Free Agent Frenzy

[Scoresberg]

So, I'm still seeing Anthony Mantha as an RFA and I'm wondering if he even is a part of Detroit's plan going forward? Would be a terrific acquisition for us, only 25 years old and has had some solid production on a shitty team. I'm wondering if a Burakovksy-type deal could get it done?

2021 2nd + 2022 3rd + Tolvanen ? They might ask for Ingram, though, which I would be fine with. Different conference and we already have Saros until Askarov comes over.

 

[jumb0]

So, I'm still seeing Anthony Mantha as an RFA and I'm wondering if he even is a part of Detroit's plan going forward? Would be a terrific acquisition for us, only 25 years old and has had some solid production on a shitty team. I'm wondering if a Burakovksy-type deal could get it done?

2021 2nd + 2022 3rd + Tolvanen ? They might ask for Ingram, though, which I would be fine with. Different conference and we already have Saros until Askarov comes over.

Scratch that

 

[Legionnaire11]

Had a dream last night that we signed Duclair for $7M lol

 

[OldFan]

Contract question: Are players currently being paid anything?
Usually by this time the season is underway. I’ve lost track of effective dates for most everything and I am curious about players under contract and paychecks.

 

[Legionnaire11]

Contract question: Are players currently being paid anything?
Usually by this time the season is underway. I’ve lost track of effective dates for most everything and I am curious about players under contract and paychecks.

They only get paid during the season, except for bonuses which are paid at the start of the league year regardless of games being played. If the NHL gets a late start and plays a 48 game season, their contract will be prorated to 48 games. If the league cancels the whole season, players don't get paid anything other than their bonuses.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Had a dream last night that we signed Duclair for $7M lol

Wow, that better be spread over like 3 years.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Contract question: Are players currently being paid anything?
Usually by this time the season is underway. I’ve lost track of effective dates for most everything and I am curious about players under contract and paychecks.

Well actually if you read the news headlines the way things were set up in the CBA-extension-MOU they all just got paid 8.1% of their 2020-21 salaries on Friday.

 

[Scoresberg]

Poile has to have some plan in his mind to improve the offense, there's no way that as a contending team we're gonna go into the season with +$10 mil in cap space and just run with the kids.

Whether the improvement is Killorn, Marchessault or Hoffman I have to believe Poile isn't looking at this roster and telling himself that this team has what it takes to win the Cup.

Mantha was a pipe dream but there are still decent options we could explore and we can afford to wait out the cap-strained teams.

Right now what's bothering me is that I'm not even sure Poile knows in what state this team is in, are we re-tooling, rebuilding or contending? Because looking at this group of players, it could pretty much be any one of those things.

 

[triggrman]

Which kids? Trenin is for sure better offensively than Watson so there is no risk there. So who replaces Bonino, Turris and Granlund? You think asking Kunin, Tolvanen and Tomasino to do this is risky? Having 2 rookies in your top 9 isn’t risky.

 

[triggrman]

Which kids? Trenin is for sure better offensively than Watson so there is no risk there. So who replaces Bonino, Turris and Granlund? You think asking Kunin, Tolvanen and Tomasino to do this is risky? Having 2 rookies in your top 9 isn’t risky.

 

[OldFan]

They only get paid during the season, except for bonuses which are paid at the start of the league year regardless of games being played. If the NHL gets a late start and plays a 48 game season, their contract will be prorated to 48 games. If the league cancels the whole season, players don't get paid anything other than their bonuses.

Wow! That’s sort of what I thought. Some rookies and minimum salary guys might be looking for work. Been a long off season for many.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Which kids? Trenin is for sure better offensively than Watson so there is no risk there. So who replaces Bonino, Turris and Granlund? You think asking Kunin, Tolvanen and Tomasino to do this is risky? Having 2 rookies in your top 9 isn’t risky.

I would think just replacing the lost dregs of Watson, Turris, and Granlund isn't really sufficient. It may not be a tall order for Trenin, Tomasino, and Kunin to replace their offense. But I think we kind of want to get BETTER than last year. And it would be a much taller order for the rookies to score as much as guys like Hoffman and Killorn did last year. I think that's more who you have to stack the rookies up against, not the outgoing disappointing players.

 

[jumb0]

Contract question: Are players currently being paid anything?
Usually by this time the season is underway. I’ve lost track of effective dates for most everything and I am curious about players under contract and paychecks.

This was on October 22nd

 

[triggrman]

I would think just replacing the lost dregs of Watson, Turris, and Granlund isn't really sufficient. It may not be a tall order for Trenin, Tomasino, and Kunin to replace their offense. But I think we kind of want to get BETTER than last year. And it would be a much taller order for the rookies to score as much as guys like Hoffman and Killorn did last year. I think that's more who you have to stack the rookies up against, not the outgoing disappointing players.

How do we know Hoffman would perform that well here? We’ve seen that numbers drop for whatever reason.
Also to get better we just need to out perform the one they’re replacing

 

[BigFatCat999]

I'm curious about Granlund. Who signs him?

 

[Predsanddead24]

I'm curious about Granlund. Who signs him?

Rumor early on was Columbus but I haven’t heard much of anything about him since then.

 

[OldFan]

I'm curious about Granlund. Who signs him?

He’s is the highest paid unsigned UFA forward. Made more than Hoffman last year.
Granlund’s problem is his former contract.
Good luck on a raise.

 

[Scoresberg]

Which kids? Trenin is for sure better offensively than Watson so there is no risk there. So who replaces Bonino, Turris and Granlund? You think asking Kunin, Tolvanen and Tomasino to do this is risky? Having 2 rookies in your top 9 isn’t risky.

Well.. Poile did just throw $20 mil out the door from his offense and while I agree the change was necessary I'm not sold on that this team is better than the team that didn't make the playoffs last season.

On top of that, why did Poile just buy out Turris if he isn't going to use that cap space on anything (addition by substraction?), because that 8 year penalty looks UGLY. Why didn't he re-sign Smith for that bargain deal, if he isn't going to use the available cap space on anything?

Trenin is better than Watson for sure, but with Bonino, Granlund, Turris and Smith, Poile threw 62 goals out the window. Kunin is good for about 15-20 goals on the 2nd line and we obviously need more goals from our top guys which Poile is banking on. Having two rookies in the top-9 isn't all that risky but there are waaay too many question marks on this team for it to be a contender.

How do we know Hoffman would perform that well here? We’ve seen that numbers drop for whatever reason.
Also to get better we just need to out perform the one they’re replacing

We don't. But Hoffman's probably the closest thing to a sure thing in the UFA market and on the trade market we could explore. On a one-year deal, we could overpay to get him and it wouldn't hurt us because we will have +$10 mil in the cap space after we sign Kunin.

We're light on forwards as it is and that's why I don't think that by signing Hoffman we'd be blocking the kids if that's the route Poile wants to go. We'd just be adding a proven scorer into the mix.

 

[Armourboy]

Poile has a plan, it just might not be what you want it to be. He may see this year as a transition year and if he get someone on a cheap deal he may pick them up, but if it's not a steal he may be more than happy just to save the owners some money and see what the young guys have. This may especially be the case if he believes they won't make it through a full season.

 

[Scoresberg]

Poile has a plan, it just might not be what you want it to be. He may see this year as a transition year and if he get someone on a cheap deal he may pick them up, but if it's not a steal he may be more than happy just to save the owners some money and see what the young guys have. This may especially be the case if he believes they won't make it through a full season.

Transition year sounds likely, however that is the worst situation to be in. Not good enough to contend, not bad enough to get a high pick.

Also, this core isn't getting any younger and with the contract structure we have now, I think we should try to make the moves needed to contend. We might lose Ekholm to Seattle and Forsberg's contract is up in two years, right now he's playing on a really cheap contract. Saros is our starting goalie at $1,5 mil but needs a new deal next summer.

 

[Roman Yoshi]

I think you are seeing the challenges that an attendance based league has. Financials are probably a lot tighter than everyone thinks.

AND

Poile is wise for waiting this out and seeing how teams against the cap are going to make it. If you havent noticed the Preds aren't the only team in limbo. Everyone is clearly waiting for some dominos to fall and they haven't yet.

 

[herzausstein]

Well.. Poile did just throw $20 mil out the door from his offense and while I agree the change was necessary I'm not sold on that this team is better than the team that didn't make the playoffs last season.

On top of that, why did Poile just buy out Turris if he isn't going to use that cap space on anything (addition by substraction?), because that 8 year penalty looks UGLY. Why didn't he re-sign Smith for that bargain deal, if he isn't going to use the available cap space on anything?

Trenin is better than Watson for sure, but with Bonino, Granlund, Turris and Smith, Poile threw 62 goals out the window. Kunin is good for about 15-20 goals on the 2nd line and we obviously need more goals from our top guys which Poile is banking on. Having two rookies in the top-9 isn't all that risky but there are waaay too many question marks on this team for it to be a contender.



We don't. But Hoffman's probably the closest thing to a sure thing in the UFA market and on the trade market we could explore. On a one-year deal, we could overpay to get him and it wouldn't hurt us because we will have +$10 mil in the cap space after we sign Kunin.

We're light on forwards as it is and that's why I don't think that by signing Hoffman we'd be blocking the kids if that's the route Poile wants to go. We'd just be adding a proven scorer into the mix.

My opinion:

We're better off without the distraction being caused by the Turris mess. He's also better off getting into a more stable place. I hope that he can get his game back.

Smith - it's my understanding he may of wanted a change of scenery. We utilized him as a 3RW most of his career.

Bonino - we weren't going to re-sign him after this season... might as well try and get something for him. Kunin is intriguing. I hope it works out.

I think Hoffman would be a good add on a 1 year deal but i'm really interested to see how this offseason plays out with some of the teams at or above the cap. Tampa is at the cap with some good RFAs still to sign. Only Killorn (M-NTC), Point, and Vasilevskiy have larger contracts and moderate/no trade protections. All the others have full NTC or NMC. If those players (like TJ) won't waive to a team that can afford them, then they may have to part with a player like Point. I believe they'll pay a huge price to move TJ rather than move Point. If TJ is willing to come here and none of the other teams that can afford him, I hope Poile takes TBL to the cleaners.

 

[herzausstein]

Transition year sounds likely, however that is the worst situation to be in. Not good enough to contend, not bad enough to get a high pick.

Also, this core isn't getting any younger and with the contract structure we have now, I think we should try to make the moves needed to contend. We might lose Ekholm to Seattle and Forsberg's contract is up in two years, right now he's playing on a really cheap contract. Saros is our starting goalie at $1,5 mil but needs a new deal next summer.

Flat cap may help with Forsberg's contract. He's a mid 60 points/season forward. The old rate used to be ~1M per 10 points. So i'd say his contract is fair rather than cheap. He'll get a pay bump but it shouldn't be more that 1.5M/season.

Ekholm - Unless Kunin is a revalation, i don't see why we wouldnt go 4 4 1. Protect Duchene, Joey, RV, Forsberg as forwards and expose Kunin, Sissons, Jarnkrok, Grimaldi, Cousins, Trenin. We'll lose a middling forward but there's not a huge need to trade Ekholm (except for aging/expensive d core).

 

[Armourboy]

Transition year sounds likely, however that is the worst situation to be in. Not good enough to contend, not bad enough to get a high pick.

Also, this core isn't getting any younger and with the contract structure we have now, I think we should try to make the moves needed to contend. We might lose Ekholm to Seattle and Forsberg's contract is up in two years, right now he's playing on a really cheap contract. Saros is our starting goalie at $1,5 mil but needs a new deal next summer.

Like I said he has a plan, what that is, who knows. Could be an evaluation year to see what he needs to do based on the coaching staff, could just be waiting for the right deal, or could be trying to save as much money as possible while still fielding a somewhat competitive team. You could come up with a dozen answers and still be wrong with how the season is going to unfold.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Flat cap may help with Forsberg's contract. He's a mid 60 points/season forward. The old rate used to be ~1M per 10 points. So i'd say his contract is fair rather than cheap. He'll get a pay bump but it shouldn't be more that 1.5M/season.

Ekholm - Unless Kunin is a revalation, i don't see why we wouldnt go 4 4 1. Protect Duchene, Joey, RV, Forsberg as forwards and expose Kunin, Sissons, Jarnkrok, Grimaldi, Cousins, Trenin. We'll lose a middling forward but there's not a huge need to trade Ekholm (except for aging/expensive d core).

Well let me see how Johansen and Duchene perform before I commit to protecting both of them in a 4-4-1 scheme. I know they SHOULD be good enough to protect... but they weren't last year. $8M worth of cap space is an asset. Or if they are bad again, it's also possible Seattle would just rather not take those contracts and you could effectively get a bonus protection by exposing one.

But likewise let me see how Ellis, Ekholm, and Fabbro look on D. At some point Ellis' contract will become a burden. And next year's UFA market on D looks pretty capable of providing a replacement for him. Perhaps at a better flat-cap payment.

The cap space and contract length of some of these players you would normally think of as "automatic protections" should be taken into account more seriously. Especially if we are pushing PAUSE on trying to contend and are entering a "transition" phase. And especially in a more depressed UFA market than was the case when they were originally signed.