HugeInTheShire
You may not like me but, I'm Huge in the Shire
Devils will certainly qualify both Wood and Zacha, makes zero sense for them not to
QO a team can only walk away from it it’s over $4.5 mill. So if someone got exactly $4.5 mill then you have to accept that deal. No walking away. And if that’s too high relative to what that player would get on the open market you are left holding onto him.The problem with QO is arbitration. Arbitration is the wild card.
in arbitrationtherr can be two problem points
1. he is awarded more than you can afford. If you have 2 arbitrations you have a second buy out window.
2.the individual award might not be a problem on its own, but it can set a benchmark that future young players will want to get above. You sign your bottom 6/ bottom pair to $3M thrn others will say i dhoukd get more than $3M which skew your salary structure.
If you have limited cap space like say Pittsburgh. It’s better to not QO Kapanen but still sign him at a low amount.
i believe not QO use makes them a UFA but the team still control is rights till UFA day. They can negotiate a deal below what arbitration can get.
Seems like an issue of improper coaching and motivation. Could very well be another Sam Bennett case. I feel like 5 playoff games in 6 season and nearly 400 NHL games may be a cause. I would be open to giving him a shot in Calgary if they move on from Monahan. He may flourish under Sutter and playing with guys like Toffoli, Dube, Mangiapane, or reuniting with Coleman (though I dont think Backlund and Coleman should be separated again).the classic "all the tools, no toolbox" player
great shot, never uses it. Good size, never uses it. Plays lazy way too much.
Hughes's extension 8M extension kicks in this summer and most think Bratt will get in the 6-7M AAV range when his contract drops (supposedly any day now).Don't the Devils have like...plenty of cap space though? Is there someone other than Bratt that they have to get signed? I don't see them letting either of those guys just "walk" for nothing. Worst case, they're stuck with them for a year at an arbitration award number that makes them hard to move.
Its not always about the cap space. You shouldn't just sign and trade for players because you can afford them (Montreal last summer is a prime example). It's more about fit and team direction. If New Jersey say wants to make a big splash in the next 2 years they shouldn't spend cap on slightly over paid guys just for the sake of itDon't the Devils have like...plenty of cap space though? Is there someone other than Bratt that they have to get signed? I don't see them letting either of those guys just "walk" for nothing. Worst case, they're stuck with them for a year at an arbitration award number that makes them hard to move.
Seems like an issue of improper coaching and motivation. Could very well be another Sam Bennett case. I feel like 5 playoff games in 6 season and nearly 400 NHL games may be a cause. I would be open to giving him a shot in Calgary if they move on from Monahan. He may flourish under Sutter and playing with guys like Toffoli, Dube, Mangiapane, or reuniting with Coleman (though I dont think Backlund and Coleman should be separated again).
Ruzicka likely peaks as a 3rd liner. Zacha certainly has a higher ceiling. The goal for either next year or or the year after should be to go into the playoffs with Backlund as the clear 3C in a shutdown role. To me Ruzicka is more like a Jake Evans on MontrealCalgary sort of has our Zacha clone in Ruzicka.
Only way Zacha makes sense in Calgary is if there is some major, major, major shuffling.
QO a team can only walk away from it it’s over $4.5 mill. So if someone got exactly $4.5 mill then you have to accept that deal. No walking away. And if that’s too high relative to what that player would get on the open market you are left holding onto him.
Hughes's extension 8M extension kicks in this summer and most think Bratt will get in the 6-7M AAV range when his contract drops (supposedly any day now).
Next year Graves and Severson are UFA, and Siegenthaler, Sharangovich, and Smith are all RFA. And most expect Fitzgerald to go after a goalie and likely overpay for one. So depending on who they sign that cap space can vanish real quick.
The problem is that NJ has too many redundant guys. Andreas Johnsson, Tomas Tatar, Pavel Zacha, Janne Kuokkanen, Jesper Boqvist. Having one or two of these guys as depth forwards is totally fine, having your entire bottom-6 be made up of guys like this is a problem. I don't agree that Wood should be lumped in here, he brings a different element to the team and has really matured the last 2 years.
But Zacha is lost, disinterested, lazy, and apparently disgruntled. In juniors he was physically assertive, shot the puck often and was suspended a few times for borderline hits. Now he's a soft perimeter player that doesn't shoot, doesn't forecheck, doesn't play defense, sucks at center, and always looks to make the fancy play.
If no one want him through trade I can definitely see him being qualified. Even Fitzgerald's comments about him at the end of the season were weird, something along the lines of "yeah he's a good player but we need to examine our long-term outlook of the franchise and see where he fits in."
I would expect NJ to move off Zacha this summer and possibly dump another guy like Johnsson to anyone that will take him (ARI has been rumored to be interested). This gives room for prospects like Foote and Zetterlund to make the roster and bring new elements to the team.
Its not always about the cap space. You shouldn't just sign and trade for players because you can afford them (Montreal last summer is a prime example). It's more about fit and team direction. If New Jersey say wants to make a big splash in the next 2 years they shouldn't spend cap on slightly over paid guys just for the sake of it