Windsor Spitfires 2020 Offseason Thread (Part 3)

[Teflon]

So season is finished I believe. What do you guys seeing happening here in Windsor? Do savages sell, does Letowski get resigned, how will they handle the draft, do we start at the normal time this fall???? I have zero input from sources as of yet. Imho savages want to sell but no buyer, I see them resigning TL on a 1 year deal, I believe teams will pick in same spots as last year , not sure how they pick tho with next to no scouting staff, I believe hockey starts on time in the fall.

 

[windsor7]

So season is finished I believe. What do you guys seeing happening here in Windsor? Do savages sell, does Letowski get resigned, how will they handle the draft, do we start at the normal time this fall???? I have zero input from sources as of yet. Imho savages want to sell but no buyer, I see them resigning TL on a 1 year deal, I believe teams will pick in same spots as last year , not sure how they pick tho with next to no scouting staff, I believe hockey starts on time in the fall.

Savages keep for now.
Sign tl for 1 year. Savages r cheap.
Same hockey different year. Oye.
Drafting will be a issue with no staff.
Might as well say rebuild again....

 

[OHLTG]

So season is finished I believe. What do you guys seeing happening here in Windsor? Do savages sell, does Letowski get resigned, how will they handle the draft, do we start at the normal time this fall???? I have zero input from sources as of yet. Imho savages want to sell but no buyer, I see them resigning TL on a 1 year deal, I believe teams will pick in same spots as last year , not sure how they pick tho with next to no scouting staff, I believe hockey starts on time in the fall.

Realistically, if there are no buyers, the Savages keep status quo with the staff for one season. There's no real point in spending more $$ than necessary right now. IF they can find buyers, all bets are off.

As for the team - I think most are going to be in the same "step back, evaluate, build" mode. You may not see true contenders right away. Those tend to be veteran-heavy and I'd imagine most clubs will lose a fair number of 2000s and even 2001s.

 

[windsor7]

Realistically, if there are no buyers, the Savages keep status quo with the staff for one season. There's no real point in spending more $$ than necessary right now. IF they can find buyers, all bets are off.

As for the team - I think most are going to be in the same "step back, evaluate, build" mode. You may not see true contenders right away. Those tend to be veteran-heavy and I'd imagine most clubs will lose a fair number of 2000s and even 2001s.

Status quo for Windsor.
Seems always in re build mode...

 

[OHLTG]

Status quo for Windsor.
Seems always in re build mode...

Notice how I said "most" teams could be in the same boat?! Once hockey returns to a somewhat "normal" state, there will be a lot of re-evaluating across the league.

 

[windsor7]

Notice how I said "most" teams could be in the same boat?! Once hockey returns to a somewhat "normal" state, there will be a lot of re-evaluating across the league.

Windsor leads the way in re evaluating every year - rebuild.

 

[member 71782]

So season is finished I believe. What do you guys seeing happening here in Windsor? Do savages sell, does Letowski get resigned, how will they handle the draft, do we start at the normal time this fall???? I have zero input from sources as of yet. Imho savages want to sell but no buyer, I see them resigning TL on a 1 year deal, I believe teams will pick in same spots as last year , not sure how they pick tho with next to no scouting staff, I believe hockey starts on time in the fall.

If there's no season, which I believe there won't be

Savages likely retain control for at least three years, it's going to take a couple of years to regain value.

If they can't find anyone cheaper Letowski and Smith resigned for three more years, likely get them low. Do they hire a third coach? I think that'll be a decision made down the road seeing how they fare leading up to the start of the season.

This year's draft will simply be whoever they have left scouting using whatever appears to be the consensus order along with who will be willing to report to make their selections.

Open roster spots, should be a few will be filled with cheap 02s/03s for veteran presence likely leading to a couple of their higher 02s requesting a move. If there are any trade requests it could be the best thing to happen, hopefully forces the organization to realize their model doesn't work.

While there were some decent prospects the Spits have the rights to those ships have likely sailed. With one or two exceptions unless a player is drafted in the top three picks I don't see Windsor willing to invest the time or money in their prospect system.

The next three years they7'll be fighting for the last couple of playoff spots, get in a couple of times and miss at least once and they still likely sell after three seasons not getting the price they are hoping for since by that time this franchise will have been run into the ground.

 

[RayzorIsDull]

Realistically, if there are no buyers, the Savages keep status quo with the staff for one season. There's no real point in spending more $$ than necessary right now. IF they can find buyers, all bets are off.

As for the team - I think most are going to be in the same "step back, evaluate, build" mode. You may not see true contenders right away. Those tend to be veteran-heavy and I'd imagine most clubs will lose a fair number of 2000s and even 2001s.

No point in spending more money?? You know each of the owners have a net worth north of 100+ million?? Bowler and Letowski have been paid throughout the last year. If they were willing to pay salaries out to people when nothing was going on they surely can invest more money into this franchise. In the words of the illustrious Meek Mill "scared money don't make no money". They aren't going to find buyers of a hockey team if they don't invest in the franchise to make it more appealing. If they continue to strip it down then the new owner would be getting it for pennies on the dollar.

This step back and evaluate stuff?? That's for the birds we are most likely looking at no OHL games being played for 18 months. Businesses have gone through 3 shutdowns they know the deal and have learned how to pivot. This idea of OHL owners not knowing what to do and sitting back is laughable. A lot of these owners their hockey franchise isn't their 1st business. These owners are smart enough in knowing how to pivot. If they fail it's not because it just happens it's because they didn't care enough.

Fans aren't just going to return for a year because they missed a year. Fans are going to return if you give them something to cheer about.

 

[OHLTG]

The "evaluate" was talking about the roster.

 

[punch1943]

Unfortunately Ex Spit Jalen Chatfield is one of the 16 players who have tested positive in Vancouver.

 

[OHLTG]

Chris Playfair has committed to Ryerson for 2021-22. Per Twitter.

 

[windsor7]

Chris Playfair has committed to Ryerson for 2021-22. Per Twitter.

Very smart move.
Not a tough decision at all.

 

[punch1943]

Chris Playfair has committed to Ryerson for 2021-22. Per Twitter.

Always great to see one of the guys get an education on the OHL's dime. Wish him the all the best.

 

[OHLTG]

Add Rupoli to the list - Ryerson 2021-22.

 

[windsor7]

Add Rupoli to the list - Ryerson 2021-22.

Best thing to do.
Writing should of been on the wall for both of them..

 

[punch1943]

Add Rupoli to the list - Ryerson 2021-22.

As I’ve often said, always good to see the players getting an education on the teams dime. All the players have a dream of playing pro hockey but very few eventually have that dream come true. Of the 20-24 players who play for an OHL team during the year only 5-6 will play at the pro level but the remainder do get portions of their educations paid for and that’s nothing to sneeze at.

 

[OHLTG]

Douglas signs amateur tryout with Belleville Senators.

 

[windsor7]

Douglas signs amateur tryout with Belleville Senators.

Education path is a good decision too..

 

[OHLTG]

Douglas already has a goal in his first AHL game.

 

[Sec108]

Former Spitfire Richard Panik heads to Detroit as part of Mantha trade.

 

[Cherrydon]

Nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah, hey hey good-bye season. Not surprised. The writing was has been on the wall months ago and seeing the situation the Canucks went through shows how fast things can go bad. I said people's selfishness would effect a return to play last year, I was criticized for such a statement. Well lockdown again in the midst of the worst wave yet and the visitors parking lot at my apartment complex is as busy as normal with gatherings continuing. The roads are just as busy as when the lockdowns were lifted. I do feel really bad for the young draft eligible players for sure. Branch should be embarrassed over the lack of public communications throughout this misery. Keep kicking the can down the road. I'm sure there will be long term complications that will effect the OHL moving forward once the dust settles. Heck a fall start with fans is looking like a pipe dream right now. Good grief it is a sad state of affairs.

 

[RayzorIsDull]

Nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah, hey hey good-bye season. Not surprised. The writing was has been on the wall months ago and seeing the situation the Canucks went through shows how fast things can go bad. I said people's selfishness would effect a return to play last year, I was criticized for such a statement. Well lockdown again in the midst of the worst wave yet and the visitors parking lot at my apartment complex is as busy as normal with gatherings continuing. The roads are just as busy as when the lockdowns were lifted. I do feel really bad for the young draft eligible players for sure. Branch should be embarrassed over the lack of public communications throughout this misery. Keep kicking the can down the road. I'm sure there will be long term complications that will effect the OHL moving forward once the dust settles. Heck a fall start with fans is looking like a pipe dream right now. Good grief it is a sad state of affairs.

I think there needs to be context in regards to certain things. At this point it isn't selfishness. People are tired of being told they are to blame when there is zero fact to it. Look no further to the rise in cases in Ontario and the shutting down of restaurants and gyms. We have been told for months and months that restaurants and gyms are a problem. Those have been closed for close to 2 weeks now and cases are rising?? People who have their livelihoods on the line are tired of receiving next to zero support. The rollout of vaccines has been well quite frankly terrible and with the news of receiving a Pfizer and Moderna vaccine we will need a 3rd booster 6-12 months after the 2nd one?? How about we get more people with 1 dose before the 3rd one? That's like talking marriage after talking to a girl one time, how about we go out first?? Lack of leadership, lack of direction you're not going to get citizens to comply. That can go for how the OHL has gone about things as well. This league is going to be cooked for some time. Rogers told the CHL deuces. TSN might pick up some slack but they know the CHL is desperate so that likely won't be lucrative. Good luck bringing sponsors on board who haven't been associated with an OHL team for a year. The one thing people won't bring up is imagine the product of hockey you will see come Sept I can't imagine it will be remotely good. Maybe they will be better off with fewer fans to see that.

 

[OHLTG]

Nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah, hey hey good-bye season. Not surprised. The writing was has been on the wall months ago and seeing the situation the Canucks went through shows how fast things can go bad. I said people's selfishness would effect a return to play last year, I was criticized for such a statement. Well lockdown again in the midst of the worst wave yet and the visitors parking lot at my apartment complex is as busy as normal with gatherings continuing. The roads are just as busy as when the lockdowns were lifted. I do feel really bad for the young draft eligible players for sure. Branch should be embarrassed over the lack of public communications throughout this misery. Keep kicking the can down the road. I'm sure there will be long term complications that will effect the OHL moving forward once the dust settles. Heck a fall start with fans is looking like a pipe dream right now. Good grief it is a sad state of affairs.

I think the screw up in society is a collective effort - people's attitudes and the Govt's lack of urgency. There's no question that there's a steadily growing "you can't make me!!" attitude in society and to say it doesn't exist would be purposely trying to ignore it. While I can understand their frustration, having large gatherings indoors or massive maskless protests outdoors doesn't help anyone. We have to look in the mirror (society) and ask what we can do better to get this thing pushing forward. There has to be some personal responsibility. At the same time, the Govt's complete wishy-washy approach to this is doing a number on businesses. You can't say "let's open people up a bit", then suddenly close 'em all down because "the numbers are skyrocketing." They didn't just explode; it's been happening for a while. Don't allow people to open, close 'em down a few weeks later, and then wonder why people are upset. That's not logical and it's a blow to small business. Then there are the players who are caught in the middle of all of this during a rather important time in their development. They're doing everything correctly and just want to play, which is understandable. Branch et al. haven't said much of anything and I hope they realize how horrible the optics have become. Silence is deadly. A fall start with fans would be nice... even if it's 50% capacity. By that point, we should (knock on bench) have public vaccines, which will be a huge step in all of this.

 

[windsor7]

Next few months will all be the same.
Announcements about Announcements...

 

[Teflon]

I remember being told, you don’t know what your talking about, when I passed along info I was getting. Branch should be held fully accountable for his lack of leadership and outright lies. No he didn’t create this mess but he sure as hell didn’t help it!! Sponsors, families, players, billets, fans and team staff are not pleased! Imho this hurts the entire league for some time. Loss of revenue may cripple small market teams. The lure of other leagues likely further hurts the talent pool... Like I suggested early on, the season should have been canceled, all effort should have been directed toward next season. Phone calls directly to those affected should have been made so a clear picture was available. Graduating players should have had assurances they won’t be forgotten and teams told to have ceremony’s for those guys. Draft eligible players should have had tourneys set up to at least have some way to show where they stand. Many things could have been done, yet here we are holding empty bags!!