Speculation: 2023-24 Free Agency/Trade Thread II

[Zegs2sendhelp]

That doesn’t mean him being gone would be better. Buying him out or trading him for nothing makes the Ducks worse now and his cap doesn’t make a difference in the teams ability to sign anyone in the next 2 years.

Literally zero upside unless you think he is worse then his replacement, which he isn’t.

How do you know that?

We havnt even discussed his replacement

 

[Gliff]

How do you know that?

We havnt even discussed his replacement

Who would be the 3 LHD that would be better then him?

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

Who would be the 3 LHD that would be better then him?

um anyone that can pk, bring physicality

 

[Gliff]

um anyone that can pk, bring physicality

I think this is just something we will not agree on. Especially if we sign Roy of Pesce.

 

[gilfaizon]

um anyone that can pk, bring physicality

This is absurd in the most polite way. Cam Fowler would play in almost every teams top 4. He's a victim of a terrible hockey team. Personally think he's been disrespected by this forum for a long time. I will say this is the most educated portion of the fanbase (compared to redddit/fb) but when i see "Buyout Cam Fowler" posts, i shake my head.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

This is absurd in the most polite way. Cam Fowler would play in almost every teams top 4. He's a victim of a terrible hockey team. Personally think he's been disrespected by this forum for a long time. I will say this is the most educated portion of the fanbase (compared to redddit/fb) but when i see "Buyout Cam Fowler" posts, i shake my head.

I never said buy out cam

And no he’s def aged and his play has def dropped off. he’d play on bad teams top 4 but doubtful he’d improve many playoff contenders top 4.

Hes part of the reason the team is bad

 

[gilfaizon]

I never said buy out cam

And no he’s def aged and his play has def dropped off. he’d play on bad teams top 4 but doubtful he’d improve many playoff contenders top 4.

Hes part of the reason the team is bad

Again my point, disrespected by this forum for a long time. This is the result of being fans of the game and nothing more.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

Again my point, disrespected by this forum for a long time. This is the result of being fans of the game and nothing more.

How exactly is that disrespectful

Maybe you have a sentimental attachment to the player

 

[gilfaizon]

How exactly is that disrespectful

Maybe you have a sentimental attachment to the player

Maybe you have a sentimental attachment to your recreational hockey team

How crazy is it that some of the most talented players in the nhl (zegras, terry) struggle on a terrible roster.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

Maybe you have a sentimental attachment to your recreational hockey team

I don’t play rec hockey

 

[gilfaizon]

I don’t play rec hockey

nah thats all i need to know though

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

nah thats all i need to know though

Im sure it is

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

I can’t believe anybody thinks giving out a $10M AAV long term contract to any UFA is a solution for a team with more internal problems than we can imagine. Seriously? Another overpaid UFA solves all the problems?

 

[DavidBL]

I can’t believe anybody thinks giving out a $10M AAV long term contract to any UFA is a solution for a team with more internal problems than we can imagine. Seriously? Another overpaid UFA solves all the problems?

What's you're brilliant idea? Sit around waiting for the next McDavid to save us? 1 player doesn't make or break the team. I can't believe people actually advocated for this travesty that we've been watching for 5 years getting worse every year.

 

[Hamilton Bulldogs]

I think the case against Fowler is that hes pretty much the opposite of what you want in a leader.

Incredibly soft, selfish shots that kill any chance of getting a goal, never sticks up for anyone and ultimately isn't showing a ton of passion. Hes talented and I think he'd work on a team like the panthers or someone that has leadership in spades but Anaheim really doesn't have that.

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

What's you're brilliant idea? Sit around waiting for the next McDavid to save us? 1 player doesn't make or break the team. I can't believe people actually advocated for this travesty that we've been watching for 5 years getting worse every year.

Well, to have a plan I’d have to know a lot more than I do about the inner workings of the team. But I certainly know from Verbeek’s time here what doesn’t overcome the internal problems, and that’s just throwing money at UFA’s.

 

[CrazyDuck4u]

Yup. This team needs a direction to go towards. The veterans need to lead by example. It's.not happening

 

[DavidBL]

Well, to have a plan I’d have to know a lot more than I do about the inner workings of the team. But I certainly know from Verbeek’s time here what doesn’t overcome the internal problems, and that’s just throwing money at UFA’s.

I think that's a bit subjective. I don't particularly think any of the signings have been bad outside of Klingberg. I do believe our kids to be stars need help and that's not going to come from mid tier ufas. Target the right players to shore up deficiencies at least helps. I sure won't be happy sitting on this roster going into next season.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

I never said buy out cam

And no he’s def aged and his play has def dropped off. he’d play on bad teams top 4 but doubtful he’d improve many playoff contenders top 4.

Hes part of the reason the team is bad

Part of the reason this team is bad is b/c Verbeek gutted the team of physicality and talent. Fowler is a decent 2nd pairing OFD and seemed to have unlocked his offensive under Eakins' last two seasons with us, setting record high in scoring in consecutive seasons of 42 points and 48 points. This year, our whole offense seems to have been stifled by Cronin's offensive scheme.

People are confusing Fowler as a top-pairing, shutdown D. Anaheim has forced Fowler into that situation by trading away Lindholm. Fowler is not in charge of roster construction; Verbeek is in charge of roster construction.

Case in point. When Murray brought in D Shattenkirk, Shatty was supposed to be 3rd pairing and PP guy. In between Murray and Verbeek, Shatty was forced into a top-4 situation. Verbeek trading away Manson and Drysdale's injury last year forced Shatty into a top-4, PP, and PK role. His CF% in 2022-23 was 43.8% (10th on the team) and DZone Start% at 54.9% on 19:18 ATOI. This year with Boston, Shatty is in a proper 3rd pairing role who chips in on the PP. His CF% this year is 49.8% (6th on the team) and DZone Start% of 43.0% on 15:43 ATOI.

Under Verbeek, players aren't put in a great position to succeed. Our top three centers are ages 18 (to start the season) to 21 years old (to start the season). We're waiting on some youth to become that top pairing, shutdown D.

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

I think that's a bit subjective. I don't particularly think any of the signings have been bad outside of Klingberg. I do believe our kids to be stars need help and that's not going to come from mid tier ufas. Target the right players to shore up deficiencies at least helps. I sure won't be happy sitting on this roster going into next season.

The problem is, we have no system, no good coaching and no leadership of any kind. All the talent in the world won’t overcome that. We absolutely need to fire every assistant coach (and some people need to get over the fact that Cronin will not be fired this summer) and PV needs to have a come to Jesus meeting with Cronin and the new coaches on how to get better results from the current talent.

We may not be a playoff team yet but we have much more talent than our play or results show. Until there’s some cohesiveness and an ability to know what we have or don’t have it’s useless to just throw money at UFAs and somehow expect our other issues to go away.

Maybe Verbeek was a disaster of a hire. I hope not, but if he’s a bust, throwing good money after bad won’t solve a thing.

 

[JAHV]

I think the case against Fowler is that hes pretty much the opposite of what you want in a leader.

Incredibly soft, selfish shots that kill any chance of getting a goal, never sticks up for anyone and ultimately isn't showing a ton of passion. Hes talented and I think he'd work on a team like the panthers or someone that has leadership in spades but Anaheim really doesn't have that.

What is a "selfish shot"? Cam Fowler might not be what people want him to be, but I find it hard to believe that anyone thinks he's selfish. Nothing about his play style or his demeanor or his interviews suggests he's selfish in any way.

 

[DavidBL]

The problem is, we have no system, no good coaching and no leadership of any kind. All the talent in the world won’t overcome that. We absolutely need to fire every assistant coach (and some people need to get over the fact that Cronin will not be fired this summer) and PV needs to have a come to Jesus meeting with Cronin and the new coaches on how to get better results from the current talent.

We may not be a playoff team yet but we have much more talent than our play or results show. Until there’s some cohesiveness and an ability to know what we have or don’t have it’s useless to just throw money at UFAs and somehow expect our other issues to go away.

Maybe Verbeek was a disaster of a hire. I hope not, but if he’s a bust, throwing good money after bad won’t solve a thing.

Totally on board with the coaching staff changes. I have my doubts about Cronin as well but Bednar also had similar issues early in his career. Part of the systems is having players capable of playing them. IE NHL players. As for leadership, I think that comes with confidence. We need the kids to take those reigns and that means that they have to be confident in their own games which imo means successful. Expecting young 1-3 year NHL players to carry the load offensively is not a recipe for that IMO. I've said it before but we need some vets who can teach the kids to be stars, not just NHLers.

 

[duckpuck]

I think the case against Fowler is that hes pretty much the opposite of what you want in a leader.

Incredibly soft, selfish shots that kill any chance of getting a goal, never sticks up for anyone and ultimately isn't showing a ton of passion. Hes talented and I think he'd work on a team like the panthers or someone that has leadership in spades but Anaheim really doesn't have that.

This is spot on. He's a top 4 guy on a lot of teams, but maddening to watch on this ducks team. The lack of physicality and the lack of battling drives me crazy.

In his defense, he looks a bit worn down. Too many hard minutes this year. He looks even more gassed than usual.

What is a "selfish shot"? Cam Fowler might not be what people want him to be, but I find it hard to believe that anyone thinks he's selfish. Nothing about his play style or his demeanor or his interviews suggests he's selfish in any way.

I would probably say "bad" shots more than selfish shots. He takes way too many muffin shots with no traffic in front of the net and virtually no chance of scoring. It is basically a turnover.

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

Totally on board with the coaching staff changes. I have my doubts about Cronin as well but Bednar also had similar issues early in his career. Part of the systems is having players capable of playing them. IE NHL players. As for leadership, I think that comes with confidence. We need the kids to take those reigns and that means that they have to be confident in their own games which imo means successful. Expecting young 1-3 year NHL players to carry the load offensively is not a recipe for that IMO. I've said it before but we need some vets who can teach the kids to be stars, not just NHLers.

I would agree with most of that. I just don’t think high priced UFAs solve any kind of leadership problem on their own. If you want young players to be confident in their own game it comes from doing things the right way and seeing the success it leads to, while also seeing the failure of undisciplined helter skelter. That has to start with guidance which should come from coaching as well as seeing vets buying in and leading by example. I’m not trying to throw any vets under the bus, but none of the guys brought in so far have risen to the occasion of being like another coach on the ice or in the locker room. At least not based on the results we’ve seen as the year winds down.

I’d rather see us hire an expensive, experienced, successful nhl coach over some expensive UFA looking to cash in on a career year. Better value for less money in my book. But I’m not naive, I know we won’t ever do that.

 

[GermanRocket7]

Before we go into self-absorption mode, can we please keep in mind that the Avalanche had a plethora of high-end draft picks and still finished dead last in the league (or close to it) hilariously long before their young players finally broke out for good?

The most important changes for this franchise are the coaching staff and the medical staff. Everything else will fall into places eventually.