Speculation: 2023-24 Free Agency/Trade Thread II

[Gliff]

Pesce is pretty much the best possible option for the Ducks. I really think getting him makes a HUGE difference. If they go longer then 2 years I hope they go big and go for Pesce.

 

[AngelDuck]

Roy or Pesce are both great fits alongside Zellweger/Minty(with Gudas pairing with the other).

The problem is they might not want to sign up for 2 years of sucktitude in their primes at the beginning of their new contracts

 

[duxfan1101]

Roy or Pesce are both great fits alongside Zellweger/Minty(with Gudas pairing with the other).

The problem is they might not want to sign up for 2 years of sucktitude in their primes at the beginning of their new contracts

Ya, really the only reason they would sign here is if we offer more (possibly significantly more) than anyone else.

 

[Gliff]

Ya, really the only reason they would sign here is if we offer more (possibly significantly more) than anyone else.

Roy could want to stay in Southern California, but ya this is likely the same as with Strome, Gudas, etc.

 

[robbieboy3686]

Our gm brought in Vatrano and strome together his first free agency year( both players that were already familiar with each other via the rangers) last summer he brought in Gudas and killorn( 2 players also familiar with each other from the early Tampa years) this summer we sign pesce and trade for necas 2 players from the same team…

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

I don't disagree with the sentiment, I just don't know if we have that spot for him. I think they'll want to keep Johnston or have another scrapper type as a 13/14F. Which probably means we need another depth F on the roster who can play C or W. I suspect they will sign Meyers for a dirt cheap rate to be that guy despite early opinions of his play.

I'd like to see some turnover in the depth group. Don't want to see all of these guys back and no room for some hungry additions.

I would think, based on Verbeek's comments, that he would be on board with the bolded. I guess we'll see.

 

[Leonardo87]

I don't disagree with the sentiment, I just don't know if we have that spot for him. I think they'll want to keep Johnston or have another scrapper type as a 13/14F. Which probably means we need another depth F on the roster who can play C or W. I suspect they will sign Meyers for a dirt cheap rate to be that guy despite early opinions of his play.

I'd like to see some turnover in the depth group. Don't want to see all of these guys back and no room for some hungry additions.

The Bottom 6 could be very different next year. Groulx, Johnston, Silf, Lundy, Meyers, and Jones may all be gone. Maybe give Lundy one more year, since he didn’t have a full season this year.

The idea is to stack the Top 6 with skill…

Gauthier - Leo - Terry
Z - Mac - UFA/RFA Top 6 RW

Pushing Killorn, Vatrano, and Strome to a 3rd line. If those guys are on your 3rd line, then you have some nice depth. Maybe Vatrano or Killorn keeps a spot warm for Gauthier till he is ready for a Top 6 role.

4th line could have totally different players next season. Unless they are going to keep Lundy around to be the 4C. Would maybe even consider keeping Leason. The issue is not these guys, it’s them playing on a line or two above where they should be.

 

[robbieboy3686]

The Bottom 6 could be very different next year. Groulx, Johnston, Silf, Lundy, Meyers, and Jones may all be gone. Maybe give Lundy one more year, since he didn’t have a full season this year.

The idea is to stack the Top 6 with skill…

Gauthier - Leo - Terry
Z - Mac - UFA/RFA Top 6 RW

Pushing Killorn, Vatrano, and Strome to a 3rd line. If those guys are on your 3rd line, then you have some nice depth. Maybe Vatrano or Killorn keeps a spot warm for Gauthier till he is ready for a Top 6 role.

4th line could have totally different players next season. Unless they are going to keep Lundy around to be the 4C. Would maybe even consider keeping Leason. The issue is not these guys, it’s them playing on a line or two above where they should be.

Johnsotn isn’t going anywhere. Probably will become a player who dresses only when we play the big nasty teams. And that’s ok. We haven’t had any youngsters or any players for that matter, who have been taken advantage a the of this season. As we did the previous handful. Johnsotn and Gudas help that.

 

[Leonardo87]

Johnsotn isn’t going anywhere. Probably will become a player who dresses only when we play the big nasty teams. And that’s ok. We haven’t had any youngsters or any players for that matter, who have been taken advantage a the of this season. As we did the previous handful. Johnsotn and Gudas help that.

Johnston as the 13th forward is fine. It’s really more about constructing 3 scoring lines. We barely have one now.

 

[duckpuck]

The Bottom 6 could be very different next year. Groulx, Johnston, Silf, Lundy, Meyers, and Jones may all be gone. Maybe give Lundy one more year, since he didn’t have a full season this year.

The idea is to stack the Top 6 with skill…

Gauthier - Leo - Terry
Z - Mac - UFA/RFA Top 6 RW

Pushing Killorn, Vatrano, and Strome to a 3rd line. If those guys are on your 3rd line, then you have some nice depth. Maybe Vatrano or Killorn keeps a spot warm for Gauthier till he is ready for a Top 6 role.

4th line could have totally different players next season. Unless they are going to keep Lundy around to be the 4C. Would maybe even consider keeping Leason. The issue is not these guys, it’s them playing on a line or two above where they should be.

Barring the ducks winning the draft and getting Celebrini, I think you keep Lundy around because he's versatile and a solid 3c or 4c option. Also, Vatrano is likely gone at some point in the next year so it is worth having another forward around. As Strome/Killorn age, they could end up on the 4th line.

I think at least 2 of Jones/Leason/Groulx are gone. Ort maybe they get signed for AHL. I don't see those guy as part of the ducks future.

 

[DaGeneral]

Barring the ducks winning the draft and getting Celebrini, I think you keep Lundy around because he's versatile and a solid 3c or 4c option. Also, Vatrano is likely gone at some point in the next year so it is worth having another forward around. As Strome/Killorn age, they could end up on the 4th line.

I think at least 2 of Jones/Leason/Groulx are gone. Ort maybe they get signed for AHL. I don't see those guy as part of the ducks future.

I think verbeek needs to try and resign Vatrano this off season. If Vatrano wants to stick around for Silf money I am all for it.

 

[KaseMeOutside]

Why do we need to have those roles filled next year? You aren't going to sign a #1C or #1D in this UFA class. And even if you could, it wouldnt be smart for the Ducks to do it. Carlsson is clearly the #1 C for the next 10 years. Why would we pull a Toronto and overpay for a center in UFA that will crush our cap situation for the next 7 years?

#1 D is another thing, but they arent available. The best thing they can do is sign a top 4 RHD like Pesce or Roy, which they should try to do.

So if those roles aren't filled why is this team going to be anything more than marginally better than it is now?

 

[Gliff]

So if those roles aren't filled why is this team going to be anything more than marginally better than it is now?

Because you don’t a perfect roster to not be a bottom 5 team lol.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

Because you don’t a perfect roster to not be a bottom 5 team lol.

I mean if the team was healthyish this year we prob arnt bottom 5

 

[duckpuck]

I think verbeek needs to try and resign Vatrano this off season. If Vatrano wants to stick around for Silf money I am all for it.

Vatrano will be 31 next year when his contract expires. It would be gross negligence for Verbeek to give him a Silf contract, which was 5 x $5.25.

FWIW, Silf was 28 when his deal was signed and even at that age, it was a predictable the end of the contract would be rough.

I really like Vatrano, but 3 years is the most I'd give him. And you need to pay him like a 3rd line guy - not a first.

 

[The Mighty Duck Man]

Roy or Pesce are both great fits alongside Zellweger/Minty(with Gudas pairing with the other).

The problem is they might not want to sign up for 2 years of sucktitude in their primes at the beginning of their new contracts

A bigger problem is that the current Ducks GM seemingly has no interest in signing either of them. I find it kind of weird, given in the past how much weight was given to Verbeek’s often vague remarks, that people are mostly ignoring him blatantly talking about his goals for the summer.

 

[Hey234]

The issue is not these guys, it’s them playing on a line or two above where they should be.

This cannot be said enough. The Ducks have a lot of good players playing higher in the lineup than they can handle. Depth is the key to all good teams.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

A bigger problem is that the current Ducks GM seemingly has no interest in signing either of them. I find it kind of weird, given in the past how much weight was given to Verbeek’s often vague remarks, that people are mostly ignoring him blatantly talking about his goals for the summer.

There's still a lot of youth on the blueline to figure out.

If Z and Luneau are projected to be with the NHL club next season along with re-signing Vaaks and LaCombe, then the blue line doesn't have any room. PV is gonna have to make a trade or stash LaCombe in the AHL. I think if LaCombe has 9 NHL games left before he loses his waiver eligibility. (Source)

Scenario 1: no FA/trade

Fowler-Luneau​

Minty-Gudas​

Vaak-Zell​

(a veteran who doesn't mind sitting in the press box often or Lindstrom)​

​

to the AHL: LaCombe​

​

PK1: Fowler-Luneau (?) or Minty-Fowler​

PK2: Vaak-Gudas​

Scenario 2: Acquire a top-4 RD via FA/trade

Fowler-Luneau​

Minty-top-4 RD acquisition​

Vaak-Gudas​

(a veteran who doesn't mind sitting in the press box often or Lindstrom)​

​

to the AHL: LaCombe and Zell​

​

PK1: Fowler- top-4 RD acquisition​

PK2: Vaak-Gudas​

 

[Ducksforcup]

LaCombe ideally should be in the minors next season I would think.

Certainly seems like a move or two will be made on the blueline.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

LaCombe ideally should be in the minors next season I would think.

Certainly seems like a move or two will be made on the blueline.

Doubt it will be anything major. It's been pointed out in this thread, PV talked about what he wanted to do over the summer, he said there were two things, top 6 scorer and a bottom 6 scorer, and the second one might be next year. Like HD said, if Zell and Luneau are here, then we're full up on D. PV mentioned he wanted some depth on D to keep from raiding San Diego, hence Lagesson, so if there's anything on D I imagine it'll be of the 7th/8th/9th D variety.

 

[robbieboy3686]

There's still a lot of youth on the blueline to figure out.

If Z and Luneau are projected to be with the NHL club next season along with re-signing Vaaks and LaCombe, then the blue line doesn't have any room. PV is gonna have to make a trade or stash LaCombe in the AHL. I think if LaCombe has 9 NHL games left before he loses his waiver eligibility. (Source)

Scenario 1: no FA/trade

Fowler-Luneau​

Minty-Gudas​

Vaak-Zell​

(a veteran who doesn't mind sitting in the press box often or Lindstrom)​

​

to the AHL: LaCombe​

​

PK1: Fowler-Luneau (?) or Minty-Fowler​

PK2: Vaak-Gudas​

Scenario 2: Acquire a top-4 RD via FA/trade

Fowler-Luneau​

Minty-top-4 RD acquisition​

Vaak-Gudas​

(a veteran who doesn't mind sitting in the press box often or Lindstrom)​

​

to the AHL: LaCombe and Zell​

​

PK1: Fowler- top-4 RD acquisition​

PK2: Vaak-Gudas​

If fowler isn’t traded bought out, I would expect minty to take over his top pair lhd spot. Fowler can’t handle that kind of workload anymore.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

If fowler isn’t traded bought out, I would expect minty to take over his top pair lhd spot. Fowler can’t handle that kind of workload anymore.

Actually, Fowler can handle the workload with respect to fatigue. We've seen how Gudas gets worn down with extra minutes per game. The problem is Fowler playing on the PK or even PK1. Playing on the PK are harder minutes than playing on the PP.

As for Minty as becoming 1LD, I think he's best served as 2LD for the next season. In Minty's last 20 games, he's a -11 rating as 2LD. There isn't a reason to rush things if we have stop gaps available for better development.

 

[robbieboy3686]

Actually, Fowler can handle the workload with respect to fatigue. We've seen how Gudas gets worn down with extra minutes per game. The problem is Fowler playing on the PK or even PK1. Playing on the PK are harder minutes than playing on the PP.

As for Minty as becoming 1LD, I think he's best served as 2LD for the next season. In Minty's last 20 games, he's a -11 rating as 2LD. There isn't a reason to rush things if we have stop gaps available for better development.

I never suggested Gudas moving to a top pair. Ideally fowler just isn’t on this team anymore past next season though.

 

[CrazyDuck4u]

Actually, Fowler can handle the workload with respect to fatigue. We've seen how Gudas gets worn down with extra minutes per game. The problem is Fowler playing on the PK or even PK1. Playing on the PK are harder minutes than playing on the PP.

As for Minty as becoming 1LD, I think he's best served as 2LD for the next season. In Minty's last 20 games, he's a -11 rating as 2LD. There isn't a reason to rush things if we have stop gaps available for better development.

Fowler needs to be play 3d 4d minutes.. Get him off the PP.. and give him Limited PK time.. Hes usless on the PP now.. All this shots get blocked and he can never hold the puck in..

 

[Gliff]

Fowler needs to be play 3d 4d minutes.. Get him off the PP.. and give him Limited PK time.. Hes usless on the PP now.. All this shots get blocked and he can never hold the puck in..

Literally one of the most productive defensemen on the PP in the league. I get if you think it doesn't pass the eye test, but stop acting like he is making the PP terrible or something.