travel_dude

Could call this thread "9 Defense". When we get down to the final number after trades, we can resurrect if you like.

Barzal is first choice. I guess we should change the name of the thread from Blow it up? to Red Wire Cut.

Most teams have a ton of UFAs at some point. It's the downside to max terms and UFA signings. We were looking for a captain, and we couldn't justify Tkachuk or Johnny. No way we let him walk. Sure, we are gonna pay him what Gaudreau or Tkachuk would have gotten, but whatever. And we only keep Tkachuk if we paid $10.5M for Gaudreau. If you are not rebuilding then you better be improving. The only thing I will miss is the dominant scoring we had for one year, in most games. Have to find the right RW to fit now. But that really was the case anyway. We were down a winger and got the same one back. Now we are down the other winger. Kadri is an option, but moving for Barzal is also an option. One of them could be our 2C. How we deploy the lines depends on which one. If Barzal. Mangiapane would go to top RW perhaps, with Huber-Lindholm-Mange 2nd line is Dube-Barzal-Toffoli If Kadri Huber-Kadri-Mangiapane Dube-Lindholm-Toffoli I don't know. Barzal is more of a playmaker, so we use finishers with him.

Okay, I hear ya. So, woring on a theme. Lou is cheap. Monahan at 50% plus Valimaki plus Zary for Barzal. They get a top prospect that they can stash. A controlled LD that is looking to bust out. If that didn't interest them, swap Hanifin for Valikami. But then we are weaker in the top 4 D. Kylington has to be able to top 2 and Mackey or Valimak plays with Tanev.

If they did that, I could just buy some new letters. HUBER instead of GAU

I was thinking that. I thought JH was one of the better Panthers in the playoffs, but wasn't rewarded. I think the issue with the Panthers is they couldn't afford to pay him next year. Yeah Chucky gets the big bucks, but they were going to have to shell that out for a 29 year old. Pooor Bennett. Now he has the big personality of Tkachuk to deal with. Wonder how long it is before he asks to be traded to the Flames.

No queston, we are better positioned with Huberdeau. I wonder if he is a better fit in the west over Johnny. Bigger, less likely to be knocked off the puck. Not quite the same talent in some ways, but seems to be a faster player. I could be wrong about his skating but I thought he was fast. I also like the addition of Weeger. I'm just not sure where we go from here. We have Meloche now as a depth RD and Valimaki/Mackey as depth LD. As much as Valimaki may be the superior player of that bunch, I almost expect a trade coming. Meloche was a replacement for Stone, but he also was a deal that was signed before we got Weeger. Looking at the defense we have the following pairing that Sutter probably would like to lean on. I'm just breaking it down this way due to movers and defensive types together. Hanifin-Ras Kylington-Tanev Zadorov-Weeger The 2nd and 3rd pairs listed could split minutes evenly. You don't relly have to shelter a pair like last year so much. I can't see them giving up on Kylington, since he took a big step last season, even if he regressed in the latter part of the season. Maybe Mackey is better, but he still hasn't earned a spot. Sutter likes him, but he had given a lot of trust to Kylington. Regarding the new players Huberdeau and Weeger, I don't know if they are Plan A and they are meant to be re-signed or if there is a 2nd trade coming of those players. I would prefer that we sort out the contracts before the season starts. Get Hubrdeau re-signed and if we want Weeger as a player, get him signed as well. We haven't sorted out the rest of the roster yet. Lucic and Monahan are not cap casualties yet and maybe we don't need to deal either this year, but it seems like a waste of cap and positions right now. Just keeping Lucic for a policeman seems like a poor use of cap. I expect we will sign or trade for a middle 6 center, so there may be no good reason to keep Monahan. I can't see him returning to top 6.

It was a hard switch for me. Don't get me wrong, I think we have the better player. I just didn't like the idea of getting older players.

Done

It comes down to $$, but we don't have big committments next year. I hope next season is a good UFA year. No rebuild for us. Up next Kadri? Trade Lucic and Monahan?

We are more of a Sutter team than before. I shall enjoy it as long as they are in their primes.

Ok, so now we need to get Coronato and our best prospects acclimatized. We also need to finish the off-season. We are open to some cap now too.

Nope, we shall have 30 pages of a Huberdeau thread. And 20 of a Weeger thread.

I am perplexed. This seems likeeither a long range plan to do something else. Or a long term plan to be a contender.

Day 1. I suspect we have our new captian and he will get over 9. Weeger is the new top 4D. Deep on D now. They lock up Tkachuk and we are watching the clock.

You me both. I guess we are going for it more than before. A little disconcerting we get older in one week. This is good for 5 years. We get the tied for 2nd scorer in the NHL.

If he is supposedly on Tkachuk's list, then why not both? Bratt + Mercer + Holtz + 1st. If he wasn't guaranteed to sign then you drop Mercer or Holtz. Bidding war please.

Those are pretty diverse deals. I would take the 1st and start the car. I don't like the 2nd offer. Nothing about the other player screams high end. If STL is doing Thomas and Neighbours, they are dropping the 1st. They might do Krug + a 1st. I even have a problem with seeing them do that. Tkachuk for Thomas + Neighbours + Krug + 1st for Tkachuk. The money works, just seems like they give up too much. We come out of that deal laughing our faces off. Mind you, I was never a fan of Krug but he provides offense. Would we then be able to trade him to another team?

Devils Insiders @DevilsInsiders Understood there is a very different reason why the Tkachuks are in NJ, but we're here to have some fun and crank the hot stove up a notch and maybe get hurt.

Too funny we both posted this.

Tinfoil hate time....

I had believed that the date would not even get close. One would think, if it came down to it that they would agree the only way it can work is a deal they both sign. Even if it's a one year deal, it's better for both sides. Sure, he can choose a team next summer, but I would think he wants to get this out of the way. Hamstringing the Flames means he is stuck here.

So, my question is about the arbitration offer. Is it true that if he goes into the hearing, and is awarded an offer that we can't trade him until the year is done? I hope this is not the case, because there is no turning back.

I would agree that there are teams that would give up assets to get him. But his full NTC and the list of teams that can take on a salary like that without sending back similar is very short. He's more likely to be dealt at the TDL if they are out of contention and haven't re-signed him. SLT is more likely to trade Krug or Scandella. I'm feeling that whoever takes Tkachuk will have to work out their issues themselves. We actually have cap to take on a cap dump, but it would cost a pretty penny with Tkachuk going there. Cheaper to dump a player elsewhere.

I mean he's been there paid the hush money to the model.