The Madrigal
Registered User
Please try to remain realistic with this.
As the thread title suggests, what are your expectations for Hextall this off season. You can be as vague or as specific as you like.
My expectations as a whole are to continue to remain on the same course the franchise has been on over the last few years. It has and will continue to be difficult to remain patient. However, if Hextall continues to work on drafting and developing young talent, and stays away from the "splash moves" and over spending on contracts I think the organization will start to turn things around very soon. Obviously getting the gift of the 2nd overall pick will speed up that process just a little bit.
Getting into more specific details. I would like to see Hextall tread carefully with how he attacks the goal tending position. If Steve Mason is willing to come back on a two or three year deal at or only slightly above his current AAV of 4.1 million then I would like to see that happen. If Mason insists on getting four or more years on the term and over 4.5 million in AAV I hope Hextall will go in a different direction. My plan B would be Jonathan Bernier or Brian Elliott on a two year deal in the neighborhood of a 3 - 3.5 million AAV range. My biggest objective with the goalie position is to not commit several years to anyone this off season and re-evaluate the position in two years.
As far as forwards go, this is where Hextall is going to have to do the bulk of his work, and he may have to get creative in the process. Between trades, the expansion draft, and buy outs I believe Hextall must find a way to get rid of two of the three following players: Matt Read, Dale Weise, Michael Raffl. We simply have too many spots and cap tied up in 3rd/4th line players who are redundant in skill level, production, and role.
I also would like to see Jordan Weal get re-signed but at a reasonable cost. He obviously played and produced very well down the stretch of the season but I don't think that is cause for him to get a long term commitment and/or significant raise. I would like to see him get a prove it two year deal for no more than a 1.5 million AAV. I would refrain from signing any high end free agents at the forward position, and probably wouldn't look to sign any at all for that matter. If Lindblom comes into camp and earns a spot you figure out a way to make room for him but I am counting on him to be a Flyer to start the season and I don't think spending some time in the AHL first is the worst thing that could happen to him.
The situation on defense is pretty simple and my expectations are to basically stay the course. MDZ and Schultz are gone. The top 5 should consist of Provorov, Ghost, Morin, Gudas, and MacDonald (stuck with him). This leaves one spot up for grabs between either another rookie or a veteran signed in free agency. To me Brandon Manning makes for a good 7th D or a nice addition to the Vegas Golden Knights. If Manning is gone I would look for Hextall to sign a veteran to fill that role. At this point I think I would prefer to allow Hagg, Sanheim, and Myers to compete for a job in camp rather than sign a free agent to fill a top 6 role but part of me is concerned about bringing in two rookies into top 6 roles this year. I am not even going to get into what I expect Ghost's new contract to look like as I think that might be Hextall's biggest challenge of the off season besides maybe goalie.
The Team would ultimately looks something like this:
Weal - Giroux - Voracek
Filppula - Patrick/Hischier - Simmonds
Schenn - Couturier - Konecny
Bellemare - Vecchione - Weise
Provorov
Ghost
Morin
Gudas
MacDonald
Sanheim / Hagg
Manning / UFA
Mason / Bernier / Elliott
Neuvirth
As the thread title suggests, what are your expectations for Hextall this off season. You can be as vague or as specific as you like.
My expectations as a whole are to continue to remain on the same course the franchise has been on over the last few years. It has and will continue to be difficult to remain patient. However, if Hextall continues to work on drafting and developing young talent, and stays away from the "splash moves" and over spending on contracts I think the organization will start to turn things around very soon. Obviously getting the gift of the 2nd overall pick will speed up that process just a little bit.
Getting into more specific details. I would like to see Hextall tread carefully with how he attacks the goal tending position. If Steve Mason is willing to come back on a two or three year deal at or only slightly above his current AAV of 4.1 million then I would like to see that happen. If Mason insists on getting four or more years on the term and over 4.5 million in AAV I hope Hextall will go in a different direction. My plan B would be Jonathan Bernier or Brian Elliott on a two year deal in the neighborhood of a 3 - 3.5 million AAV range. My biggest objective with the goalie position is to not commit several years to anyone this off season and re-evaluate the position in two years.
As far as forwards go, this is where Hextall is going to have to do the bulk of his work, and he may have to get creative in the process. Between trades, the expansion draft, and buy outs I believe Hextall must find a way to get rid of two of the three following players: Matt Read, Dale Weise, Michael Raffl. We simply have too many spots and cap tied up in 3rd/4th line players who are redundant in skill level, production, and role.
I also would like to see Jordan Weal get re-signed but at a reasonable cost. He obviously played and produced very well down the stretch of the season but I don't think that is cause for him to get a long term commitment and/or significant raise. I would like to see him get a prove it two year deal for no more than a 1.5 million AAV. I would refrain from signing any high end free agents at the forward position, and probably wouldn't look to sign any at all for that matter. If Lindblom comes into camp and earns a spot you figure out a way to make room for him but I am counting on him to be a Flyer to start the season and I don't think spending some time in the AHL first is the worst thing that could happen to him.
The situation on defense is pretty simple and my expectations are to basically stay the course. MDZ and Schultz are gone. The top 5 should consist of Provorov, Ghost, Morin, Gudas, and MacDonald (stuck with him). This leaves one spot up for grabs between either another rookie or a veteran signed in free agency. To me Brandon Manning makes for a good 7th D or a nice addition to the Vegas Golden Knights. If Manning is gone I would look for Hextall to sign a veteran to fill that role. At this point I think I would prefer to allow Hagg, Sanheim, and Myers to compete for a job in camp rather than sign a free agent to fill a top 6 role but part of me is concerned about bringing in two rookies into top 6 roles this year. I am not even going to get into what I expect Ghost's new contract to look like as I think that might be Hextall's biggest challenge of the off season besides maybe goalie.
The Team would ultimately looks something like this:
Weal - Giroux - Voracek
Filppula - Patrick/Hischier - Simmonds
Schenn - Couturier - Konecny
Bellemare - Vecchione - Weise
Provorov
Ghost
Morin
Gudas
MacDonald
Sanheim / Hagg
Manning / UFA
Mason / Bernier / Elliott
Neuvirth
