Player Discussion: Anton Stralman

[The Macho King]

This article was shared on here a few days ago and it doesn't paint a great picture with regards to Stralman's performance:
Tampa Bay Lightning Ten Game Report: Getting an early start on vacation

Kind of matches the eye test. He hasn't been particularly good lately.

 

[TeslaCoilFan]

Those stats focus on the last 10 games played and - aside from the Dallas game where he was a defensive beast - most of us noticed that he wasn't the same Strålman we're used to seeing. That injury that took him out for a month looks like it really affected him so I wonder if he re-aggravated it.

Before that injury, he and Mac were even better as a shutdown pair than last season and held the fort admirably when Hedman went down. So I don't think it's aging as much as it is playing with injury.

Similar thing happened last season where he had trouble after returning from an injury but after the All Star break he came back with a monster rest of the season. Let's hope he has a similar bounce back after this break.

 

[The Macho King]

I think 10 days off came right on time for him and McDonagh.

 

[YayHockeysBack]

Those stats focus on the last 10 games played and - aside from the Dallas game where he was a defensive beast - most of us noticed that he wasn't the same Strålman we're used to seeing. That injury that took him out for a month looks like it really affected him so I wonder if he re-aggravated it.

Before that injury, he and Mac were even better as a shutdown pair than last season and held the fort admirably when Hedman went down. So I don't think it's aging as much as it is playing with injury.

Similar thing happened last season where he had trouble after returning from an injury but after the All Star break he came back with a monster rest of the season. Let's hope he has a similar bounce back after this break.

Your reasoning makes a lot of sense. If true, hopefully this 10-day break will heal him up completely and he can return to form for the last part of the season and into the playoffs.

 

[Lightning1995]

Definitely something to keep an eye on since
he’s really the only top 4 caliber RHD in the roster. As much as I like Serge and Cernak I’m just not comfortable with them both being a part of the top 4 in the playoffs just yet.

 

[DFC]

Wouldn't be the first time Stralman struggled mightily after returning from injury.

 

[God King Fudge]

I think 10 days off came right on time for him and McDonagh.

I think quite a few guys were ready for the break. It'll be interesting to see how they come out of it. I think the first few games back could set expectations for the rest of the season.

 

[hagg18]

Since the start of rotating the D. All players have shifted between two partners, except Stralman, who's been shifting with four, and changed partner every game. Hedman-G/Stralman, Mac-Cernak/Stralman, Serg-Coburn/Stralman, Coburn-Stralman. Still, he's one of the top guys on the PK every night and Hedman plays at his best, when playing with him. So I'm not so worried about Stralman's play. I Think he'll be fine when he gets a few games with the same partner.

I can't see Tampa get a better player for the Money he wants (asuming he'll take a discount to keep his family in Tampa). I Think it would be wise to give him 4,5-5 over two seasons. That would give both Cernak, Foote or someone else time to develope and fill that top 4 roll.

The problem I see is where to fit Serg. Mac and Hedman will both be around for years to come and Serg has earned and need top 4 min to develop further. I wouldn't put him with Hedman, since both of them plays their best when having a defensive minded partner. But I don't want to split the shutdown-pair of Mac-Cernak. Would it be wise to trade Serg this or next summer and get a good return and to free some capspace? With Hedman and Mac signed for years and Cernak and hopefully Foote on the rise, I don't fint neither a top 4 spot or capspace for Serg.


If Stralman wouldn't stay in Tampa, I'm not sure he'd move the whole family for a short contract at a new Place. He might go back to Sweden then. But I Think he'd be the perfect mentor for Dahlin in Buffalo. He's helped both Hedman and Serg in Tampa and could help Dahlin a lot. But I don't Think that will ever happen.

 

[Stormbreaker]

 

[AndreRoy]

Since the start of rotating the D. All players have shifted between two partners, except Stralman, who's been shifting with four, and changed partner every game. Hedman-G/Stralman, Mac-Cernak/Stralman, Serg-Coburn/Stralman, Coburn-Stralman. Still, he's one of the top guys on the PK every night and Hedman plays at his best, when playing with him. So I'm not so worried about Stralman's play. I Think he'll be fine when he gets a few games with the same partner.

I can't see Tampa get a better player for the Money he wants (asuming he'll take a discount to keep his family in Tampa). I Think it would be wise to give him 4,5-5 over two seasons. That would give both Cernak, Foote or someone else time to develope and fill that top 4 roll.

The problem I see is where to fit Serg. Mac and Hedman will both be around for years to come and Serg has earned and need top 4 min to develop further. I wouldn't put him with Hedman, since both of them plays their best when having a defensive minded partner. But I don't want to split the shutdown-pair of Mac-Cernak. Would it be wise to trade Serg this or next summer and get a good return and to free some capspace? With Hedman and Mac signed for years and Cernak and hopefully Foote on the rise, I don't fint neither a top 4 spot or capspace for Serg.


If Stralman wouldn't stay in Tampa, I'm not sure he'd move the whole family for a short contract at a new Place. He might go back to Sweden then. But I Think he'd be the perfect mentor for Dahlin in Buffalo. He's helped both Hedman and Serg in Tampa and could help Dahlin a lot. But I don't Think that will ever happen.

We don’t have $4.5M to spare for Stralman - certainly not for two years and unless we’re able to move most or all of Callahan’s contract not even for one. He’s been a fine player for us but it’s time to move on and give the next generation a chance.

And unless we believe that Serg has already peaked there is no reason we should even think of trading him. He has another year on his ELC which is invaluable to us, his potential is sky high, and we have no idea how good Foote will be. In addition there’s an expansion draft coming up and there’s a good chance we’ll lose a defenseman there (probably McDonagh as we can ride him for the next couple of years as Cernak and Serg continue to grow and then let Seattle take him before he starts to decline, giving us a major cap savings in the process.)

 

[DFC]

We don’t have $4.5M to spare for Stralman - certainly not for two years and unless we’re able to move most or all of Callahan’s contract not even for one. He’s been a fine player for us but it’s time to move on and give the next generation a chance.

And unless we believe that Serg has already peaked there is no reason we should even think of trading him. He has another year on his ELC which is invaluable to us, his potential is sky high, and we have no idea how good Foote will be. In addition there’s an expansion draft coming up and there’s a good chance we’ll lose a defenseman there (probably McDonagh as we can ride him for the next couple of years as Cernak and Serg continue to grow and then let Seattle take him before he starts to decline, giving us a major cap savings in the process.)

I think we should be trying like hell to move all of Callahan's salary so we at least have a chance at bringing Stralman back. His play always suffers after an injury, but he's still our 4th best defenseman at worst. Probably 3rd. I don't think he's really blocking anyone. I think we'll move Sergachev back to the left next season, and our right side will be Cernak and maybe Foote. So Stralman would certainly come in handy.

 

[Rschmitz]

If EK is out of the question, having Stralman to mentor and ween the likes of Cernak and Foote becomes invaluable.

 

[LightningStrikes]

If EK is out of the question, having Stralman to mentor and ween the likes of Cernak and Foote becomes invaluable.

Depends on his price. Hedman or McDonagh can mentor too. Would have to find a stop-gap RD with a managable cap hit though.

 

[BoltzManConstant]

Depends on his price. Hedman or McDonagh can mentor too. Would have to find a stop-gap RD with a managable cap hit though.

I think the presumptive RD with manageable cap hit is Jan Rutta. Yes, he's a UFA, but we wanted him in the org and I assume long-term planning was part of the reason.

I love Stralman, but we're going to need really team-friendly deals from either him or Point (or some combination of the two) in order to bring him back.

That assumes we buy out Callahan and trade Miller (retaining no salary). We could find a trade partner to take Cally's contract, and that would likely give us enough room to keep Stralman, but I don't know that the cost in picks/prospects would be worth it.

Assuming we can get Point for $8.5m, that leaves about $6m to spread among 3 new defensemen and 2 new forwards (replacements for Strals, Girardi and Coburn, and Miller and Cally). Note that this also assumes we re-sign Paquette, Erne and Martel (or equivalent players) for modest raises.

So to replace the five, we'll probably bring up 2 AHL forwards and Foote on cheap contracts, Rutta at about $2m, and spend the rest on the last defenseman. I would guess that for the last defenseman we'll actually pick up a spare part / waiver claim type like Martel, and leave ourselves a little wiggle room under the cap.

 

[The Macho King]

The above doesn't seem to factor in the cap going up.

 

[HoseEmDown]

Did Point score 50 goals and put up 95 points as a 19 year old? Why the hell is he getting Stamkos money already? 5.5 - 6 is what he deserves, not a penny more.

On a Stralman note we can afford him at 4.5 for a year or two. But like I said a long time ago instead of 4.5-5 x 2 I would do 2.5 x 4. It's the same total just a lower AAV. He gets to stay here with his family till he retires. And we could front load the money so that he retires after two years and we free up that hit or backload it so the buyout isn't much and he still gets most of his money. We just need him for a year or two and then he can work with the organization if he wants to stay in the area but he needs to do us a solid on the contract.

 

[LTIR Trickery]

Did Point score 50 goals and put up 95 points as a 19 year old? Why the hell is he getting Stamkos money already? 5.5 - 6 is what he deserves, not a penny more.

On a Stralman note we can afford him at 4.5 for a year or two. But like I said a long time ago instead of 4.5-5 x 2 I would do 2.5 x 4. It's the same total just a lower AAV. He gets to stay here with his family till he retires. And we could front load the money so that he retires after two years and we free up that hit or backload it so the buyout isn't much and he still gets most of his money. We just need him for a year or two and then he can work with the organization if he wants to stay in the area but he needs to do us a solid on the contract.

I get what you're saying and in theory you're right, but you're also paying for a bit of future performance as well and that just isn't the world we live in anymore. I think he'll get closer to 7-7.5.

 

[BoltzManConstant]

The above doesn't seem to factor in the cap going up.

It accounts for cap going up to $83m. Also accounts for fact that Kuch, Gourde and McD are getting raises (about $11m total vs their current cap hits). Plus another $0.5m or so in raises for Paquette, Erne and Martel. And leaves some room so we're not pushing it all the way up to the cap (for bonus overages, a little flexibility, etc).

I threw a version of this into Armchair GM: Keep It Together - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

 

[Sky04]

Did Point score 50 goals and put up 95 points as a 19 year old? Why the hell is he getting Stamkos money already? 5.5 - 6 is what he deserves, not a penny more.

On a Stralman note we can afford him at 4.5 for a year or two. But like I said a long time ago instead of 4.5-5 x 2 I would do 2.5 x 4. It's the same total just a lower AAV. He gets to stay here with his family till he retires. And we could front load the money so that he retires after two years and we free up that hit or backload it so the buyout isn't much and he still gets most of his money. We just need him for a year or two and then he can work with the organization if he wants to stay in the area but he needs to do us a solid on the contract.

Pretty sure he's outscoring Stamkos, on pace for 45+ goals and over 100 points? If he commands 8.5m he'll get it. Playing hardball and saying he only deserves 6m is dumb and will lead to a Toronto esque-situation of stupidity.

 

[Todd1a]

It accounts for cap going up to $83m. Also accounts for fact that Kuch, Gourde and McD are getting raises (about $11m total vs their current cap hits). Plus another $0.5m or so in raises for Paquette, Erne and Martel. And leaves some room so we're not pushing it all the way up to the cap (for bonus overages, a little flexibility, etc).

I threw a version of this into Armchair GM: Keep It Together - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

I think they will bridge point 3 years term avv 7.0

 

[Raymones]

I really do hope they find a way to hold on to Strålman. Him paired with Hedman is a pure pleasure to watch.

He's a family man, hopefully he'll take a discount in exchange for an extra year and a NMC. I'm calling 3 x 3.33!

 

[Todd1a]

I really do hope they find a way to hold on to Strålman. Him paired with Hedman is a pure pleasure to watch.

He's a family man, hopefully he'll take a discount in exchange for an extra year and a NMC. I'm calling 3 x 3.33!

give him a ntc not a nmc because of the expansion draft

 

[Raymones]

Not sure if this is old news, but I couldn't find it any other post:

Heard (from a friend of the family) that Stralman recently underwent surgery. Some sort of core muscle injury (sports hernia?) if I understood it correctly. That would explain his struggles this year.

They rehab time would be around a month (no problem to get fully fit for next season), but I have no clue whatsoever if this is a injury you "fully recover" from. Anyone here with experience/knowledge on that?

 

[TeslaCoilFan]

Not sure if this is old news, but I couldn't find it any other post:

Heard (from a friend of the family) that Stralman recently underwent surgery. Some sort of core muscle injury (sports hernia?) if I understood it correctly. That would explain his struggles this year.

They rehab time would be around a month (no problem to get fully fit for next season), but I have no clue whatsoever if this is a injury you "fully recover" from. Anyone here with experience/knowledge on that?

That sort of injury certainly would explain his difficulties this season!

A sports hernia is one of the things McDonagh struggled with last season (along with recovering from a broken hand/finger). Mack was terrific this season and only showed some fatigue (or something) late in the season. So it is definitely something that Stråls can recover from and possibly be back to his usual efficient self by next season. Only question is if his age will affect any recovery time or amount.

Strålman was great at the beginning of the season with he and Mack making an excellent shutdown pair, especially when Heddy was out.

Since Cernak has such great chemistry with Mack, it's possible that Stråls can return to being a solid partner for Hedman until one of our prospects is ready. That is, if he's offered a short term at a good rate.

 

[Stormbreaker]

Not a doctor but if it was a core muscle I believe it would take several months to heal and then strengthened to where it needs to be.