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"You're a boring old man"
This offseason needs to begin the complete destruction and rebuild that the 2 stooges put into motion over 4 years ago. Obviously you can't rely on FA alone to rebuild a team and there are a handful of guys that we all agree should be traded, for anything really. However, we know who the 2014 FA crop will be and there are some intriguing names out there, that could help in key areas we are lacking.
The first order of business, would be to obviously fire Bylsma (his entire staff) and Shero. That should happen the moment we're eliminated, which i pray is this round. Everything beyond that is pointless until they are gone, which we all pray happens.
http://capgeek.com/free-agents/
There are the 2014 FA's. If the cap does increase into the 70-71M range, we would be sitting in the 15M range in terms of space available. That is without signing and RFA's/UFA's from our own team.
I want to break it down into groups.
Group 1:
Players that NEED TO WALK (IE. don't even offer them the time of day).
1. Glass
2. Engo
3. Kobasew
4. Orpik
5. Pyatt
6. Vokoun
Most of those guys are a major reason for the **** we're in. They are easily replaceable by guys already in the system or relatively cheap FA signings from other teams. Didn't include AHL level FA's.
Group 2:
Players that NEED TO RE-SIGN (IE. proved their worth and need to be brought back)
1. Niskanen
2. Vitale
3. Despres (RFA, possibly trade bait)
4. Gibbons (RFA)
5. Megna (RFA)
Nisky has blossomed into a legit #3 and while his price tag will jump north of 4M per, i think given his age and skill set, is worth it at 4.5M per, give or take a little. Vitale is the perfect 4th liner. Every team should have a guy like him. He'll be cheap. Couple of RFA's that obviously need to be kept.
Group 3:
Players that COULD BE KEPT (for the right price, length of term)
1. Sutter (RFA)
2. Goc
3. Jokinen
4. Stemp
Sutter may or may not be worth it, depending on what the trade market is like and whether or not we could lure a Bolland type in FA. Goc, Joki and Stemp could all be pieces but i'm not paying them more then they make now and they wouldn't be first choices.
Now we can look at FA's from other teams that would make sense, depending on what we do with our own players.
Forwards:
1. Bolland
2. Kulemin
3. Winnik
I like Bolland a lot as a #3C. Winnik would be a wonderful fit as a 3/4. Big body, can move people and chip in offensively.
Defenseman:
There really aren't any guys that pop out in the FA class, and quite frankly, if we bring back Nisky and use the plethora of depth we have within the system, we really don't need to dip into the FA pool.
Goaltenders:
1. Halak
2. Brian Elliott
Halak is my sleeper signing for this offseason. He's always been pretty good and flashed elite skills, namely against us a few years back in the postseason. He put up very good numbers this year and at 28 isn't as old as a guy like Miller and won't command near that much cash. IF we can get Fleury out of the mix, he's my #1 target. A 3 year contract would be about perfect as we develop our own young players in Jarry and Murray. Elliott would be a great backup.
Players that i'd absolutely explore trading:
1. Fleury (don't care if we literally give him away)
2. Letang
3. Scuderi (for anything really)
4. Neal
5. Sutter
Players that i'd listen to offers on or use in package for a top 6 winger/top 4 dman:
1. Despres (probably in package deal with one of the guys above)
2. Bennett (see Despres)
Ideally, we could target players like Blake Wheeler, Andrew Ladd, David Perron, Bobby Ryan, Clarke MacArthur, Ryan Kesler, 1st round picks etc. A goalie like Reimer could come into play.
Anyway, post your thoughts on the upcoming FA's and where we should go with our own players as well as guys from other teams.
The first order of business, would be to obviously fire Bylsma (his entire staff) and Shero. That should happen the moment we're eliminated, which i pray is this round. Everything beyond that is pointless until they are gone, which we all pray happens.
http://capgeek.com/free-agents/
There are the 2014 FA's. If the cap does increase into the 70-71M range, we would be sitting in the 15M range in terms of space available. That is without signing and RFA's/UFA's from our own team.
I want to break it down into groups.
Group 1:
Players that NEED TO WALK (IE. don't even offer them the time of day).
1. Glass
2. Engo
3. Kobasew
4. Orpik
5. Pyatt
6. Vokoun
Most of those guys are a major reason for the **** we're in. They are easily replaceable by guys already in the system or relatively cheap FA signings from other teams. Didn't include AHL level FA's.
Group 2:
Players that NEED TO RE-SIGN (IE. proved their worth and need to be brought back)
1. Niskanen
2. Vitale
3. Despres (RFA, possibly trade bait)
4. Gibbons (RFA)
5. Megna (RFA)
Nisky has blossomed into a legit #3 and while his price tag will jump north of 4M per, i think given his age and skill set, is worth it at 4.5M per, give or take a little. Vitale is the perfect 4th liner. Every team should have a guy like him. He'll be cheap. Couple of RFA's that obviously need to be kept.
Group 3:
Players that COULD BE KEPT (for the right price, length of term)
1. Sutter (RFA)
2. Goc
3. Jokinen
4. Stemp
Sutter may or may not be worth it, depending on what the trade market is like and whether or not we could lure a Bolland type in FA. Goc, Joki and Stemp could all be pieces but i'm not paying them more then they make now and they wouldn't be first choices.
Now we can look at FA's from other teams that would make sense, depending on what we do with our own players.
Forwards:
1. Bolland
2. Kulemin
3. Winnik
I like Bolland a lot as a #3C. Winnik would be a wonderful fit as a 3/4. Big body, can move people and chip in offensively.
Defenseman:
There really aren't any guys that pop out in the FA class, and quite frankly, if we bring back Nisky and use the plethora of depth we have within the system, we really don't need to dip into the FA pool.
Goaltenders:
1. Halak
2. Brian Elliott
Halak is my sleeper signing for this offseason. He's always been pretty good and flashed elite skills, namely against us a few years back in the postseason. He put up very good numbers this year and at 28 isn't as old as a guy like Miller and won't command near that much cash. IF we can get Fleury out of the mix, he's my #1 target. A 3 year contract would be about perfect as we develop our own young players in Jarry and Murray. Elliott would be a great backup.
Players that i'd absolutely explore trading:
1. Fleury (don't care if we literally give him away)
2. Letang
3. Scuderi (for anything really)
4. Neal
5. Sutter
Players that i'd listen to offers on or use in package for a top 6 winger/top 4 dman:
1. Despres (probably in package deal with one of the guys above)
2. Bennett (see Despres)
Ideally, we could target players like Blake Wheeler, Andrew Ladd, David Perron, Bobby Ryan, Clarke MacArthur, Ryan Kesler, 1st round picks etc. A goalie like Reimer could come into play.
Anyway, post your thoughts on the upcoming FA's and where we should go with our own players as well as guys from other teams.
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