Justin Williams
- Thread starter ChuckW
- Start date
knucklehead3k
Go Ontario Blizzards
- Jan 18, 2008
- 369
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an oft-injured forward who's best days are behind him?
i think we've already have that covered on our current roster.
i think we've already have that covered on our current roster.
WhiteTrashAmerican
WHY DID IT END
I'd rather have him than Cole...but LA moved a pretty good player for him so I am sure they will resign him.
dmonk
doughberle
Resign? He still has few years in his contract, until 11/12 to be exact; they'll just keep him.
DaveG
Noted Jerk
... reacquire when? Surely you don't mean this offseason.
1) He's under contract for quite a few more years
2) LA likely has ZERO intentions of letting him go after giving up O'Sullivan and a 2nd to get him
3) With what money? Even if Kaberle does bolt to the KHL our budget is prettymuch set for next season due to the guys that need to be re-signed and addressing a higher priority, adding a LEGIT 3rd pairing with a nasty edge to their game. Not some washout we can just sign for a million like Melicrap.
1) He's under contract for quite a few more years
2) LA likely has ZERO intentions of letting him go after giving up O'Sullivan and a 2nd to get him
3) With what money? Even if Kaberle does bolt to the KHL our budget is prettymuch set for next season due to the guys that need to be re-signed and addressing a higher priority, adding a LEGIT 3rd pairing with a nasty edge to their game. Not some washout we can just sign for a million like Melicrap.
ChuckW
Keep the Hurricanes great!
On what basis do you say Williams' best days are behind him? He had a great season, then had a bevy of injuries. He's 27.
Anton Babchuk
Registered User
Best days behind him? Williams will outscore every forward on our roster next season outside of Staal.
ChuckW
Keep the Hurricanes great!
Personally, I'd love to see him back. He added something that's been missing since the Cup season. His personality is different than everyone else on the roster. Plus he can score a ton. I can't help but think things would have gone better vs Pitts with him on the first or second line.
Shellz
Registered User
DougieSmash
WE'RE IN! WE'RE IN! YES! YES! WOO!
- Jan 2, 2009
- 14,795
- 15,968
ChuckW
Keep the Hurricanes great!
Good to see Cane fans want him back. But, we are gonna keep him, thanks!
I just get the feeling that he has unfinished business with the Canes. I had the same feeling about Cole. He seemed to love playing in Raleigh.
Reaper45
Registered User
Anton Babchuk
Registered User
I agree, but I doubt we even make the playoffs without trading him.
Still, the trade hurts as our main need (other than a second-pairing defensive defenseman) is a first line winger. Justin Williams is that in my mind. He should bounce back and post 30-35 goals and 65-70 points.
Who else on our roster can hit those point totals other than Staal, except maybe Whitney (if he doesn't decline) and Ruutu (if he takes his game to the next level)? Other than those two we've got a bunch of nice second/third line wingers, but no one of Williams' talent.
Shellz
Registered User
But, seriously, I knew nothing about the guy and was upset when O'Sullivan left. I still don't know how Justin will do. Did you see him score his first goal with the Kings? It took 3 tries but he got it in! It was pretty awesome and I hope he can contribute next season with no more injuries.
ChuckW
Keep the Hurricanes great!
If you haven't already, watch some tape on the guy from our Cup season. He was a lightning rod every night and played with a confidence level that was through the roof.
DaveG
Noted Jerk
Absolute amen to that. We're going to struggle for a bit without him since we don't have any legit first line talent other then Staal and Whitney (if he doesn't regress) at this point. Ruutu would have to really elevate his game to the next level for me to consider him a top line talent next year, I'm thinking 30-35-65 type numbers which IMO he is capable of. Of course, for a healthy Williams those numbers are a bit lower then he has been in recent years. Not to mention the guy never seems to get the appreciation he deserves for his two-way play. I absolutely want him back, but there's also absolutely no way LA lets that happen unless it's as a UFA.
Vagrant
The Czech Condor
Williams may not ever get back to the Williams we saw while he was in his best days here. Two total reconstructions on the knee and a blown achilles tendon on the same leg does wonders to take away speed and Williams just looked totally out of place. We paid him $7 million for 9 goals the past two seasons when we really could have used his help. I'm not faulting him, obviously, for getting hurt but when you're a top line player and you're taking up a big part of our budget you need to spend some time on the ice. He has $7 million left on his deal and for Carolina we couldn't afford to chance it.
As far as my own baseless opinion goes, I don't think next year is going to be a strong year for Williams either by his standards. Maybe 25 goals and 50 points. I think the first half of the year will be slow for him and he'll catch his stride by December and put up pro rated 30-30 numbers for the remainder of the season to set up a pretty strong UFA season.
I loved Williams when he was here, but he was having trouble finding the net even when he was in the lineup there towards the end. He needed a change of scenery and he got one. I wish him the best of luck, but he's not what we need right now. He didn't click with Staal in several opportunities and that wasn't likely to change.
As for the prediction he'll outscore any forward not named Staal on Carolina, i'll go as far as to say he'll be outscored by Ruutu next season as well as Whitney. Heck, i'll say that his PPG will be lower than Matt Cullen.
As far as my own baseless opinion goes, I don't think next year is going to be a strong year for Williams either by his standards. Maybe 25 goals and 50 points. I think the first half of the year will be slow for him and he'll catch his stride by December and put up pro rated 30-30 numbers for the remainder of the season to set up a pretty strong UFA season.
I loved Williams when he was here, but he was having trouble finding the net even when he was in the lineup there towards the end. He needed a change of scenery and he got one. I wish him the best of luck, but he's not what we need right now. He didn't click with Staal in several opportunities and that wasn't likely to change.
As for the prediction he'll outscore any forward not named Staal on Carolina, i'll go as far as to say he'll be outscored by Ruutu next season as well as Whitney. Heck, i'll say that his PPG will be lower than Matt Cullen.
Anton Babchuk
Registered User
I had sort of forgotten about Cullen as I was only thinking of wingers.
Cullen could have a "breakout" year next season, which is odd to say for a 32-year old. He really flourished once he was given the second line center job with 30 points in his last 30 games. 25+35=60 points isn't out of the question if he is getting top unit PP time at the point (Pitkanen would ideally be on the second unit).
Ruutu's a bit of a wildcard. His production will depend a lot on his linemates and ice time. Last year he got 18mins/game with close to 4mins/game PP time and played virtually the entire season with Staal. If Cole is re-signed that ice time could go down like it did in the playoffs. I really don't think Ruutu is comfortable at LW so he could wind up on the third line with Samsonov-Jokinen depending on how Boychuk/Bowman play. I could seriously see anywhere from 45 to 65 points.
Whitney is probably a safe bet for 60+ points over 82 games. He's the best PP producer on the team and it doesn't require much speed to stand around on the halfboards, so even if he slows down a bit he should still produce.
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Vagrant
The Czech Condor
Cullen is kind of interesting, to be honest. His production has been fairly consistent over the last few years with Carolina. With the NYR season being an outlier, as he was incorrectly used, he's been pretty good for 0.6-0.7 points per game which prorates to about 55 points over a healthy season.... which has been the problem. The year before last when he had 49 points in 59 games seems like an interesting proposition for him to return to. It seems like every time he gets going really well, he has a setback. I think he'll have ONE season where everything lines up well and he scores 60+ points. Could that be this year? I would say the chances are decent enough. He's going to be playing 2nd line center minutes and getting prime time on the point of the powerplay. I would say 18 minutes a night wouldn't be out of the question. Maurice will use him liberally at even strength. The key, as always, with Cullen will be finding chemistry with his linemates and staying productive on the powerplay. When he flashes hot, he's one of the best streak scorers we have on this hockey club. When he flashes cold, he can be darn near useless at even strength.
Vagrant
The Czech Condor
The thing about Ruutu that really encouraged me was his productivity on the powerplay with the relative lack of success that unit had last season. He had 10 goals and 7 assists for 17 points. With an improve powerplay, it wouldn't be outside the realm of reasonable to add 5 points to that output one way or another. That is all it would take for him to crack the 60 point barrier.
Plus, I have an immense amount of faith in what Jokinen and Ruutu together will be able to produce. I think putting them together would be highly beneficial for both their games and would give us a 2A and 2B line where we could really roll three lines of attack that would present problems.
I still contend that his home/road split was a result of him trying to do too much at home in terms of being overly aggressive on the forecheck and hitting guys and taking himself out of the play. His road numbers were right there at the PPG mark and his home numbers were roughly 20 in 40.
I think his skill level was obvious to those that thought he was just another plugger. He should be good for 30 goals next season and we'll be paying him that way, more than likely.
Plus, I have an immense amount of faith in what Jokinen and Ruutu together will be able to produce. I think putting them together would be highly beneficial for both their games and would give us a 2A and 2B line where we could really roll three lines of attack that would present problems.
I still contend that his home/road split was a result of him trying to do too much at home in terms of being overly aggressive on the forecheck and hitting guys and taking himself out of the play. His road numbers were right there at the PPG mark and his home numbers were roughly 20 in 40.
I think his skill level was obvious to those that thought he was just another plugger. He should be good for 30 goals next season and we'll be paying him that way, more than likely.
Anton Babchuk
Registered User
IMO Ruutu got excessive amounts of PP time and was part of the problem with the overall mediocre PP. 10 goals is very good, but 17 points in 294:58 of PP time is Cole-level production.
One of the reasons that Ruutu didn't produce in the playoffs is because his PP time dropped from 3:44 to 1:32 and his overall ice time from 18:18 to 14:15.
If Samsonov is there (and plays like he did for the final 2/3rds of the season), then that could be a very good line. I'm just worried that Ruutu might get stuck with one of the rookies or someone like LaRose/Eaves.
On the other hand, playing him on the 3rd line (or the 2B line) may help him as it will get him away from top checkers and defensive pairings.
ChuckW
Keep the Hurricanes great!
Navin R Slavin
Fifth line center
Lol. "Williams may never get back to the old Williams." What do you think now, Vagrant?
Man, nothing like old threads to make us all look like the morons we are.
--hank
Man, nothing like old threads to make us all look like the morons we are.
--hank
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