Confirmed with Link: Craig Smith 5 years, 4.25M AAV

[TootooTrain]

It would be 2 years. 1 year makes him an UFA, Poile would want to capture at least 1 year of that.

Good call. Wasn't sure when his RFA status expired.

 

[RaiderDoug]

Well I think that would be a little high so lets just assume Wilson gets 3.25 this leaves 12 mil in cap space going into next season.

F/A's next year
Jones
Foresberg
Goose
Hodgson
Moses
Borque
Ekholm
Bartley
Jarnkrok
Hutton
there are some hefty raises going to be needed. Jones, FF9, Ekholm, are going to eat up most of the cap left but there are going to be positions open that will have to be filled or paid for. Jones FF9 and Ekholm right now only occupy 2.0 mil between the three in cap. Next year at minimum they will require 14 mil 5 each for Jones FF and 4 for Ekholm. Therefore 6 more players are going to be needed on the cheap. Goose will be gone, Poile will not be able to afford 2 mil for him, Hodgson and probably Moses are going to require a decent raise the others can sign less than 1 mil per or they play more rookies.

Then is 2017 the team has no 1C or 2C and has Neal in need of a contract. People wanted this team to spend at the top of the cap well you now have it. The question is How do you make the team better at this point. Move Jones or FF9 to prevent a cap crunch? Sign them and fill out the roster with Poiles reclamation projects?

So celebrate all you wish bad things are coming and its going to disappoint more people than me.

I'll worry about 2017 when we get there. I trust that solutions will present themselves - they always do.

In the meantime, I really like 2015's team.

 

[Bringer of Jollity]

Ol' low-ball Dave strikes again. Err..what?!

 

[Flgatorguy87]

I'll worry about 2017 when we get there. I trust that solutions will present themselves - they always do.

In the meantime, I really like 2015's team.

I agree.

You play to win the game. No prizes for who has the longest window of contention open.

 

[Gnashville]

That will buy a whole lot of turd polish over the next few years.

 

[PredsHabs]

It is really hard to read your posts sometimes, do you use your phone or something? Anyway, Neal is signed for three more years. Here you go, I even went pretty high on Jones/Forsberg IMO:

Forsberg (6.0) - Ribeiro (3.5) - Smith (4.25)
Wilson (4.0) - Fisher (4.4) - Neal (5.0)
Jarnkrok (1.5) - Hodgson/Whoever (2.5) - Fiala (.895)
Watson (.575) - Gaustad or replacement (2.0) - Borque/Whoever (.875)

Weber (7.86) - Josi (4.0)
Ekholm (3.5) - Ellis (2.5)
Jackman (2.0) - Jones (6.0)

Rinne (7.0)
Backup (1.0)

Buyouts
Clune - .283
Stalberg - .667
Nystrom - .5

Just a random quick roster, but it comes in around 70 million, still leaves room for a 13th forward and 7th D-man. I don't think Jones/Forsberg will be 12 million combined either, I just went high on them on purpose.

He is not asking about this team with Fisher and Ribeiro as #1 & #2 C. He is saying how will we replace them and re-sign Forsberg, Jones, and Ekholm , and offer Neal a contract because he will have one year left once Ribeiro and Fisher deals are up.


My opinion is that Wilson will be moved(maybe now or later, unless he signs a second/third line deal) due to the depth on LW. He is good but not replaceable.

Just because Josi and Ellis signed team friendly deals does not mean Jones and Ekholm will do the same. No reason to doubt they will but just throwing out the idea.

I like Smith re-signing for five years.

 

[Infinite Jest]

He is not asking about this team with Fisher and Ribeiro as #1 & #2 C. He is saying how will we replace them and re-sign Forsberg, Jones, and Ekholm , and offer Neal a contract because he will have one year left once Ribeiro and Fisher deals are up.


My opinion is that Wilson will be moved(maybe now or later, unless he signs a second/third line deal) due to the depth on LW. He is good but not replaceable.

Just because Josi and Ellis signed team friendly deals does not mean Jones and Ekholm will do the same. No reason to doubt they will but just throwing out the idea.

I like Smith re-signing for five years.

There are millions of things that can happen between now and two years from now. It's downright stupid to worry about what ifs 2+ years down the road, there are a million variables between now and then. You can talk about every single team in the NHL having a cap disaster in 2+ years if this player is amazing or that player demands 8 million when his ELC runs out, yet every team manages.

Here you go though: In 2017 (or before) trade Jones/Weber for a 1C and use the 8 million from Ribeiro/Fisher to get a 2C and replacement RD. There's one of a billion options. Some people aren't happy unless they're *****ing about something, even if it is a hypothetical doomsday in 2+ years.

 

[jstreet]

That will buy a whole lot of turd polish over the next few years.

 

[PredsHabs]

There are millions of things that can happen between now and two years from now. It's downright stupid to worry about what ifs 2+ years down the road, there are a million variables between now and then. You can talk about every single team in the NHL having a cap disaster in 2+ years if this player is amazing or that player demands 8 million when his ELC runs out, yet every team manages.

Here you go though: In 2017 (or before) trade Jones/Weber for a 1C and use the 8 million from Ribeiro/Fisher to get a 2C and replacement RD. There's one of a billion options. Some people aren't happy unless they're *****ing about something, even if it is a hypothetical doomsday in 2+ years.

Look at Tampa Bay's Cap problem coming.
Look at Chicago this year, moving key pieces.

There are a million things that can happen, but saying worrying about things down the road is crazy seems to be crazy too, this seems to be what Poile is doing(just my opinion).

Wilson if his demands are crazy will be moved. We have depth on LW and he is a borderline top sixer(in my opinion)

Maybe Hodgson can become our #2C, who knows.

 

[Armourboy]

Trying to pre-plan every move years in advance is just about as crazy as not worrying about it at all. You have to plan for certain things, but also need to be flexible enough to be able to make some moves if something doesn't work out.

You may reach a point where you are up against the cap, with any good team that will eventually happen. The key though is to sign good contracts, so that even if you are up against it you can trade or move players much more easily.

Hitting or being up against the cap isn't what gets teams in trouble, what gets them in trouble is when you are saddled with a bunch of overpaid contracts from people that have stopped contributing.

 

[AtlantaWhaler]

Great deal. The $4.25 is about right, but the term is great. We're going to have him here for his best years.

 

[glenngineer]

Well I think that would be a little high so lets just assume Wilson gets 3.25 this leaves 12 mil in cap space going into next season.

F/A's next year
Jones
Foresberg
Goose
Hodgson
Moses
Borque
Ekholm
Bartley
Jarnkrok
Hutton
there are some hefty raises going to be needed. Jones, FF9, Ekholm, are going to eat up most of the cap left but there are going to be positions open that will have to be filled or paid for. Jones FF9 and Ekholm right now only occupy 2.0 mil between the three in cap. Next year at minimum they will require 14 mil 5 each for Jones FF and 4 for Ekholm. Therefore 6 more players are going to be needed on the cheap. Goose will be gone, Poile will not be able to afford 2 mil for him, Hodgson and probably Moses are going to require a decent raise the others can sign less than 1 mil per or they play more rookies.

Then is 2017 the team has no 1C or 2C and has Neal in need of a contract. People wanted this team to spend at the top of the cap well you now have it. The question is How do you make the team better at this point. Move Jones or FF9 to prevent a cap crunch? Sign them and fill out the roster with Poiles reclamation projects?

So celebrate all you wish bad things are coming and its going to disappoint more people than me.

If both of those are requiring decent raises, that's a good thing, it proved their worth and if this team does what it did last year with the addition of scoring from the third line, we may be raising something else.

Also, some of these guys are playing for their first big contract and they may play lights out. Then again, they may fall flat on their faces at the same time. You never know.

Here's a question, we shouldn't pay our own homegrown talent money when they aren't even top pairing guys(Jones and Ekholm), yet other GM's are going to come in and offer big RFA contracts to them? What if they don't produce as a top pairing guy compared to their contract? GM's lose jobs over this. GM's lose trading partners over this. All three of our RFA's next year will get raises but nothing even close to what you are thinking. All Poile has to do is qualify them and if it needs to go to arbitration it will. What are comparable numbers for guys like Jones and Ekholm? If Josi signed like he did, Ek won't get that sort of deal. Closer to what Ellis is getting is more likely. Jones, unless he jumps to the second pairing and is our number 3 best defender won't get a massive contract either. Remember Weber and Suter when they were RFA's? $4.5 million for Weber and $3.5 for Suter. Jones might hit $4.5, might but he won't since he's not a top pairing guy here. Not saying he won't play like one on the second pairing but he's going to have to have a monster jump in his play to gain a huge pay day.

Also, guys getting offer sheeted, while it is an option, happens very rarely. If it's a reasonable offer we match it and no team will make an unreasonable offer for any of these guys at this point. We worry about things that happen so rarely it's scary. What if this happens, what if that happens. You can't control certain things. What Poile can control is what he signs his players for and he does a pretty good job of that compared to other GM's and teams in the NHL.

 

[Scoresberg]

If both of those are requiring decent raises, that's a good thing, it proved their worth and if this team does what it did last year with the addition of scoring from the third line, we may be raising something else.

Also, some of these guys are playing for their first big contract and they may play lights out. Then again, they may fall flat on their faces at the same time. You never know.

Here's a question, we shouldn't pay our own homegrown talent money when they aren't even top pairing guys(Jones and Ekholm), yet other GM's are going to come in and offer big RFA contracts to them? What if they don't produce as a top pairing guy compared to their contract? GM's lose jobs over this. GM's lose trading partners over this. All three of our RFA's next year will get raises but nothing even close to what you are thinking. All Poile has to do is qualify them and if it needs to go to arbitration it will. What are comparable numbers for guys like Jones and Ekholm? If Josi signed like he did, Ek won't get that sort of deal. Closer to what Ellis is getting is more likely. Jones, unless he jumps to the second pairing and is our number 3 best defender won't get a massive contract either. Remember Weber and Suter when they were RFA's? $4.5 million for Weber and $3.5 for Suter. Jones might hit $4.5, might but he won't since he's not a top pairing guy here. Not saying he won't play like one on the second pairing but he's going to have to have a monster jump in his play to gain a huge pay day.

Also, guys getting offer sheeted, while it is an option, happens very rarely. If it's a reasonable offer we match it and no team will make an unreasonable offer for any of these guys at this point. We worry about things that happen so rarely it's scary. What if this happens, what if that happens. You can't control certain things. What Poile can control is what he signs his players for and he does a pretty good job of that compared to other GM's and teams in the NHL.

Right on the money.

I think Ek will get 2,75-3,25M and Jones will get 4M max. Forsberg's number is still in the air, it depends so much on how he does next year.

Byrddog you are throwing so many if's in the air that we can't even catch them anymore. My opinion is that we are in a great cap situation now and we will be in a controllable situation next summer, too. The next problem we are gonna face is truly in 2017 when we don't have #1C or #2C. But that's two years from now so I think Poile will come through with something again. I think our #2C could then be Jarny, Hodgs or Kamenev.

 

[Enoch]

If both of those are requiring decent raises, that's a good thing, it proved their worth and if this team does what it did last year with the addition of scoring from the third line, we may be raising something else.

Also, some of these guys are playing for their first big contract and they may play lights out. Then again, they may fall flat on their faces at the same time. You never know.

Here's a question, we shouldn't pay our own homegrown talent money when they aren't even top pairing guys(Jones and Ekholm), yet other GM's are going to come in and offer big RFA contracts to them? What if they don't produce as a top pairing guy compared to their contract? GM's lose jobs over this. GM's lose trading partners over this. All three of our RFA's next year will get raises but nothing even close to what you are thinking. All Poile has to do is qualify them and if it needs to go to arbitration it will. What are comparable numbers for guys like Jones and Ekholm? If Josi signed like he did, Ek won't get that sort of deal. Closer to what Ellis is getting is more likely. Jones, unless he jumps to the second pairing and is our number 3 best defender won't get a massive contract either. Remember Weber and Suter when they were RFA's? $4.5 million for Weber and $3.5 for Suter. Jones might hit $4.5, might but he won't since he's not a top pairing guy here. Not saying he won't play like one on the second pairing but he's going to have to have a monster jump in his play to gain a huge pay day.

Also, guys getting offer sheeted, while it is an option, happens very rarely. If it's a reasonable offer we match it and no team will make an unreasonable offer for any of these guys at this point. We worry about things that happen so rarely it's scary. What if this happens, what if that happens. You can't control certain things. What Poile can control is what he signs his players for and he does a pretty good job of that compared to other GM's and teams in the NHL.

Pretty good response.

 

[David Singleton]

Trying to pre-plan every move years in advance is just about as crazy as not worrying about it at all. You have to plan for certain things, but also need to be flexible enough to be able to make some moves if something doesn't work out.

You may reach a point where you are up against the cap, with any good team that will eventually happen. The key though is to sign good contracts, so that even if you are up against it you can trade or move players much more easily.

Hitting or being up against the cap isn't what gets teams in trouble, what gets them in trouble is when you are saddled with a bunch of overpaid contracts from people that have stopped contributing.

To quote Eisenhower:

In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.

In essence, from a hockey perspective, a general manager should use every avenue available to create long term plans, but be prepared to react to the changing situation and take advantage of opportunities to win the war, er, Cup.

Those avenues involve creating a team that is a mix of strong veterans on shorter contracts so that they can be phased out for younger players on the farm- like the contracts to Fisher and Ribeiro and all those center prospects drafted this year. If they aren't ready in three years, you adjust.

Other avenues include playing a certain number of young players on ELC contracts- like Forsberg, Jones and Fiala.

Mix in low-risk and high-reward players to fill in the gaps whenever possible- Roy, Moses, Ribeiro (last year), Hodgson.

A star player or two to provide leadership and push the team when needed have to be part of the plan- Weber, Rinne.

Etc, etc.

The point is that you make the best plans that you can. Then you re-assess and adjust accordingly when opportunities present themselves or situations occur (ie, the Weber offer sheet). You have to do that because things don't always go according to plan.

 

[Byrddog]

View attachment 84021


Congrats to Smith I have now promoted him to.

GOLDEN POLISHED TURD

Now go earn that gold. Your getting paid for it and my scrutiny will just increase from here.

 

[Drake744]

View attachment 84021


Congrats to Smith I have now promoted him to.

GOLDEN POLISHED TURD

Now go earn that gold. Your getting paid for it and my scrutiny will just increase from here.

On the bright side there's not that much to scrutinize.

 

[Byrddog]

On the bright side there's not that much to scrutinize.

Hahaha

You don't watch much hockey huh.

 

[Drake744]

Hahaha

You don't watch much hockey huh.

Nah....watched it the majority of my life....just had to say it. Though I will admit to being a Smith fan and am also oddly intrigued in your ability to hate a solid player so much and part of me wants to know where that came from.

 

[Infinite Jest]

Nah....watched it the majority of my life....just had to say it. Though I will admit to being a Smith fan and am also oddly intrigued in your ability to hate a solid player so much and part of me wants to know where that came from.

It is rather perplexing. Craig Smith is a pretty good 2nd liner, there are definitely other players on the Preds more deserving of criticism.

 

[Cashville]

Very happy with this; big time Smithers fan. He has real, individual scoring talent combined with speed and enough size to not get manhandled. I'm happy with Poile's proactive signing philosophy; there is risk, but there can be material cap upside. Josi's was the first contract of this style in recent memory, then you saw some other teams do similar deals. Sign Wilson to a similar term/$$$ deal and call it a day.

Haters gonna hate, but I am still a huge fan of Poile; think he's one of the better GMs out there.

 

[Drake744]

Very happy with this; big time Smithers fan. He has real, individual scoring talent combined with speed and enough size to not get manhandled. I'm happy with Poile's proactive signing philosophy; there is risk, but there can be material cap upside. Josi's was the first contract of this style in recent memory, then you saw some other teams do similar deals. Sign Wilson to a similar term/$$$ deal and call it a day.

Haters gonna hate, but I am still a huge fan of Poile; think he's one of the better GMs out there.

As someone whose last name is Smith, I disapprove of this nickname

 

[Armourboy]

As someone whose last name is Smith, I disapprove of this nickname

This is why you don't pick your own nickname

 

[Cashville]

As someone whose last name is Smith, I disapprove of this nickname

101st always yells at me for calling him Smithers. In his opinion, Smithson is the one and only Smithers.

/insert Highlander gif

 

[hockey diva]

I believe his team nickname is Smitty.