Speculation: Gostisbehere placed on waivers by Philly

[izlez]

im guessing Yzerman is trying to keep as much cap space as possible. Maybe he plans to get aggressive in the offseason? IDK, cant really think of any other reason we wouldnt claim Ghost

Maybe he's hoping to make a move and trade for a 27 year old defender who regularly scores at a 50 point pace and while he has his ups and downs, isn't a total liability defensively.
Those guys are available all the time!
And when they hit UFA, they love signing with a last place team. And they love waiving no trade clauses to join those teams too.

I don't get it. I don't get why every team isn't looking at grabbing him.

 

[Roomba With a Bauer]

The more I think about how the team is operating, the more I am thinking that Yzerman is constrained with an internal cap and also not expecting this team to compete for a very long time.

 

[lhsgolf19]

I’m sorry, some of you guys have lost your minds, it’s not a big deal

Yes I might have taken a shot but I understand why they didn’t.... no else claimed him, that makes you think

 

[jaster]

I saw a couple people mention that not claiming him doesn't bode well for the Wings being active in free agency this offseason. Which leads me to believe that people think (thought?) Detroit is going to be active in free agency this offseason. Like, active beyond what Yzerman did last offseason? Like, a big signing? Multiple big signings?

I've been expecting Detroit to do the same thing this coming offseason as the last. Just fill holes with cheap, short-term pickups. Partly because of COVID and suppressed revenue, but also because that's still where we're at in this rebuild. We're still a long way off from competing, so shooting your load on expensive free agents now only handcuffs you later on when you're actually ready to be competitive. Re-sign Bernier. Re-sign LFG. Re-sign Ryan. Re-sign Merrill. Sign whatever else is needed to fill out the roster. Done.

As for the trade deadline, I've said multiple times this season that I expect it to be very quiet. My vote in the poll I made a month and a half ago was that Detroit would manage to trade 2 players by the deadline. And now I'm thinking even that may have been a little ambitious.

 

[ShelbyZ]

I would call them for the trade then. I still don't get why he was waived?

The Flyers most likely put a feeler out hoping to sell him without any sort of retention and/or taking back salary from the interested teams, but found no takers. Somebody taking him on waivers would've been the next best thing before they have to resort to retaining remaining salary, paying up a draft pick to help move him, take on salary from the acquiring team, or a combination of the 3.

Seems to me that teams don't want to take on any sort of perceived negative salary (which SG may be from the Flyers POV at least) unless salary is going the other way, or they're getting some kind of Staal and a 2nd type return.

 

[Steve Yzerlland]

The more I think about how the team is operating, the more I am thinking that Yzerman is constrained with an internal cap and also not expecting this team to compete for a very long time.

Maybe his cap hit is dead and alive like the cat paradox.

 

[Ghost of Ethan Hunt]

I think
- declining revenue
- flat cap
- covid protocols
- closed int'l borders
- looming expansion
- asset retention desirability

Have all contributed to no desire to take on cap and move out assets by every organization and GM

It will be a very quiet TDL and summer with little value returned via trade vs previous expectations

Hopefully the TDL/offseason don't play out like that, but they certainly could. It's strange too b/c the KHL had some contraction in recent seasons & now team Admiral Vladivostok will be playing again in 21-22.

Guess the KHL is like a Honda Accord to the NHL's Lamborghini Sesto Elemento. Smaller investment, lesser risk vs. bigger & more risk.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

We just took on Marc Staal and his full contract without getting any retention from NY, so you tell me.

Sadly this cemented my belief that Yzerman was forced to buyout Abdelkader's contract just to do that. Which explains that dumbass decision as well when we kept saying staple him to the taxi squad and keep more flexibility moving forward. I don't like the signs and frankly I don't like what I am hearing from people I trust around the team either so yeah I am getting more concerned.

This tank plan isn't as fool proof as some are peddling either at this point.

 

[SirloinUB]

The optics of not claiming Ghostisbehere are very uninspiring.

 

[ricky0034]

Wings have DeKeyser,Staal, AND Nemeth on the left side and the 29th best powerplay in the league so I can see why they didn't want this guy

 

[Steve Yzerlland]

Lock this thread before I get an infraction please.

 

[saska sault]

The optics of not claiming Ghostisbehere are very uninspiring.

Guess the entire league is just like us! Too bad the professional hockey minds don't listen to the HF Boards.

 

[Frk It]

We're still a long way off from competing, so shooting your load on expensive free agents now only handcuffs you later on when you're actually ready to be competitive.

How long can you have this mindset?

I mean, to just keep kicking the can down the road as far as when to "start trying" seems like a dangerous game to play to me. Plus how many losing seasons are OK for a GM to keep his job? Even if you're a team legend, like you can't just keep saying oh we are a long ways away forever... right?

You have to get incrementally better. We aren't just gonna flip a switch and say, guess it's time to compete now.

 

[lilidk]

Guess the entire league is just like us! Too bad the professional hockey minds don't listen to the HF Boards.

I understand Yzerman, he doesn't want us to get better to get higher pick at the draft, but what about all those stupid GMs who don't want to pick superstar for free

 

[Go Wings]

Guess the entire league is just like us! Too bad the professional hockey minds don't listen to the HF Boards.

The entire league isn't as shit as Detroit on defense. It is stupid not to claim Ghost with the joke of a defense we put out every game.

 

[WingNut]

How long can you have this mindset?

I mean, to just keep kicking the can down the road as far as when to "start trying" seems like a dangerous game to play to me. Plus how many losing seasons are OK for a GM to keep his job? Even if you're a team legend, like you can't just keep saying oh we are a long ways away forever... right?

You have to get incrementally better. We aren't just gonna flip a switch and say, guess it's time to compete now.

Yeah it is getting tough to watch no. This team is garbage, stagnant, tiring, boring, and uncompetitive. They need to make a move just to keep fans interested because right now it’s brutal! It’s like Groundhog Day every game.

 

[SirloinUB]

Guess the entire league is just like us! Too bad the professional hockey minds don't listen to the HF Boards.

Context matters man.

For starters only 4 or 5 teams have the cap space to take him on. Detroit, Ottawa, NJ and LA are those teams. LA currently has a top 10 PP so I can see why they’d pass on a pp specialist. NJ has Ty smith as a young offensive LHD, Ottawa has chabot and to a lesser extent Brannstrom so I can see why they passed.

Detroit has the space, a terrible PP and a need for an offensive LHD. So yea, it is uninspiring to see them pass on the opportunity to add Ghostisbehere.

On the other hand, as I’ve already pointed out in this thread, I’m hopeful that this is simply about leverage and Yzerman will trade for him after working with Philly on the finances of it all.

I don’t think it’s the end of the world to pass on him but yea, Detroit is singular in terms of having the need and space to fit the player.

 

[TCNorthstars]

I understand Yzerman, he doesn't want us to get better to get higher pick at the draft, but what about all those stupid GMs who don't want to pick superstar for free

Ghost isn't even a star let alone a super star.

 

[TheOtherOne]

We just took on Marc Staal and his full contract without getting any retention from NY, so you tell me.

We did that as a favor in return for sending us a 2nd rounder. If we "wanted to" we would have done it for free.

 

[Cyborg Yzerberg]

I called it. I’m not mad about it. I’d rather have gotten him, but I just assumed he’d clear.

Teams really are incredibly gun shy about adding salary right now.

 

[saska sault]

We have a thread about using our cap space as a weapon... But now we are gonna bail out other teams waiver wire claims in HOPES (big question mark) it makes us better? If Ghost is the solution to our puck moving and PP issues he would not be on waivers. Everyone has different opinions but I tend to trust the few select minds when it comes to the fact no one considers him an asset worth taking for free... Same as Tyler Johnson. You may improve your team? You may not.. But at the end of the day its a free buyout for your competition and still ties up some our cap on a player Yzerman and Co. may not consider a good pick up.

 

[jaster]

How long can you have this mindset?

Until guys like Seider and Raymond are making an impact in Detroit and the addition of big name free agents actually has a positive impact.

I mean, to just keep kicking the can down the road as far as when to "start trying" seems like a dangerous game to play to me. Plus how many losing seasons are OK for a GM to keep his job? Even if you're a team legend, like you can't just keep saying oh we are a long ways away forever... right?

The difference here is that you view what's happening as kicking the can down the road, and if that's how you view it, the rest of your post makes sense. But I see things playing out pretty much, on a macro level at least, as I expected. The rebuild was always going to take a long time. They always do, but this one was going to take even longer because of how much the previous GM handcuffed the organization (in terms of a rebuild). This rebuild A) started later than it should have, and B) was knee-capped when it did start because of decisions made related to part A.

Detroit's rebuild only truly started less than 2 years ago. With the hiring of Yzerman. Consider the big picture and keep that in mind. We're still in the early stages of it. I'd guess about 33% of the way. Rebuilds require patience, something that most fans are in critically short supply of, by their very nature. So it's no surprise the amount of hand-wringing over this. I get the frustration, truly, but buckle up, because there's a long way to go.

You have to get incrementally better. We aren't just gonna flip a switch and say, guess it's time to compete now.

I agree. The incremental improvements so far have been shedding, or letting run out, the horrible contracts on this roster (which is still happening), to maximize cap flexibility. Additionally, taking low risk gambles that can pay off, like the Fabbri trade. And drafting high and in quantity for several years, banking on an infusion of young talent, led by players like Seider.

Those items take a while to play out, and it's not until they all do that it makes sense to add additional pieces with big contracts and starting to make your push. This team is not positioned yet to make that push. This team is going to suck for a while yet, and it's going to feel like the incremental improvements are not happening due to the on-ice product still being shit. But they are happening. Adding big name free agents this summer just doesn't make sense.

 

[Sentinel]

Disappointing.

 

[Frk It]

Until guys like Seider and Raymond are making an impact in Detroit and the addition of big name free agents actually has a positive impact.




The difference here is that you view what's happening as kicking the can down the road, and if that's how you view it, the rest of your post makes sense. But I see things playing out pretty much, on a macro level at least, as I expected. The rebuild was always going to take a long time. They always do, but this one was going to take even longer because of how much the previous GM handcuffed the organization (in terms of a rebuild). This rebuild A) started later than it should have, and B) was knee-capped when it did start because of decisions made related to part A.

Detroit's rebuild only truly started less than 2 years ago. With the hiring of Yzerman. Consider the big picture and keep that in mind. We're still in the early stages of it. I'd guess about 33% of the way. Rebuilds require patience, something that most fans are in critically short supply of, by their very nature. So it's no surprise the amount of hand-wringing over this. I get the frustration, truly, but buckle up, because there's a long way to go.




I agree. The incremental improvements so far have been shedding, or letting run out, the horrible contracts on this roster (which is still happening), to maximize cap flexibility. Additionally, taking low risk gambles that can pay off, like the Fabbri trade. And drafting high and in quantity for several years, banking on an infusion of young talent, led by players like Seider.

Those items take a while to play out, and it's not until they all do that it makes sense to add additional pieces with big contracts and starting to make your push. This team is not positioned yet to make that push. This team is going to suck for a while yet, and it's going to feel like the incremental improvements are not happening due to the on-ice product still being shit. But they are happening. Adding big name free agents this summer just doesn't make sense.

I agree with a lot of what you are saying here, and this is a very well thought out post. It does suck that I feel today that we are going to be absolutely awful for at least the next 3 years, and I pretty much felt the same way 3 years ago, but we are where we are.

I guess as far as your last sentence goes, what's the harm? Even if we pursued all the big free agents every summer, odds are most don't want to come here. But if we were able to add 1 this year, 1 next year, and then 3 years from now some of these kids are ready to hit their stride... aren't we in a better spot than if we just sit on our hands for 3 years and wait for Raymond, Seider to arrive and THEN go after free agents/pick ups? What if no one good is hitting the market that year we are ready to compete? Or what if they aren't interested in us?

I think we should be taking the chances we have to improve this team when they are there.

 

[19 for president]

There were only a few teams that had the cap space and room to add him. Why take him for free if you can make Philly pay you to take him. Teams are playing hard ball this year with cap space. Maybe they'll have a situation like TB with Johnson, where Kucherov's injury opened up space. Maybe they won't and have to give up a pick or prospect in addition to Ghost to get him off the team. The closer we get to the deadline, the more desperate teams will get.

Ghost doesn't change where this team is currently. He may not even change where we are next year. Stevie is in no rush to help another team, and Chris isn't going to spend just to spend. If they don't view him as a long term piece (5+ years), and our goal is still tanking atm, then why spend to improve when it doesn't really move the needle.

If their main concern was only money: Staal, Strecher, Merril, Vladdy, Greiss, Ryan would have all not been signed. We could have iced the below roster and not spent anything extra:

Bert-Larkin- Mantha
Fabbri- Flip- Zadina
Nielson-Ras- Erne
Smith- Glenny- Helm

Hronek-DDK
Nemeth- Cholo
Lindstrom- Biega

Bernier
Pickard

With that said I would have liked them to take the chance, because I really think this forward group is better than shown and that a large portion of that is due to defense. Stevie and gang could be gunning for a true franchise player in 2022 and not want to improve too much before then.