Speculation: Opinions on bringing Cullen back?

Bring Cullen Back?


  • Total voters
    92

HandshakeLine

A real jerk thing
Nov 9, 2005
47,759
31,603
Praha, CZ
I like the Cole-Oleksiak combo and as we know Cole is proven commidity here in the playoffs. Hunwick makes 2.25 mil I believe, And while he's not a bad defensemen, I don't think he fits in here. I don't like healthy scratching a player who makes that amount of money night in and night out. With the money we'd save in such a move we could find a cheaper alternative.

Oh no doubt it would ease that blueline idiocy that's going on. And I agree that Hunwick is definitely the prime candidate to move. I just think we could get more from him than Cullen.
 

BlindWillyMcHurt

ti kallisti
May 31, 2004
34,091
27,915
I still think you could get more for Hunwick than a Cullen-Hunwick swap, but maybe I'm wrong? :laugh: What did we pay for Hainsey? A 2nd and change?

Heh... you're probably right. Probably.

It seems like he's barely played, though. And when he has it's been... rough on the eyes. Defensemen are valuable, though. And other teams might view his 2 years beyond this at 2+ million as a good thing if they see him as a fit. So I dunno.

Having over 2M riding pine sucks, though. And it's clearly the right decision. Like I said the other day... they really need to put a moratorium on dealing in Leafs and ex Leafs. Unless it's a slam dunk like Hot Dogs.
 

BlindWillyMcHurt

ti kallisti
May 31, 2004
34,091
27,915
Yeah, people can carp about the 4th line or the 3C, but man, the way that this team has handled the blueline is worse this year than any of those two issues, IMO.

Don't mistake me on this... I would LOVE to have a rock solid 3C. I fully understand the concept. I get how it helps our top players. I get spreading the wealth and all that. Four line attack, etc, etc.

But that's an IDEAL. It's very difficult to actually achieve and seems more predicated on blind stupid luck than anything. It doesn't mean you shouldn't try but you don't want it to get to the point of chasing windmills, either.

I still maintain there are always ways to win. Especially when you have Crosby, Malkin and Kessel healthy and producing.
 

Peat

Registered User
Jun 14, 2016
29,292
25,206
I'm voting yes without watching Cullen because I'm a bad person but there we go.

Minnesota fans don't say he's done; his numbers, if compared to his 4C numbers, don't say he's done.

And if you're happy he's not done, he's about as good a player as is available. More, he has the best fit with the team. He's not gonna spend forever looking lost, he knows the system better than half the team.

I'm not saying he definitely fixes the problem - I'd like to get him and someone else - but he's a no brainer rental pick-up who, minutes aside, probably does offer the best possibility of a fix.

Yeah, people can carp about the 4th line or the 3C, but man, the way that this team has handled the blueline is worse this year than any of those two issues, IMO.

In retrospect, we could have put a lot more trust in Ruhwedel and saved us a decent amount of wedge. Signing Ruhwedel back for nuffink and getting Oleksiak were nice smart moves though.
 

SEALBound

Fancy Gina Carano
Sponsor
Jun 13, 2010
40,104
18,215
Simple for me really:

Pursue other (better) options such as Brassard, Pageau, etc. If you can't get anyone or the prices are too high, Cullen for a late pick at the last moment would be okay with me.
 
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Ryder71

Registered User
Nov 24, 2017
22,831
11,036
Simple for me really:

Pursue other (better) options such as Brassard, Pageau, etc. If you can't get anyone or the prices are too high, Cullen for a late pick at the last moment would be okay with me.
I'm not necessarily clamoring for Cullen. However he wouldn't be a bad secondary addition if we do pick up a more capable 3C. That would afford us more options and flexibility in the bottom six.
 

Tom Hanks

Spelling mistakes brought to you by my iPhone.
Nov 10, 2017
30,408
32,434
Yeah, people can carp about the 4th line or the 3C, but man, the way that this team has handled the blueline is worse this year than any of those two issues, IMO.

Our blue line is built based on having all our forwards being scoring threats in particular the top 9. When that doesn’t happen (as in this season) it puts a huge strain on the D, which is what we see.
 

HandshakeLine

A real jerk thing
Nov 9, 2005
47,759
31,603
Praha, CZ
Our blue line is built based on having all our forwards being scoring threats in particular the top 9. When that doesn’t happen (as in this season) it puts a huge strain on the D, which is what we see.

I'm not talking just about the on-ice performance. Why are we scratching 2 million+ in cap space every night by keeping both Cole and Hunwick, especially with Ruhwedel and Oleksiak emerging for cheap?
 

Tom Hanks

Spelling mistakes brought to you by my iPhone.
Nov 10, 2017
30,408
32,434
I'm not talking just about the on-ice performance. Why are we scratching 2 million+ in cap space every night by keeping both Cole and Hunwick, especially with Ruhwedel and Oleksiak emerging for cheap?

Yeah Hunwick should be an accepted mistake and move on. Get whatever you can. At least with Cole he has a good playoff track record with us and is playing well again.

Hunwick whether the system or concussion issues hasn’t clicked.

Nothing wrong with Corrado at #8 when healthy
 

Nakawick

Minty Fresh
Apr 5, 2010
11,291
2,796
The Range
I want him as 4LW ready to step in as 4C if Sheahan or the new 3C gets hurt.

I don't think I want him as a 4C behind Sheahan.
I am fine with Cullen as long as he is the 2nd best center we bring in. But there is no option in the poll, so I shall abstain.
 

T1K

Registered User
Jul 23, 2013
7,326
1,883
Pittsburgh
I’m in favor of acquiring Cullen just because I haven’t seen any better names mentioned for 3C except for Pageau. If getting Pageau involved trading Sprong I’m not sure if I’d be happy with that.

I voted Cullen, he’s kinda redundant with Sheahan- however riding the hot hand between the two as 3C is not that bad of a situation.
 

PenguinSpeed

Registered User
Oct 4, 2017
1,799
898
I’m in favor of acquiring Cullen just because I haven’t seen any better names mentioned for 3C except for Pageau. If getting Pageau involved trading Sprong I’m not sure if I’d be happy with that.

I voted Cullen, he’s kinda redundant with Sheahan- however riding the hot hand between the two as 3C is not that bad of a situation.


-JT Miller? NY is dumping its roster for rebuild.

-If we make a move, it should be for something better then Cullen. His points and shooting percentage are at career all time lows this year. Age / fatigue has caught up with him. I wouldnt expect some miraculous turnaround if he came here.
 

Tom Hanks

Spelling mistakes brought to you by my iPhone.
Nov 10, 2017
30,408
32,434
-JT Miller? NY is dumping its roster for rebuild.

-If we make a move, it should be for something better then Cullen. His points and shooting percentage are at career all time lows this year. Age / fatigue has caught up with him. I wouldnt expect some miraculous turnaround if he came here.

You’re allowed more than one move.
 

Trade

Guentzel is ELITE
Apr 13, 2015
7,077
6,294
If he's available and we can't land a bigger/longer-term fish I'm all for it. He makes our 4th line instantly better.
 

Tender Rip

Wears long pants
Feb 12, 2007
17,972
5,171
Shanghai, China
I voted for the second option but actually felt short a fourth option, like: "Not an ideal solution to 3C, but might be the best among bad plausible solutions."
 

ziggyjoe212

Registered User
Oct 2, 2017
3,039
2,359
A 3rd line center would solve all our problems for forwards. Sheahan is great as a 4c.
 

The Greatest 101

Registered User
Dec 10, 2013
3,872
621
Manchuria
My worry about Sheahan is that he's not a very good goal scorer unlike Bones and Cullen. Playmakers with weak shots are usually more likely to disappear in the playoffs. The capitals have suffered that for years. Backs and Kuz etc.
 

Shady Machine

Registered User
Aug 6, 2010
36,691
8,111
I'm going to ask another question based on the poll: if Minnesota wants fair value for Cullen (a 3rd round pick or so), do you want Cullen back? Or does he basically have to be free for you to want to bring him back?

Nope. Not paying anything over a 5th. In my view, if they are moving him (still don't get why they'd want to) it's to do Cullen a solid and just ask for marginal return.
 

Shady Machine

Registered User
Aug 6, 2010
36,691
8,111
I still think you could get more for Hunwick than a Cullen-Hunwick swap, but maybe I'm wrong? :laugh: What did we pay for Hainsey? A 2nd and change?

You're wrong because of the term. We'd probably have to add a pick just for someone to take him. Not that he's terrible or anything (well yeah he is), but the cost and term for a number 6 32 year old dman is fairly steep.
 

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