Speculation: Why is Emelin still a free agent?

[Sheppy]

If Lucic was still good he'd be worth signing, he could really get Looch off his game. Chara too sometimes.

Inb4 Bruins fans rant about the plates in his face

Minus that time he tried to hit Lucic and died.

 

[Just Linda]

Of all the players Vegas pick at the expansion draft, I think its fair to say he's their worst pick

 

[WhoTagz]

He’s for sure better than Jordie Benn, I would sign him short term. He probably wants a long term contract for mucho dinero though. Might go back to KHL

Cause he tripped Chris Kreider

 

[Armourboy]

He's not as bad as some try and make him out to be, hes just not worth much more than you would pay your typical 3rd pairing guy and I'm not sure if he has come to terms with that.

There are some guys playing on the 3rd pair in this league that are worse.

 

[Blue Goose]

Of all the players Vegas pick at the expansion draft, I think its fair to say he's their worst pick

Not really. We paid a little over $1M in salary and got a 3rd round pick.
Meanwhile, Pulkkinen and Reinhart played in the AHL all year and Pulkkinen just signed in the KHL. Those picks were worse than Emelin.

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

Whats with all these "why is (player x) still a free agent" threads? ...

IMO the common denominator is they are all old and not that good anymore.. Better players in teams organizations that are very young and on elc's. It's a very fast game now and all about youth

 

[ole ole]

He was never in my head. I would typically just laugh at how he played the game of hockey, guy's a traffic cone like everyone else on Montreal.

Aw. Someone trying to be funny while saying something stupid.

 

[Sheppy]

Aw. Someone trying to be funny while saying something stupid.

Funny or not, it’s pretty true.

 

[Boxscore]

Because he stinks?

 

[dukeofjive]

Too slow for the nhl, and stoped being a physical force in the back end.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Too slow for the nhl, and stoped being a physical force in the back end.

He wasn't noticeably slow for us last season. I'm not sure his IQ is right where you'd ideally want it for a purely stay-at-home D, though, he does wander off and get out of position more than you'd like to see. I think he would make up for that if he was just laying out those trainwreck hits more often and keeping opponents on their toes with sheer physicality. But the main problem is he only does it once in a while - enough to raise eyebrows and make you wish he could do it more - but then turns off that part of his game again for stretches. But anyway he never really stood out as especially slow, not compared to the rest of the field of lesser stay-at-home style D anyway.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Bottom pairing Dman with no offense. He will get a contract but there is no rush.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Bottom pairing Dman with no offense. He will get a contract but there is no rush.

Yeah, if guys like Polak or Sustr or Orpik or types like that are getting bottom-pair NHL jobs, then there's not much reason why Emelin shouldn't - at $1M/1yr-ish terms like those guys.

But if he's used to making $4M or whatever and somehow still thinking of himself as more of a 2nd-pair guy, well, that's more likely the issue. He can play a bigger role and maybe get more money in the KHL if he doesn't yet realize he's in the same category as those other comparables.

 

[dwright5314]

No one wants a cheapshot artist who runs around and isn't accountable. In addition, he isn't great defensively anymore and he brings zero offense.

 

[Sheppy]

so being a bruins fan is usually just like pumping your chest and yelling "hit and fight or you're a chickens***"?

No, it's more less don't drill someone in the numbers or clip someones head and cower behind a ref, that's all.

 

[predfan24]

He was worse than I was expecting last year. I was expecting a psychical shut down guy who was a borderline second pair/quality third pair guy. He mostly played at an average third pair level last year. Perhaps my expectations were to high. If you can sign him at 2 million or less and don't expect more than 12-13 minutes a game with PK time then I think he might be able to meet expectations.

 

[Jigger77]

I haven't seen him play much since he left Montreal, but man was he fun to watch. One of the best open-ice hitters I've seen. Very fluid in his timing, hard and clean. The hit on Stastny stands out for me. I really enjoyed watching him play in Montreal.

 

[Jared Dunn]

Because he's not a very good player, honestly

Well, Brooks Orpik just found himself another contract so we seem to be past worrying about that

 

[Jared Dunn]

Leafs should be all over him. They need someone that can play in their own end.

Emelin is definitely not a defensive stalwart and wouldn't make any big changes but I can confidently say he'd be an upgrade over Polak

Honestly I'm not sure if Emelin would be a better choice than Borgman at this point and they bring a lot of similar attributes

 

[Jared Dunn]

Not really. We paid a little over $1M in salary and got a 3rd round pick.
Meanwhile, Pulkkinen and Reinhart played in the AHL all year and Pulkkinen just signed in the KHL. Those picks were worse than Emelin.

As a Habs fan though, I can tell you when I saw Emelin's name picked over Hudon I was in disbelief and jumping for joy. Not that I think Hudon will become anything more than a 2nd/3rd line tweener if even that, but willingly taking Emelin's contract was an absolute blessing

 

[Blue Goose]

As a Habs fan though, I can tell you when I saw Emelin's name picked over Hudon I was in disbelief and jumping for joy. Not that I think Hudon will become anything more than a 2nd/3rd line tweener if even that, but willingly taking Emelin's contract was an absolute blessing

Emelin vs. Hudon was the common debate during the Expansion Draft, and many naysayers used the selection of Emelin as ammunition to poke fun at McPhee. But if I remember correctly, Hudon was no longer exempt from waivers and likely wouldn't have cracked the overcrowded VGK lineup last October, so GMGM took the 3rd rather than risk losing an Expansion Draft pick to waivers - honestly, I'm totally fine with that.

 

[Jared Dunn]

Emelin vs. Hudon was the common debate during the Expansion Draft, and many naysayers used the selection of Emelin as ammunition to poke fun at McPhee. But if I remember correctly, Hudon was no longer exempt from waivers and likely wouldn't have cracked the overcrowded VGK lineup last October, so GMGM took the 3rd rather than risk losing an Expansion Draft pick to waivers - honestly, I'm totally fine with that.

I mean yeah clearly the selections turned out decent (I guess) I just couldn't believe they took Emelin without a sweetener of any kind

 

[MolleSon]

Zero mobility, zero offense, caught off position too many times because too darn slow... He sure can hit though and is the type of guy that will make the big hit that can change a game. Someone will offer him 1m. but he will go KHL where he can double that and maybe play with his best friend Markov.

 

[Hockeyholic]

He's an atrocious defenseman.