Your Summer Wishlist

[RodTheBawd]

The only above average NHL ability Dwyer possesses is his skating.

Everything else is sub-par.

You'd be hard pressed to find better value for a 2way winger than Dwyer. If that's sub-par, I'd take a few more sub-par players.

 

[TheBigKahuna]

It's when you saddle a center like Jordan with the likes of Dwyer that things look out of whack. Is Jordan the #1 center? The #2 center? Or the #3 center? If you're going to stick with the attempts to get Jordan going with Semin, Skinner, etc then Dwyer has no business on those lines. Dwyer is a 4th line guy on this team. It's the overslotting that makes people scratch their heads in puzzlement.

 

[raynman]

I guess we can all agree that depth is much needed. My wishlist:
Draft: 1st round-Ritchie, 3rd round-Brendan Lemieux
Free agency: Carcillo for the 4th line/13th forward, Downie for 3rd line, re-sign Manny, re-sign Hainsey, re-sign RFAs in Tlusty/Loktionov/Gerbe. If Hainsey can't be re-signed maybe test the waters on Nikitin or Matt Greene.
Trades: See if there is a deal to be made with Winnipeg around Ward/picks/prospects and EKane(probably not but this is a wish list after all).

This is my thinking for the lines:

Skinner-EStaal-Lindholm
Tlusty-JStaal-Semin
Gerbe-Nash/Loktionov-Downie
Carcillo-Manny-Dwyer

Sekera-Faulk
Hainsey-?
Liles-Greene
Harrison

Anton
Tim Thomas (Probably Justin Peters though)

 

[daikan]

I'd be for signing Downie if I didn't hate him so much. Then again, things have been quiet around him for a while now, so maybe he's cleaned up his act. Either way, he'd improve the team.

On another note, I think this team can succeed with Eric as the top guy. It's just that his salary, and that of Ward, limits the depth so much.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

I'm fine with him on the 4th line.

Not on the 3rd.

Honestly that ends up being semantics to me. There will always be injuries during the season and even if he is slotted on the 4th line, he has the flexibility to not hurt or be a liability on the 3rd line. I'm ok with him flipping back and forth depending on the chemistry and what the coach is trying to achieve and injuries.

I don't like seeing him in the top 6.

 

[rocky7]

Carcillo, Downey, Penner????? some of you are nuts.... and when Cooke may have been available most said no thanks .

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Carcillo, Downey, Penner????? some of you are nuts.... and when Cooke may have been available most said no thanks .

Now look what you guys did. You made me agree with Rocky.

I have no idea how anyone could want Penner when the biggest complaint on this board is our captain being "lazy". And Carcillo and Downey are on their 4th/5th teams for a reason.

 

[Brock Anton]

As far as UFA dmen go, how about a guy like Quincey? Not the sexiest signing, but let's be honest, we're not exactly a hot destination-type franchise right now.

Kyle Quincey is exactly who I see us getting. He just screams 'Hurricanes signing' to me.

 

[daikan]

I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I think Dustin Penner is a good hockey player, underrated even. Granted, his sojourn with the Capitals was not very successful, but the Caps are a mess anyway, and did I mention he'll be cheap? That's not irrelevant.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

Honestly that ends up being semantics to me. There will always be injuries during the season and even if he is slotted on the 4th line, he has the flexibility to not hurt or be a liability on the 3rd line. I'm ok with him flipping back and forth depending on the chemistry and what the coach is trying to achieve and injuries.

I don't see how it's semantics.
I want a 3rd line that is not well defined by the phrase "not a liability". A 3rd line that can actually influence the outcome of a hockey game. This is a facet of most playoff teams.

I am fine with giving that definition to the 4th line.

Put another way; I want this team to acquire enough depth to push Dwyer to the 4th line, when healthy.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

I don't see how it's semantics.
I want a 3rd line that is not well defined by the phrase "not a liability". A 3rd line that can actually influence the outcome of a hockey game. This is a facet of most playoff teams.

I am fine with giving that definition to the 4th line.

Put another way; I want this team to acquire enough depth to push Dwyer to the 4th line, when healthy.

Ok, whatever. I have no problem with a team that has Dwyer on the 4th line, but occasionally has to move to the 3rd line when needed if there are injuries.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I think Dustin Penner is a good hockey player, underrated even. Granted, his sojourn with the Capitals was not very successful, but the Caps are a mess anyway, and did I mention he'll be cheap? That's not irrelevant.

I don't think he's a bad hockey player, I think he's terribly inconsistent, and at times very lazy and unmotivated. Not the type of player I want given the make-up of this team currently. If the rest of the team had a different make-up, he'd be ok, but not with what it is.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

Edit

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Edit

Darn, I bet you were about to tear me a new one for my previous post before I realized I was an idiot for misreading yours.

 

[daikan]

I don't think he's a bad hockey player, I think he's terribly inconsistent, and at times very lazy and unmotivated. Not the type of player I want given the make-up of this team currently. If the rest of the team had a different make-up, he'd be ok, but not with what it is.

That's a fair point. There are plenty of players I'd rather have, but our position is what it is, our finances limited, and the pool of available players slight.

 

[rocky7]

actually if you slotted the guys being wrongly used in the top six down to the bottom six where they really belong, there isn't a problem with "depth" per se. they have the making of a good 3rd and 4th line. true top six players are Staal x2, Semin, Skinner.... Loktionov and Lindholm down the road maybe.

 

[What the Faulk]

They really aren't *that* far off up front:

Skinner (30) // Eric (30) // Lindholm (20)
Tlusty (20) // Jordan (20) // Semin (30)
Gerbe (15) // Loktionov (15) // Nash (15)
UFA (5) // Malhotra (5) // Dwyer (5)

That's 210 goals from the forwards alone, and numbers they "should" hit. For reference, they scored just 207 when including the defensemen this year. Replace whomever with UFAs or trades or whatever, but that's not a bad lineup if no one has an off year.

 

[rocky7]

Now look what you guys did. You made me agree with Rocky.

I have no idea how anyone could want Penner when the biggest complaint on this board is our captain being "lazy". And Carcillo and Downey are on their 4th/5th teams for a reason.

you're learning.......

 

[daikan]

Can you bank on 15 for Nash? 20 for Tlusty? 30 for Staal? 30 for Semin? 20 for Lindholm?

I'm not so sure. I agree, though, that it's not a bad line-up. But throw in an injury, someone having an off year, etc., and suddenly it looks quite a bit worse.

 

[What the Faulk]

Can you bank on 15 for Nash? 20 for Tlusty? 30 for Staal? 30 for Semin? 20 for Lindholm?

I'm not so sure. I agree, though, that it's not a bad line-up. But throw in an injury, someone having an off year, etc., and suddenly it looks quite a bit worse.

Bank on? Maybe not. But those are numbers they are capable of hitting, or, in the case of Nash, a 3rd line RW equivalent.

The depth is pretty poor, but that's a reflection on Charlotte. They should have young guys ready to step in with any injury, but instead they have career AHLers.

 

[Finnish Jerk Train]

I'd go a little more conservative on Nash (maybe 10), but otherwise I think every player can hit those numbers if they play to their potential and don't miss significant time. Someone would probably be a letdown, but with the slightest amount of luck, someone else would surprise us and pick up some of the slack. If we can get 200 from the forwards and 30-40 from the defense, we'll be in the top 10 in terms of GF.

Of course, that's easier said than done.

 

[Cardiac Jerks]

Dany Heatley? Do we really want Dany all-star Heatley on a team that already has attitude problems?

Ignoring the fact that he can barely skate he's a total ass.

 

[Novacane]

Big, meaty bottom six.

Bottom pairing defensemen who don't suck.

A coach who doesn't suck at drawing up a powerplay. Bye bye MacLean.

 

[rocky7]

so now that Nash played well in a few meaningless games at the end of a lost season, he's become a lock and an emerging leader.......yikes.

 

[Ole Gil]

They really aren't *that* far off up front:

Skinner (30) // Eric (30) // Lindholm (20)
Tlusty (20) // Jordan (20) // Semin (30)
Gerbe (15) // Loktionov (15) // Nash (15)
UFA (5) // Malhotra (5) // Dwyer (5)

That's 210 goals from the forwards alone, and numbers they "should" hit. For reference, they scored just 207 when including the defensemen this year. Replace whomever with UFAs or trades or whatever, but that's not a bad lineup if no one has an off year.

If Skinner/Eric/Lindholm could work, that would really change things. Fingers crossed this is the summer that Skinner's defensive instincts kick in.