Rumor: Ott-Arizona talking Stepan

[qqaz]

He’s still a 6.5M cap hit so he’s exactly a cap dump. Real dollars don’t matter in that situation and only effect him and the owner paying him,his cap hit doesn’t change or fluctuate

He's only a cap dump if his team needs to dump him. Arizona doesn't.

 

[Jakey53]

Stepan lead all forwards on his team in ice-time last season.

Because of RT, not his play.

 

[Fatass]

The problem is that Arizona barely has any picks to be giving away to other teams.

That’s how I see this too. What’s the cost in sweetener for Arizona to dump Stepan on Ottawa?

 

[Fatass]

He's only a cap dump if his team needs to dump him. Arizona doesn't.

He’s a cap dump when sweetener is added for another team to take his contract. Imo he will need sweetener, which projects he’s a cap dump.

 

[Jakey53]

Yep. I agree. I think the D moves come at the deadline. If Stepan is moved for futures its more about culture

I agree. If they still want to move Stepan after his bonus has been paid speaks volumes how little they value him. I would have given him away two years ago. Why people still stick up for him is beyond me. Today, his a a 3C that should keep his mouth shut and not be anywhere close to a leadership role. NYR's got rid of him for a reason, and Chayka bit.

 

[rt]

Pretty sure the GM squashed the “ordered to cut payroll” rumors. He could be lying but I doubt it because his actions don’t support it. If that was true, he’d have accepted the final Virtanen, Sutter, a 1st and a 2nd deal Vancouver offered for OEL. That was close enough to decent value to accept without losing too much face if you were under a payroll slash mandate.

There were also strong rumors that Philadelphia had interest in Demers. That’s another one where if there was an offer and he declined the offer, it shows a lack of pressure on him to cut payroll.

Goligoski’s NT list was leaked and it was literally just all the Canadian teams, Buffalo and Detroit. So I imagine he could have got SOMETHING done there if he was forced.

Instead he decided not to take offers below where he set his value on these assets and he quietly rebuilt the bottom six forwards with some solid checkers like Pitlick, Larsson, and Caggiula.

He directly said he was not ordered to cut payroll and all of his actions so far certainly support that claim. As a result, I tend to believe him.

 

[rt]

That’s how I see this too. What’s the cost in sweetener for Arizona to dump Stepan on Ottawa?

There’s no chance Arizona pays to move Stepan. He’s more than worth his salary. This is a throw away season as most of the veteran core is unrestricted and none of them were brought in by the current GM. Hell, even the coaches are in contract years and weren’t hired by this GM.

This is 56 game training camp. The stakes aren’t anywhere near high enough to lose assets to move solid players.

The Coyotes just have to get through the season and will head into the expansion draft with no risk of losing anyone valuable, and tons of cap space with all of Stepan, Hjalmarsson, Goligoski, Demers, Oesterle, and Raanta off the books.

 

[Jakey53]

He's only a cap dump if his team needs to dump him. Arizona doesn't.

BA wants flexibility and right now we don't have that.

 

[Kranix]

Isn't Shawn Simpson the guy the sens feed disinformation

 

[rt]

Does Stepan for Anisimov make sense as a one for one trade?

 

[Jakey53]

There’s no chance Arizona pays to move Stepan. He’s more than worth his salary. This is a throw away season as most of the veteran core is unrestricted and none of them were brought in by the current GM. Hell, even the coaches are in contract years and weren’t hired by this GM.

This is 56 game training camp. The stakes aren’t anywhere near high enough to lose assets to move solid players.

The Coyotes just have to get through the season and will head into the expansion draft with no risk of losing anyone valuable, and tons of cap space with all of Stepan, Hjalmarsson, Goligoski, Demers, Oesterle, and Raanta off the books.

Why do the Yotes want to trade Stepan? He's a C, which we have few, his bonus has been paid, so it can't be salary, and you would think he would be a mentor to Hayton and others. I can't see us get FA in return right now, maybe at TTD, so why not wait until then. Maybe BA sees the true colors of Stepan the player and person.

 

[Jakey53]

Does Stepan for Anisimov make sense as a one for one trade?

NO.

 

[drw02]

LTIR does not work that way. It’s not something you can stash a salary off the cap.
A team like say the Rangers with a bunch of players on ELCs they can send them down at start Thrn put Hossa on LTIR Thrn call the ELCs up against that space. Or as Toronto did with Marner or other teams coukd do with signing a vet against a LTIR.

It's exactly what Detroit did with Franzen for a few years. They'd be over cap all offseason and like the day before the season started he'd be transferred to LTIR and the Wings would magically become cap compliant.

 

[Sensmileletsgo]

The Sens could really use a stop gap player like Stepan. White-Tierney-Norris-Anisimov is very weak and inexperienced down the middle.

 

[qqaz]

He’s a cap dump when sweetener is added for another team to take his contract. Imo he will need sweetener, which projects he’s a cap dump.

I agree, that is how you would define a cap dump. And maybe you're right that he would require a sweetener. I don't think he would, but lets call it arguable.

I can still almost guarantee you that if he truly does require a sweetener to move, then Arizona would be happy to keep him.

Even if they're looking for the culture shock / leadership change, then they can move him at the deadline, when he'll absolutely have some trade value. A team that needs to build, and has no draft picks, won't add a pick to get rid of Stepan just a few months earlier. They're under no pressure to move him.

 

[DaveMatthew]

Stepan would be a real good add for Ottawa. He can still play solid minutes, is dependable, and would be great to have around Norris, White and Brown.

I don’t think this would be a cap dump situation though. Stepan still has value.

Simpson suggested it’d be Anisimov, Balcers and a 2nd going from Ottawa.

Anisimov to free up a spot and swap salary, Balcers and the 2nd as the main return.

 

[Sensmileletsgo]

Stepan would be a real good add for Ottawa. He can still play solid minutes, is dependable, and would be great to have around Norris, White and Brown.

I don’t think this would be a cap dump situation though. Stepan still has value.

Simpson suggested it’d be Anisimov, Balcers and a 2nd going from Ottawa.

Anisimov to free up a spot and swap salary, Balcers and the 2nd as the main return.

I wonder what Dorion thinks of Balcers. I’m still high in the guy but maybe I shouldn’t be.

 

[AZviaNJ]

Stepan would be a real good add for Ottawa. He can still play solid minutes, is dependable, and would be great to have around Norris, White and Brown.

I don’t think this would be a cap dump situation though. Stepan still has value.

Simpson suggested it’d be Anisimov, Balcers and a 2nd going from Ottawa.

Anisimov to free up a spot and swap salary, Balcers and the 2nd as the main return.

As a Coyote fan I'd make that trade in a heart-beat!

 

[DaveMatthew]

I wonder what Dorion thinks of Balcers. I’m still high in the guy but maybe I shouldn’t be.

I think Balcers is a good young player who can play in the NHL, but with all the young guys coming, there’s going to be a squeeze.

For the Sens, leadership and veteran presence may be more valuable at this point than a Tier B young player, of which they have many.

 

[themelkman]

The culture in AZ is bad. They need a major shake-up. Kessel, OEL and Hjalmarsson have NMCs and Goligoski has a NTC.

Stepan plays a TON of minutes and almost never makes a mistake on the ice. He’s like a player coach. Flawless fundamentals. But he’s a happy go lucky goof ball type. A loveable clown.

The Coyotes have waaaay too many of these guys in key leadership positions. It’s one of the reasons for the mid-season collapse where they acquired Taylor Hall while in first place, and then tumbled way out of a playoff spot. It’s one of the reasons why they were able to defeat Nashville in a short but tough playin round but they just laid down and died against Colorado.

The Coyotes have a major leadership and culture problem. They lack accountability big-time. It’s a country club atmosphere. Our last “Number Muncher” Robo-Boy GM did not understand the human element in the slightest.

It’s no wonder the new GM came in screaming and pounding in the table at his introductory press conference about changing the culture, finding players who will bleed for the organization, and never accepting anyone who wants to be here for the weather or the golf.

Not only did he immediately fire a ton of people but he also let every UFA leave and he replaced them all exclusively with players who are known to work extremely hard and never let up on the ice. He brought in Pitlick, Larsson, Caggiula, Hayden and Hunt via UFA. He just narrowly missed being able to trade OEL. Trading Stepan would be the next biggest shake-up behind OEL.

Thats fair, I just wonder if they can afford to move a minute muncher when they want to be competitive still

 

[rt]

Thats fair, I just wonder if they can afford to move a minute muncher when they want to be competitive still

If it’s a pure shakeup like Stepan for Anisimov I think it’s fine. Ottawa’s scouts might think Stepan will go back to his standard 55 point pace in Ottawa and are willing to take the risk on the younger Stepan if they think Anisimov is no longer part of the plan.

I’m not saying that it’s smart or dumb but it’s not crazy.

Arizona might look at the small cap savings as a way to address another hole up-front.

 

[NyQuil]

I'm not enamoured with Stepan as I see another stop-gap centre and we already have one in Chris Tierney.

Giving up an asset for a guy that doesn't factor into the future plans of the team seems odd.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

I'm not enamoured with Stepan as I see another stop-gap centre and we already have one in Chris Tierney.

Giving up an asset for a guy that doesn't factor into the future plans of the team seems odd.

Not if you can acquire more future assets at the deadline and you can teams are always ALWAYS looking for centers at the deadline

 

[Big Muddy]

- Anisimov still had 15 goals in 50 games this year... He can still be effective

Ottawa retains salary and gets about the same quality player back?

Why does Ottawa need a center?

I mean, they could use a top line center, but other than that, they don't need a 25 point center...they've got too many of those.

Kind of what I thought. Seems like a head scratcher maneuver, unless Ottawa leverages and gets something else in the deal.

 

[rt]

As a Coyote fan I'd make that trade in a heart-beat!

We could desperately use another decent draft pick. Getting an okay fill-in with Anisimov and a 2nd would be quite a relief for BA and Plandowski, I’m sure. Ottawa on the other hand has stockpiled so damned many picks and prospects, are they even going to be able to sign them all? Haha.