News and Notes Thread VII: Ch ch ch changes

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Maybe not this season, but I'm guessing that longer term the Canes see Lindholm as a center with Skinner on his wing.

 

[nobuddy]

Maybe not this season, but I'm guessing that longer term the Canes see Lindholm as a center with Skinner on his wing.

Agreed. I'd like him on the wing for one more year though.

 

[nobuddy]

Wow, talk about pretzel logic. So why not just play Staal at C then?

I have nothing to support his playmaking isn't on par with a 1C? I realize it may not be fashionable but...well...I've watched him quite closely. He has pretty good playmaking skills along the half-wall on the PP but in open ice against top D pairs? Below average for a 1C and his vision is average.

I'm playing within the goalposts of what Francis said. I'm trying to defend what I think his vision may be. I personally want Staal at 1C.

 

[Joe McGrath]

All Francis said was he liked seeming at wing because it's easier to double shift him. He could still play 1C and double shift on the 4th line at wing in a platoon with Skinner and Tlusty/Gerbe. That would suggest the addition of either a goon or regularly going with 7 D, no?

This all might be total nonsense too. The still unknown coach may have no interest in playing him anywhere but center.

 

[rocky7]

Francis supposedly spoke of "pairs". given the roster as is, and positions not withstanding, Semin and Tlusty are far and away the pair with the most chemistry on the team. Semin and EStaal need not be constantly shoved together. JStaal was better with that pair IMO.

 

[What the Faulk]

This entire thread is why ES at LW with the roster as it is presently constructed is a bad idea. There aren't any good options. On the other hand, Skinner/Eric/Lindholm and Tlusty/Jordan/Semin worked for sustained periods of time.

 

[TheOllieC]

Francis supposedly spoke of "pairs". given the roster as is, and positions not withstanding, Semin and Tlusty are far and away the pair with the most chemistry on the team. Semin and EStaal need not be constantly shoved together. JStaal was better with that pair IMO.

I would argue Semin/JStaal are a better duo.

 

[tarheelhockey]

This entire thread is why ES at LW with the roster as it is presently constructed is a bad idea. There aren't any good options.

Francis added he liked seeing the captain as a left winger because it makes it easier to double-shift him around the lineup.... Asked what he's looking forward to hearing from coaching candidates, the first thing he said was, "Line pairings." He wants to hear how the interviewees would structure the roster, particularly the forward lines.

I have this mental image of Francis calling in like 20 candidates and asking them "how would you structure the roster in order to play EStaal at left wing?", and then scribbling their answers furiously in a notebook while he ignores the rest of the interview.

 

[StormCast]

Francis is still ticked that Staal's emergence as a rookie bumped him to Left Wing so Eric could center his line.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

So with Brian Elliott being signed to a 3 year, $7.5M deal, that likely means that Miller will be going elsewhere next year as well. If the Canes wanted to trade Ward (which is still an IF), there aren't a whole lot of landing spots with Miller, Halak (probably Isles), Hiller, Thomas, Bryz, etc.. all UFAs and a few others out there (Reimer, maybe Fleury, etc..) On a side note, I think that means that means the return for Miller and Ott is:

St. Louis 1st in 2015 (likely a late round pick)
1 year of Neuvirth (Klesla is a UFA): From the Halak to WASH deal
1 year of Chris Stewart,
Prospect William Carrier (Late 2nd rounder in 2013)

They also get a 3rd in 2016, but gave up a 3rd in 2015 to Wash. as part of the Halak deal so that's a wash. I don't know much about Carrier, but that doesn't seem like that big of a haul for both Miller and Ott. On the flipside, Buffalo will likely have their 1st round pick, the Isles 1st round pick and the Blues 1st round pick in 2015, so that could be a franchise defining draft for them.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Note to self: when trying to kick-start a rebuild, don't do what Buffalo does.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Note to self: when trying to kick-start a rebuild, don't do what Buffalo does.

Well, until we see the draft next year and how those guys pan out a few years from now, it's kind of hard to say if what they are doing has merit or not. By all accounts, they should be poor again next year and wouldn't surprise me if they get the #1 pick. The Isles pick will probably be mid round at worst and St. Louis will be the end of the round.

With Myers, Ristolainen, Zadarov, and Pysyk on D, they have the chance of having a very solid top 4 on defense down the road. On offense, they are hurting, but have some good young players in Hodgson, Ennis, Girginsons, and Foligno. They also have some potential in the system in Grigorenko, Armia, JT Compher, and Baptiste. Let's say they add Bennett or Reinhard this year, then next year add McDavid or Eichel (plus other guys with the Isles and Blues picks).

They also have a chance to sell off guys like Stewart and Ehrhoff at the deadline if they are out of it. It likely won't all come together right away, but given that they already have good, young D-prospects/players, they should be able to fill the offensive needs through the draft and have balance (unlike Edmonton).

EDIT: and for how bad that Sekera/McBain trade seems, JT Compher (who they drafted with the pick we sent them) seems to have had a great season at Michigan and losing Sekera/Adding McBain helped their draft position this year for sure.

 

[cptjeff]

So with Brian Elliott being signed to a 3 year, $7.5M deal, that likely means that Miller will be going elsewhere next year as well. If the Canes wanted to trade Ward (which is still an IF), there aren't a whole lot of landing spots with Miller, Halak (probably Isles), Hiller, Thomas, Bryz, etc.. all UFAs and a few others out there (Reimer, maybe Fleury, etc..)

If for no other reason, I think this is why Ward stays. We'd be trying to trade him at a low point for his value in an incredibly soft market for goalies. With him, we have a pretty good tandem with Ward as backup, with the potential of Ward getting his game back and increasing his value for a later trade, or leaving us with a strong 1A, 1B situation. We'd have a lot of money wrapped up in goaltending, but we'd probably be stronger at the position than we've ever been, with the possible exception of Gerber/Ward.

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

Dreger said today that the Canes are "looking to go cheap" on a new coach for next year.

Supposedly, it's either Oates or cheap. I'd rather cheap.

 

[Blueline Bomber]

When has "cheap" ever equaled "effective"?

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

When has "cheap" ever equaled "effective"?

Jeff Skinner scored 31 goals on an ELC...

But yeah, we'll see. I don't know anything about coaching salaries at all, though, so I'll reserve judgment.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Dreger said today that the Canes are "looking to go cheap" on a new coach for next year.

Supposedly, it's either Oates or cheap. I'd rather cheap.

Francis can't possible be considering Oates after that cluster**** in Washington.

 

[Joe McGrath]

Francis can't possible be considering Oates after that cluster**** in Washington.

The Canes hired both MaClean and Lewis as assistants after being two of the worst head coaches in recent memory so I wouldn't be surprised.

 

[Blueline Bomber]

Jeff Skinner scored 31 goals on an ELC...

But yeah, we'll see. I don't know anything about coaching salaries at all, though, so I'll reserve judgment.

And this year, he cost 5 million to do the same thing.

 

[Joe McGrath]

And this year, he cost 5 million to do the same thing.

And he was the only "expensive" thing that was effective.

 

[TheBigKahuna]

Francis can't possible be considering Oates after that cluster**** in Washington.

That's a sure fire way to kill any hope of keeping the pessimistic fans on board for another year. Oates stunk in Washington. And I'm done with coaches with poorly died black hair!

Might as well just promote Mo Jr....I mean Daniels.

Expect the worst. Be happy when slightly less stupid happens!

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

The Canes hired both MaClean and Lewis as assistants after being two of the worst head coaches in recent memory so I wouldn't be surprised.

There are a lot of cases of guys who didn't cut it as a head coach, that were decent assistant coaches, so at least I can at least see some logic in that. Hiring Oates as a head coach after his season as a head coach in Washington and all the reports that came out would have no logic what-so-ever.

 

[RodTheBawd]

Would Boucher not be cheap? Or are they really talking assistant to first time head coach type cheap?

 

[AD Skinner]

I want Boucher. There I said it.

 

[nobuddy]

I can not decide who I want. I think I want Boucher the most. Followed by some conglomeration of Trotz, Dineen, and Bylsma. Wouldn't mind Walker. Samuelsson doesn't sound great to me.