Speculation: Canes roster building thread 2016/17

[geehaad]

Door is not completely closed on Eric Staal returning to Carolina

2 years, league minimum

Do it Ronnie

 

[FreshSeabass]

i know many of yall on here are ok with bringing him back but for me its like please slam the door shut and lock it with chains

 

[FlyingSquirrels]

If the Canes don't sign him for that low of money and term then I hope they have big plans for another UFA (Okposo being ideal). Canes are a better team with Eric at $4.5 million for only 4 years. Hell, sign him anyway and stick him on the wing across from Okposo.

Say Whaaaaat? 4 more years of Staal is 4 years too long.
If RF goes down this path I'll be shocked and massively disappointed.

 

[spockBokk]

I don't mind E Staal coming back to the fold to play C, but only with the caveat that we also bring in another top 6 fwd via trade or UFA. If E Staal is our only top 9 forward signing, I think we're in for another long year...

 

[DaveG]

Gauthier will probably get a 9 game look this season IMHO. He has the ability to keep up with the pro play in terms of speed and physical ability, but always better to just let a player dominate for another year in juniors first unless they just prove they're beyond ready when you're not talking about top 5 type talents.

 

[spockBokk]

Gauthier will probably get a 9 game look this season IMHO. He has the ability to keep up with the pro play in terms of speed and physical ability, but always better to just let a player dominate for another year in juniors first unless they just prove they're beyond ready when you're not talking about top 5 type talents.

Agree, but if he lights it up in pre-season, the thought of a Skinner/Rask/Gauthier line or an Aho/TT/Gauthier 3rd line seems pretty good, assuming he's able to keep up.

 

[Led Tasso]

Gauthier will probably get a 9 game look this season IMHO. He has the ability to keep up with the pro play in terms of speed and physical ability, but always better to just let a player dominate for another year in juniors first unless they just prove they're beyond ready when you're not talking about top 5 type talents.

I like this train of thought as well. I think a 9 game look is a great idea for someone like Gauthier

 

[Blueline Bomber]

Please move on from Staal. He's shown to be far too complacent of late, and any hope of that just being a comfort thing in Carolina went out the window when he sucked for the Rangers as well.

 

[Unsustainable]

I think you may see that line in 2 years or so.

Finnding the Beast line?

 

[geehaad]

All that complacency from EStaal resulted in nearly identical stats to Okposo.

Since the lockout:
Staal: .26 GPG / .72 PPG
Okposo: .28 GPG / .81 PPG

(if you go further back, EStaal's numbers get better)

I'm not willing to spend an additional $3M+ per year for Okposo, who is producing the same amount, if not less.

EDIT: the $3M/year is a comparison of the $4-5M for Staal to the $7-8M for Okposo, combining thoughts from different threads.

 

[Blueline Bomber]

By "producing the same amount", you mean Okposo putting up 60+ points last year and Staal accumulating less than 40?

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

Isn't the literal lesser version of Staal in every way? Big, fast, not a power forward at all, effort and leadership issues, skilled, streaky?

 

[Roboturner913]

Please move on from Staal. He's shown to be far too complacent of late, and any hope of that just being a comfort thing in Carolina went out the window when he sucked for the Rangers as well.

Put aside the emotional aspects of it, look at it from something of a "moneyball" angle. Is a 40-point winger with a strong possession/cycle game useful for the right price? I say yes.

He's gotten ragged on for being subpar defensively, not living up to expectations as captain and rightfully so. But he's also taken an unfair beating as essentially being the "face" of the team's stagnation before RF took over.

I thought he played pretty well last year in a supporting role. If the money is OK, and he's not going to be captain, I'm more than OK with him coming back. You could do a lot worse. And I've been one of his biggest detractors over the years.

 

[Vagrant]

The problem with Gauthier is that he may work himself completely out of hockey shape if he's not careful. There's a reason you don't see too many bodybuilders in the NHL. This is a game of explosive action and regardless of how strong you are, you need to be quick. It's just physics that you can't get that much meat moving without substantial force. A lot of the best players in the world look like high school kids with their shirts off. I'm not saying that being a workout freak is a *bad* thing for a hockey player, but he's going to need some guidance about making sure that bulk is functional for his vocation. He needs a nutrition plan and exercise regimen that fits his new job description. First order of business is that he shouldn't gain a lb. of muscle mass. He's already quite encumbered. Redistribute that strength to his legs and core and make him faster.

Aside from that issue, hockey sense is a question. He's a bull in a china shop and gets tunnel vision when the puck is on his tape. My plan for him would revolve around keeping him elevated long enough to watch a few Hurricanes games from up high and watching how quick the game moves. He's not ready for the lineup. It might not be unreasonable to give him 9 games to see how the game moves and let him work on what we find to be sources of weakness in his, but I don't advocate rushing him up because he's big enough to not get killed up here. The idea isn't to insert a player into the NHL when you're sure he's not going to get pushed around, it's to insert a player into the NHL when you're sure he's got something to bring to the table. We've confused those two a lot in our brief history.

 

[Roboturner913]

It's just physics that you can't get that much meat moving without substantial force.

that's what she said

 

[geehaad]

By "producing the same amount", you mean Okposo putting up 60+ points last year and Staal accumulating less than 40?

So you only consider the worth of a player based on one year's performance?

 

[Vagrant]

I wouldn't blink an eye about taking Eric back at the right money. It would be insane to rebuke one of the few guys who might be willing to take a little less than max value to play here. Especially when his presence might mean you get a happier Jordan. There are a number of cases of a player being stripped of the C and the team effectively moving on from them only to see them thrive in a less demanding role. Eric may need to get lost in the crowd a bit. I think it would be a smart move if the money is right.

 

[GoldiFox]

I wouldn't blink an eye about taking Eric back at the right money. It would be insane to rebuke one of the few guys who might be willing to take a little less than max value to play here. Especially when his presence might mean you get a happier Jordan. There are a number of cases of a player being stripped of the C and the team effectively moving on from them only to see them thrive in a less demanding role. Eric may need to get lost in the crowd a bit. I think it would be a smart move if the money is right.

That's my thinking too... I'd take Eric on a 4x$4.5 deal long before I sign Ladd or Erikkson to the contracts they will be getting. My only departure from that is Okposo as I think he is the right guy with the right skills at the right time.

 

[Ole Gil]

The upside of Eric, is that the team isn't going to score enough goals to win this year (unless something very out of the ordinary happens). Absurd possession numbers is probably their only hope.

Despite all the No Defense, No Effort talk, people stopped scoring when he was on the ice once Peters took over. He ended the year with a 2.01 GA/60, and 55% corsi.

His numbers when Cam were in goal were outstanding. 1.68 GA/60, 58.5% corsi.

I don't think he got enough credit for executing Bill Peters game plan.

The end result last year, was the top 3 lines played the opponent to a draw, and then the 4th line got demolished.

 

[bleedgreen]

Two years max for estaal imo.

I'd greatly prefer to move on though.

 

[Ole Gil]

I know +/- is out of fashion, but it highlights what the teams problem was defensively, I think. Most of the players were in a tight range of +6 for Jordan Staal to -6 of Victor Rask.

Then
Malone, -11
Terry, -12
McGinn, -14 (in 21 games)
Gerbe, -15 (in 47 games)
McClement, -17
Lindholm, -23

The scrubs at the bottom were getting annihilated.

 

[Unsustainable]

I know +/- is out of fashion, but it highlights what the teams problem was defensively, I think. Most of the players were in a tight range of +6 for Jordan Staal to -6 of Victor Rask.

Then
Malone, -11
Terry, -12
McGinn, -14 (in 21 games)
Gerbe, -15 (in 47 games)
McClement, -17
Lindholm, -23

The scrubs at the bottom were getting annihilated.

That's what scubs do, if they wasn't they would be top 6 players

 

[RodTheBawd]

I wouldn't blink an eye about taking Eric back at the right money. It would be insane to rebuke one of the few guys who might be willing to take a little less than max value to play here. Especially when his presence might mean you get a happier Jordan. There are a number of cases of a player being stripped of the C and the team effectively moving on from them only to see them thrive in a less demanding role. Eric may need to get lost in the crowd a bit. I think it would be a smart move if the money is right.

Or Eric is willing to take less than max value to continue to play in relative obscurity and little media attention in order to coast his way to retirement...

 

[RodTheBawd]

I know +/- is out of fashion, but it highlights what the teams problem was defensively, I think. Most of the players were in a tight range of +6 for Jordan Staal to -6 of Victor Rask.

Then
Malone, -11
Terry, -12
McGinn, -14 (in 21 games)
Gerbe, -15 (in 47 games)
McClement, -17
Lindholm, -23

The scrubs at the bottom were getting annihilated.

Can we run some zone start% with quality of competition for those scrubs? Maybe even a home/away split?

 

[Francis10]

So you guys are saying E Staal should take his house off the market?