How long before we bring up skill players from the minors?

[TJinAZ]

So looking at our opening night roster and its lack of firepower I wondered how long we will last until we start integrating the rookies?

We have all speculated about the conversations between Tippett and GMDM about our roster. We are for the most part assuming DT got his way in keeping the vets over our younger skill players. The question is if we stumble out of the gate how long does GMDM let it go before either trading for offense or bringing up talented prospects?


1-5 games

5-10 games

11-20 games

Normally I enjoy games against the Jets as we have a good record against them but this year.... I would have to favor them in our home opener. We simply can't make enough saves to win. You have to actually score goals to do that.

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[rt]

I think at least part of the equation is cash-flow. We aren't going to pay the likes of Klinkhammer, Chipchura and Summers NHL money to play in the minors. We won't be able to compel any other team to take them off of our hands. Right now the likes of Lessio, Rieder, and Gormley are making AHL money, not NHL money. They've got two way deals. To reverse the trios, it'd cost us a couple of million dollars that we just don't have.

So if we can get some desperate team to take Klinkhammer or Chipchura for free, then we might see movement. Or if that new prospective owner does end up buying a majority share, and our budget gets upped a couple of million bucks, then you might see some movement there, as well.

It's also possible that Klinkhammer rebounds, and becomes effective again. Same goes for Chipchura and Summers.

 

[GiveAFlyingPuck]

Lack of firepower? You have forgotten we have the scoring juggernaut, Dave Moss.

 

[RABBIT]

I'm afraid my tolerance of Chipchura has worn thin. When he first came to the desert as a physical winger, I was pretty stoked. He seemed to have a lot of energy and wouldn't hesitate to drop the gloves for his teammates. Now after a couple years of having him, it seems that he has become too comfortable here. He doesn't have the same tenacity, toughness, or overall heart that he appeared to have upon arrival. Combine that with his consistent underwhelming scoring ability year after year...now I just see him as a wasted roster spot that could've been had by someone more deserving. Sadly this eventual decline seems to be pretty common league-wide with 3rd/4th line grinders, which is why players in their role are most often moved. However I will say that I do notice that "home-grown" players who came up the hard way through their draft team's system seem to have the most success, and tenure for that matter among their peers in this position. For example, now that we have Hodgman as a mainstay and Chipchura is no longer needed at center, I firmly believe that a home-grown player like Jordan Szwarz would be much more effective for us currently, and in the long run.

I'd be willing to give Klinkhammer one more chance, I see him as the "lesser of the two evils" for lack of a better term. He shows a lot of heart and if used properly, could prove to be an annoyance to play against. He just had an off year. He hasn't really been here that long and before Arizona, hadn't really been given a full season's chance. With that being said, if he displays the same play we saw last year of him (similar to Chipchura's last TWO seasons) then I really wouldn't be sad to see him go, either. Dave Tippett's motto, afterall, is putting players on the ice who can make the "right contributions to help us win" when in reality, it just seems that he'd rather play it safe and stick with the slumping veteran who he's groomed into his system rather than take a chance on the new guy who could potentially provide more to his team.


tl;dr If Chip and Klink continue with their lackluster play, I wouldn't hesitate to replace them as quick as I possibly could, preferably with someone who's worked hard to learn our system like Szwarz...but coach Tipp and I may have varying opinions of the matter.

 

[The Feckless Puck]

In my mind it's going to come down to injuries. I think Gormley will be the first callup because right now I don't see how Michalek's going to go very long without aggravating his existing lower-body issues. As for the forwards, well... you gotta figure that Marty Hanzal is probably tops on the IR-proneness list, so Gaudet is probably the guy who would be up to replace him.

 

[Summer Rose]

About 60 games is my guess.

 

[rt]

Agreed Rabbit.

 

[RABBIT]

Agreed Rabbit.

The only bad part is the market. Right now, I can't think of any team in need of a Kyle Chipchura. Klinkhammer maybe, but with teams finalizing their rosters and looking to shed contracts rather than gain, it's a big maybe. I mean neither of them have hindering contracts, but I would imagine that if anybody IS still looking to add to their current roster, that most of them would rather spend a little more on a guy like Brodziak, versus settling for less in Chip. All in all, we need Maloney to want to trade one (or both) of these guys. We need him to aggressively want to work his magic, because we all pretty much know that nobody is going to be knocking down Don's door for them.

 

[Summer Rose]

The only bad part is the market. Right now, I can't think of any team in need of a Kyle Chipchura. Klinkhammer maybe, but with teams finalizing their rosters and looking to shed contracts rather than gain, it's a big maybe. I mean neither of them have hindering contracts, but I would imagine that if anybody IS still looking to add to their current roster, that most of them would rather spend a little more on a guy like Brodziak vs. settling for less is Chip. All in all, we need Maloney to want to trade one or both of these guys. We need him to aggressively want to work his magic, because we all pretty much know that nobody is going to be knocking down Don's door for them.

If our goal is to offload Klinkhammer and Chipchura our best bet is going to be to find someone who will do what Winnipeg did to Peter Budaj. Actual dollars are our concern which is why we keep those two up in the NHL instead of waiving them and assigning them to the AHL if they clear. If we could find a team willing to send them packing to the A without concern for the fact that they'd still be getting paid their one-way money, that would be ideal. Does such a team exist? Probably not.

 

[RABBIT]

About 60 games is my guess.

Do you think it will be on an injury basis or are we actually going to see Don and Tip be aggressive and open to the idea of demoting guys who aren't cutting it? I'm hoping we don't just try and ride the storm like we did last year. I literally don't remember ANY significant demotions or call ups last season, aside from the whole Klesla debacle. They would complain about guys not contributing but then play the same roster the next five games. Time for management to get their balls back.

If our goal is to offload Klinkhammer and Chipchura our best bet is going to be to find someone who will do what Winnipeg did to Peter Budaj. Actual dollars are our concern which is why we keep those two up in the NHL instead of waiving them and assigning them to the AHL if they clear. If we could find a team willing to send them packing to the A without concern for the fact that they'd still be getting paid their one-way money, that would be ideal. Does such a team exist? Probably not.

Nor do I think Maloney really has the motivation to find such team right now, unfortunately. They seem pretty content, when I really wish they weren't. I really doubt we'll see Lessio or Rieder get more than just a brief cup of coffee to wake up the slackers. I still think Szwarz is a deserving candidate.

 

[Summer Rose]

Do you think it will be on an injury basis or are we actually going to see Don and Tip be aggressive and open to the idea of demoting guys who aren't cutting it? I'm hoping we don't just try and ride the storm like we did last year. I literally don't remember ANY significant demotions or call ups last season, aside from the whole Klesla debacle. They would complain about guys not contributing but then play the same roster the next five games. Time for management to get their balls back.



Nor do I think Maloney really has the motivation to find such team right now, unfortunately. They seem pretty content, when I really wish they weren't. I really doubt we'll see Lessio or Rieder get more than just a brief cup of coffee to wake up the slackers. I still think Szwarz is a deserving candidate.

Yes and no, but the fans (at least the crop here at HF) and the management are probably not going to have the same definition of who's cutting it and who's not. Also any auditions that players will get in new roles are going to be longer than we find comfortable. I'm more okay with the latter than the former though, because I already consider this year a wash.

 

[letowskie]

Lack of firepower? You have forgotten we have the scoring juggernaut, Dave Moss.

haha, this is epic.