2020 Off-Season Discussion Part II

[rt]

Press conference Tues????

Last night's Natty Hatty kept referencing everything becoming clear on Tuesday. That we'd have a better understanding of Sullivan and other issues, etc. They weren't clear but kept talking about Tuesday. Full-disclosure; the wife and I (free of kids for the night) split a bottle of sake over sushi and then I proceeded to have a pair of double whiskies. I listened to the podcast after that (skipped the playoffs talk and listened to the rest at 2x speed).

 

[rt]

Or you could just pay him for 2/3's a season and try to get an asset back or simply watch him walk instead of overpaying Roussel next year.

Paying Roussel 1.9 next year doesn't seem bad to me. I still want to re-sign Richardson if he'll come back for 1.25 or less. I'm not anti-veteran players. I just want them to be cheap and to play with some grit.

 

[_Del_]

I'd rather have air after Grabs walks than take on the extra year of cap and salary. Plenty of middling talent is going to get squeezed next summer between xdraft and cap problems. Depth free agents will be cheap. I don't think Roussel gains positive value in between now and when his contract expires.

 

[rt]

I'd rather have air after Grabs walks than take on the extra year of cap and salary. Plenty of middling talent is going to get squeezed next summer between xdraft and cap problems. Depth free agents will be cheap. I don't think Roussel gains positive value in between now and when his contract expires.

I am not even a little bit worried about the salary cap ceiling for the next two seasons. Internal cash budget is going to be our only consideration. Roussel at 1.9 is fine cash value.

I'm ambivalent about the trade. More like indifferent. The salary cap has nothing to do with it for me, though.

 

[_Del_]

I want maximum flexibility next summer. Don't want the money or cap tied up in a fourthline wing for no reason.

I like the player. It's just a needless contract situation. Especially when next year, Vancouver probably pays you to take him if you want him. You're adding a negative asset for a year without a compelling reason, imo.

 

[rt]

I want maximum flexibility next summer. Don't want the money or cap tied up in a fourthline wing for no reason.

I like the player. It's just a needless contract situation. Especially when next year, Vancouver probably pays you to take him if you want him. You're adding a negative asset for a year without a compelling reason, imo.

There is a small risk that he could possibly hinder in a small way our ability gain an asset by taking on a different high-cap, low-cash dump next offseason. And you’re right, he’s not really interesting enough to justify that. Low-risk, low-reward. Probably not an issue but not really worth it either way.

 

[WrinkledPossum]

A Roussel for Grabner swap saves us money over 2 years.

Grabner is owed 3.78M this year.

Roussel is owed 2.5M this year and 1.9M next, that's 600k more buuuuut

To have someone take Grabs spot would likely cost 1M. So that's 400k saved over 2 years, 1.28M in year 1 when cash savings is most important.

 

[GhostofTommyBolin]

He scored effectively 20 from the bottom 6, he'll have takers.

Canucks fans were receptive to a Roussel for Grabner swap.

Clear indication they didn't watch Graber play this past season.

 

[rt]

Clear indication they didn't watch Graber play this past season.

I thought Grabner was great and Tocchet and MacLean are pathetic f***tards. I’ve never had an issue with Grabner’s game. Only his idiot coaches. Now that he’s in the top five of payroll, he’s gotta go. But it ain’t because he’s bad.

 

[YotesFan47]

OEL for Neal, Nurse and Puljujarvi

Goligoski and Schmaltz for Zadorov, Cole and Jost

Demers for Johnsson

Kuemper and Fisher for Bennett and 1st

Stepan and Hinostroza for Tierney

Hjalmersson for Appleton

Johnsson - Tierney - Keller
Crouse - Dvorak - Garland
Jost - Hayton - Puljujarvi
Grabner - Bennett - Neal
Appleton, Bunting

Chychrun - Zadorov
Nurse - Oesterle
Cole - Soderstrom
Capobianco, Lyubushkin

Did this for fun, had some down time. Get younger, cheaper and stay competitive while also increasing the bust factor (Josh, Puljujarvi). Still need to work on value. Like we should get more back from Colorado likely.

 

[RemoAZ]

I still think Grabner is a solid, bottom six player that is great on the PK. That's exactly what we thought when we signed him. Not sure what Tocc and company didn't like about his game but I'd take his play any day over Hino and Fischer.

 

[lanky]

One reason to keep Grabner (in addition to him making penalty kills enjoyable sometimes) is that he embodies professionalism and dedication. He's a good role model for the kids. If Gogo and Stepan had a morsel of that then we'd be in much better shape.

 

[Canis Latrans]

I don't think Grabner puts together a full game considering his pay. My take on his defensive play is that he's great at pressuring some one up on the points and closing passing lanes - which of course leads to his breakaways, but if he has to go defend deeper in the zone or grind on the boards, his defense is subpar, and that is where the bulk time spent defending occurs. There's little contribution on regular offense so at this point, he makes far too much and does far too little aside from defending the point on the penalty kill where that activity occurs by far the most in a game.

I realize he was playing well in the play-ins, but I'm hesitant to think he'll maintain it next year. I don't want to wish him poorly, but I wonder if some of his good play was a result of his high fitness levels letting him catch guys out of place who had lost a step. With a full training camp prior to next season, it's possible the competition will have closed that gap and he'll struggle to produce in that environment.

 

[rt]

OEL for Neal, Nurse and Puljujarvi

Goligoski and Schmaltz for Zadorov, Cole and Jost

Demers for Johnsson

Kuemper and Fisher for Bennett and 1st

Stepan and Hinostroza for Tierney

Hjalmersson for Appleton

Johnsson - Tierney - Keller
Crouse - Dvorak - Garland
Jost - Hayton - Puljujarvi
Grabner - Bennett - Neal
Appleton, Bunting

Chychrun - Zadorov
Nurse - Oesterle
Cole - Soderstrom
Capobianco, Lyubushkin

Did this for fun, had some down time. Get younger, cheaper and stay competitive while also increasing the bust factor (Josh, Puljujarvi). Still need to work on value. Like we should get more back from Colorado likely.

Man. I hate these so, so, so much. Lol.

 

[WrinkledPossum]

Whether it's the eye injury or age, Grabner has regressed. He is not worth 3.78M. If he was a FA he'd be looking at a 1M deal. He's fast, and a quality PKer. That's it.

I'd rather have Roussel or someone else who brings a physical side to their game. We already have speed on this team and our PK was fine when he was scratched.

 

[rt]

I don't think Grabner puts together a full game considering his pay. My take on his defensive play is that he's great at pressuring some one up on the points and closing passing lanes - which of course leads to his breakaways, but if he has to go defend deeper in the zone or grind on the boards, his defense is subpar, and that is where the bulk time spent defending occurs. There's little contribution on regular offense so at this point, he makes far too much and does far too little aside from defending the point on the penalty kill where that activity occurs by far the most in a game.

I realize he was playing well in the play-ins, but I'm hesitant to think he'll maintain it next year. I don't want to wish him poorly, but I wonder if some of his good play was a result of his high fitness levels letting him catch guys out of place who had lost a step. With a full training camp prior to next season, it's possible the competition will have closed that gap and he'll struggle to produce in that environment.

I think you’ve identified and categorized the pros and cons well. I just don’t fully agree with weighting.

 

[XX]

I think you’ve identified and categorized the pros and cons well. I just don’t fully agree with weighting.

He doesn't/can't cycle. He generates no real offensive pressure and loses a lot of battles. Grabner has the wheels of the gods and a 30+ goal scorer shot and not much else. That has always been the story of his career. Crouse is trending the same way which is super frustrating. Having two of those types on the team isn't ideal.

I'd like to go back to a more traditional seek-and-destroy 4th line to generate regular pressure. What the BEEF line was briefly. I think it would go a long way towards curing the feast-or-famine offense.

 

[YotesFan47]

Man. I hate these so, so, so much. Lol.

Lol I don't love em all, Jost isn't someone I particularly like for instance but he's a perfect buy low candidate that could explode in a change of scenery and be resold at a premium. Just messing around with ideas and figured I'd throw them out for the board to comment on and possibly expand in a beautiful way.

I think you and I want the same team in concept though. Tough to play against because they physically assault you at every turn.

 

[MayDayMayDay]

I'm still on my shit of wanting to target that 8th OV pick from Buffalo. Package up OEL, Kuemper & Schmaltz/Stepan on our end and build a Sabres package that includes that pick and whatever other value we can get and salary to make it happen.

 

[Dirty Old Man]

That post sounds so pornographic.

Jeez, wanna swap screen names?

 

[TheLegend]

Jeez, wanna swap screen names?

Nyah..... even though there could be some real fun in that with a certain four legged cloven animal.

I'll settle for a new thread instead.

2020 Off-Season Discussion Part III