Confirmed with Link: Roland McKeown Signs One Year Two-Way Deal

[Vagrant]

the problem with mckeown, and a slew of other prospects, is a lack of specialization. mckeown came into the ahl as an offensive defenseman that had to adjust his game and learn to play better defense. what happened along the way is that his offense dried up and the improvements he made defensively weren't of the earth shattering variety to put him in a class with guys like slavin or pesce. think about another guy we got from the kings in tim gleason. same kind of story as being primarily viewed as an offensive guy. first round pick and a point per game in junior hockey. he had to totally remodel his game in order to make an impact in the league. he built it from the ground up through hard work, willingness to play the body, and willingness to embrace a full time role on the penalty kill. he was never great, but he carved out a place for himself because he did things nobody else was willing to do. he worked harder than the talent around him.

i've said it a lot this offseason because i think the hurricanes have been trying to restructure their blueline to include more well-defined roles. priskie has a leg up on mckeown because he projects as an immediate pp option and those minutes that he occupies provide the opportunity to play other players in situations where they're more suited to produce. if you're in the minors and you want to make a career, the best thing you can do is start killing penalties like it's your last shift ever. block shots. play through pain. get noticed for some reason specific to your individual case. if you specialize in nothing, what is there to gain by elevating you?

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

I get the physical machinations that led us to this point. What I don't get is why McKeown didn't get some of those 97 unimpressive games that Fleury got to see if he had something to offer. But when you consider that Fleury was Ronnie's first-ever draft pick, I guess it makes sense. I'm just saying that I'm not so sure it's been fair.

I think 2 reasons. IIRC, McKeown really struggled in his first AHL season and the following season is where Fleury got the 67 NHL games. Based strictly on their AHL body of work at the time, it’s hard to argue McKeown deserved the same NHL opportunity. It’s not that Fleury was doing anything remarkable though, but as I recall, McKeown really struggled that first year.

Secondly, as someone else mentioned, he’s a RHD and Peters preferred to keep guys on their natural side. Once the trade for Hamilton was made, it made it even more difficult for McKeown.

I’m not saying draft pedigree didn’t play a part in it also, but I can see some other valid reasons why Fleury got more chances than McKeown.

 

[Anton Babchuk]

The contract will pay McKeown $700,000 at the NHL level and $70,000 at the AHL level with a $90,000 guarantee.

Not sure what the advantage of doing 700/70 with 90 guarantee vs just doing 700/90...​

because it potentially saves the team 20k on call-ups.

with the guarantee of 90k and a 70k salary, they can essentially call him up for "free" for a few games without having to pay him extra above that 90k. if it was just a 90k salary then they'd be paying him additional money for those games.

 

[Lempo]

because it potentially saves the team 20k on call-ups.

with the guarantee of 90k and a 70k salary, they can essentially call him up for "free" for a few games without having to pay him extra above that 90k. if it was just a 90k salary then they'd be paying him additional money for those games.

Pretty much. If we presume the NHL season is 180 days long, if he spends 5 days on NHL roster he gets 5/180 x $700k = $19,444 in NHL salary.

If his AHL salary is $70k, he gets from the 175/180 days $68,056.

If his AHL salary is $90k, he gets from the 175/180 days $87,500.

It's a bit illusory, but maybe the player hopes that the team thinks they "have" to call him up for those five days to get their money's worth.

Tom Dundon so cheap he probably won't call up AHL players if it costs him money (see: Saarela's recent interview).

 

[Ole Gil]

I get the physical machinations that led us to this point. What I don't get is why McKeown didn't get some of those 97 unimpressive games that Fleury got to see if he had something to offer. But when you consider that Fleury was Ronnie's first-ever draft pick, I guess it makes sense. I'm just saying that I'm not so sure it's been fair.

Because they don't think he's good enough. If they thought he was as good as Fleury, he'd have seen some of those games. But there's something wrong with McKeown's game they've identified that's keeping him in the AHL.

 

[NotOpie]

If his AHL salary was $90k, it would have to be at least that in his next Qualified Offer. Now they can QO him with $70k AHL salary next year.

There may be other reasons. $70k is the max ELC AHL salary, maybe they don't want to stray away from it for tweeners and rather pay them with guarantees.

My sense is that both parties understand that this contract structure is more "trade-able". Low AHL salary, low NHL salary, low minimum.

I’m not saying draft pedigree didn’t play a part in it also, but I can see some other valid reasons why Fleury got more chances than McKeown.

Wasn't he also hurt a fair bit during his 3 years w/the Checkers? I seem to recall some nagging injuries during each of those seasons. I know he missed some games last season down the stretch.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

Just looking through past prospect lists as well as the upcoming free agents. McKeown played 10 games with the Hurricanes in 2017-18 but has been strictly in the AHL with the Checkers the past two seasons.

Is that a case of organizational depth improving or does he still fit in the future plans? Admittedly, it is not uncommon for defensemen to take a few years of "grooming" at the minor level before assuming a full-time NHL role.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

Just looking through past prospect lists as well as the upcoming free agents. McKeown played 10 games with the Hurricanes in 2017-18 but has been strictly in the AHL with the Checkers the past two seasons.

Is that a case of organizational depth improving or does he still fit in the future plans? Admittedly, it is not uncommon for defensemen to take a few years of "grooming" at the minor level before assuming a full-time NHL role.

We have crazy depth on D. I think he projects as a 5-6 D-man on a lot of teams, and maybe more as he matures. But I think his time here is close to up.

 

[A Star is Burns]

He's probably capable of holding down a 6-7 role in an org, or first call up. We just haven't had much need with our NHL depth. Even as we lose guys going forward, we still have tons of young vets in the NHL and guys like Bean and Keane ahead of him, and potentially guys like Kaski and Forsling that could be in that similar 7th dman or call up type role.

I think many of us expect a minor trade this offseason similar to Carrick for Wood last offseason or Wood for Kaski during this season.