Speculation: 2019 Off Season Roster Discussion #5 - OR - The Everlasting GobStromer

[TheLegend]

We blew right through the limit on the last chapter. Carry on.......

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[Name Nameless]

I know everybody is very, very happy with Kuemper.

But is there any news on Raanta? Will he be back, better than ever?

Imagine him actually being done with his bad luck for a time..

 

[SniperHF]

Imagine him actually being done with his bad luck for a time..

What uniform does he wear?

 

[Name Nameless]

What uniform does he wear?

As long as it isn't that hospital gown anymore...

At least you don't blame it on him, with that argument.

 

[Foggy1097]

Potential lines with Hayton in, using Toc’s buddy system. Pairs will likely stick together most of the time with any rotating being done by the other guys. Hayton would likely get time at center as well. I feel like we’ll see Schmaltz, Dvo, Yeti, Hayton all rotating between center and wing depending on the situation. Having that versatility is actually really nice. Also like Crouse on one skill line and Yeti on the other to open up some more space and crash the net.

(Crouse-Stepan)-Kessel
Soderberg-(Schmaltz-Keller)
(Grabner-Richardson)-Hinostroza
(Hayton-Dvorak)-Fischer/Garland/Merkley

 

[WrinkledPossum]

I'd like the team to sign Brassard. Should be cheap and could play LW on the third line or C if there's an injury. He would also be someone that Hayton could compete with to get on the roster. If he isn't better than Brassard then he shouldn't be in the NHL. I really dislike the team just giving Hayton a spot.

 

[Grimes]

Like Brassard too! Add him to the list of guys who would make the team better, wouldn't require a bad contract and would ensure depth in the forward position.

My preference is:
Williams - expensive but most impactful
Boyle - everything the team doesn't have
Brassard - bounce back candidate with optionality who would probably sign a cheap one yr deal
Maroon - the stickiest.

 

[_Del_]

Just sign Boyle or Sheahan. And hope for the best. We really haven't added much, but we should start healthy which is nice.

 

[SpaceCoyote]

If Hayton and Merkley aren't ready, not sure what the plan is if the team has any forward injuries. Seems like a uncomfortable position to be in given this off season quote by Chayka. "Durability is an asset. Last year taught us that. Durability and depth: If we would have had more of those last year we would have been in the playoffs..."

 

[Mosby]

If Hayton and Merkley aren't ready, not sure what the plan is if the team has any forward injuries. Seems like a uncomfortable position to be in given this off season quote by Chayka. "Durability is an asset. Last year taught us that. Durability and depth: If we would have had more of those last year we would have been in the playoffs..."

For sure. There's Bunting, Fasching, Bennett... but it gets bleak fast.

As for Brassard, I like the top 9 type offense but he doesn't check the physicality box.

 

[Jakey53]

For sure. There's Bunting, Fasching, Bennett... but it gets bleak fast.

As for Brassard, I like the top 9 type offense but he doesn't check the physicality box.

Every team has surprises at their training camps. I wait to see how ours goes, and see who becomes available via trade if we need to add.

 

[YotesFan47]

Yea I'm not that worried about our depth at this point, nor am I concerned about gifting a spot to Hayton. Let him have 9 games, if he's not ready, send him down and we can grab one of the many players that will become available for pennies, possibly even for free via waivers. We have a team chuck full of 2nd and 3rd liners, having to add 1-2 4th line guys isn't the end of the world.

 

[rt]

I’m actually really concerned about our depth. I think it’s worse than last year. We don’t even have the likes of Cousins and Archibald anymore.

We upgraded Galchenyuk to Kessel and Panik to Soderberg. That’s it. Other than that, we’ve lost depth across the board. KConn, Cousins and Archibald are gone. Nothing else added.

It seems our plan is just hoping for health. No insurance. No back up. Just crossed fingers.

 

[hbk]

I’m actually really concerned about our depth. I think it’s worse than last year. We don’t even have the likes of Cousins and Archibald anymore.

We upgraded Galchenyuk to Kessel and Panik to Soderberg. That’s it. Other than that, we’ve lost depth across the board. KConn, Cousins and Archibald are gone. Nothing else added.

It seems our plan is just hoping for health. No insurance. No back up. Just crossed fingers.

Let’s see how preseason and the waiver wire goes down. We lost some role players yes. Those are the easiest players to find though and the cost is normally late/mid round picks.

 

[Murf]

I’m not worried about depth. Depth is easy to find. It’s so common that it falls from the trees (and for the last two decades, falls right into the Coyote lineup). Send out a mailer with a league minimum contract and a flight voucher attached and you will find depth.

This team has perpetually suffered from having only depth and no top end. I’m glad to see that JC is investing the bulk of his effort in top end talent.

 

[Kaibur]

I'm worried about who is going to provide some actual pushback when we play heavy teams. We got pushed around a lot last year and we've got a bunch of undersized players with injury histories. According to hockeyfights, we've seen a steady decline in total fights per season over the last five seasons: 26, 21, 20, 17, and 7.

At this point it's Crouse (3), Fischer (1) and Lyubushkin (1) when he plays, and that's basically it, right? Archibald and Cousins each threw down once and they've both moved on.

 

[rt]

It’s going to take a lot more to sneak into the playoffs this year, points-wise.

Admittedly, last season we had about the worst injury luck I can remember since 1996.

Still, I think we are going to need to be among the healthiest teams in the league this season to be in the fight for a wild card spot in game 81 again.

I don’t think Chayka has “failed” to do enough. I think he’s very confident that he has done enough. If he suspected he needed to do more, he probably would have.

I just think he’s wrong.

I think he’s misjudged the quality of the pieces he has here. It’s not enough to top to bottom.

 

[_Del_]

The West was unusually bad last year. I don't think that lightning strikes twice.

Copied from earlier post:

The four Pacific teams below us (VAN, ANA, EDM, LAK) had a combined 136 Wins, 192 Losses. We were 11-5-1 against them. That's 23 points from bottom feeders. When we include Chicago and Minnesota, they are a combined 209 wins with 283 losses. We are 15-7-1 against the bottom feeders below us.

So yeah, the weak West helps us look good in comparison.

We were actually 12-12-3 against playoff teams in the West. Outscored 86-73. We were 6-9-1 against the stronger Eastern Conference playoff teams and outscored 41-37.

In looking for that I also found where Chayka said he thinks we would have done really well in the playoffs if we'd made it. Which reinforces rt's assumption that Chayka has just decided to rest on his laurels (such as they are).

 

[Dirty Old Man]

. According to hockeyfights, we've seen a steady decline in total fights per season over the last five seasons: 26, 21, 20, 17, and 7.

It's leaguewide. And the trend may not have bottomed out.

 

[Jakey53]

I’m actually really concerned about our depth. I think it’s worse than last year. We don’t even have the likes of Cousins and Archibald anymore.

We upgraded Galchenyuk to Kessel and Panik to Soderberg. That’s it. Other than that, we’ve lost depth across the board. KConn, Cousins and Archibald are gone. Nothing else added.

It seems our plan is just hoping for health. No insurance. No back up. Just crossed fingers.

I'm not. Time to move on, and let a Merkley, Garland, Hayton and Bunting fill the void. You can add DVO to that list also, as he now had a full off season to train and not having to recover from an injury.

 

[Matias Maccete]

It's leaguewide. And the trend may not have bottomed out.

Agreed. I don't think fights are the best way to measure toughness. Hits are tracked so inconsistently I'm not sure that works either though.

 

[rt]

I'm not. Time to move on, and let a Merkley, Garland, Hayton and Bunting fill the void. You can add DVO to that list also, as he now had a full off season to train and not having to recover from an injury.

From that group I feel pretty good about Garland being an NHL player. The rest? Meh.

 

[Heldig]

From that group I feel pretty good about Garland being an NHL player. The rest? Meh.

Meh about Hayton and Dvorak?

 

[rt]

Meh about Hayton and Dvorak?

I have high hopes for Dvorak this season. Not for Hayton. I hope he turns out great. I don’t think it will be so soon. Merkley could be something too. Doubt it will be this season. Bunting I don’t have any hope for being an impact nhl player. Maybe an nhl player but not s meaningful one.

 

[XX]

I think he’s misjudged the quality of the pieces he has here. It’s not enough to top to bottom.

He's basically out of budget space and trade ammo. All pieces are signed or earning their keep. There is no major reconfiguring to be done.

This is the last 'juicing' of a more or less failed rebuild to see if it can make the playoffs. Come next season it will be roughly the same roster minus one expensive player to pay for Keller (probably Stepan). What you're looking at is the problem faced when a rebuild sputters out standings wise while simultaneously losing your cheap ELC players. There's only two players remaining from when Chayka inherited the team so he's not exactly lazy or loathe to change things up. He's just running out of options at this stage.

Signing Dvorak and Chychrun to longer contracts was actually a clever attempt at extending the window by reducing future budget crunch. If Dvorak outperforms Stepan and Chych Goligoski, it's a genius move. Given the upward pressure on salaries, it's unlikely both players completely crap out or become eyesores contractually.