Confirmed with Link: Ducks sign Carter Rowney (3 years, 3.4m total)

[Masch78]

Keep in mind, we signed Bieksa and gave him a NMC
Obviously Murray saw something, everyone else shook their heads.....

Little difference in money, don't you think so?

 

[gilfaizon]

I’ve seen Rowney play. He’s a better PKer but Grant is better 5 on 5 and can at least provide a half decent net front presence in the PP.

If Grant is getting PP time it doesn't matter who the 4C is, we'll be in for a real rough year. If Bobs goal is to make a speedy 4th line, Rowney fits that role much better than Grant does. We can argue about the term and the salary, however.

 

[pbgoalie]

Little difference in money, don't you think so?

Yes, but I’m sure they did their due diligence and consulted with scouts etc....
Signed a worthless player to a contract that contributed to us losing a very good prospect in the expansion draft......
I truly hope Rowney is solid for the three years, but I haven’t heard anybody think the term or value was worth it.....
In fairness, nobody seemed too sure when we signed Grant either, and he was very valuable to us last season
Which full circles back to being confused on this whole thing

 

[Deuce22]

If Rowney is strong on the PK, I get the signing. RC using Getzlaf and Kesler so much on the PK is not good later in the season and playoffs. Didn't think we needed to give him 3 years to lock him up, however.

 

[imjustzach]

If Rowney is strong on the PK, I get the signing. RC using Getzlaf and Kesler so much on the PK is not good later in the season and playoffs. Didn't think we needed to give him 3 years to lock him up, however.

If you look at Rowney's usage in the past, it's pretty clear that he was signed to be a PK guy. I think he had something like 60%+ dZS last season.

I said this before but I really want RC to drop Cogs down to the 4th line with Rowney if Kes is out. BM wants RC to play his 4th line more and I think the perfect way to do that is to put Cogs and Rowney with another strong defensive winger and make it the checking/PK line.

RC can play all 4 lines, our top production guys get more rest, and we can still make the most of Cogs skillset.

 

[AngelDuck]

If you look at Rowney's usage in the past, it's pretty clear that he was signed to be a PK guy. I think he had something like 60%+ dZS last season.

I said this before but I really want RC to drop Cogs down to the 4th line with Rowney if Kes is out. BM wants RC to play his 4th line more and I think the perfect way to do that is to put Cogs and Rowney with another strong defensive winger and make it the checking/PK line.

RC can play all 4 lines, our top production guys get more rest, and we can still make the most of Cogs skillset.

Well, that's why Murray should have been going after a top 6 LW. Instead, we'll get another season of Cogs on the 2nd line.

 

[imjustzach]

Well, that's why Murray should have been going after a top 6 LW. Instead, we'll get another season of Cogs on the 2nd line.

I have a hard time being upset with Murray's offseason tbh. Eaves and Kes being huge question marks as well our F prospect pool potentially being ready to start stepping in makes this season too much of a wild card at this point.

The one thing I wanted to avoid was taking on any big, unwarranted contracts and GMBM did that so I'm happy to be patient for now.

 

[AngelDuck]

I have a hard time being upset with Murray's offseason tbh. Eaves and Kes being huge question marks as well our F prospect pool potentially being ready to start stepping in makes this season too much of a wild card at this point.

The one thing I wanted to avoid was taking on any big, unwarranted contracts and GMBM did that so I'm happy to be patient for now.

So you had no interest in trying to improve after getting swept by a division rival in embarrassing fashion?
Good lord

Team either needs to make upgrades and give them a better chance to win now or start selling off assets. Why even re-sign Henrique if we aren't trying to get better?

 

[imjustzach]

So you had no interest in trying to improve after getting swept by a division rival in embarrassing fashion?
Good lord

Thats quite the strawman argument.

Obviously I want the team to improve but signing somebody just because you need them doesn't mean it's best for the team. Adding E. Kane would have helped the additional scoring that we've been looking for but 7x7 for a player who has only broken 50 points twice in his career probably ends up doing more harm than good.

If we were 1 piece away from the cup then maybe you make that move to get over that hump. But as you said, we got embarassed in the first round of the playoffs so I'd say GMBM did the smart thing and was patient to see how our prospects and kes/eaves shake out first.

If you disagree, that's totally fine. That's what discussions are for but at least represent what I'm saying fairly.

 

[duxfan1101]

So you had no interest in trying to improve after getting swept by a division rival in embarrassing fashion?
Good lord

Team either needs to make upgrades and give them a better chance to win now or start selling off assets. Why even re-sign Henrique if we aren't trying to get better?

I'm not sure what you think the Ducks could have done to get much better. We don't really have much cap space to work with and Kesler being a question mark doesn't help either. Not to mention we have a few big FAs next offseason who will need hefty raises. Realistically we are mostly stuck with this team until the end of Getzlaf and Perry's deals.

 

[imjustzach]

Team either needs to make upgrades and give them a better chance to win now or start selling off assets. Why even re-sign Henrique if we aren't trying to get better?

In response to your edit: Improving the team doesn't mean you have to win right now. Re-tooling is a thing. Right now, our year is up in the air but management might feel like in a couple years, when our young F have carved out an NHL role for themselves, we might have a better shot at the cup. Why sell the farm for a 25% chance to win for 1 year if we can hold our assets and build a team that has a 40% chance to win for 5-7 years. (Obviously relatively arbitrary numbers)

Raks, Kase, Silf, Henrique, Lindholm, Fowler, Manson, and Montour are 28 and younger. Raks, Kase, and our top 4 D are all 26 or younger. I'd rather bet on them+Steel/Terry/Comtois/Jones/Morand in 2 years than bet on Perry/Kes returning to prime form. Who knows, if RC implements a new system for the first time in his career and resurrects Scorey Perry then we can trade for a rental at the TDL. I'm just not convinced making that move right now is the right thing to do.

 

[duckpuck]

If you look at Rowney's usage in the past, it's pretty clear that he was signed to be a PK guy. I think he had something like 60%+ dZS last season.

I said this before but I really want RC to drop Cogs down to the 4th line with Rowney if Kes is out. BM wants RC to play his 4th line more and I think the perfect way to do that is to put Cogs and Rowney with another strong defensive winger and make it the checking/PK line.

RC can play all 4 lines, our top production guys get more rest, and we can still make the most of Cogs skillset.

From an on the ice perspective, I agree Cogs on a 4th line with Rowney makes sense - seems like it could be a good checking line and open up top 9 positions for younger guys. However, it then makes me again wonder why we're paying a 4th line winger (Cogs) $3.25M.

I don't mind the Rowney signing but like others question the term. I have to believe it is a combination of believing Rowney was a hidden gem (i.e., the analytics show him having a lot of upside) who can take the PK load off of Getz/Kes and planning for expansion (i.e., having him under contract to offer in expansion). Far less risk/awful than the Bieksa/Stoner/Sutton/Souray contracts we're used to seeing.

 

[Masch78]

Well, that's why Murray should have been going after a top 6 LW. Instead, we'll get another season of Cogs on the 2nd line.

Wait, wasn't Troy Terry a fixture at the top 6 not long ago ;-)?

That's why I said on the other topic, the openings for the young players are there and the Ducks need them to step up.

I also don't get the retooling argument. Whom do you sell to retool and not rebuild? Perry would help the most but is nearly impossible, Kesler & Eaves are questionmarks. Monty, Kase, Ritchie, Gibson all need new contracts and will get more, some significant more.

So lets say Monty +3m, Kase +2,5m, Ritchie +1m, Gibson +2.5m (he makes 3.3m this year). That's 8m more. Combind it with the unmoveable contracts and the signed core players, we don't have much to retool.

I can even see the Ducks moving one of Larsson or Petterson, depending on who makes the team.

 

[imjustzach]

From an on the ice perspective, I agree Cogs on a 4th line with Rowney makes sense - seems like it could be a good checking line and open up top 9 positions for younger guys. However, it then makes me again wonder why we're paying a 4th line winger (Cogs) $3.25M.

We pay him because his PK, defensive prowess, and character (gives 100% every shift) are there. Plus he puts up 30points every year so I'd say he's well worth the 3.25 tag. And being on the 4th line vs the 2nd line isn't that big of a difference (in my proposition) since the checking line changes from the 2nd to the 4th. All you're really doing is taking off the pressure from that line to score which really should have never been their job in the first place.

Wait, wasn't Troy Terry a fixture at the top 6 not long ago ;-)?

I also don't get the retooling argument. Whom do you sell to retool and not rebuild? Perry would help the most but is nearly impossible, Kesler & Eaves are questionmarks. Monty, Kase, Ritchie, Gibson all need new contracts and will get more, some significant more.

So lets say Monty +3m, Kase +2,5m, Ritchie +1m, Gibson +2.5m (he makes 3.3m this year). That's 8m more. Combind it with the unmoveable contracts and the signed core players, we don't have much to retool.

I can even see the Ducks moving one of Larsson or Petterson, depending on who makes the team.

I think the way we're understanding the term "retool" is different. I'm not saying they have to sell players off, just that they're shuffling lines, bringing in new bodies, trying out some of the prospects, etc. Right now, with all of the question marks, GMBM did the right thing and only made low-to-no risk signings. Once we know where we're at with Eaves/Kes and the rest of our boys, then he can make a bigger commitment to either pushing for the Cup or preparing for the next season.

And while I don't necessarily mean selling people off when I say "retool", if we did need to move bodies then Ritchie, Silf, Perry (if he waives), one of our non-top 4 D, or one of our F prospects (like Jones) are all solid trade chips that I could see us moving if needed. I'm pretty sure GMBM said something about having a RW as a trade chip at the STH Q&A.