Player Discussion Vincent Desharnais

[Laodongxi]

His ability to play very physical and not take penalties often should have a positive effect come playoff time. You're right, he's made himself firmly an NHL defenseman

Yes, for sure! Maybe he could also develop his fighting techniques and scrum techniques so players would not be as keen to engage him so often. He's still got some serious potential.

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

Pretty remarkable story. Counted out at every level he's played at from midget age to present day yet grinds to find a way to make teams and continue to grow in responsibilities and ice-time. No short cut taken. A story and person which is easy to cheer for. Worthy of the Masterton Trophy nomination. Well done Vinnie. Well done.

As for contract re-signing this is a bit of a tightrope walk. We're talking a right shot prime years d-man with elite size, PK specialization on a strong team, cycle breaker with developing game that's refining rough spots. Within squinting eye shot range, left shot late developer Steeler got contract length and term at $2.7 mill per season. I don't expect Desharnais to sign for anything less than $1.5 million with a 3 year security blanket or gulp maybe stretching to 4 year to drag AAV. He's also bet on himself to beat long odds to secure an NHL job. Seems viable to wait until free agency to bet on the market.

There's a premium on right-shot d-men. Anything under $2 million per year will be a win win I think for player and team imo.

 

[alanschu]

Not a pairing in his pairing, but would it be safe to say that Desharnais has become our 5th defenseman?

I think our third pairing is very strong and I'm also a Kulak fan, but just with minutes played and the PK responsibility his place on the team is slightly more important. I also think Vincent is more comfortable sliding up in a pinch (similar to what I like about Kulak!).

 

[TheNumber4]

7th round pick turned stud defenceman. Never thought I’d see this day in Oil Country.

 

[joestevens29]

7th round pick turned stud defenceman. Never thought I’d see this day in Oil Country.

It's just sad when you look at other 8 guys we drafted in front of him that year

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Was a little surprised to see him out late in the game last night but he handled it very well.

 

[TheNumber4]

It's just sad when you look at other 8 guys we drafted in front of him that year

I’m sure it is lol. But Vinny makes it worth it.

 

[Fixed to Ruin]

Pretty remarkable story. Counted out at every level he's played at from midget age to present day yet grinds to find a way to make teams and continue to grow in responsibilities and ice-time. No short cut taken. A story and person which is easy to cheer for. Worthy of the Masterton Trophy nomination. Well done Vinnie. Well done.

As for contract re-signing this is a bit of a tightrope walk. We're talking a right shot prime years d-man with elite size, PK specialization on a strong team, cycle breaker with developing game that's refining rough spots. Within squinting eye shot range, left shot late developer Steeler got contract length and term at $2.7 mill per season. I don't expect Desharnais to sign for anything less than $1.5 million with a 3 year security blanket or gulp maybe stretching to 4 year to drag AAV. He's also bet on himself to beat long odds to secure an NHL job. Seems viable to wait until free agency to bet on the market.

There's a premium on right-shot d-men. Anything under $2 million per year will be a win win I think for player and team imo.

His game is taylor made for the playoffs. Once the refs put the whistles away and the game turns into a physical battle he's more than capable. I don't think it's an accident that his trajectory this year kept going up as the playoffs approached.

 

[ManofSteel55]

I'd love to see him re-sign with us this summer, but I fully expect some dumb GM to give him the Erik Gudbranson special (4M X 4 years), which we can't touch.

I like the idea of trying to lock him up long term if he would do that at a lower cap hit. The old Calle Jarnkrok 6 year, 2M cap hit deal would be fine.

I wonder if Broberg could play 2nd pair RD with Nurse next year. I don't really want to move on from our Kulak-Desharnais pairing if we don't have to.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

I'd love to see him re-sign with us this summer, but I fully expect some dumb GM to give him the Erik Gudbranson special (4M X 4 years), which we can't touch.

I like the idea of trying to lock him up long term if he would do that at a lower cap hit. The old Calle Jarnkrok 6 year, 2M cap hit deal would be fine.

I wonder if Broberg could play 2nd pair RD with Nurse next year. I don't really want to move on from our Kulak-Desharnais pairing if we don't have to.

This is where I am as well.

 

[oil Leaks]

I'd love to see him re-sign with us this summer, but I fully expect some dumb GM to give him the Erik Gudbranson special (4M X 4 years), which we can't touch.

I like the idea of trying to lock him up long term if he would do that at a lower cap hit. The old Calle Jarnkrok 6 year, 2M cap hit deal would be fine.

I wonder if Broberg could play 2nd pair RD with Nurse next year. I don't really want to move on from our Kulak-Desharnais pairing if we don't have to.

Or the Scott Mayfield 5 year, 1.45M cap hit deal

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

Or the Scott Mayfield 5 year, 1.45M cap hit deal

That kind of deal would be amazing imo.

 

[ManofSteel55]

Or the Scott Mayfield 5 year, 1.45M cap hit deal

Too good to be true.

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

His game is taylor made for the playoffs. Once the refs put the whistles away and the game turns into a physical battle he's more than capable. I don't think it's an accident that his trajectory this year kept going up as the playoffs approached.

I think the game has really slowed down for him this playoff. Far more disciplined, structured and controlled play. No longer chasing the big hit and getting himself caught out of position. Far more confident with the puck. Penalty killing quality is clearly coming into focus with his reach and heavy play to help cycle break. Vinnie seems to be a sponge for learning. Solid growth. We'll see true tests against track meet teams like Vancouver or Colorado if the Oil get on a run.

 

[tiger_80]

Pretty remarkable story. Counted out at every level he's played at from midget age to present day yet grinds to find a way to make teams and continue to grow in responsibilities and ice-time. No short cut taken. A story and person which is easy to cheer for. Worthy of the Masterton Trophy nomination. Well done Vinnie. Well done.

As for contract re-signing this is a bit of a tightrope walk. We're talking a right shot prime years d-man with elite size, PK specialization on a strong team, cycle breaker with developing game that's refining rough spots. Within squinting eye shot range, left shot late developer Steeler got contract length and term at $2.7 mill per season. I don't expect Desharnais to sign for anything less than $1.5 million with a 3 year security blanket or gulp maybe stretching to 4 year to drag AAV. He's also bet on himself to beat long odds to secure an NHL job. Seems viable to wait until free agency to bet on the market.

There's a premium on right-shot d-men. Anything under $2 million per year will be a win win I think for player and team imo.

He bypassed Kulak on the depth chart by now. Plays 17 minutes a night.

 

[Fixed to Ruin]

I think the game has really slowed down for him this playoff. Far more disciplined, structured and controlled play. No longer chasing the big hit and getting himself caught out of position. Far more confident with the puck. Penalty killing quality is clearly coming into focus with his reach and heavy play to help cycle break. Vinnie seems to be a sponge for learning. Solid growth. We'll see true tests against track meet teams like Vancouver or Colorado if the Oil get on a run.

I looked at his gamelogs earlier today and if i remember correctly his worst games were against Colorado and Vancouver. However those games were played at the beginning of the season where we sucked and at the end when the team didn't care too much about the results.

So like you said the real test is going to be in the next rounds if we get past the Kings.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

Loving his game.
So much more poise than last year.

Almost like he's mimicking Ekholm.

 

[bucks_oil]

Pretty remarkable story. Counted out at every level he's played at from midget age to present day yet grinds to find a way to make teams and continue to grow in responsibilities and ice-time. No short cut taken. A story and person which is easy to cheer for. Worthy of the Masterton Trophy nomination. Well done Vinnie. Well done.

As for contract re-signing this is a bit of a tightrope walk. We're talking a right shot prime years d-man with elite size, PK specialization on a strong team, cycle breaker with developing game that's refining rough spots. Within squinting eye shot range, left shot late developer Steeler got contract length and term at $2.7 mill per season. I don't expect Desharnais to sign for anything less than $1.5 million with a 3 year security blanket or gulp maybe stretching to 4 year to drag AAV. He's also bet on himself to beat long odds to secure an NHL job. Seems viable to wait until free agency to bet on the market.

There's a premium on right-shot d-men. Anything under $2 million per year will be a win win I think for player and team imo.

I was reading someone on the HockeyWriters say that Stauffer was quoted as saying they are going 6-7 years on him since it will lower AAV and he'd still only be 33 or 34 when expiring... basically the only way to keep him is to commit big time.

I'm ok, in fact very supportive, of that in principle, but the number they threw around was "to keep it below $2.5M because on a shorter deal someone will certainly give him more". That has me a bit frightened.

If we can get him 6 x 1.8M or something like that we should be happy... this guy is very good at what he does, and what he does quietly helps win you hockey games.

 

[Fourier]

I was reading someone on the HockeyWriters say that Stauffer was quoted as saying they are going 6-7 years on him since it will lower AAV and he'd still only be 33 or 34 when expiring... basically the only way to keep him is to commit big time.

I'm ok, in fact very supportive, of that in principle, but the number they threw around was "to keep it below $2.5M because on a shorter deal someone will certainly give him more". That has me a bit frightened.

If we can get him 6 x 1.8M or something like that we should be happy... this guy is very good at what he does, and what he does quietly helps win you hockey games.

6 years at $1.8M would be a very interesting deal.

 

[joestevens29]

I really can't see the guy taking less than 2mil on any kind of deal. Probably should fire his agent if he does.

 

[alanschu]

6 years at $1.8M would be a very interesting deal.

He'd get the security though I could understand if he might hesitate at that as well.

With the older start to his NHL career plus his general skillset he would be a "not in the league for too many years" candidate. A balancing act of shorter contracts for higher payouts vs the security would probably be a challenging consideration.

 

[Mr Positive]

I really can't see the guy taking less than 2mil on any kind of deal. Probably should fire his agent if he does.

There are reasons to take a lesser deal.

Long term gives guaranteed security. He's a guy where a couple years ago he had to think about maybe finding income out of hockey. With huge term making just under $2 million per, all of a sudden he can plan out his whole retirement.

Also, he likes the team and may recognize that leaving cash on the table helps the team a ton.

He's also the type that would be recognized in town and could even get some endorsement money on the side

 

[Fourier]

He'd get the security though I could understand if he might hesitate at that as well.

With the older start to his NHL career plus his general skillset he would be a "not in the league for too many years" candidate. A balancing act of shorter contracts for higher payouts vs the security would probably be a challenging consideration.

It would also get him very close to a full pension. That is something we don't talk about often but for a guy with 10 years it is $275K US per year indexed to inflation at age 62. That's nothing to sneeze at.

 

[5 14 6 1]

I was reading someone on the HockeyWriters say that Stauffer was quoted as saying they are going 6-7 years on him since it will lower AAV and he'd still only be 33 or 34 when expiring... basically the only way to keep him is to commit big time.

I'm ok, in fact very supportive, of that in principle, but the number they threw around was "to keep it below $2.5M because on a shorter deal someone will certainly give him more". That has me a bit frightened.

If we can get him 6 x 1.8M or something like that we should be happy... this guy is very good at what he does, and what he does quietly helps win you hockey games.

That would be a big win for both player and organization. Vinny belongs here and seems like a loyal guy. No guarantee success follows elsewhere (see Kostin)

 

[Mr Positive]

That would be a big win for both player and organization. Vinny belongs here and seems like a loyal guy. No guarantee success follows elsewhere (see Kostin)

Also lower AAV means that the nightmare scenario is having to bury him or buy him out, but the dead cap will be negligible.

Lower term lowers the risk in a way, but it ramps up the risk in the short term if something goes wrong