Proposal: Nick Spaling to SJS

[The Greatest 101]

Spaling is a decent 3rd liner,very solid player.He's misused atm.Sutter is somewhat misused as well now.They were both pretty good at the start of the season and can we really blame Goc for anything lol?
However,according to here,Spaling sucks.Sutter sucks.Goc sucks.Malkin playing with two AHLers, but Johnston is perfect.

 

[WVP]

In my opinion - he plays like dog ****. Really does a bunch of nothing. At 1M a year he'd be a great 3rd/4th liner.

If he still played like dog **** simply paying him less wouldn't make him great.

Vanilla is the word. Doesn't do anything extremely well, doesn't do anything to hurt the team either.

 

[ColePens]

If he still played like dog **** simply paying him less wouldn't make him great.

Vanilla is the word. Doesn't do anything extremely well, doesn't do anything to hurt the team either.

That's very fair. I am probably too harsh on his play. I think I'm just jaded with what the organization was saying all summer about him. I was so excited to see him be that jack of all trades type player.

So that's probably my fault with my expectations compared to his actual abilities/skill. I still dont' get why they were so eager to throw money at him. I would think Spaling should be eager to sign pretty much any deal.

 

[SuburbanRhythm]

To summarize Spaling...

The way he was hyped, I thought we were getting this:

Unfortunately, we got this:

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

That's very fair. I am probably too harsh on his play. I think I'm just jaded with what the organization was saying all summer about him. I was so excited to see him be that jack of all trades type player.

So that's probably my fault with my expectations compared to his actual abilities/skill. I still dont' get why they were so eager to throw money at him. I would think Spaling should be eager to sign pretty much any deal.

I don't think the team went out of it's way to make him part of the package, or anything. I'm still fairly convinced that they just basically took the modified Spezza deal that was left on the table with no negotiation because JR wanted to get his "new GM-stamp" trade out of the way. It's more like... Nashville wanted to get rid of Spaling and hey... here's a team, right here...

 

[Will Hunting]

That's very fair. I am probably too harsh on his play. I think I'm just jaded with what the organization was saying all summer about him. I was so excited to see him be that jack of all trades type player.

So that's probably my fault with my expectations compared to his actual abilities/skill. I still dont' get why they were so eager to throw money at him. I would think Spaling should be eager to sign pretty much any deal.

Not ideal, but the cap is rising and that´s how it goes these days. Engelland is making 3M per. Spaling was coming off a pretty decent season. He´s young, defensively responsible player who makes 35 pts per season. Hell, Tyler Kennedy got 2M per and that was under old CBA... Spaling might be overpaid now, but it´s not more than by 0.4M or so. Hardly a big problem and we desperately needed any kind of forward depth.

 

[WVP]

I don't think the team went out of it's way to make him part of the package, or anything. I'm still fairly convinced that they just basically took the modified Spezza deal that was left on the table with no negotiation because JR wanted to get his "new GM-stamp" trade out of the way. It's more like... Nashville wanted to get rid of Spaling and hey... here's a team, right here...

I think we wanted a bit more to balance out the Neal/Hornqvist values and one of our big needs was more competent bottom 6 players. Spaling was offered. That's it really.

And he is a competent bottom 6 player, but nothing more. If he was on the 4th line all year behind a healthy roster, we would probably only be complaining that he's overpaid a bit.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

I don't buy "rising cap" excuses, frankly. Throwing money after something that isn't worth it is never wise. Maybe it looks alright a year or two down the line... but there's a lot of time between now and then with lots of uses that cap space could be put towards until that "gap" is cleared.

And I don't even necessarily mean Spaling, in particular, here. Just in general. I actually think Spaling's cap hit is only moderately inflated. That isn't even my big issue with him. My big issue with him is that he's being leaned on heavily by this team (not his fault) but his skill level makes Dupuis' look like Pavel Bure, in comparison. He's maddeningly safe. Would be a great fourth liner but that's a pretty big luxury price tag to pay for one of those.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

Spaling should probably be making about 1.8 million, he's a 3rd line with literally no standout quality but injuries and depth have meant he's spent far too much time with Sid and Geno. He's nice depth now but I'd echo the sentiment of moving him for an upgrade or moving him in the offseason for a pick.

OMG, he is making $400,000 too much.

Not being flip but players who are a lot worse get a lot more. He is paid fairly for what he brings, even if what we now see is all that we get. There is something to be said for players who you do not notice. Usually when you notice a guy it is because of a bad rather than a good thing.

 

[Gold Diamond]

Spaling is not bad. Him being in the top 6 is bad. But that's been said far more eloquently by others here than I.

 

[ColePens]

I guess I can love the fact he's not worthless like Glass or Adams.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

I guess I can love the fact he's not worthless like Glass or Adams.

 

[cygnus47]

To summarize Spaling...

The way he was hyped, I thought we were getting this:

Unfortunately, we got this:

He doesn't even have bad hands, he's just so conservative that he never really asserts himself to get into good positions to score. He's happier to just put the puck in the corner and try to get it back.

 

[SEALBound]

Spaling+Adams for a 2nd 2015 + 4th 2016?

 

[KIRK]

Spaling+Adams for a 2nd 2015 + 4th 2016?

If we're talking about unloading Adams too, then I'd be content with the 4th.

 

[mpp9]

I was so excited to see him be that jack of all trades type player.

I mean, that's kind of what he is. He can play anywhere and not hurt you. I still say he'll be fine when in the bottom six.

I think we severely underrate how few forwards we have that are consistent in their own end. Adams would not still be on this team if that weren't the case. Even though he can be easily replaced.

 

[Night Shift]

Maybe we should wait and see if he's the type that turns his game up in the playoffs before we write him off.

 

[Mister Hockey]

Looks like Simon has a date with Mr. Norris Trophy and chat with another NHL Defense Legend Bobby Orr, so he can explain to Bobby what he did wrong during his career.

What Bobby Orr did wrong was having bad knees.

Simon is only wrong for not being close to Orr, but still being a top four.

 

[KIRK]

I mean, that's kind of what he is. He can play anywhere and not hurt you. I still say he'll be fine when in the bottom six.

I think we severely underrate how few forwards we have that are consistent in their own end. Adams would not still be on this team if that weren't the case. Even though he can be easily replaced.

The issue isn't whether he has value in the bottom six. It's whether at 2.2M a guy like him is a luxury or a need.

 

[roquay]

The issue isn't whether he has value in the bottom six. It's whether at 2.2M a guy like him is a luxury or a need.

If he was on the third line yeah ok but if he is a 4th liner 2.2 is way too much. The whole 4th line shouldn't get much more than that.

 

[KIRK]

If he was on the third line yeah ok but if he is a 4th liner 2.2 is way too much. The whole 4th line shouldn't get much more than that.

That may be a little bit of an exaggeration. After all, Adams gotsa get paid.

 

[Klifton]

That may be a little bit of an exaggeration. After all, Adams gotsa get paid.

Depends on who you ask, according to Malkin, he gosta get *****slapped.

 

[Tender Rip]

The issue isn't whether he has value in the bottom six. It's whether at 2.2M a guy like him is a luxury or a need.

.... and whether the quality he has is needed relative to other options/addresses our weaknesses.

Spaling is a good bottom 6'er no doubt. Its just that our roster has many players that you can say this about, most of whom are cheaper than Spaling.
To take my point the furthest, if we were to say that Spaling's place SHOULD be 4th line LW on our team, the question is if he provides much more in that particular role than Farnham? Farnham of course is not the hockey player Spaling is, but he does provide qualities no one else do on the team, which increases the value of said qualities, and does so at 1.5 million less of a cap-hit. For someone more like Spaling, look at Rust.

If we wanted to say that Spaling should be a 3rd line RW, you can ask if he does more for us than Downie or Comeau (answer is no).

Spaling's value is that you don't have to box him in for one position, as he can competently play OK in many positions. I just think we have enough options among less versatile players that this versatility of Spaling's appeal to me less, especially because he is never a GOOD solution on the top6. Guys like Comeau and Downie seemingly could be (in the right situations) because they have some peak qualities (Comeau is an avid hitter with a good shot, Downie is a pest/agitator/first responder with pretty decent offesnive skills) that make it possible for them to compliment our stars.

Spaling has no stand out qualities.
I suppose I would rather a less refined overall player, who leaves a real mark in an area of need.

 

[Speaking Moistly]

The issue isn't whether he has value in the bottom six. It's whether at 2.2M a guy like him is a luxury or a need.

idk, I think how far down the depth chart they can push him is pretty telling, as long as it's feasible and legitimate.

1st line - for ****'s sake
2nd line - god damn it
3rd line - looking good
4th line - hell yeah

I'll suck it up about his salary if we can run him in the bottom 6 where he should be, it can be balanced out. Besides, they have bigger salary problems than his 2.2M as a bottom 6 forward. Depth is a need.

 

[SEALBound]

One thing people need to keep in mind when thinking about Spaling is the situation at the time he was procured. At the time of the Neal/Horny trade, our bottom six was still in shambles with a lot of UFAs leaving, Sutter being an RFA. Our bottom six was:

Pyatt-Sutter-Kobasew
Glass-Vitale-Adams

4 were UFAs not likely to return. 1 was a RFA that the previous GM tried to trade openly. 1 was Craig Adams...

The bottom 6 being such a mess was an obvious issue that needed fixing. Those of us that really watched last year could argue that throughout most of the season the bottom 6 was a bigger issue than the Top 6. JR needed to start righting that ship right away. Both GMs knew that Neal held more value than Hornqvist. JR knew he needed bottom 6 help and Spaling was available. He would have been stupid not to have snagged him. A pick wouldn't have helped. We needed bodies right then. We had no idea what the FA market was going to be like. We hadn't resigned Goc yet, Comeau was a target but no guarantee, and I'm not sure Downie was even on the radar. Not to mention that we were in the middle of RFA talks with Sutter who may have been miffed at trying to be traded for Kesler so vigorously. Spaling could have also played 3C. At the time, it was really the perfect toss in to the Neal/Horn trade and I 100% understand why it was a solid move.

Now that we have Goc, Comeau, Downie, a resigned Sutter, and didn't waive Adams...we can start to question the move in hindsight only. Has he been the lights out Top 6 wing we've been missing? No, of course that. That's not his role. Has he been actively hurting the team like Gladams did? No, of course that.

Once healthy, he's a great 4th line depth guy. Probably one of the better 4th line players in the league. We should be used to 3rd/4th line guys filling in spots in the top 6 by now. We've seen it enough. We know that management doesn't view that as permanent. We know we have injuries right now...why are we really concerned with an extra bottom 6 wing, fill in 3C, 4C?