Speculation: Is this the year to go for it?

[Whileee]

Define go for it?

If go for it means actively pushing forward knowing it could have minor negative implications to the team's long term strength relative to optimal? Sure, and I think the team has already done that.

It's not time to sell the farm, and I don't think the Jets ever will.

Agree.

I don't think it's ever that wise to sell the farm to go for it. It usually doesn't result in a championship, and can create long term damage.

 

[avtarb]

vesalainan was drafted to replace wheeler in 3 years

if trouba stays wheeler goes

if trouba leaves wheeler stays

thats how i see it... little is a wild card.. i think he may stay at around 5 mill but well see

again it all depends how wheeler performs he could fall off like ladd

ladd nugent hopkins and lucic are the worst contracts in the nhl right now..

 

[Arthur Fonzarelli]

Define go for it?

If go for it means actively pushing forward knowing it could have minor negative implications to the team's long term strength relative to optimal? Sure, and I think the team has already done that.

It's not time to sell the farm, and I don't think the Jets ever will.

"Go for it" meaning take advantage of our cap space this season to the fullest possible means

Our veterans are good, much of our youth is seasoned, many prominent players are still on ELC's & half the forwards are still cost controlled RFA's.

Reviewing the lineup,our top two lines are great & if utilized well, MLA can be a strong defensive line. A rebound year from Mason will give us the best goaltending we've had, well beyond the "league average" often mentioned by yourself that would have gotten us into the playoffs had that bar been reached year after year.

There's defensive balance on the left side & right side with the emergence of Morrissey & the recent acquisition of Kulikov. Great news for a team that battled through adversity & playing a defence that featured Nogier, Melchiori & Chiarot at the tail end of last year. That roster not only won three in a row, seven in a row was achieved.

Now add a healthy Meyers & a full season of Trouba to that equation. What more does this team need?

Third line scoring.

Connor, Petan, Roslovic, Dano & Copp will certainly provide key elements, but the word I've oft used these past few days is a "catalyst" to spark them. All these players can play offensively, but thus far have only proven to create scoring opportunities when placed alongside Scheifele, Little & Wheeler.

It's a third centre that is needed. If Roslovic can provide then we're set, but that's a big if. And what if an injury occurs?

Once Tanev, Copp & Bucky sign they'll be roughly $7 million in cap space available.

My suggestion...use it.

As mentioned in the second post:

As you state, they've got a good mix of vets, ELC contracts, and relatively inexpensive contracts, with very few holes in the line-up.

Don't waste this window.

 

[rehf]

Before you get to far. It's Kulikov, not Kucicov.

Too*

 

[WerdnaG]

I dont thonk we will ever be the team that starts to sell off first rounders, and Im no sure that I would want us too unless we were a Jeff Carter away from winning a cup.

 

[Daximus]

Too*

TÜ..

 

[truck]

I'm all for the Jets pushing to contend this if they can without mortgaging the future. That means, no substantial trades, but I wouldn't hate the addition of a UFA forward.

The Jets will only have a few years of cheap contracts left for their young stars. No reason not to take advantage. They've added some big pieces, but one year deals won't hurt the future.

 

[Channelcat]

I'm not sure they can win with this coaching team regardless of talent.

 

[Arthur Fonzarelli]

I'm all for the Jets pushing to contend this if they can without mortgaging the future. That means, no substantial trades, but I wouldn't hate the addition of a UFA forward.

The Jets will only have a few years of cheap contracts left for their young stars. No reason not to take advantage. They've added some big pieces, but one year deals won't hurt the future.

Jokinen? Every team waived him at $4 million for one year. $2.5 million same term?

 

[Festinator]

vesalainan was drafted to replace wheeler in 3 years

if trouba stays wheeler goes

if trouba leaves wheeler stays

thats how i see it... little is a wild card.. i think he may stay at around 5 mill but well see

again it all depends how wheeler performs he could fall off like ladd

ladd nugent hopkins and lucic are the worst contracts in the nhl right now..

Wheeler will stay forever in my heart tbh. He doesn't play as physical a game as ladd did, he won't fall off. He and Little will have slow, graceful declines.

 

[10Ducky10]

Jordan Staal...

What about Jagr for a year?
MP Roslo Jagr
Copp Lowry Armia
as our bottom six???

or spread the wealth...

Connor Little Jagr -16 minutes
Laine Scheif Armia -16minutes
MP Roslo Wheeler -16 minutes
Copp Lowry Dano -12 minutes

 

[Festinator]

Jordan Staal...

What about Jagr for a year?
MP Roslo Jagr
Copp Lowry Armia
as our bottom six???

or spread the wealth...

Connor Little Jagr -16 minutes
Laine Scheif Armia -16minutes
MP Roslo Wheeler -16 minutes
Copp Lowry Dano -12 minutes

I'm still wondering why people want Jagr on this team. While he could probably still do alright in a bottom 6 role, why not give that to one of our younger players?

 

[10Ducky10]

Wheeler will stay forever in my heart tbh. He doesn't play as physical a game as ladd did, he won't fall off. He and Little will have slow, graceful declines.

Wheeler's a frickin machine...he hasn't even averaged missing one game a year. He has averaged over 70 points the last 4 years...whoever said he will re-sign at 5m is off by a fair bit.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

Jordan Staal...

What about Jagr for a year?
MP Roslo Jagr
Copp Lowry Armia
as our bottom six???

or spread the wealth...

Connor Little Jagr -16 minutes
Laine Scheif Armia -16minutes
MP Roslo Wheeler -16 minutes
Copp Lowry Dano -12 minutes

Connor would be pretty ineffective with those two, IMO. Connor is all speed, Little and Jagr don't have very much. And where's Ehlers? I just don't see a fit for Jagr to be honest.

 

[10Ducky10]

Connor would be pretty ineffective with those two, IMO. Connor is all speed, Little and Jagr don't have very much. And where's Ehlers? I just don't see a fit for Jagr to be honest.

Ooops, I forgot about that little buggar....try again.
Connor Scheif Ehlers
Laine Roslo Wheeler (let's not forget that Roslo played on a line with Matthews and Tkachuk)
MP Little Jagr
Copp/Matthias Lowry Armia

 

[Eyeseeing]

I'm not sure they can win with this coaching team regardless of talent.

I agree the roster can go head to head with most of the upper tier teams.
The schedule is favoured by most here, so improper deployment of players example Buff playing too many minutes or Laine being forced to play on the right side fall squarely on coaching.
Undisciplined play resulting in short handed issues yet again and other break downs also point to coaching.
I think if coaches can get it together it could be a very good year.
Maurice's career record is a bit concerning but let's see how the first 15-30 games go

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

At this point we're building our way towards becoming a contender, but the building phase should be just about done. But we just have to make the playoffs.

 

[Pongs21]

If Roslovic isn't ready to step in I wouldn't mind getting a solid/elite 3 line C, if the price was right and on a 1 year contract. Lot of ifs though.

 

[Crocket]

Even the most casual fans are aware of the salary cap these days. The Jets are a handful of years away from awarding some big money contracts & once Trouba, Ehlers, & Laine start demanding substantial raises, there certainly won't be the cap space at hand that is available this season.

Hellebuyck, Tanev & Comrie are already due raises & we're a season away from Little becoming a UFA. Further, next season 16 players in the organization are RFA's, 6 of which will be arbitration eligible.

For the time being all is well in Jetsville. Chevy has made two key acquisitions, there are only 3 roster players unsigned (Hellebuyck, Copp & Tanev) all of which should come fairly cheaply.

Our forward prospect pool is the envy of the league, our defence is the strongest it's been & one of the leagues premier goaltenders over the past half decade is signed.

But is it enough?

The Jets are in a place right now where they have just under $11 million in cap space. Tanev & Copp should cost in the neighbourhood of $2 million total. Hellebuyck $2 million more.

There's still a considerable amount of space available to sign a player that places us immediately among the league elite. The Dreger interview today on 1290 has Chevy expected to make one more signing...a forward.

Currently half the forward roster makes less than $1 million each. This won't be the case next year when every one of these players other than Laine's has renegotiated.

Shouldn't the Jets be all in right now?

I think even if we make it to game 7 of the stanley cup final, we should throw the game and wait a couple more years, then go all in. You want to time it just perfectly

Obviously some teams are in rebuild and are not expected to do much but every year you try and win. That's it.

 

[Crocket]

Ooops, I forgot about that little buggar....try again.
Connor Scheif Ehlers
Laine Roslo Wheeler (let's not forget that Roslo played on a line with Matthews and Tkachuk)
MP Little Jagr
Copp/Matthias Lowry Armia

Although Connor played really well in the last quarter of the season, he really struggled the fist half. I hope he jumps in but he is very small and has some developing to do still. Jagr is not a good fit and I saw him play quite a bit in Fla, he's very slow. Brendan Lemieux would be far more effective and we need some grit, we have a small wimpy team. If you takeaway Buff, we get bullied very easily.

 

[MrMagoo]

Expect Paul to be under the gun this season...In Chevys press conference se stated " Paul gave us a list of needs and we have filled them for Paul". Here's your players, make it happen and we'll talk contract..
100% confidence would mean he'd be already signed and he's not. Kompton is not the answer either i'm guessing Chevy's already auditioning. Tippett, Kruger, Hawerchuck or maybe if Chicago tailspins badly Quinnville ?

 

[YWGinYYZ]

Expect Paul to be under the gun this season...In Chevys press conference se stated " Paul gave us a list of needs and we have filled them for Paul". Here's your players, make it happen and we'll talk contract..
100% confidence would mean he'd be already signed and he's not. Kompton is not the answer either i'm guessing Chevy's already auditioning. Tippett, Kruger, Hawerchuck or maybe if Chicago tailspins badly Quinnville ?

I have to go back and listen to this presser. If this is true, then this gives me hopes on a couple of levels:

• Maurice has rethought his roster - no Stuey, Thor not resigned, and LHD and goalie help brought in.
• Secondly, Chevy is essentially telling Maurice: "Your time to turn this team around is now". Either he does it, or he's gone.

Just my read.

 

[Eyeseeing]

I have to go back and listen to this presser. If this is true, then this gives me hopes on a couple of levels:

• Maurice has rethought his roster - no Stuey, Thor not resigned, and LHD and goalie help brought in.
• Secondly, Chevy is essentially telling Maurice: "Your time to turn this team around is now". Either he does it, or he's gone.

Just my read.

It makes sense to interpret this way.
As much as I have dissed Chevy, he has put together a very decent roster and although it's not super deep in some respects it is good enough to contend for top 5 in the WC
Chevy made the necessary moves and he fully intends on playoffs this year.
So Chevy basically letting us know that coaching will be held responsible, perhaps TNSE has come full circle and results are expected to come.
No more development talk, I think success in the form of playoffs is expected.
GJG