GDT: 2021 Expansion Draft Discussion Thread

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Seattle will be good by the time the puck drops. They are currently sitting with a full roster and 28m in cap space. They have some early draft picks as bait and a league bent over a barrel due to a sudden flat cap. They have the advantage every time they pick up the phone.

Yep, I agree. They’ll do the same thing Vegas did, they’ll just do it after the draft once teams are left scrambling trying to figure out how to maneuver the cap instead of getting paid to draft (or not draft) certain guys. Really no difference to taking a deal to draft, say, JvR or Vorecek from the Flyers before the draft for a trade or after the draft… they’d still be compensated for taking the same player.

 

[trick9]

I don't think we'll see a success story like with Vegas but they will be great down the line if they play their cards right. I don't think the pieces to build a top contender right away were there because GM's learned from their mistakes few years back.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Don’t they want to suck for a chance to get a real star player in 2 years anyway?

 

[Hivemind]

Worst possible outcome.

They took the guy who hurts the most and can't be replaced at his salary. On top of that it's likely going to cost a premium to dump salary which is a death sentence for a team like us who already have one of the worst prospect pools and limited picks to use.

Disagree. While I can't say it's the best of the possible outcomes (because Seattle did take some ???? players from CBJ, PHL, and CHI), this is probably the best of the highly plausible outcomes.

The odds of Seattle bailing us out of our overpriced contracts were always slim, and particularly so once they adopted the strategy they did (forcing teams to pay to accept fat contracts). We were never going to get rid of Schultz or Dillon here.

So it came down to losing a goalie that was unlikely to have a long term future in Washington or losing someone like Jensen or Sheary. It would be very difficult to match either of their effectiveness on the roster at their cap hits as well. The only way this ends up in a worse cap bind is if the Capitals refuse to move Schultz. Hopefully this move forces their hand.

There are also numerous goalies available this off-season, some of which should be quite affordable. Obviously not a true league minimum deal with VV, but the $1-2M range should have some palatable options.

 

[trick9]

Jensen is not that hard to replace to be honest. Bottom-pairing guy who plays on the PK and provides zero offense is much easier to replace with 2.5m than a 20+ win goalie for a league minimum contract.

 

[Silky mitts]

wasn’t worth engaging in foresight and hindsight

 

[Hivemind]

Jensen is not that hard to replace to be honest. Bottom-pairing guy who plays on the PK and provides zero offense is much easier to replace with 2.5m than a 20+ win goalie for a league minimum contract.

Wins are a function of starts and team play. The Caps have had five different goalies each hit the 15 win plateau since 2017.

Jensen is really good at his role, and has slotted above the bottom pairing previously.

 

[Hivemind]

wasn’t worth engaging in foresight and hindsight

Ghost probably isn't on Dave Hakstol's Christmas Card list.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Jensen is not that hard to replace to be honest. Bottom-pairing guy who plays on the PK and provides zero offense is much easier to replace with 2.5m than a 20+ win goalie for a league minimum contract.

 

[trick9]

Wins are a function of starts and team play. The Caps have had five different goalies each hit the 15 win plateau since 2017.

Jensen is really good at his role, and has slotted above the bottom pairing previously.

Wins are the thing we need to replace though. Goaltenders can still lose you the games if they sink. Which isn't exactly a rarity for league minimum goalies.

There are tons of 2.5m bottom-pairing D's that can temporarily move higher if need to. We have some that might fit that role in the minors too.

 

[Calicaps]

This thread has meandered quite a bit. Locking it up. Take the discussion to the regular threads please.