Trouble ahead? Spending cap MAY DROP for 2015-16

[Fire Sweeney]

Some much for the 'Cup window' where this team was going to win multiple championships...

They're in a good position to do it this year...

 

[ODAAT]

Some much for the 'Cup window' where this team was going to win multiple championships...

were you around to see what the "window" looked like for the prior decade to Chia?

Not a fan of all Chia did, but I`d be one spoiled SOB(not saying you are) if I whined about this team not delivering to me multiple championships after watching this organization turning into an absolutely irrelevant franchise which, not so long ago, overpaid to drag players here who helped me witness one Cup win and another final

Does that mean I`m content ? Nope, nor shall I ignore an organization that actually had me feeling they had a legit shot every year for quite some time now up to this past season

 

[Therick67]

were you around to see what the "window" looked like for the prior decade to Chia?

Not a fan of all Chia did, but I`d be one spoiled SOB(not saying you are) if I whined about this team not delivering to me multiple championships after watching this organization turning into an absolutely irrelevant franchise which, not so long ago, overpaid to drag players here who helped me witness one Cup win and another final

Does that mean I`m content ? Nope, nor shall I ignore an organization that actually had me feeling they had a legit shot every year for quite some time now up to this past season

I was referring to all the people around here who assumed this team was going to win multiple Cups. It's hard not to look at this and say they didn't screw it up. I watched a lot of garbage hockey, so a run of 4 or 5 years where they where contenders was nice.

Been a diehard since 77.

 

[ODAAT]

I was referring to all the people around here who assumed this team was going to win multiple Cups.

Been a diehard since 77.

Oh I know you have (that`s why I put in brackets I wasn`t referring to you)

Teams like the Hawks/Bruins and Kings will be the norm IMO in a Cap era, a 5, maybe 6 year window to snag the Cup, then rebuild or reload, ya win, your roster gets pricey

 

[TCL40]

Let the mediocre years begin, sad to see really, but I guess in the long run it had to happen which is too bad because it didn't with a competent head office.

This is where I would almost rather see them totally suck a few years and finish low for good draft picks than finish middle of the pack where you can't rally compete for a cup but the draft spot is a massive gamble.

But then a lot of teams are going to find themselves in cap hell and they are worse off than the Bruins. What worries me is that forward wise we just don't seem to have much in Providence ready for the NHL (and some I doubt will ever be ready). Chiarelli really blew the drafting imo.

 

[Therick67]

This is where I would almost rather see them totally suck a few years and finish low for good draft picks than finish middle of the pack where you can't rally compete for a cup but the draft spot is a massive gamble.

But then a lot of teams are going to find themselves in cap hell and they are worse off than the Bruins. What worries me is that forward wise we just don't seem to have much in Providence ready for the NHL (and some I doubt will ever be ready). Chiarelli really blew the drafting imo.

Screwing up the cap and bad drafting are a recipe for disaster. Lets hope Cam brings in someone who can pull them out of it. This team still has good talent, but it's going to take someone to a few really good moves.

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

Can the cap go up and down every year? Seems kind of ******** that the cap can fluctuate year after year. There should be set time periods where the cap is reevaluated for teams. Maybe that's the way it is now, I dunno.

Players want their 50%... owners want cost certainty... it has to be kept up todate to keep both sides happy

Its only the big market successful teams that get screwed.... but these are the same teams that refuse to revenue share so they make the bed themselves

 

[DaBroons]

Oh I know you have (that`s why I put in brackets I wasn`t referring to you)

Teams like the Hawks/Bruins and Kings will be the norm IMO in a Cap era, a 5, maybe 6 year window to snag the Cup, then rebuild or reload, ya win, your roster gets pricey

Plus, when you win a cup, everyone wants to get paid, even the bottom 6.

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

Hawks have players they can move. Not sure what their prospect pipeline looks like but they will have to start bringing them up to fit the Toews and Kane salaries under the cap.

Hawks have been preparing for summer 2015 cap issues for last few years

Rockford and recent NCAA grads give Hawks plenty of kids who will fight it out for roster spots next year.

C Philip Danault (2011 1st rounder)
LW/RW Kyle Baun (UDFA)
LW Garrett Ross (2012 5th rounder ,, Plays like Shaw a bit)
RW Ryan Hartman (2013 1st rounder)
RW Mark McNeill (2011 1st rounder)
RW Tanner Kero (UDFA)
D Stephen Johns (2010 2nd rounder)
D Ville Pokka (2012 2nd rounder)
D Michael Paliotta (2011 3rd rounder)

A few young guys got experience with Hawks this year for large stretches or became regulars on roster at end of year

W/C Teuvo Teravainen (2012 1st rounder)
W Joakim Nordstrom (2010 3rd rounder)
D Trevor Van Riemsdyk (UDFA)
G Scott Darling (FA)

Some kids will sink like Morin , Pirri , Olsen and others did while some kids will swim like Saad , Shaw , Leddy , Kruger and others did

I think you are too rosey on the Hawks situation.

Sharp - 6 million until 2017-18 more. Gregory Campbell had more even strength goals than Sharp did this year.

Crawford - The line for the 30 year old Chris Osgood clone making a million less than Rask until 2020-21? I'm sure it will be long.

Bickell - 4 million for 28 points. You know who else had 28 points? Chris Kelly. Kelly is gone after coming season. Bickell isn't a UFA until 2017-2018.

Dale down in Florida is looking for a top 6 goal scoring winger. Sharp is probably a Panther at draft IMO but Hawks will still be able to move him if they need be. Wont get great return but some picks/prospects likely

Crawford IMO if made available could find a suitor such as Sabres who are looking for stability in net behind kids. His contract will be problem that limits his suitors but I think at end of day if he becomes available Hawks can find a suitor likely by taking a short term/less costly bad contract back as part of deal

Bickell you are 100% correct on. I don't think a GM is going to take that off Hawks hands

Shaw (2M) + Versteeg (2.2M) are other guys who could be gone and replaced by younger and cheaper talent as well

Hawks are in hot water

Still far better situation then 2010 when Hawks had to gut roster while having a pretty terrible farm system (Hawks farm under Bowman is far better then under Tallon)

2010 Cap Hell , 2011 Cap Purge + 2013 Cap Purge + 2014 Leddy deal it much easier to accept reality that is coming this summer

Between summer of 2010 and summer of 2014 the Hawks were forced to unload alot of quality talent because of cap

Ladd (Summer of 2010)
Byfuglien (Summer of 2010)
Versteeg (Summer of 2010)
Niemi (Summer of 2010)
Campbell (Summer of 2011)
Brouwer (Summer of 2011)
Bolland (Summer of 2013)
Frolik (Summer of 2013)
Leddy (Summer of 2014)

Reality is in cap era you cant get too attached to depth players because come cap crunch those are guys who are gone

 

[JoeIsAStud]

Dale down in Florida is looking for a top 6 goal scoring winger. Sharp is probably a Panther at draft IMO but Hawks will still be able to move him if they need be. Wont get great return but some picks/prospects likely

I can't believe anyone is going to take Sharp off the Hawks hands and give them prospects. His contract is awful considering his production this year, and he is not young. I can't imagine a small market team eating that unless they get to reduce it substantially by giving up a bad contract, or if Chicago retains

 

[TCL40]

I can't believe anyone is going to take Sharp off the Hawks hands and give them prospects. His contract is awful considering his production this year, and he is not young. I can't imagine a small market team eating that unless they get to reduce it substantially by giving up a bad contract, or if Chicago retains

I doubt Chicago can afford to retain salary. I think Sharp's contract is worse than Kelly's and I don't think any GM will take on Kelly.

Well maybe a team like Buffalo or Arizona that will have a lot of entry level contract players and want some veteran leadership but I have a hard time buying that either Sharp or Kelly will be easily moved.

Although Tallon's time in Chicago may make him more interested in Sharp.

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

I keep saying kellys contract is right at fair market value for a third line center good defensively with an outside shot at 15 goals and winner experience and I use guys like brian bolland and ron sutter and boyde Gordon and matt stajan and lars eller among others to prove my point.

I suppose I will be proven right or wrong this summer now that kellys biggest supporter is gone and his third line spot has been lost to spooner but I have a strong suspicion that we wont have any trouble finding someone that wants Kelly on their team for his leadership and pk skill.

heck im someone that would want it myself if there was any way we could afford it ourselves

 

[DitClapper]

Kelly would have a strong influence in Edmonton. No way in hell he waives his NTC to go there.

 

[ashnathan]

I'll take Versteeg instead of Kelly, I hate the *****, but if hes here, he'd be my *****. That is a bad analogy, but you know what i mean

 

[DitClapper]

A Chara-Byfuglien pairing would be the most terrifying D pairing in NHL history.

 

[ODAAT]

Plus, when you win a cup, everyone wants to get paid, even the bottom 6.

Absolutely, and it`s where drafting well comes into play and THAT, even more than the contracts Chia handed out were his downfall IMO

Had this team drafted well and developed players who could play on that bottom 6, the Soupy/Kelly/Paille deals never would have happened. On the other hand, Chia admitting he was loyal to a fault (which I would argue is hardly a shock nor something no other GM has never done) was also an issue

 

[Latrappe]

The Bruins still have the same game plan: They need to trade 1-2 player from the core to free cap space/the roster. If the Cap goes down a little, it will only increase the likeliness of a major trade.

 

[ashnathan]

A Chara-Byfuglien pairing would be the most terrifying D pairing in NHL history.

Unbelievable, but i wont entertain the thought cos it will never happen.

 

[BruinDust]

I keep saying kellys contract is right at fair market value for a third line center good defensively with an outside shot at 15 goals and winner experience and I use guys like brian bolland and ron sutter and boyde Gordon and matt stajan and lars eller among others to prove my point.

I suppose I will be proven right or wrong this summer now that kellys biggest supporter is gone and his third line spot has been lost to spooner but I have a strong suspicion that we wont have any trouble finding someone that wants Kelly on their team for his leadership and pk skill.

heck im someone that would want it myself if there was any way we could afford it ourselves

Kelly, in Boston's hour of need down the stretch drive after the deadline, posted a ZERO goal, 2 assist stat line in 20 games with ample ice time.

Third line Center?

He's barely even a 4th line C at this point, no matter how good he is defensively. He's nothing special on face-offs either. I like his leadership but it ain't worth what he's being paid.

If Boston can't find a taker for Kelly's contract this summer (which I agree with you I think they will), then he needs to be bought-out, period.

He's never coming close to double digits in goals again. A 1 million cap hit this year and next year is better than a 3 million hit this year and having to ship out any of Seidenberg/Smith/Eriksson/Lucic for pennies on the dollar just to be cap compliant, let alone make any improvements to this team outside of bringing up young players.

 

[Ice Nine]

"Hey guys, I heard the cap is being reduced next year. Good luck with that!"


- To Boston, from Edmonton with love: Peter Chiarelli

 

[Gordoff]

Kelly, in Boston's hour of need down the stretch drive after the deadline, posted a ZERO goal, 2 assist stat line in 20 games with ample ice time.

Third line Center?

He's barely even a 4th line C at this point, no matter how good he is defensively. He's nothing special on face-offs either. I like his leadership but it ain't worth what he's being paid.

If Boston can't find a taker for Kelly's contract this summer (which I agree with you I think they will), then he needs to be bought-out, period.

He's never coming close to double digits in goals again. A 1 million cap hit this year and next year is better than a 3 million hit this year and having to ship out any of Seidenberg/Smith/Eriksson/Lucic for pennies on the dollar just to be cap compliant, let alone make any improvements to this team outside of bringing up young players.

Sorry but I think that the buy-outs were a two year deal. IIRC they missed the boat on that.

 

[BruinDust]

Sorry but I think that the buy-outs were a two year deal. IIRC they missed the boat on that.

Those were compliance buy-outs, yes they were only good for the 2013 and 2014 off-seasons before free agency started. Those didn't count against the cap. Can't do them anymore. They couldn't even buy-out Kelly last year (even if they wanted to) because he was considered injured and you couldn't buy out injured players.

Teams can still buy out players but now those buy outs count against the cap. Due to Kelly's age he's owed 2/3 his remaining contract if bought-out, in his case he would get 2 million of the 3 million he's owed, but the cap hit would be spread out over 2 years, so 1 million against the cap this year and another 1 million next year.

I think they will find a taker, some rebuilding team that needs to reach the cap floor and a good veteran leader to help their young players.

 

[Gordoff]

Those were compliance buy-outs, yes they were only good for the 2013 and 2014 off-seasons before free agency started. Those didn't count against the cap. Can't do them anymore. They couldn't even buy-out Kelly last year (even if they wanted to) because he was considered injured and you couldn't buy out injured players.

Teams can still buy out players but now those buy outs count against the cap. Due to Kelly's age he's owed 2/3 his remaining contract if bought-out, in his case he would get 2 million of the 3 million he's owed, but the cap hit would be spread out over 2 years, so 1 million against the cap this year and another 1 million next year.

I think they will find a taker, some rebuilding team that needs to reach the cap floor and a good veteran leader to help their young players.

Okay, well I guess having 2 million more to spend this year is good but I don't know if they'd do it. We need to see what else the new GM is going to have up his sleeve in terms of new players. I'm at the point that I feel as though we've all been doing so much guessing the last 3 years or so that I just have no sense of what may happen. I think that once we see who the GM is we'll begin to see his vision taking shape. I don't think that Kelly is that bad of an investment for one year if they're going (almost) all-in with kids. If they are it may be prudent to keep Kelly for at least this year for some sort of stability (notice that I didn't use that worn out old word "leadership"). I can see a house cleaning for this year with a couple of moves to bring in a couple more solid veteran defensemen. I can see Seids slowly coming back to form but he'll probably be even slower. Hamilton will be a year older and wiser and maybe this summer he'll develop a chip on his shoulder. Krug, Miller and Trotman will bring more spunkiness to this years fading blueline, especially nice if they still have McQ keeping the opposition honest, if not they have yet another hole to fill.
Chara, although slowed with knee and other leg issues would be difficult to get anything great in trade for but if the B's have another fair/mediocre season Chara may be shopped to a western division team that he doesn't have on his (no trade) list.
Up front it seems to me that they're going to go with kids for the most part. That being the case Kelly and Talbot with Krejci (whom I think will be gone), Bergeron (of course) is safe , as are Connolly and Eriksson are probably safe. R. Smith is a 50/50 to be gone.

Tuukka obviously needs to play less next season. That means that they need to come up with a reliable back up, which will cost $$$.

Looking at what I just wrote, I'm not as sure as I was just a week ago that Clode can handle so much youth and the mistakes that come with said youth and pretty much wholesale changes. We may see a third of the team filled with new faces for '15/'16. This is going to be probably the most tumultuous summer since the summer of '72 when the B's lost several players to expansion and the new league the WHA.

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

I just took the time to layout a 23 man roster... i am not bringing back any ufa... everyone is already signed except hamilton, spooner, connolly, svedberg. Not counting savard we sit at around 63 mill

If the cap is anywhere near 72 we have all the room we need and then some.
if the cap in nearer to 70 its going to be tight

Anything lower than that will require 1 big ticket player to be sacraficed

The lineup i cobble together...

Connolly/krejci/eriksson
smith/bergeron/marchand
pastrnak/spooner/lucic
ferlin/kelly/talbot
griffith/phillips

Hamilton/chara
seidenberg/krug
millar/morrow
trottman

Rask
svedberg

 

[DKH]

I just took the time to layout a 23 man roster... i am not bringing back any ufa... everyone is already signed except hamilton, spooner, connolly, svedberg. Not counting savard we sit at around 63 mill

If the cap is anywhere near 72 we have all the room we need and then some.
if the cap in nearer to 70 its going to be tight

Anything lower than that will require 1 big ticket player to be sacraficed

The lineup i cobble together...

Connolly/krejci/eriksson
smith/bergeron/marchand
pastrnak/spooner/lucic
ferlin/kelly/talbot
griffith/phillips

Hamilton/chara
seidenberg/krug
millar/morrow
trottman

Rask
svedberg

Mike, you forgot to tell us going from right to left across your screen

Phillips is not dressing in Providence for ECHL guys but I agree that doesn't matter and he could be fighting for a spot

good job my man