Ottawa 67's 2019 Offseason Thread

[BarberPole9]

Ontario Hockey League – Official Site of the Ontario Hockey League Interestingly, only Ottawa and London have their current pre-season rosters up at this time.

10 D (2 2003's) and 12 F (3 2003's) on the initial pre-season roster. Can you say roster imbalance? I trust in James Boyd to make a couple good deals to balance things out.

 

[Fischhaber]

Ontario Hockey League – Official Site of the Ontario Hockey League Interestingly, only Ottawa and London have their current pre-season rosters up at this time.

10 D (2 2003's) and 12 F (3 2003's) on the initial pre-season roster. Can you say roster imbalance? I trust in James Boyd to make a couple good deals to balance things out.

A trade with Sault Ste. Marie makes a lot of sense from an armchair GM perspective. They have the opposite problem and a similar style of play.

A question for Ottawa fans though. Every single defenseman, rookies notwithstanding, is a left shot. Who played the right side last year?

 

[PuckStop75]

Hoef, Rippon & Wilson

 

[OMG67]

So this question keeps getting tougher and tougher to answer.

Bitten - GONE
Peric - looks like he’s gone
Add in the fact none of their NCAA bound draft picks have signed but the two that we traded signed.

To be a bonafide contender, you need to be three lines deep. We were three lines deep last year and got outclassed.

We find ourselves with barely two lines. I will argue that Graham Clarke has not proven himself capable of being a top 2 line winger 5 on 5. He can get there but that is an experiment yet to be successfully accomplished.

We return 10 D-Men so the depth is there but only 6 play and really only 4 play meaningful minutes so who really cares?

How is this team considered a contender right now? They have a few top flight players, for sure, but so do many other teams.

We’ve managed to acquire some picks back because the two American kids signed and we made a couple trades but those picks will only go so far. Those two 2nds, 3rd and a 5th would go to one decent top 6 OA based on what we paid last year for Maksimovich.

I’m game for taking a wait and see approach but the prices are weaker now for player acquisition. Does this team blow a bunch of picks now to augment their roster and hope they are good enough or do they wait and decide they are good enough and blow the cupboard clean to acquire the same level of player?

It is great to be safe but if you think you are a winner, act like it.

BTW, I am still leaning toward a sell. Trade Bahl and keep Peric. I think that is the way smarter move.

 

[OMG67]

So, I got to thinking about the defence situation and Peric. Let’s break it down. Hypothetically speaking, if we traded Bahl, Peric would probably play significant minutes so let’s assume for a second he would entertain staying under that scenario.

If we were to trade Kevin Bahl for draft picks (just to keep the value simple and equatable), we’d probably get in the range of four 2nds. If we traded Peric, we’d probably get two 2nds.

So, the poll question is, assuming my valuation is accurate, What would you rather have?

Kevin Bahl for one season with time missed for the WJHC

OR

Lucas Peric for 2+1 season (OA candidate for the +1 season)
& Two 2nd round picks

If we are a bonafide top 4 contender right now for a Championship, I’d say Kevin Bahl. If we aren’t? I’d say #2 for sure.

 

[mosaic]

To get an answer for this season you need to look forward to what happens after the season. The team is going to lose for sure Hoef and Wilson. Bahl and Okotoyuhk are almost certainly gone as well being high NHL draft picks who are eligible for pro hockey and don't have to come back to the OHL. Add to that the Peric situation and you can quickly arrive at 5 of the current roster on defense needing to be replaced with Rippon ('00), Belanger ('02) being the only veterens left. As it stands what would be left is a group of 'one '02 and 03 defense to fill the gap. This is will almost certainly re-balanced this season and I expect at least 2 of the existing D to be traded for forwards.

 

[beastintheeast]

I think this team is best suited as being a contender for the division championship and maybe conference.

We need to look at this team as a building year if that makes sense. First as has been stated over an over we lose almost all ur defence next year.
There is an outside chance that we lose Rossi and definitely lose Keating and Hoelscher.

My preference would be after or during training camp trade Peric and get a young player for him. There are teams that can use his leadership and ability to steady their defence.

Before the break for WJC find out where Bahl wants to go and see what we can get for him on the open market. The same with Hoef.

This is a team that is not going to win a league championship this year so why not build and give some of the young guys a chance to show what they can do.

Also, they can start to build the chemistry that they need for the next year and Boyd and Tourigny can get an idea of what they need to draft or trade to make this team better.

 

[OMG67]

I think this team is best suited as being a contender for the division championship and maybe conference.

We need to look at this team as a building year if that makes sense. First as has been stated over an over we lose almost all ur defence next year.
There is an outside chance that we lose Rossi and definitely lose Keating and Hoelscher.

My preference would be after or during training camp trade Peric and get a young player for him. There are teams that can use his leadership and ability to steady their defence.

Before the break for WJC find out where Bahl wants to go and see what we can get for him on the open market. The same with Hoef.

This is a team that is not going to win a league championship this year so why not build and give some of the young guys a chance to show what they can do.

Also, they can start to build the chemistry that they need for the next year and Boyd and Tourigny can get an idea of what they need to draft or trade to make this team better.

I don't understand why you would trade Peric AND Bahl.

To me, you are doing one or the other. Either you are retooling for next year's run if you are confident Rossi is back or you are gearing up for this year.

To me, trading both isn't an option.

Also, if we trade Peric, the best we can hope for is to receive another disgruntled young player in return. Otherwise, the deal will be for draft picks. It is early season and teams typically are not dealing players unless it is to satisfy trade requests or trading them from surplus for picks.

 

[BarberPole9]

So, I got to thinking about the defence situation and Peric. Let’s break it down. Hypothetically speaking, if we traded Bahl, Peric would probably play significant minutes so let’s assume for a second he would entertain staying under that scenario.

If we were to trade Kevin Bahl for draft picks (just to keep the value simple and equatable), we’d probably get in the range of four 2nds. If we traded Peric, we’d probably get two 2nds.

So, the poll question is, assuming my valuation is accurate, What would you rather have?

Kevin Bahl for one season with time missed for the WJHC

OR

Lucas Peric for 2+1 season (OA candidate for the +1 season)
& Two 2nd round picks

If we are a bonafide top 4 contender right now for a Championship, I’d say Kevin Bahl. If we aren’t? I’d say #2 for sure.

I would move Peric, and keep Bahl and see where the team is at the Christmas break before making a decision on Bahl.

At this time of year, no team in the league is trading 4 x 2nd's based on recent history. If Bahl plays as well as he did in the second half and makes Team Canada and the 67's decide to move on from him they can almost assuredly get a D as good as Peric in the deal plus picks.

If the team is a contender, move all the picks from 2021 onwards (6 2nd's and 5 3rd's after the Bitten trade) and take next year as a re-tool with our awesome draft classes from last year and all the picks from this upcoming draft. It will be a very quick re-tool having players like Graeme Clarke, Merrick Rippon, Jack Quinn, Cedric Andree and Marco Rossi next year to recoup all of the picks especially with all of those players having significant playoff experience for two year and the OHL being in a host year. The team would likely only feel the one year of pain in 2020-21 and then be back to a top team with the 2003 draft class in their 18 year old seasons.

 

[BarberPole9]

A trade with Sault Ste. Marie makes a lot of sense from an armchair GM perspective. They have the opposite problem and a similar style of play.

A question for Ottawa fans though. Every single defenseman, rookies notwithstanding, is a left shot. Who played the right side last year?

Would Joe Carroll for Lucas Peric be a fair deal? Both should have three more years left.

 

[hky01]

Would Joe Carroll for Lucas Peric be a fair deal? Both should have three more years left.

 

[beastintheeast]

I don't understand why you would trade Peric AND Bahl.

To me, you are doing one or the other. Either you are retooling for next year's run if you are confident Rossi is back or you are gearing up for this year.

To me, trading both isn't an option.

Also, if we trade Peric, the best we can hope for is to receive another disgruntled young player in return. Otherwise, the deal will be for draft picks. It is early season and teams typically are not dealing players unless it is to satisfy trade requests or trading them from surplus for picks.

OMG I am not saying trade him now I am saying that I would look at trading him during the break near the deadline because As good as some of our players are This is a team that needs to be competitive BUT also needs to retool for next year.

 

[OMG67]

I would move Peric, and keep Bahl and see where the team is at the Christmas break before making a decision on Bahl.

At this time of year, no team in the league is trading 4 x 2nd's based on recent history. If Bahl plays as well as he did in the second half and makes Team Canada and the 67's decide to move on from him they can almost assuredly get a D as good as Peric in the deal plus picks.

If the team is a contender, move all the picks from 2021 onwards (6 2nd's and 5 3rd's after the Bitten trade) and take next year as a re-tool with our awesome draft classes from last year and all the picks from this upcoming draft. It will be a very quick re-tool having players like Graeme Clarke, Merrick Rippon, Jack Quinn, Cedric Andree and Marco Rossi next year to recoup all of the picks especially with all of those players having significant playoff experience for two year and the OHL being in a host year. The team would likely only feel the one year of pain in 2020-21 and then be back to a top team with the 2003 draft class in their 18 year old seasons.

I'm not saying trade Bahl today. I'm saying at deadline or December. But you keep Peric until then. If by late November you don't feel you are a front running contender, trade Bahl and refocus for next year.

Trading Peric now and then potentially not being in the mix for contention this year and trading Bahl at the deadline as well is a lose-lose situation in my mind.

 

[OMG67]

OMG I am not saying trade him now I am saying that I would look at trading him during the break near the deadline because As good as some of our players are This is a team that needs to be competitive BUT also needs to retool for next year.

I was saying trading Peric now and Bahl at the deadline makes no sense.

 

[OMG67]

So, to be completely clear, these 'should' be the options:

1) management has decided this team is a front runner for a championship this year. There is no sense waiting for trade deadlines etc. They have holes to fill and Peric to trade. Get on with it and push your chest out now. Resolve your OA situation. If you feel you need an OA forward, go get Gilmour, he's available. Find a landing spot for Wilson. If you need to juggle that mix later, so be it.

2) They take a long look at the roster and decide, with some strategic moves, their chances look better to contend next year. They make Bahl available during the season, keep Peric and elevate his ice time at the expense of some other players. They trade Hoefenmeyer at some point because keeping him this year only takes valuable ice time away from the younger guys you will be relying on next year. But that decision needs to be now, not at Christmas. You are handcuffed into other moves now that may impact that decision if you wait until Christmas.

3) be happy to have a solid team. Essentially do nothing and see where it takes you. You will neither commit to winning or rebuilding. You will most likely have a tidy year winning a round in the playoffs while maintaining a draft cupboard and a decent overall roster next year and simply keep that flow going like Kilrea used to do. You won't ever win a Championship but you'll always be good provided you continue to draft well.

 

[sirius67fan]

I'd be OK with that if we have to trade Peric which I'd rather not do. As I mentionned before he's too important for our future imo. I do think it would be fair value however and fill a need at forward for the next two years. This is in response to hky01 concerning a carrol/ peric trade. The quote did not stick.

 

[sirius67fan]

So, to be completely clear, these 'should' be the options:

1) management has decided this team is a front runner for a championship this year. There is no sense waiting for trade deadlines etc. They have holes to fill and Peric to trade. Get on with it and push your chest out now. Resolve your OA situation. If you feel you need an OA forward, go get Gilmour, he's available. Find a landing spot for Wilson. If you need to juggle that mix later, so be it.

2) They take a long look at the roster and decide, with some strategic moves, their chances look better to contend next year. They make Bahl available during the season, keep Peric and elevate his ice time at the expense of some other players. They trade Hoefenmeyer at some point because keeping him this year only takes valuable ice time away from the younger guys you will be relying on next year. But that decision needs to be now, not at Christmas. You are handcuffed into other moves now that may impact that decision if you wait until Christmas.

3) be happy to have a solid team. Essentially do nothing and see where it takes you. You will neither commit to winning or rebuilding. You will most likely have a tidy year winning a round in the playoffs while maintaining a draft cupboard and a decent overall roster next year and simply keep that flow going like Kilrea used to do. You won't ever win a Championship but you'll always be good provided you continue to draft well.

I'm still leaning with number 1 option, we can't waste our D, a top goalie and maybe Rossi go to waste. I still think though we keep Peric and rebalance the team in this fashion. We move Wilson and Hoef for two OA forwards or for pick that we use for OA forwards. That way we essentially keep our draft cupboard in status quo and ensure our team is competitive for the next few years as we keep Peric, Belanger, Quinn etc. A top four of Bahl, okhotiuk, Rippon, Peric is very good imo and Belanger showed a lot last year and expect a big jump. Matier/Sawyer will get bottom pairing minutes. At the deadline we can add a depth experienced D if needed for cheap and if things are looking really good you add another forward which would cost a few seconds but still leaves us with a "normal" draft cupboard. Still leaves us with Rippon, Peric, Belanger, Matier, Sawyer the year after with a core of Rossi (probably), Quinn, Clarke and maybe Hoelscher up front.

 

[OMG67]

I'm still leaning with number 1 option, we can't waste our D, a top goalie and maybe Rossi go to waste. I still think though we keep Peric and rebalance the team in this fashion. We move Wilson and Hoef for two OA forwards or for pick that we use for OA forwards. That way we essentially keep our draft cupboard in status quo and ensure our team is competitive for the next few years as we keep Peric, Belanger, Quinn etc. A top four of Bahl, okhotiuk, Rippon, Peric is very good imo and Belanger showed a lot last year and expect a big jump. Matier/Sawyer will get bottom pairing minutes. At the deadline we can add a depth experienced D if needed for cheap and if things are looking really good you add another forward which would cost a few seconds but still leaves us with a "normal" draft cupboard. Still leaves us with Rippon, Peric, Belanger, Matier, Sawyer the year after with a core of Rossi (probably), Quinn, Clarke and maybe Hoelscher up front.

If your stated goal is to win a championship, you need to keep the best players. Trading Hoef and keeping Peric is a net negative. First pairing D-Men are tough to get. Hoef is a fist pairing D-man. Peric is not. Look at Guelph last year. We had greater depth on defence but they had the higher end first two pairs. If we can keep Peric then we do it 100%. If we can't, then we roll with it

I guess all I am saying is if we are lining up for a run this year, don't line up for a jog and hope you can run when it's time.

To me, a championship roster would look like this:

Keating-Rossi-OA
19y/o scorer-Hoelscher-Quinn
18y/o scorer-Tolnai-Clarke
Beck/Johnston-Crete-Sirizzotti

Bahl-Hoef
Rippon-Okhotyuk
Belanger-19y/o big body
Matier

This roster, if healthy, would have a chance. By my estimation, that is adding four bodies we currently do not have. The OA will cost similar to Mak last year. The 3rd line 18 y/o is probably the return you wait for in the Peric deal. The 19y/o forward is the scary trade because that is the one that will cost the big return. We'd be looking at giving something we really don't want to give. The 19y/o D-man would be similar cost to the Bitten trade.

That is how I see this team as a contender again. Anything less is probably not enough to be serious.

 

[BarberPole9]

I'm not saying trade Bahl today. I'm saying at deadline or December. But you keep Peric until then. If by late November you don't feel you are a front running contender, trade Bahl and refocus for next year.

Trading Peric now and then potentially not being in the mix for contention this year and trading Bahl at the deadline as well is a lose-lose situation in my mind.

You are not factoring in Peric's wishes to get good ice time this year in his very critical third season in the league. If he's already reqested a trade, why on Earth would he come back to the exact same situation and defence corps as last year? The team played Belanger ahead of him towards the end of the playoffs, so if there weren't any moves made, he'd be showing up in a battle for the 6th spot with Belanger knowing that the team's first rounder Matier is waiting in the wings and will have to get games. At best in this scenario if they moved one of Hoef/Wilson he is in the team's third pairing playing small minutes behind Bahl, Rippon, Okhotyuk, Hoef/Wilson.

At this point, the team should do right by him and move him somewhere that he will assuredly get top four minutes this year. He should have enough value to return at least a contributing 18/19 year old forward.

 

[dirty12]

Unless the reasoning is take a chance at hosting the memorial cup, I don’t really understand why some believe this is not a great year year for the ‘67s to go for it. Sure, the forward group is not as deep as it was post deadline last season; but, the ‘67s return a goalie and 6-7 D that played in last year’s OHL final. That almost never happens. There are more than enough picks/prospects to add two top 6 forwards.
It would take more buyers than last season, some willing to part with high end ‘01 & ‘02 players plus picks to replace the equivalent of Bahl, Ohotynuk, Hoefmayer Wilson, Keating, and probably Rossi in time for next season. That’s supposedly Oshawa’s timeline too, right? And Barrie. Is Kingston is just hoarding a dozen 2001 born in anticipation of an arms race ahead of the 2021 memorial cup? Imo, it will be more costly for the ‘67s to go for it next season than this season.

 

[OMG67]

You are not factoring in Peric's wishes to get good ice time this year in his very critical third season in the league. If he's already reqested a trade, why on Earth would he come back to the exact same situation and defence corps as last year? The team played Belanger ahead of him towards the end of the playoffs, so if there weren't any moves made, he'd be showing up in a battle for the 6th spot with Belanger knowing that the team's first rounder Matier is waiting in the wings and will have to get games. At best in this scenario if they moved one of Hoef/Wilson he is in the team's third pairing playing small minutes behind Bahl, Rippon, Okhotyuk, Hoef/Wilson.

At this point, the team should do right by him and move him somewhere that he will assuredly get top four minutes this year. He should have enough value to return at least a contributing 18/19 year old forward.

The strategy is you are trading Wilson either way under this scenario because you need the OA forward to fill a top 6 hole anyway.

Pre-December:
Bahl-Hoefenmeyer
Okhotyuk-Peric
Rippon-Belanger

Post deadline if the 67’s aren’t the contender they think they are:
Okhotyuk- Peric
Rippon-Belanger
Matier-Sawyer

That post deadline defence carries over to next year minus Okhotyuk. You probably insert Gill but would also probably add an Import or a cheap veteran to help with the age.

At the end of the day, like I have said previously, they need to decide NOW if they are a contender or not. Sitting on the fence and continuing to trade assets that want out because of playing time and then not ending up as a contender is just a waste of assets and good drafting. IF they are a contender and PEric won’t get the ice time then trade him. If they are a pretender, commit to trading Bahl and give PEric more ice time leading up to that trade by separating Rippon and Okhotyuk for two months. PEric will get the PP time either way anyway.

 

[OMG67]

Unless the reasoning is take a chance at hosting the memorial cup, I don’t really understand why some believe this is not a great year year for the ‘67s to go for it. Sure, the forward group is not as deep as it was post deadline last season; but, the ‘67s return a goalie and 6-7 D that played in last year’s OHL final. That almost never happens. There are more than enough picks/prospects to add two top 6 forwards.
It would take more buyers than last season, some willing to part with high end ‘01 & ‘02 players plus picks to replace the equivalent of Bahl, Ohotynuk, Hoefmayer Wilson, Keating, and probably Rossi in time for next season. That’s supposedly Oshawa’s timeline too, right? And Barrie. Is Kingston is just hoarding a dozen 2001 born in anticipation of an arms race ahead of the 2021 memorial cup? Imo, it will be more costly for the ‘67s to go for it next season than this season.

It isn’t a question of having the assets this year to make a run, they do have them. But they’d then have to commit to tearing it down to the bone next year to recoup the draft picks. I don’t think this market has the stomach for that.

They’d lose:

Keating
Hoelscher
Whatever OA forward they acquire
Hoefenmeyer
Bahl
Okhotyuk

Then they’d be forced to trade Clarke and potentially Rossi if he returns. That leaves Tolnai and Quinn up front as the only 18+ year old forwards. It also leaves Rippon and Belanger as the only 18+ D-Men. They would return both goalies but I can’t see them keep Andree under that scenario. Cranley would get the nod in my mind.

Many people are underestimating the number of bodies this team needs to add. Last year we had the luxury of using vacant OA spots for cheaper additions. This year not as much, plus we need 5 bodies, not 3. We will deplete the remaining 2nd and 3rd round picks for the next 5 drafts for sure.

Is this management team prepared to do that? I doubt it very much. IF they aren’t willing to do that, all we’d do is win a round in the playoffs, maybe two and go into next season with the same depleted roster but more draft picks. It makes no sense.

If we make a serious run this year we’d go into next season like Guelph is going into this season. Tough to even make the playoffs.

 

[dirty12]

It isn’t a question of having the assets this year to make a run, they do have them. But they’d then have to commit to tearing it down to the bone next year to recoup the draft picks. I don’t think this market has the stomach for that.

They’d lose:

Keating
Hoelscher
Whatever OA forward they acquire
Hoefenmeyer
Bahl
Okhotyuk

Then they’d be forced to trade Clarke and potentially Rossi if he returns. That leaves Tolnai and Quinn up front as the only 18+ year old forwards. It also leaves Rippon and Belanger as the only 18+ D-Men. They would return both goalies but I can’t see them keep Andree under that scenario. Cranley would get the nod in my mind.

Many people are underestimating the number of bodies this team needs to add. Last year we had the luxury of using vacant OA spots for cheaper additions. This year not as much, plus we need 5 bodies, not 3. We will deplete the remaining 2nd and 3rd round picks for the next 5 drafts for sure.

Is this management team prepared to do that? I doubt it very much. IF they aren’t willing to do that, all we’d do is win a round in the playoffs, maybe two and go into next season with the same depleted roster but more draft picks. It makes no sense.

If we make a serious run this year we’d go into next season like Guelph is going into this season. Tough to even make the playoffs.

pretty sure that I follow you, and concede that you could very well be right: but as I see it, the ‘67s take a small step back this season then won’t be a serious contender until 2021-22 unless spending way more to contend memorial cup season than it would take this season. Likely the league’s best goalie/defence is already in place. Consider the odds of replacing a D of Ohotynuk, Bahl, Rippon, Hoff, (*Wilson - traded for OA F if you wish) as top 4-5 in one season. Consider what it cost Guelph for Phillips, Durzi, Gordeev, Hanley in one (buyer friendly imo) season. If Rossi as I suspect does not return, never mind next season.

 

[OMG67]

pretty sure that I follow you, and concede that you could very well be right: but as I see it, the ‘67s take a small step back this season then won’t be a serious contender until 2021-22 unless spending way more to contend memorial cup season than it would take this season. Likely the league’s best goalie/defence is already in place. Consider the odds of replacing a D of Ohotynuk, Bahl, Rippon, Hoff, (*Wilson - traded for OA F if you wish) as top 4-5 in one season. Consider what it cost Guelph for Phillips, Durzi, Gordeev, Hanley in one (buyer friendly imo) season. If Rossi as I suspect does not return, never mind next season.

Hypothetical roster next year if we make a few seller trades:

(OA) trade-Rossi-Quinn
Import Pick-Tolnai-Clarke
Beck/Johnston-Crete-Sirizzotti
4th line? - Draft picks from this and next draft

Rippon (OA)-TRADE
Belanger-Peric
Sawyer-Matier
Gill

Andree (OA)
Cranley

You have the return you get for Bahl which is not included on that chart. You have a 3rd OA spot open. Hoelscher is unsigned so he may be that 3rd OA. Maybe 50-50 chance. We wouldn’t necessarily lose Peric if it is understood Bahl is on the block with Hoefenmayer and that ice opens up accordingly.

We’d have a boatload of picks still to use as necessary to upgrade.

The defence obviously isn’t as strong but the foundation of a winning team is there plus additional assets that can be moved more easily next year than this year.

Hypothetically speaking, if we need to upgrade this year, we don’t have much to trade. We cannot trade any of the picks from this last draft other than Matier. Tolnai, Belanger, Quinn and Clarke are all supposed to be significant contributors. Peric will be gone well before the deadline, probably just for picks. That really only leaves Yule as the player to dangle at the deadline. We’d be in the exact same situation as last year trying to acquire players for picks because we won’t trade Matier. It is going to be really hard to make deadline deals this year.

I am not against going for it this year but if that is the plan, make all deals you can now. Don’t make silly trades on the status quo and see how the team is at Christmas.

 

[dirty12]

Hypothetical roster next year if we make a few seller trades:

(OA) trade-Rossi-Quinn
Import Pick-Tolnai-Clarke
Beck/Johnston-Crete-Sirizzotti
4th line? - Draft picks from this and next draft

Rippon (OA)-TRADE
Belanger-Peric
Sawyer-Matier
Gill

Andree (OA)
Cranley

You have the return you get for Bahl which is not included on that chart. You have a 3rd OA spot open. Hoelscher is unsigned so he may be that 3rd OA. Maybe 50-50 chance. We wouldn’t necessarily lose Peric if it is understood Bahl is on the block with Hoefenmayer and that ice opens up accordingly.

We’d have a boatload of picks still to use as necessary to upgrade.

The defence obviously isn’t as strong but the foundation of a winning team is there plus additional assets that can be moved more easily next year than this year.

Hypothetically speaking, if we need to upgrade this year, we don’t have much to trade. We cannot trade any of the picks from this last draft other than Matier. Tolnai, Belanger, Quinn and Clarke are all supposed to be significant contributors. Peric will be gone well before the deadline, probably just for picks. That really only leaves Yule as the player to dangle at the deadline. We’d be in the exact same situation as last year trying to acquire players for picks because we won’t trade Matier. It is going to be really hard to make deadline deals this year.

I am not against going for it this year but if that is the plan, make all deals you can now. Don’t make silly trades on the status quo and see how the team is at Christmas.

That part that that I have difficulty with in particular is always in some way referring to this team as in the same boat as last year’s. I disagree. The unchanged D is much better if only due to other teams graduating players; and, the goaltending is settled. A couple of impact forwards is all that is needed.