David Booth III (MOD Warning Post #123)

[biturbo19]

It just reeks of the whole Keith Ballard thing all over again. Oh we'll just give him one more chance to rebound and stay healthy. Oh just one more chance. Ah he hasn't had a fair shake, let's give him another chance. At some point, you just have to cut your losses, swallow the $$$ and move on.

I mean, if we're not going to do anything else to improve the team for next year, then fine, let Booth stick around. But i can't say i'm at all a fan of that strategy. When it turns into something like the Ballard case though, where keeping the guy and his salary around starts restricting what the team can do with the rest of its roster...that's bad news.

 

[blendini]

If Booth isn't bought out, I doubt there will be any new additions to the team.

The increased cap will pay for the new salaries of Kassian, Tanev and possibly signing Santos. Who knows what happens to Schoeder, Dalpe, Weber, Alberts,etc.

Not much $ for adding a Moulson or Statsny.

 

[canuck4life16]

It really depend what the cap will be next season? it not even confirmed yet

 

[VanillaCoke]

It just reeks of the whole Keith Ballard thing all over again. Oh we'll just give him one more chance to rebound and stay healthy. Oh just one more chance. Ah he hasn't had a fair shake, let's give him another chance. At some point, you just have to cut your losses, swallow the $$$ and move on.

I mean, if we're not going to do anything else to improve the team for next year, then fine, let Booth stick around. But i can't say i'm at all a fan of that strategy. When it turns into something like the Ballard case though, where keeping the guy and his salary around starts restricting what the team can do with the rest of its roster...that's bad news.

The problem is were not one of season from being cup contenders so what's the incentive to pay a guy for doing nothing. Same reasoning I don't think torts is going anywhere.
IF gillis needs the cap space to make a big signing (I doubt it) then he could buy out booth, but with the cap going up anyhow cap space shouldn't be a problem.
It's only 1 more season, and it's really only 2m of worth you're not getting.

 

[vanuck]

I like plus hope we keep him

Do you think there has been a change in his on-ice results reflecting the news about his ankle supposedly taking a year to recover? That 3rd line seems to have been playing very strongly as of late.

 

[Verviticus]

Do you think there has been a change in his on-ice results reflecting the news about his ankle supposedly taking a year to recover? That 3rd line seems to have been playing very strongly as of late.

i think he was pretty unlucky for a period of time between injuries and just bad shooting luck and i think he and kassian play well together. honestly, higgins kesler booth played pretty well in the time they were together years ago too

not a fan of richardson in the middle but whatever

re the injury, i dunno. athletes will say or look to anything for positive signs to build off of instead of attributing them to variance, and we only have his word to go off of. either way i don't think its unsustainable or not repeatable so it probably doesn't much matter why

 

[Love]

Do you think there has been a change in his on-ice results reflecting the news about his ankle supposedly taking a year to recover? That 3rd line seems to have been playing very strongly as of late.

I think so. I didnt know that his injury was supposed to take that long, but it makes sense now.

 

[Fat Tony]

I think so. I didnt know that his injury was supposed to take that long, but it makes sense now.

High ankle sprains are notoriously slow healing. Crosby had one and there were questions at the time if he would ever fully heal.

 

[Chubros]

It just reeks of the whole Keith Ballard thing all over again. Oh we'll just give him one more chance to rebound and stay healthy. Oh just one more chance. Ah he hasn't had a fair shake, let's give him another chance. At some point, you just have to cut your losses, swallow the $$$ and move on.

I mean, if we're not going to do anything else to improve the team for next year, then fine, let Booth stick around. But i can't say i'm at all a fan of that strategy. When it turns into something like the Ballard case though, where keeping the guy and his salary around starts restricting what the team can do with the rest of its roster...that's bad news.

Pretty much this. Not buying out Booth is tantamount to not trying to get better next year, just to save a few bucks.

 

[Verviticus]

Pretty much this. Not buying out Booth is tantamount to not trying to get better next year, just to save a few bucks.

ya like when new jersey passed up losing the 29th overall because they wanted to pass up the 30th overall and instead dropped from ~12th to 30th this year. good management decisions off of quality principles!

 

[Chubros]

ya like when new jersey passed up losing the 29th overall because they wanted to pass up the 30th overall and instead dropped from ~12th to 30th this year. good management decisions off of quality principles!

How are those two things at all related?

 

[mangdas]

Why was the HNIC crew all praising Booth as if he'd improved his game leaps and bounds in the last stretch? Hes the same old David Booth, and the same buyout candidate he was before.

 

[ManoWarrior]

He's either eating up cap space if we're a good team or taking away from young players' ice time if we're a bad team (time better spent on Horvat/Matthias/Jensen/maybe Shinkaruk). Buy him out

He could have been a great addition and it was a good risk to take at the time, but he doesn't do anything well or consistent enough to stay on the team

 

[vanuck]

High ankle sprains are notoriously slow healing. Crosby had one and there were questions at the time if he would ever fully heal.

And that's just talking about ankle sprains too; for him the injury seemed to be of a much more severe type.

 

[vanuck]

i think he was pretty unlucky for a period of time between injuries and just bad shooting luck and i think he and kassian play well together. honestly, higgins kesler booth played pretty well in the time they were together years ago too

not a fan of richardson in the middle but whatever

re the injury, i dunno. athletes will say or look to anything for positive signs to build off of instead of attributing them to variance, and we only have his word to go off of. either way i don't think its unsustainable or not repeatable so it probably doesn't much matter why

His possession numbers were down to start this year IIRC and some posters commented on his skating - he looked a step slower out there compared to the past - as being a major reason for that. Hence why I wondered if his ability to drive play has begun to pick up again lately and be reflected in the numbers (I haven't been tracking them game-by-game though), and if it could be a result of his ankle getting better for good.

If that is the case, I could see an argument for keeping him around if he gets back to form. For me it has always been predicated on whether he can get back to pushing play in the right direction at the sort of level we've come to expect from him.

 

[Verviticus]

yeah, he's definitely playing better. no idea if that has to do with a healed groin, knee, head, ankle etc...

anyways hes been good enough for the past month and theres not enough to do with his cap space that id just like to have him so he probably signs a 1.5m or whatever deal the year after. hes good depth and probably will be cheap

 

[m9]

High ankle sprains are not something that lasts months and months. It's a much more common injury in football, and NFL players typically come back 6-8 weeks in full health and they put alot more pressure on their ankles than hockey players do. Saying that it's something people thought Crosby would never recover from is highly dramatic and pretty laughable.

 

[Nona Di Giuseppe]

Pretty much this. Not buying out Booth is tantamount to not trying to get better next year, just to save a few bucks.

No. It's not.

This is so absolutely ridiculous. People do not know how to judge a hockey player apparently.

First -- Don't look at his salary.

Second -- Does he contribute in any of the slots available within 4 lines ?

If the answer to the 2nd is yes, he will not be bought out. He's an overpaid player that still contributes to this team. He's about 2 mil overpaid. Unless there's deal on the plate which that salary is needed, losing him is a step back.

Having cap space doesn't mean a thing unless there's something better to fill it with. We have lost of cap space now.

 

[Nona Di Giuseppe]

Why you guys so bent on gaining cap space anyway ? Booth's fine for a third liner. At least his numbers say so. He's been better at moving the puck into the offensive zone then the ****ing Sedins this year. Not sure which player you're looking at here. He's not amazing, but he's definitely a good third liner.

 

[Chubros]

No. It's not.

This is so absolutely ridiculous. People do not know how to judge a hockey player apparently.

First -- Don't look at his salary.

Second -- Does he contribute in any of the slots available within 4 lines ?

If the answer to the 2nd is yes, he will not be bought out. He's an overpaid player that still contributes to this team. He's about 2 mil overpaid. Unless there's deal on the plate which that salary is needed, losing him is a step back.

Having cap space doesn't mean a thing unless there's something better to fill it with. We have lost of cap space now.

1) Absolutely you look at his salary. If you can get a more productive FA with his cap space then you do it (a point to which you have alluded).

2) The question should be: can another player contribute more in place of him in the lineup?

Booth's contributions have been so sporadic that he has been a healthy scratch on numerous occasions and while he has looked decent in a couple of stretches this season, he has contributed little in the majority of games where he has played. Expect more of the same next season if he is around.

Simply put, keeping Booth incurs an opportunity cost. His cap space could be better spent elsewhere and his place in the lineup would be better filled with either a FA or a young player from within the organization. If you don't think the team can do better than Booth, than you simply don't have very high expectations for the organization next year.

 

[bo2shink*]

1) Absolutely you look at his salary. If you can get a more productive FA with his cap space then you do it (a point to which you have alluded).

This could be said of any single player on a team.

Booth has one year left and unless his salary is preventing an important move there is little reason for the Aquis to buy him out.

 

[LOLKarlsson*]

Why you guys so bent on gaining cap space anyway ? Booth's fine for a third liner. At least his numbers say so. He's been better at moving the puck into the offensive zone then the ****ing Sedins this year. Not sure which player you're looking at here. He's not amazing, but he's definitely a good third liner.

He's a great third liner, just hit cap hit sucks. People hate it because they think if we get rid of him somehow that equates into us signing Stastny.

 

[VanillaCoke]

1)

2) The question should be: can another player contribute more in place of him in the lineup?

Simply put, keeping Booth incurs an opportunity cost. His cap space could be better spent elsewhere and his place in the lineup would be better filled with either a FA or a young player from within the organization. If you don't think the team can do better than Booth, than you simply don't have very high expectations for the organization next year.

Nope.
The question is can we get an actual player that's definitely going to produce more for the same amount.
Look at the FA list, there's not a lot of options. Is paying a player 4m for nothing worth 'losing' ~2m in value for one season.... Probably not.

As has been said if there's no big moves where the cap space is needed booth is staying. I'd bet he is at this point.

 

[huntison]

Nope.
The question is can we get an actual player that's definitely going to produce more for the same amount.
Look at the FA list, there's not a lot of options. Is paying a player 4m for nothing worth 'losing' ~2m in value for one season.... Probably not.

As has been said if there's no big moves where the cap space is needed booth is staying. I'd bet he is at this point.

Agreed.

 

[Chubros]

Nope.
The question is can we get an actual player that's definitely going to produce more for the same amount.
Look at the FA list, there's not a lot of options. Is paying a player 4m for nothing worth 'losing' ~2m in value for one season.... Probably not.

As has been said if there's no big moves where the cap space is needed booth is staying. I'd bet he is at this point.

By some reports, the cap will not go up as high as previously thought due to the weakened Canadian dollar. The Sedins' cap hits will both increase plus some extra cash will be required to resign Tanev, Kassian, and potentially Santorelli. And there's Luongo's retained salary to factor in, too.

And there are some FAs available - Gaborik, Vanek, Iginla, Callahan, Ott, Statsny, Cammalleri, etc. But you will need the cap space to take a run at one of them. Maybe not all are fits, but there are definitely players out there that could improve this team.

And if you can't find anywhere to spend the money at the start of the season, then the team has cap flexibility to make an acquisition mid season if someone becomes available.

And failing that, you give the slot to a young player in the system.

Oh, and as to Booth providing $2m in value? That's laughable. Maybe he provides $700k worth of value and that's probably generous.

Again, keeping Booth is tantamount to the team not trying to get better.