Speculation: 2021-22 Kraken Roster Discussion

[peto10]

 

[RainyCityHockey]

Seems like Francis is trying to be quick filling out that AHL roster for next season.

I like it and Bucek might have a chance to become an NHL player.

 

[stastny12]

If you wonder who is the guy Kraken have just signed:

 

[tobu]

If you wonder who is the guy Kraken have just signed:

I posted this on the previous page

 

[stastny12]

I posted this on the previous page

Oh, sorry. I didn´t check.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

I'll just post it in here.

 

[Irie]

I'll just post it in here.

Interesting.

I know the Sharks said they had 25-50 candidates in mind, but Becher said they wanted someone to market the franchise, I don't think Botterill is that guy.

I know there have been talks around Whitney and Weekes, and I think that will be more the route they go.

Personally, I feel really sorry for whoever takes that job. Wilson left a huge mess.

 

[The Marquis]

Interesting.

I know the Sharks said they had 25-50 candidates in mind, but Becher said they wanted someone to market the franchise, I don't think Botterill is that guy.

I know there have been talks around Whitney and Weekes, and I think that will be more the route they go.

Personally, I feel really sorry for whoever takes that job. Wilson left a huge mess.

Weekes would be a winning choice. Do you think that's realistic?

 

[Irie]

Weekes would be a winning choice. Do you think that's realistic?

I think San Jose is looking for a charismatic front office face to help drum up interest and be the face of the franchise, and Weekes definitely has that with all of his television experience.

I also think that San Jose is in such a bad place cap wise and core player age, that some of the top candidates would pass on the job if they had another option.

San Jose is a tough market. Bay area fans are some of the fairest weather fans in the country (this does not include the die-hard sharks supporters). But the Sharks have to compete with the 49ers for interest 3-4 months of the season, the Warriors all season, and the Giants the tail end of the season.

When bay area teams have down years, the fans give up on them quickly. Sharks are coming off their 3rd down year, and attendance was often in the 60-70% range. A couple more rebuilding years (which looks likely, and attendance may bottom out at close to worst in the league. (ignoring Arizona and their high-school gymnasium sized arena)

Their owner has cash, and doesn't mind spending it, but does not want a team that is not profitable by everything I have heard. And given there is no way in my mind to make that team competitive until they shed three or four of their anchor contracts, the situation is a catch-22.

TLDR - I think the SJ GM job is the worst opening in the league by a large margin, so established candidates might not want that sinking ship on their resume. That leaves inexperienced candidates, and I believe Weekes would be the first black GM in the league, so that would be cool and ground-breaking, so he might want the position.

 

[SundherDome]

Where does Sprong fit in with the future of the Kraken?

 

[RainyCityHockey]

Where does Sprong fit in with the future of the Kraken?

Most likely as a hybrid AHL/NHL guy on a league minimum deal.

Also, if you look back at Francis quote from after the TDL("He(Sprong) was the guy they(Washington) wanted us to take") I doubt he's all that high on the priority list for the Kraken.

 

[Irie]

Where does Sprong fit in with the future of the Kraken?

He started really strong, and his speed was something the team was lacking, and his shot is amazing, but he didn't have much chemistry with any of his linemates. His early goals were mostly all individual effort.

He seems most effective on the rush, or as a trigger man shooting from anywhere. But not particularly effective at moving the puck with his linemates or creating space.

After the first couple of games, Hakstol played Sprong almost exclusively with Donskoi, Geekie, and Sheahan, three guys that slow the game down and like to cycle, and are not fast-break on the fly players, and with that, Sprong vanished.

Most fans here do not believe Sprong is in the teams future. His QO will be about league minimum, so I can't imagine they don't qualify him, but to be honest, I'm not sure even Francis or Hakstol are certain what their plans are for him.

As @RainyCityHockey said, probably a depth forward / AHL guy but at his cap hit, I am not certain he clears waivers. Unless they can find a center he has some chemistry with in the preseason, they might lose him when they make roster cuts.

 

[wraparound]

something to keep an eye on, I think. I would love to see Ethan find a permanent home with the Kraken. and being a RFA in need of a new contract, his rights should be relatively cheap to acquire.

 

[The Marquis]

I'd be happy to have all 3 of those dudes.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

something to keep an eye on, I think. I would love to see Ethan find a permanent home with the Kraken. and being a RFA in need of a new contract, his rights should be relatively cheap to acquire.

I had mentioned him before as an alternative at RHD.

As an example:
The Canes traded the rights to RFA Alexander Nedjelkovic last season for a thrid round pick to Detroit.
Nedjelkovic was their starter and played very well after being installed in net for them.

Taking this as a comparison I think a 4th or 5th round pick could be enough to entice them to trade us the rights to Bear so we can sign him to a two or three year deal at a reasonable price.

BTW: I also agree with @The Marquis that either Necas or Trochek would be very interesting players for us.

 

[The Marquis]

I had mentioned him before as an alternative at RHD.

As an example:
The Canes traded the rights to RFA Alexander Nedjelkovic last season for a thrid round pick to Detroit.
Nedjelkovic was their starter and played very well after being installed in net for them.

Taking this as a comparison I think a 4th or 5th round pick could be enough to entice them to trade us the rights to Bear so we can sign him to a two or three year deal at a reasonable price.

BTW: I also agree with @The Marquis that either Necas or Trochek would be very interesting players for us.

Alright... Tell me if my assessment of their value is too high, too low or just right? For all 4 of these guys...

I went and traded some decent draft picks for the rights to Necas and Bear. More than I think would happen, but the Kraken have the resources, so if picks are to be traded, it's realistic...

Necas - 2.95M
Bear - 2.5M

I may be way off...

I also sign Trocheck for 5.5M (figuring Eberle/Schwartz money is appropriate).

Lastly I sign Klingberg for 6.5M

I'm resigning all but Haydn Fleury (I'll just trade his right away for futures or something)

My roster with a cap hit of 81.7M:

Donato-Beniers-Eberle
Schwartz-Wennberg-Necas
McCann-Trocheck-Donskoi
Tanev-Gourde-Kuhlman
Geekie
Sprong

Dunn-Larsson
Oleksiak-Klingberg
Soucy-Bear
Borgen

Grubauer
Driedger

I mean, that's really pulling it out of my ass. It feels like there's too many B level guys. That's weird right? They could roll those lines like a beer league team.

Realistically though... I'm probably over the cap, right?

 

[Irie]

something to keep an eye on, I think. I would love to see Ethan find a permanent home with the Kraken. and being a RFA in need of a new contract, his rights should be relatively cheap to acquire.

Where would you envision him playing if they acquired him?

At this point, I'd rather keep Borgen in the lineup and see if he can continue the strides he made down the stretch at the end of last season.

C. Fleury has also been relatively steady as a 3rd pairing no-frills option. And while his game doesn't stand out, he doesn't hurt the team in limited minutes, which is mostly what I am looking for from my third pairing. Getting offense from the third pairing is nice, but it is a big problem when they are giving up more chances than they are generating.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

Alright... Tell me if my assessment of their value is too high, too low or just right? For all 4 of these guys...

I went and traded some decent draft picks for the rights to Necas and Bear. More than I think would happen, but the Kraken have the resources, so if picks are to be traded, it's realistic...

Necas - 2.95M
Bear - 2.5M

I may be way off...

I also sign Trocheck for 5.5M (figuring Eberle/Schwartz money is appropriate).

Lastly I sign Klingberg for 6.5M

I'm resigning all but Haydn Fleury (I'll just trade his right away for futures or something)

My roster with a cap hit of 81.7M:

Donato-Beniers-Eberle
Schwartz-Wennberg-Necas
McCann-Trocheck-Donskoi
Tanev-Gourde-Kuhlman
Geekie
Sprong

Dunn-Larsson
Oleksiak-Klingberg
Soucy-Bear
Borgen

Grubauer
Driedger

I mean, that's really pulling it out of my ass. It feels like there's too many B level guys. That's weird right? They could roll those lines like a beer league team.

Realistically though... I'm probably over the cap, right?

I've got absolutely no interest in Klingberg.
That's actually why I'd try and trade for a guy like Bear.
I also asked Carolina fans and they'd be OK with our 5th rounder for the rights of Bear.

Necas at $2.95 would be nice but I think the Canes would just keep him at that cap hit.

Trochek at a Schwartz level deal would be OK but it still depends on what Carolina's plans are and I wouldn't be surprised if they just let Niederreiter leave to re-sign Trochek.

Still, the cap hits are fine(besides Klingberg, but yeah) and those players could help with our scoring woes.

 

[The Marquis]

I've got absolutely no interest in Klingberg.

That's actually why I'd try and trade for a guy like Bear.
I also asked Carolina fans and they'd be OK with our 5th rounder for the rights of Bear.

Necas at $2.95 would be nice but I think the Canes would just keep him at that cap hit.

Trochek at a Schwartz level deal would be OK but it still depends on what Carolina's plans are and I wouldn't be surprised if they just let Niederreiter leave to re-sign Trochek.

Still, the cap hits are fine(besides Klingberg, but yeah) and those players could help with our scoring woes.

I’m not a Klingberg guy either… just going with what folks are saying for that one.

I do think it’s realistic to see these guys be signed in Seattle, unlike Gaudreau or Forsberg.

 

[Irie]

I've got absolutely no interest in Klingberg.
That's actually why I'd try and trade for a guy like Bear.
I also asked Carolina fans and they'd be OK with our 5th rounder for the rights of Bear.

Necas at $2.95 would be nice but I think the Canes would just keep him at that cap hit.

Trochek at a Schwartz level deal would be OK but it still depends on what Carolina's plans are and I wouldn't be surprised if they just let Niederreiter leave to re-sign Trochek.

Still, the cap hits are fine(besides Klingberg, but yeah) and those players could help with our scoring woes.

I agree and I think Klingberg would cost the team as many or more goals than he is likely to generate.

If Francis were to bring in Bear, he'd likely need to move Borgen or C. Fleury.

Hakstol and the organization have completely botched the development of Borgen and the Fleury brothers carrying 8 D and Hakstol barely playing them and mixing and matching their partners every game.

At this point I am really hoping Hakstol is gone before any more of the prospects make the jump. I am pretty sure that having him as coach will cripple their development.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

I agree and I think Klingberg would cost the team as many or more goals than he is likely to generate.

If Francis were to bring in Bear, he'd likely need to move Borgen or C. Fleury.

Hakstol and the organization have completely botched the development of Borgen and the Fleury brothers carrying 8 D and Hakstol barely playing them and mixing and matching their partners every game.

At this point I am really hoping Hakstol is gone before any more of the prospects make the jump. I am pretty sure that having him as coach will cripple their development.

Why?

It would be
Oleksiak - Bear
Dunn - Larsson
Soucy - Borgen

Still no real #1 defensive pairing but at least three solid ones.

BTW: Borgen also played a lot after those first 20 games and especially after the TDL and has shown he should be a #6/7 guy for us next season.

I'm also not sure what you're talking about with "the Fleury brothers".
Haydn could be gone, especially with the way Francis has talked about Ryker Evans + his QO and those three LHD still on the roster and Cale's a solid AHL/NHL tweener so far just like he was in Montreal.

 

[HoseEmDown]

Alright... Tell me if my assessment of their value is too high, too low or just right? For all 4 of these guys...

I went and traded some decent draft picks for the rights to Necas and Bear. More than I think would happen, but the Kraken have the resources, so if picks are to be traded, it's realistic...

Necas - 2.95M
Bear - 2.5M

I may be way off...

I also sign Trocheck for 5.5M (figuring Eberle/Schwartz money is appropriate).

Lastly I sign Klingberg for 6.5M

I'm resigning all but Haydn Fleury (I'll just trade his right away for futures or something)

My roster with a cap hit of 81.7M:

Donato-Beniers-Eberle
Schwartz-Wennberg-Necas
McCann-Trocheck-Donskoi
Tanev-Gourde-Kuhlman
Geekie
Sprong

Dunn-Larsson
Oleksiak-Klingberg
Soucy-Bear
Borgen

Grubauer
Driedger

I mean, that's really pulling it out of my ass. It feels like there's too many B level guys. That's weird right? They could roll those lines like a beer league team.

Realistically though... I'm probably over the cap, right?

Without knowing what picks you used to trade for those players and the length of deals its hard to judge those moves.

I wouldn't give Bear that type of money and I wouldn't offer more than a 6th round pick for him. It's clear he's not wanted so they're not gonna qualify him, no need to offer that much for his rights. I don't see them trading Necas unless it's for a good price, former 1st with decent numbers, and if they let Trocheck go they'll need him even more.

I also hate your lineup. Gourde on the 4th line? Rather not sign Trocheck, move Gourde up and let Geekie stay as the 4C and hopefully he keeps improving. Klingberg I'm ok with if the price and term work but I think someone will pay way too much for him and the Kraken shouldn't be that team.

 

[Irie]

Why?

It would be
Oleksiak - Bear
Dunn - Larsson
Soucy - Borgen

Still no real #1 defensive pairing but at least three solid ones.

BTW: Borgen also played a lot after those first 20 games and especially after the TDL and has shown he should be a #6/7 guy for us next season.

I'm also not sure what you're talking about with "the Fleury brothers".
Haydn could be gone, especially with the way Francis has talked about Ryker Evans + his QO and those three LHD still on the roster and Cale's a solid AHL/NHL tweener so far just like he was in Montreal.

Personally I do not like the idea of Bear playing a top-4 role.

I feel like Bear/Borgen/C. Fleury should all be vying for that 3rd pairing RHD on this team.

Borgen and C. Fleury are unfinished prospects. Give them 80 games and solid coaching this year and you will have very different looking players in them next season, imo.

If the left hand D is filled with H. Fleury, or Pouliot (Francis made a comment about possibly bringing him back in the exit interview), then I think Bear is the worst choice of the three to pair with either of those guys.

I also do not like Dunn playing with Larsson. They gave up multiple breakaways every game they were paired together. I don't know what it is, and I like both players a lot when paired with other partners, but together their communication as a D pairing is terrible.

 

[The Marquis]

Without knowing what picks you used to trade for those players and the length of deals its hard to judge those moves.

I wouldn't give Bear that type of money and I wouldn't offer more than a 6th round pick for him. It's clear he's not wanted so they're not gonna qualify him, no need to offer that much for his rights. I don't see them trading Necas unless it's for a good price, former 1st with decent numbers, and if they let Trocheck go they'll need him even more.

I also hate your lineup. Gourde on the 4th line? Rather not sign Trocheck, move Gourde up and let Geekie stay as the 4C and hopefully he keeps improving. Klingberg I'm ok with if the price and term work but I think someone will pay way too much for him and the Kraken shouldn't be that team.

Honestly, I hate my lineup too. There are too damn many B-Level players. You can’t really fill out a roster with nothing but middle 6 forwards, I’ll be damned if that doesn’t look like the direction they are headed. I fear another year of figuring stuff out.

 

[Irie]

Honestly, I hate my lineup too. There are too damn many B-Level players. You can’t really fill out a roster with nothing but middle 6 forwards, I’ll be damned if that doesn’t look like the direction they are headed. I fear another year of figuring stuff out.

It is all about trying to ice something entertaining until the bread and butter if the future(the draft picks) arrive.

Keep selling soon to be UFAs for draft capital. Replenish through free agency, don't trade away any youth for tempting short cuts to mediocrity.