- Jan 17, 2018
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I wouldn't blame him either. But my guess is there isn't much cash for a 36-year-old who seems to max out at 30 games. I think if the Canes offer anything north of $1.25M he stays.
Prospect Info: Hurricanes Prospect Info and Discussion - Part VII - Cliff Pu and other shit
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Joe McGrath
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- Oct 29, 2009
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My Special Purpose
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If there's one thing we've established from our goalie play this season, it's that McElhinney is a near-perfect *elite* backup goalie. Every team with an established starter will be looking to sign him this summer, and there's no way he signs a one-year, $1.25m deal. "Likes it here" simply doesn't mean he's going to leave his kids' college money on the table.
And if we're being honest, we're not a great fit for McElhinney. Like I said, he's a perfect fit for a team with an established starter (Vasilevskiy, Gibson, Price, etc.). Toronto would *love* to have him back, I'm sure. And how perfect would a Fleury/McElhinney duo be in Vegas? We don't have that *lock* for 55+ games that would compliment McElhinney perfectly. I appreciate what he did here, but we can't give him what others will, and I wish him well.
So that leaves Mrazek and Nedeljkovic. I don't think it's perfect, but it's better than we're used to. At some point, you've got to trust the development time and give a guy a shot. How is Ned going to "prove it" at the NHL level if you don't play him? And say what you will about nothing being guaranteed, but the single biggest predictor of future success is past results. And his results are excellent, regardless of how he gets it done.
It's a good point about McElhinney. Carolina can afford to keep both he and Mrazek, but other teams can afford to bring him on as a backup or potential 1B as well.
In addition to the backup to the established starter, there are some 1B/experienced backup positions I could see working:
Colorado jumps out to me if Varlamov walks to pair with Grubauer. Maybe Calgary to pair with Rittich or STL with Binnington, both places where he could have a chance at some longer stretches if the starter falters a bit.
In addition to the backup to the established starter, there are some 1B/experienced backup positions I could see working:
Colorado jumps out to me if Varlamov walks to pair with Grubauer. Maybe Calgary to pair with Rittich or STL with Binnington, both places where he could have a chance at some longer stretches if the starter falters a bit.
FreshSeabass
Aho!
Cardiac Jerks
Asinine & immoral
It’s possible. We’ve landed a few in the past. I think Jeremy Welsh was fairly highly regarded when we signed him.
NotOpie
"Puck don't lie"
Probably not the barometer we'd want to use. I'd probably be more comfortable going after a guy like Josh Wilkins, but any of these 4 year NCAA guys are a bit of a bust risk....or a AAAA type (see Poturalski, Andrew).
Cardiac Jerks
Asinine & immoral
Obviously he didn’t turn into anything but he was one of the more sought after fa’s and he chose us.
I ageee with you though in regards to the potential of these players. I’ve never been too big on college free agents. Very very few have ever become much of anything
DougieSmash
WE'RE IN! WE'RE IN! YES! YES! WOO!
- Jan 2, 2009
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Yeah, I prefer some guys from KHL, Finland or Czech.
- Jan 17, 2018
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I actually think the organization is going to have quite the pool as it is. Luostarinen, Mattheos, and Cotton all likely to be in Charlotte. The push will be on to get Fox in the organization. Sellgren might be ready to come over. Both Booth and Helvig appear ready for regular AHL starts. Lorentz and Smallman should both be regulars for the Checkers. Considering that Necas and Ned are the only two likely to move up from the Checkers, that is a deep roster.
Cardiac Jerks
Asinine & immoral
Possibly a few other guys move on. Poturalski, for example, may want to join an organization where he feels he has a better chance to get some nhl time. I think Brown is a ufa as well.
NotOpie
"Puck don't lie"
Yeah, that didn't come out the way that I wanted it to....my point is that we should make sure we do our due diligence on these guys just like we would any others. We've been almost certainly sending scouts to Harvard, Northeastern, Boston College, Wisconsin, and Yale games to get a read on our own prospects. We likely went to a few others as well.
On a related note we have 7 NCAA prospects, 4 of which have a decision to make (and by corollary so do the Canes).
Adam Fox
David Cotton
Luke Stevens
Luke Martin
Jack Drury has 3 years of NCAA eligibility remaining. Matt Filipe and Max Zimmer both have 1 year remaining.
Fox and Cotton seem like no brainers to try and sign. My guess is those conversations are going on right now (although Harvard may have a shot at the post-season and I'm not sure when the ECAC tournament is/ends). I think Boston College is done and I know that Michgan just played their last games. I'm not sure it matters about Yale and Stevens.
Luke Martin seems like a puzzle. In all the rookie camps I've seen, he's been outstanding against his peers. In his first couple of years he was considered a very capable shut down defender at Michigan (granted they haven't had the best of teams these last few years). This year, however, he ended the season a periodic healthy scratch. I'll be interested to hear what the Canes do with him (RHD in the Pesce mold).
In the end, I think we'll see a changing of the guard in Charlotte (and/or Florida) with one or more of Poturalski, Brown, Wesley, and Carrick riding off into the sunset (read: not offered a contract). If Cotton can play center (he played a lot of wing in college, but has also played center) he may slot in there, but I think he ends up as a power forward. I think we'll see some combination of Roy, Geekie, Bishop, and Luostarinen down the middle. Of the two Finns in Charlotte, I actually think Saarela's skills translate more to the NHL than Kuokkanen's (although I'm still hopeful for Janne). One of them will have to force his way into the NHL conversation or perhaps one gets moved. Other new faces likely include Stelio Mattheos, Jesper Sellgren, and despite my personal misgivings, perhaps Brendan DeJong.
Julien Gauthier and Steve Lorentz almost certainly both have bigger roles next year, Goat as one of the "go to" scorers, and Lorentz as a bottom sixer. This year's great team is likely rebuilt, still pretty good, but probably chock full of new faces.
Vagrant
The Czech Condor
it doesn't seem to me that luke martin is a puzzle, he's just a guy that doesn't have the offensive instincts to be considered anything other than a project at this point. i never understood the hype behind him for that reason. he's 6'4" and skates and probably would have been a first round pick in the early aughts, but the understanding of the game has evolved. the offensive element is no longer seen as optional. even among our guys we consider shutdown defenders, like the aforementioned pesce, you need the basic offensive base to build upon to drive possession and therefore diminish the amount of time you're in your own end. pesce was an absolute offensive dynamo in college compared to martin. regular skaters among defensemen that get top four time have about a 20 point expectation of contribution almost incidentally or they're offering below league average possession numbers almost without exception. the understanding of this has changed the way teams draft and has seen teams move further away from these defense specialists. if you can't make consistent breakout passes, you're not an nhl player. at some point these guys share the ice with your team's best forwards and have to be able to keep up. that's why the concept of versatility is making everyone's defensive composition look the same. you can be as good as you want to be away from the puck, which martin undoubtedly has shown an ability to be good there, but if you can't turn that takeaway into a breakout pass that starts some offense .... you're just not going to make it. the saying used to be "keep the puck out of your net" and is now "keep the puck out of your zone." martin plays the old way.
NotOpie
"Puck don't lie"
I get your point. But when I saw him play and this was upheld by the scouting reports at the time, he's a good skater with vision. He seemed to snap his passes off very smartly. I very much feel, a guy who plays like Pesce, because he's got good vision and makes a good first pass is somebody who can be quite successful in today's NHL. The only thing that he seemed to be missing was an accurate shot (I didn't see a weak muffin, for example). All this said, his total lack of offensive production is certainly a significant strike against him.
Oh, I also made a mistake in that Luke Martin appears to have one more year of eligibility at Michigan. So there's no decision that has to be made immediately. Frankly, it is a good thing for all involved.
SvechneJerk
Christ is King
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Booth is now with Everblades. Florida is going into the playoffs with Booth and Helvig. It will be informative to see who gets the playoff starts.
Helvig has been strong all season: 23-6-3, 2.29 GAA, .916 sv%
Last night Booth stopped 33 of 34 and all three shootout attempts in a 2-1 victory. Booth's stats (including games on loan at Reading):
11-6-0, 2.43 GAA, .912 sv%.
Given what Ned has been doing, the organization actually has a deep and talented goalie prospect pool.
Helvig has been strong all season: 23-6-3, 2.29 GAA, .916 sv%
Last night Booth stopped 33 of 34 and all three shootout attempts in a 2-1 victory. Booth's stats (including games on loan at Reading):
11-6-0, 2.43 GAA, .912 sv%.
Given what Ned has been doing, the organization actually has a deep and talented goalie prospect pool.
- Jan 17, 2018
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Anyone know if Luostarinen will play with Checkers? I see that his teammate who was drafted by Columbus has been brought to the AHL.
Nikishin Go Boom
Russian Bulldozer Consultent
- Jul 31, 2017
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Mattheos’ Brandon Wheat Kings will not make the playoffs. Hopefully we’ll see him in Charlotte next week.
- Feb 23, 2014
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Alexandre Texier was loaned to KalPa by CBJ for development, and is and was already signed by them. Similarly Kristian Vesalainen also has now returned to Manitoba Moose (Jets affiliate) after using his European Assingment clause on his ELC to play the now-ended season in KHL with Jokerit Helsinki.
I got no reported intel on Eetu's plans, but he is in very different situation as he is (only) signed to Kalpa until 2020 and not under NHL contract. This probably effectively prevents any stand-alone AHL-specific tryout contract, as the IIHF/NHL transfer agreement gives precedence only to an NHL contract over a Liiga team contract.
So in practice I guess he would need to be signed to an ELC, and him being 20 already and thusly not Slide eligible, that would mean burning the first year of his ELC if signed for this season 2018-19.
In case he was now signed to an ELC starting 2019-20, an AHL PTO for the remainder of this season might be an option. As is, Kalpa has little incentive to send him to AHL to get injured if he isn't already signed to an ELC (giving them at least the transfer fee of ~$220k) and he was expected to return to Kalpa for 2019-20.
Sami Kapanen is a cool cucumber with the boys' NHL dreams though, which is one reason why Texier was in Kalpa for this conditioning stint in the first place.
Didn't realize Brandon didn't have a good team this year, that makes his totals even more impressive to me.
Being a 2017 pick, does he need to be signed in the next couple months for the Canes to keep him?
SvechneJerk
Christ is King
According to CapFriendly, he has to be signed by June 2019. Wouldn’t surprise me if we see it soon.
bleedgreen
Registered User
He was at rookie camp and played very well. I don’t think there’s any chance in hell we don’t sign him.
I was looking at guys from that draft and see that Rasanen game over and is playing for the Chicago Steel in the USHL? If I knew that happened I forgot. He’s obviously a long shot being a 7th rounder but that’s an interesting path. Anyone hear anything about him?
I was looking at guys from that draft and see that Rasanen game over and is playing for the Chicago Steel in the USHL? If I knew that happened I forgot. He’s obviously a long shot being a 7th rounder but that’s an interesting path. Anyone hear anything about him?
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- Feb 23, 2014
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Signed to Liiga in Nov 2017 for 1+1 years contract with Jukurit Mikkeli, but played mostly in Junior A and Mestis (=adults' 2nd highest league). Got 4 games in Liiga, Jukurit didn't use their contract option on him, and he went as undrafted player on "tender contract" (?) to USHL. First to Lincoln Stars, got transferred from there to Steel.
That's... probably not an NHL-bound path.
edit: Tender: USHL Tenders: Risks and Rewards - Neutral Zone
bleedgreen
Registered User
That’s why I was wondering why he was doing it. Playing at that level at his age makes it a curious choice. Thanks for the info.
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