremely excited to see how this pans out for Galchenyuk and the Coyotes. Will RT give him an honest shot? Does our structure/system by its very nature allow a player like Alex to flourish because we exit our zone quicker. Will RT overlook any defensive shortcoming because the offensive production out weighs them? Will Alex knuckle down and play better D if required?

I do think he ran into stubbornness in Montreal, but there is always two sides to the story.
 

_Del_

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rt said:
Sutter is as soft as Nelson but tries harder and is really good defensively and on the PK. Acquisition cost would be higher, but he’s another C/RW option.

I'm a fan of Sutter, too. I'd have him take Krugers spot though at C. It depends on how healthy Kruger is and what's left. He's healthy and good to go, we will all be very happy, I suspect. Nelson is better offensively, but Sutter has an edge on pretty much everything else.

Was looking at Nelson and Brodziak as potential UFA targets. Sutter would be a trade target. I'd still be interested.

I really would like a proven scoring threat on Strome's wing.
 

tuxonpups

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Mar 15, 2009
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Assuming Crouse and Strome stick in camp, remaining Roadrunners:

Bunting*-23L(23g 20a) Dauphin*-23L(9g 20a) Merkley-22R(18g 21a)
Kempe-30L(18g 19a) Ullstrom-29L Looke-21R(6g 11a)
Helewka-23L(9g 29a) Pederson-21R(12g 14a) Fasching-23R (12g 18a)
Burke-21L MacInnis-22L(6g 8a) Garland-22R(8g 19a)
Steenbergen-20L Maletta-23R
*RFAs

Dauphin and Merkley both have question marks due to second half injuries, but Dauphin took a huge step this season playing as a head's up center as opposed to Perlini's replacement 1LW the year before, he looked great coming back from Chicago. Merkley was a tantalizing 1RW the first half playing with Crouse and Strome, but can he play a full season of hockey? Bunting could take Cousins place, he's a rat and an opportunistic scorer.
That 2nd line is a bit of fun, go team Sweden.
Pederson played mostly RW but would shift over when we were short due to call up or injury as did Kempe. Honestly think he's a better bottom 6 center candidate then MacInnis at this point, he showed some offensive flair filling in for Merkley on the top line. Stuck the new guys on his wings just cause.
Burke got a game in so I put him with guys that project to be AHL vets at this point, MacInnis and Garland. Steenbergen will be breaking in on the crowded LW spot as well.
I think we only saw Maletta play one game.
 

moosemeister

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I have this hunch that we are gonna roll four lines pretty evenly.

Keller - Stepan - Panik
Perlini - Chucky - ??
Crouse - Strome - Fischer
Krueger - Dvorak - Cousins
 

Lilhoody

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Nov 25, 2016
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I think it would be safe to assume that Kruger and Panik won't be back next year at their current salaries of 2.75m, and 2.8m. Should save about 3m there over their next contracts or their replacements. It's hard to speculate so far into the future but I don't think we really need to worry too much about our internal budget, the following year when Keller and Fischer are FA's Goose's deal drops by 1.8m and Raanta's by 1M. Hopefully, the team will be winning a lot more by then and ticket sales will be up.

I can't get down with this assessment after what Max just signed for.
 

WrinkledPossum

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Crouse-Galch-Keller
Perlini-Stepan-Fischer
Dvo-Strome-Panik
??-Kruger-Cousins

Right now this what I'd like to see. Galch has been described as soft, and so is Keller so I'd like Crouse to kinda be like our Tom Wilson. Now if Crouse isn't ready none of this would really work, but I'd like to see Tocchet give this a try.

I can't get down with this assessment after what Max just signed for.

How does Max's deal affect it?
 

TheLegend

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Crouse-Galch-Keller
Perlini-Stepan-Fischer
Dvo-Strome-Panik
??-Kruger-Cousins

Right now this what I'd like to see. Galch has been described as soft, and so is Keller so I'd like Crouse to kinda be like our Tom Wilson. Now if Crouse isn't ready none of this would really work, but I'd like to see Tocchet give this a try.


I don’t like separating Keller and Stepan right now. They had too much going together at the end of last season.

Switch Chucky with Stepan.
 

Matias Maccete

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I don’t like separating Keller and Stepan right now. They had too much going together at the end of last season.

Switch Chucky with Stepan.
If we acquired Chucky thinking he can be a 1C, we should play him with our top players. It sucks to split up Keller and Stepan, but I think Keller is probably someone who will have chemistry with just about everyone.
 

Grimes

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I really like the versatility of the roster with the addition of Galchenyuk, maybe even more so than adding TyJo. I love the untapped potential of Chucky at C, but I also prefer him as a winger over TyJo . I absolutely do not mind Dvo and Strome being on the same line. Dvo can take faceoffs in key situations and then pivot back to wing. I think that could be a real nice set up, but I would like Perlini or another finisher with them. It all depends on how Galchenyuk is at center.

What happens to Strome if Chucky looks like a top 6 center?
 
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Grimes

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If we acquired Chucky thinking he can be a 1C, we should play him with our top players. It sucks to split up Keller and Stepan, but I think Keller is probably someone who will have chemistry with just about everyone.

I don't think we have any players to have the prototypical 1C/2C, unless Strome can become that. So having two 1B's is fine by me. Or Chucky just becomes a true sniper we have been needing.
 

Grimes

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So after this trade I don't see us being very active in the offseason. We need a top 9 forward (RW preferred) and a bottom pairing defensemen. Anyone on your target list that fits these needs? I think depending on how the draft goes we may not need one of the two spots filled (Tkachuk 3rd line LW, Zadina 2-3 line RW and Bouchard/Hughes bottom pair defenseman). I can't imagine we make a huge splash in free agency/offseason trading after the Domi move, nor do we really have the chips and perhaps budget to do much.

I really like the idea of Brodziak and Edmunson for cheap fillers.
 

TheLegend

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If we acquired Chucky thinking he can be a 1C, we should play him with our top players. It sucks to split up Keller and Stepan, but I think Keller is probably someone who will have chemistry with just about everyone.

I haven’t seen Chayka say he’s a 1C. He’s only mentioned they see him as a C more than a wing, but he’s also “versatile”. So it’ll end up shaking itself out in camp.
 

SniperHF

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I haven’t seen Chayka say he’s a 1C. He’s only mentioned they see him as a C more than a wing, but he’s also “versatile”. So it’ll end up shaking itself out in camp.

Funnily enough Galchenyuk would have functioned pretty well I think on a line with...Max Domi :laugh:
As it stands now we kind of lack a 2nd playmaking winger so Galchenyuk might have to play with Keller to max out his goal scoring ability. But we also lack a really solid defensive oriented wing to put with Keller and Galchenyuk to help round out that as a line.

Outside of a couple names there aren't many real obvious pairs out there.
 

BUX7PHX

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I think it would be safe to assume that Kruger and Panik won't be back next year at their current salaries of 2.75m, and 2.8m. Should save about 3m there over their next contracts or their replacements. It's hard to speculate so far into the future but I don't think we really need to worry too much about our internal budget, the following year when Keller and Fischer are FA's Goose's deal drops by 1.8m and Raanta's by 1M. Hopefully, the team will be winning a lot more by then and ticket sales will be up.

I would welcome Panik back. Kruger is less likely to be back, I can agree with. Panik is simply being played a little out of position, but it isn't like he hasn't hit 20 goals a year before. He is more of a 12-18 goal per year player, but we were so young on the right side, he made sense to play there. Just need him on the 2nd or 3rd line, and he is fine for what he is.

This draft also plays a small role in that. If we take Zadina or Wahlstrom, that could indicate something, or it could just mean that we now can expect Zadina/Fischer/Panik to be our RW depth for the next 2-3 years. Nothing shabby about that.
 

TheLegend

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Funnily enough Galchenyuk would have functioned pretty well I think on a line with...Max Domi :laugh:
As it stands now we kind of lack a 2nd playmaking winger so Galchenyuk might have to play with Keller to max out his goal scoring ability. But we also lack a really solid defensive oriented wing to put with Keller and Galchenyuk to help round out that as a line.

Outside of a couple names there aren't many real obvious pairs out there.


Perlini needs a setup man. He’s like Vrby but skates twice as fast and has a deadlier wrister.

Step or Chuck can fill that role... although Chuck would match Perlini’s speed a bit better. :laugh:

I dunno. I expect Tocchet is going to try several combinations in camp. Would be great if they were all interchangeable and it didn’t matter.
 
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rt

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Perlini needs a setup man. He’s like Vrby but skates twice as fast and has a deadlier wrister.

Step or Chuck can fill that role... although Chuck would match Perlini’s speed a bit better. :laugh:

I dunno. I expect Tocchet is going to try several combinations in camp. Would be great if they were all interchangeable and it didn’t matter.
Galchenyuk is not a great skater. And is much more a goal scorer than a playmaker. Two big reasons why Montreal didn’t consider him a C.
 
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