^ Are you implying we should sign him?
I'm a bit surprised he's still available too, but I'm not sure he's a fit here, unless we're looking to trade Eakin shortly.
*Steps in*
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*Abilify exits and Skrillex enters*
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*Ears bleed out, panic ensues*
In other news, I’d really like to sign Jiri Tlusty. Can’t believe he is still unsigned. I guess he has already turned down as many as 5 PTOs, but I’d have no problem signing him to a guaranteed contract outright.
Where does he fit? It isn't like he pulled up any trees in Winnipeg and he pushes us towards the cap and roster limit. Sending down Moen is only a partial savings and we need McKenzie to have some experience to help smooth the turnover in the bottom 6. Preserving flexibility now means more room to maneuver if there's a problem that needs to be fixed mid-season.
How much are you expecting him to cost? To the best of anyone’s knowledge he has only received PTOs and hasn’t yet received a guaranteed contract offer. I really doubt it would take much more than a million dollars on a 1 year term. 900k of Moen’s salary will be taken off the books if he is sent to the AHL, give that to him and chuck in a couple extra 100k if need be. Chump change. Change I’d gladly spend to add another decent NHL player to the team to add decent forward depth and help in the inevitable event of injuries.
Aside: We’re at 48 contracts now, I’m perfectly fine adding another.
I think we're seeing a trend where those kind of guys aren't getting deals because that's where GMs are cutting costs. Another factor is that guys like Gagliardi don't make enough money to buy NHL teams because they park Moen's 1.85m in the minors. McKenzie is a solid bet to go down if someone comes in, particularly since the owner has consistently talked about our budget instead of the cap. It's also about opportunity cost and having somebody else take the risk on a Tlusty or Glencross that we can scoop up at midseason if we need to.
We certainly are seeing a trend where GMs are unwilling to sign solid NHL calibre players, seems like there are a handful of guys who go unsigned until September every year and end up signing deals just like the 800K contract Tlusty just signed. So what we have as a result is a fairly sizable market inefficiency, in general, I just think it’s just good business to take advantage of those market anomalies wherever possible.
Moen is the result of an investment (Gonchar) gone bad, nothing more. He is a very bad NHL player at this point and I would very much consider him to be a sunk cost. And much like how men of Gaglairdi’s ilk don’t acquire wealth by spending $1.85 million on useless assets, they also don’t (or at least shouldn’t) keep spending assets by chasing bad investments. And I would argue that is roughly equivalent to what giving Moen any playing time would accomplish (ie. sacrificing potential wins, and the revenue that comes along with them, by icing an inferior roster).
Hypothetically if Tlusty did sign with Dallas and Moen was sent down, I would’ve been very happy. If Tlusty signed and McKenzie was sent down, I’d still be fairly pleased. McKenzie is 24 years old, pretty much in the prime age range of the average forward and he has still yet to lay claim to a roster spot. I like him as a player, but he is inferior to Tlusty.
I’d also like to point out that Dallas seems perfectly content to go into the season with 8 defenseman, and of course pay that 8th defenseman to sit in the press box, any team concerned over a million dollars shouldn’t be comfortable starting a season paying a superfluous player. And I would also argue strongly that Tlusty would've had a much greater positive impact on the Stars than either Jokipakka or Oleksiak will.
That’s an opportunity cost I don’t want to have pay, it usually costs at least a 3rd round pick to bring in a player like Tlusty midseason, not a massive cost by any stretch, but also not insignificant, smart teams keep their picks.
We save over 500k actual dollars by bumping McKenzie to Cedar Park. Also, there are 23 spots on the roster for a reason; the argument could be made that the Stars use of a 22 man roster last year is evidence of the importance of conserving real dollars as well as cap space.
This is a brand new thing, in previous seasons Glencross and Tlusty and Bergenheim and Stempniak and Boyes would all be signed by now to actual deals. There are always no-hope vets who get PTOs because of the requirements for experience in preseason but this level of PTO player is unprecedented.
You're right about opportunity cost being the issue, but the opportunity cost is of having stop gaps blocking the development of our young players. Is it better to pay Tlusty 1m for 1 year or try to get 2 to 3 years out of a McKenzie or a Scevior at under 700k? Scevior puts up ppg numbers that are only a whisker behind Tlusty's without the benefit of Eric Staal or Jeff Skinner. If you work it right, and the Stars have drafted plenty of guys with NHL floors, then you can save money every year by skipping the mercenaries while also finding a guy or two to rise beyond the 4th line hopefully. If McKenzie never makes it to that level, or Scevior plays himself into too big a contract, letting go costs nothing.
We don't have time to waste worrying about picks either. If it costs a 2nd to shift the risk onto some hopeless team, so be it.
Just going off memory; Gilbert, Raymond, and the aforementioned Brad Boyes all went unsigned well into September a couple years ago and Prospal couldn't get an offer despite producing at over a 50 point pace each of his last 4 years in the league. It's not brand new to this year, but it still shouldn't happen, and it may be getting worse.
If Gagliardi doesn't want to spend an extra 500k then by all means bump down McKenzie, wouldn't be my first option but like I said, Tlusty is better. And being that we are a bubble team, the value of a win far outweights any inhibited development of a player who can't lock down a 4th line job at 24 years old.
Costing a 2nd to shift the risk? Don't know what your getting at. Would Tlusty at under a million be a risk? To the contrary I'd say adding cheap depth is about as prudent a way as any to insulate yourself from the inevitable injuries, cold streaks etc. which occur every season.
There's always a risk a new guy doesn't work out, and Tlusty peaked in the last lockout season. Does this Tlusty make hay with Vernon Fiddler playing 10 minutes a night? He didn't show much last season, does he have anything left? We'd be hoping he's another Horcoff, but odds are just as good that he's another Moen.
Jiri Tlusty is 27 lol
That's a fountain of youth compared to Horcoff and Moen.
His play isn't trending up, and guys wash out at different ages.