Offseason Thread III: FA Frenzy (Are we going to be "too good" next year?)

[Xoggz22]

A rebuilding team like the Jackets doesn’t need to tie up four years in a 4th line center. Kuraly brings no scoring lift - the Bruin’s big issue was no scoring after the top two lines - and he fills a role that can more easily be filled by sorting through the current roster. Last year this Board constantly whined (used since that seems to be the word of the day) about Riley Nash’s lack of contribution and here we go with Nash II albeit grittier.

If this team were being set up to fight for a playoff spot this year, I’d probably have little issue with this signing. But this team is allegedly rebuilding and putting in place a team for the future. Kuraly doesn’t fit into that.

Kuraly is nothing like Nash (who was actually one of the more consistent better players prior to getting hurt) and who didn't this board bitch about last year? @Viqsi already commented on this but Kuraly is an excellent faceoff guy (CBJ is by far one of the worst teams at taking faceoffs). He's a top notch PK guy (taking the place of former $5MM+/yr guys). He'll do the grunt work and is a winner. He brings more than scoring (well, he doesn't bring much scoring so that's not tough I guess ) and for a bottom 6 guy he's a welcome addition. $2.5MM isn't going to impact this team even in year 4. The Cap is expected to start to increase by his year 4.

You can't have a team of 18 year olds playing in the NHL. You can't have all skill, no grit. There is no one on the current roster like Kuraly. Having some stability in place is a good thing and if he sucks that bad it still doesn't hurt given our cap position. Sorry Moe, I normally agree with your positions but not this one.

 

[LetsGOJackets!!]

I like the move to a more skilled puck possession team. With that said we need a big gritty dman to clear the crease and drop the gloves or our skill guys are going to get beat on. Does Boller or Shelly have anything left in the tank? Don't need them full time either just every Capitals game.

 

[EDM]

Xogg, I agree with you 100%. There is a definite need for what Kuraly brings to the roster.

 

[MoeBartoli]

Kuraly is nothing like Nash (who was actually one of the more consistent better players prior to getting hurt) and who didn't this board bitch about last year? @Viqsi already commented on this but Kuraly is an excellent faceoff guy (CBJ is by far one of the worst teams at taking faceoffs). He's a top notch PK guy (taking the place of former $5MM+/yr guys). He'll do the grunt work and is a winner. He brings more than scoring (well, he doesn't bring much scoring so that's not tough I guess ) and for a bottom 6 guy he's a welcome addition. $2.5MM isn't going to impact this team even in year 4. The Cap is expected to start to increase by his year 4.

You can't have a team of 18 year olds playing in the NHL. You can't have all skill, no grit. There is no one on the current roster like Kuraly. Having some stability in place is a good thing and if he sucks that bad it still doesn't hurt given our cap position. Sorry Moe, I normally agree with your positions but not this one.

No problem with you disagreeing with me on this one. I get the sense a lot of people did.

 

[DJA]

 

[majormajor]

Couple years ago I was hopeful that he would become the Savard-replacement for 2nd pairing. In hindsight I guess I was too optimistic about his development. Savard was kind of a late bloomer but he developed into a fine shutdown defenseman. Though being a shutdown guy, every now and then Savvy showed flashes of his offensive talent, everyone remembers his goal against Tampa in 2019. He knew when to hold and just protect the puck, when to pass or flip it off the boards to cleare the zone. I haven't checked his turnover/giveaway stats from the last few years but I don't remember him doing too many glaring errors in his own end or neutral zone. I think he also had more of an offensive role while still playing in Q, just based on the stats, scouting reports and videos from those years I can barely remember now.

Peeke however, from my point of view, doesn't have those offensive instincts that I see in Savard. I'm not sure if he has a great vision and hockey sense with the puck. He never were a scorer in juniors either. This can prevent him from stepping into a bigger role in the future. Glad if I'll be wrong with my predictions but at the moment I just don't see top 4 dman potential in him.

Peeke was on a fine track for second pair D until the pandemic/injuries/Torts got the better of him. In the last year+ he hasn't played enough games to stay sharp. I never expected Peeke to have much offense in him, but his good sense and penchant for careful defensive play were always outstanding. And those were the attributes that completely vanished this year. I wouldn't rule out him recapturing those elements if he can play a lot more games this year (50+).

 

[majormajor]

Kuraly is nothing like Nash (who was actually one of the more consistent better players prior to getting hurt) and who didn't this board bitch about last year? @Viqsi already commented on this but Kuraly is an excellent faceoff guy (CBJ is by far one of the worst teams at taking faceoffs). He's a top notch PK guy (taking the place of former $5MM+/yr guys). He'll do the grunt work and is a winner. He brings more than scoring (well, he doesn't bring much scoring so that's not tough I guess ) and for a bottom 6 guy he's a welcome addition. $2.5MM isn't going to impact this team even in year 4. The Cap is expected to start to increase by his year 4.

You can't have a team of 18 year olds playing in the NHL. You can't have all skill, no grit. There is no one on the current roster like Kuraly. Having some stability in place is a good thing and if he sucks that bad it still doesn't hurt given our cap position. Sorry Moe, I normally agree with your positions but not this one.

I don't think you'd ever hear a peep about a Kuraly signing if it was two years. I was advocating signing him. From Moe's comment it seems the term is the issue for him, not the player.

Your only defense of the 4 year term is that the cap is expected to go up, which when stated usually foretells a bad contract. We don't know what we'll want to do with that cap at that point. And with Kuraly we don't know how many good years he has left. Contrary to Nash, who was always at least a solid zero-zero player, Kuraly was straight up bad this past year. It's a Jim Benning type deal.

 

[LetsGOJackets!!]

Peeke was on a fine track for second pair D until the pandemic/injuries/Torts got the better of him. In the last year+ he hasn't played enough games to stay sharp. I never expected Peeke to have much offense in him, but his good sense and penchant for careful defensive play were always outstanding. And those were the attributes that completely vanished this year. I wouldn't rule out him recapturing those elements if he can play a lot more games this year (50+).

Major.. think those 50 games are in the NHL or the AHL? Unfortunately we have limited RHD

 

[stevo61]

Major.. think those 50 games are in the NHL or the AHL? Unfortunately we have limited RHD

Its the early stages of a rebuild, I dont understand why you wouldnt let him play and see what you have. He works and you have a RHD behind Boqvist for a lot of years, he fails and you move on. 1 of many things that really pissed me off about last year was seeing him sit and not even get 20 combined games between the NHL and AHL

 

[majormajor]

Its the early stages of a rebuild, I dont understand why you wouldnt let him play and see what you have. He works and you have a RHD behind Boqvist for a lot of years, he fails and you move on. 1 of many things that really pissed me off about last year was seeing him sit and not even get 20 combined games between the NHL and AHL

I personally don't care whether he gets to play in the NHL or AHL, but every game he sits is an awful waste of his potential. Young D can't develop in the press box. They whither away and die there.

 

[JacketsDavid]

Kuraly is an excellent faceoff guy (CBJ is by far one of the worst teams at taking faceoffs). He's a top notch PK guy (taking the place of former $5MM+/yr guys). He'll do the grunt work and is a winner. He brings more than scoring (well, he doesn't bring much scoring so that's not tough I guess ) and for a bottom 6 guy he's a welcome addition. $2.5MM isn't going to impact this team even in year 4. The Cap is expected to start to increase by his year 4.

1. He's one great year of being an excellent face off guy. Hopefully since it was last year it's the beginning of a trend. But for his career just under 51% with 2 of 4 years being below 50% (46.5% and 48.8%).
2. But if you assume last year will continue (with great FO%) you have to be worried because other than FO% he was bad last year. Probably most folks assumed he would get a one or maybe two year deal.
3. I get the PK thing, but much easier to fix the penalty kill than to try to fix the Power Play. I think we haope with all the young puck moving dmen and Laine that we get better there, but the PK could have been fixed without a 4 year contract.
4. His shooting percentage is a joke for a NHL forward. Barely over 5% career and 4.5% last year. He may make Robert Kron look like the Great One.

My point is you can find bottom 6 forwards for cheaper and in almost all cases you don't lock them up for 4 years. I know the $2.5M won't kill us but the guy (IMO) didn't deserve 4 years.

 

[Xoggz22]

I don't think you'd ever hear a peep about a Kuraly signing if it was two years. I was advocating signing him. From Moe's comment it seems the term is the issue for him, not the player.

Your only defense of the 4 year term is that the cap is expected to go up, which when stated usually foretells a bad contract. We don't know what we'll want to do with that cap at that point. And with Kuraly we don't know how many good years he has left. Contrary to Nash, who was always at least a solid zero-zero player, Kuraly was straight up bad this past year. It's a Jim Benning type deal.

I don't think it's a bad contract. We'll just disagree. He'll be useful all 4 years in bottom 6.

 

[Xoggz22]

1. He's one great year of being an excellent face off guy. Hopefully since it was last year it's the beginning of a trend. But for his career just under 51% with 2 of 4 years being below 50% (46.5% and 48.8%).
2. But if you assume last year will continue (with great FO%) you have to be worried because other than FO% he was bad last year. Probably most folks assumed he would get a one or maybe two year deal.
3. I get the PK thing, but much easier to fix the penalty kill than to try to fix the Power Play. I think we haope with all the young puck moving dmen and Laine that we get better there, but the PK could have been fixed without a 4 year contract.
4. His shooting percentage is a joke for a NHL forward. Barely over 5% career and 4.5% last year. He may make Robert Kron look like the Great One.

My point is you can find bottom 6 forwards for cheaper and in almost all cases you don't lock them up for 4 years. I know the $2.5M won't kill us but the guy (IMO) didn't deserve 4 years.

That's fair. We can disagree.

 

[stevo61]

I personally don't care whether he gets to play in the NHL or AHL, but every game he sits is an awful waste of his potential. Young D can't develop in the press box. They whither away and die there.

Id rather see him in the NHL and Im guessing thats why he is the only contract not done. Probably arguing over ice time and one way vs two way deals

 

[Viqsi]

I don't think it's a bad contract. We'll just disagree. He'll be useful all 4 years in bottom 6.

I think it's possible but not certain, and yet frankly I think he's useful enough that I don't consider that to be too much of a concern.

 

[JohnnyJacket13]

Eichel drama escalates as Sabres work the lines — The Fourth Period

The New York Rangers are absolutely interested in Eichel, confirmed multiple sources, none of whom believe (as of Saturday night) a trade is imminent. The Anaheim Ducks, Vegas Golden Knights, Calgary Flames, Boston Bruins and Columbus Blue Jackets are also interested. Will the Minnesota Wild circle back? Will other teams reengage, especially if the Sabres are willing to retain some salary? It sounds like it.

 

[VT]

No, Eichel not...

 

[onetimerguy]

What about Dvorak?

Wins face offs, solid 2 way center on a worse team than cbj, good net front guy on the pp, kills penalties. Basically a solid all around center. Good, team friendly contract (4.5mil thru 24/25 season. Since Arizona is on a full rebuild, probably would take one of (Foudy, Texier, Bemstrom), and a second. Toss in a Carlsson if you must. I think this guy would run well with Laine/Voracek

 

[Cowumbus]

What about Dvorak?

Wins face offs, solid 2 way center on a worse team than cbj, good net front guy on the pp, kills penalties. Basically a solid all around center. Good, team friendly contract (4.5mil thru 24/25 season. Since Arizona is on a full rebuild, probably would take one of (Foudy, Texier, Bemstrom), and a second. Toss in a Carlsson if you must. I think this guy would run well with Laing/Voracek

I think it will take more than just a second and a prospect.

 

[EspenK]

I think it will take more than just a second and a prospect.

The way AZ was wheeling & dealing who knows. Might not even need the throw ins. Or the throw ins w/o the young F. Who knows.

 

[Cowumbus]

The way AZ was wheeling & dealing who knows. Might not even need the throw ins. Or the throw ins w/o the young F. Who knows.

If they would welcome Domi back, maybe a small add from CBJ? Might help both teams.

 

[DarkandStormy]

 

[DoingItCoolKiwi]

Surprising. Would've thought he is a trade deadline bait. Doubt he'll get a return rn with injury and all, so why move him unless you plan to use the cap space for something immediatly?

 

[majormajor]

Surprising. Would've thought he is a trade deadline bait. Doubt he'll get a return rn with injury and all, so why move him unless you plan to use the cap space for something immediatly?

The return is probably a 2nd or 3rd rounder even at the deadline. Domi doesn't have a good playoff track record.

So the more important consideration is just giving Larsen the best group to work with, and making sure the right guys get ice time for long term purposes. They want to re-build a locker room and a stronger team sense, and it's harder to do that if the lineup is full of guys that are obviously rentals.

 

[jacketsnation]

Players I wouldn't mind getting in FA

Marcus Johansson : can play centre, and both wings.

A. Anisimov : guy can still score. Again we need center depth and he's good defensively as well.

E. Stall : he looked good in the playoffs. Another center piece that we need.

I think brining in a vet to play centre is a must.

Thoughts guys?