Mister Ed
Registered User
- Dec 21, 2008
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- 969
I’d give up a kidney to land Letang
The right side is pretty set : Seider, Hronek, Lindstrom. I wouldn't be opposed to trading Hronek for some center help though.
I’d give up a kidney to land Letang
PK Subban and Nazem Kadri could be nice additions along with Forsberg. Any thoughts?
PK Subban and Nazem Kadri could be nice additions along with Forsberg. Any thoughts?
If I'm trying to be realistic about a) where our needs fall, and b) who we can realistically attract in UFA, I'd suggest something like this:
1. Back-up goaltender: It's tough to say which direction we go here. If all else fails I wouldn't mind bring back Greiss on a one year deal. Alternatively, you're probably looking at guys like Koskinen, Korpisalo, or Holtby. I'm just going to ballpark it here and suggest we sign someone around for around 1 year at 3.5m, and I doubt we give anyone more than three years.
2. Top 4 LHD: Realistically, we could use two of these. But with our prospect pool, I imagine we don't get too fancy here. I think Lindholm re-signs in Anaheim. Giordano is an interesting play, I wouldn't mind giving him a high AAV on short term, but I think he stays out west. Realistically, I think that Nick Leddy is the candidate here. While I'm not sure how much longer he's worth 5 mil AAV, I recognize you have to pay to attract UFAs, and I don't mind juicing up the price a bit to keep the term short. I'd shoot for 3 years at 15 million (5m AAV). I think that you get two more years of quality top 4 play out of Leddy. During that third year he maybe slots down into the third pairing as our prospects grow into a larger role.
3. Bottom pairing LHD: You could go a million ways here. Like Ogee mentioned, I think Merrill would be a good call back. But I'm not sure he leaves his role on a successful Minnesota team. I still see Oesterle as a 7D. The boring answer here is that we probably bring back Danny Dekeyser or Marc Staal in the ballpark of 1 year at 1.25m. Personally I prefer Staal's game, but I could see an argument that Dekeyser might be a safer bet if he's played in a smaller role on shorter minutes.
4. Bottom six penalty kill specialist/grit and energy guy: Personally, I would let both Gagner and Rowney walk this summer. Namestnikov I could go either way, I think I'd only bring back one of him or Fabbri. I would selfishly bring in Larkin's former Wolverine teammate Tyler Motte in the ballpark of 2 years at 3 million (1.5m AAV). I think he helps improve our penalty kill and fills the Gagner role with a bit more sandpaper. This also leaves flexibility to let Tyler walk during the summer that we need to re-sign all of Larkin, Raymond, and Seider.
5. Middle six winger: While imperfect, I think that Robby Fabbri has done a solid job providing depth scoring, and I would bring him back in the ballpark of 3 years at 9.75 million (3.25m AAV). If Yzerman feels confident that Berggren can step in and fill Fabbri's role next year, then maybe you let him walk. I could go either way on it personally, we'll see how the year progresses.
6. Second line center: People won't like it, but that's fine - it's my post. I would sign Nazem Kadri for as high as 4 years at 32 million (8m AAV). I'm open to other options, but I really really really really really don't want to play Suter or Veleno at 2C next season. I get nauseous at the possibility of further pseudo 2Cs like Dylan Strome, Ryan Strome, or Max Domi. I'm open-minded to guys like Trochek or Hertl but they will easily command 7 years and 8m+ AAV. Any qualified candidate we could trade for will cost serious assets, and I think that stings more than overpaying a free agent does. I think that Kadri would be a good stop gap and allow us this draft and next to find and develop a future top 6C.
7. RFAs: I'd re-sign Zadina and Stephens. I could see Zadina getting a Rasmussen-esque 3 year at 4.5 million (1.5m AAV). Stephens? Idk, probably like 1 year at 750k.
For returning RFA and UFA players, Greiss is paid the same, Stephens is paid the same, Leddy takes a $500k cut, Staal takes a $500k cut, Fabrri gets a ~$500k raise, and Zadina gets a ~1m raise. A net of $5ook spent in re-signing RFAs and UFAs.
For new UFAs, we add Kadri's 8m and Motte's 1.5m for a total of 11.5m. So in total, you're "adding" ~12 m in RFA and UFA spending.
Who walks: In this scenario, Danny Dekeyser (5m), Troy Stetcher (1.7m), Vladislav Namestnikov (2m), Carter Rowney + Sam Gagner (~1.5m together). So in total, you're shedding ~10.25m in UFA departures.
In total, we increase our team cap hit by roughly 1.75 million. I think these moves leave us with plenty of flexibility to re-sign our core pieces while improving the on-ice product. Next year's line-up would be something like
Bertuzzi - Larkin - Raymond
Vrana - Kadri - Zadina
Veleno - Suter - Fabbri
Erne - Rasmussen - Motte
Stephens, Smith
Leddy - Seider
Edvinsson - Hronek
Staal - Lindstrom
Oesterle
Neddy
Greiss
Call-ups: Berggren, Pearson, Sebrango/McIsaac
Evan Rodrigues is playing with Crosby, those numbers aren't remotely close to being real deal.Browse - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps
It'll probably be someone like McNabb/Cole/Zadorov, I don't see Stevie going after the highly paid guys, they're old.
Problem with free agency is that you gotta overpay by $1M/season and most of these guys are gonna want 4 or 5 years. Not a whole lot of players I feel comfortable signing.
I like Hertl & Forsberg. Evan Rodrigues is intriguing, how's he getting all of his points? Might be interesting to give him a Suter type contract to see if he's the real deal
Looking at the forwards I almost feel like we have to move someone if we are going to bring someone else in. You have Berggy knocking at the door and a very full lineup.
The right side is pretty set : Seider, Hronek, Lindstrom. I wouldn't be opposed to trading Hronek for some center help though.
OK thanks. He's listed as W/C, and I don't watch the Pens so I had no idea.Evan Rodrigues is playing with Crosby, those numbers aren't remotely close to being real deal.
PK Subban and Nazem Kadri could be nice additions along with Forsberg. Any thoughts?
f*** PK Slew-ban. Every time that guy is in the highlights this year it's for a sneaky dirty play.
Nazem Kadri may come completely overpriced. I don't know if the guy would be anywhere near as effective on Detroit. 16 powerpay points in 33 games so far. 49 points total on the season is incredible, but is he really that guy?
Is he propped up by playing on a powerplay with Rantanen, Landeskog, McKinnon and Makar? How much is contract year "peak performance" to boost his next contract? And after he gets that contract, does he revert to 40 point Kadri, 60 point Kadri or does he settle and become a 70-80 point guy?
He's 31 years old, this is his 13th year in the league, and his previous season best was .75 ppg. I'm pretty darn confident in saying he's not going to be a 1.5ppg guy going forward.
Andrew Copp would be an interesting add to this team. He's good for hits, 40 points and always scores when he's in Detroit! He's 27, from Ann Arbor, Michigan and is paid 3.64M a year right now.