travel_dude

He has the same opinion as Eric Francis. And the guy is so connected that he has to read a piece by Wes to know what's in his contract. And I think you are actually right about the competition. While a bigger pool of teams may give you a bunch of weird offers, the 5 team list is more likely to overbid. They are all going to be in the same conference and most in the same division. Outbid a team to keep them from getting him. Of course, that assumes we are going that direction.

I hope that injury concern is not the decision making that goes into it. Monahan settled for one year more at less AAV, as a C. Was it just the Gio cap that prevented an extra year? Good excuse if it was. TBH, this is a golden opportunity to get a 8 year deal done. Fixed cap.

No, I would look at Iggy and Nuge as playing similar roles. If he's playing with a natural center, then he is not performing the role of a C. I have (unfortunately) watched enough Oiler games to see what he does. 3 seasons ago and even part of the COVID season, he played as a C.

I think that's the ballpark for a shorter deal, but I'm a little tired of them. We have the Tkachuk issue and the short window to trade Gaudreau because of them. BT doesn't like to go full term because his risk calculator shows small guys get injured. And Tkachuk was a contract hold out unless it was short term. In some ways, it's not worse than when he signed. He would have gotten $8m+ on 8 years, based on what he signed for. Instead, we got 3 years at $7m and whatever the new deal looks like.

Honestly, Gio's deal was envisioned as possibly being a buyout of the last year(s). Who would have expected him to be the top D on the team. Would have made sense to trade him 2 years ago. A given. Neal's deal was envisioned as being a buyout in the last year. That begat Lucic which was buyout-proof, which was a poor trade from that perspective. Backlund was par value at the time, though the years seem to be the issue right now. Sorry, what proposal are you talking about? I was responding to RobRob about something. The last things I was talking about was trading for Dumba and then trading Gio. Target a decent backup goalie in FA. Not doing a rebuild but possibly trading a LW to help out the forwards.

I get the argument, but effectively he's a winger. If he plays with McD, he's a winger. If they move Draisaitl to 2nd line, he's a winger. If they load up the top line and he plays 2nd line, he's still a winger. It's not like he's taking even Khaira levels in faceoffs. Less than Turris (27 games).

Nuge may be considered a C, but a career 44% and playing on the wing of Draisaitl or McDavid or McLeod or Turris or other isn't a real C. Last season he averaged 3.1 FO's per game with Draisaitl and McD paired up most of the season. The previous season 6.2, and a lot of that was when they played Darisaitl with McD.

It wasn't a slight to EE. EE's contract could well be a steal for them if he is trending to be a #1. But Mangiapane has two straight years of 17+ goals in a shortened season(s). Evolving Hockey predicts the value for Mangiapane as being $4.4m x 4 years, so 8 years would no doubt be higher than EE's. I doubt they go 8 years on Mangiapane though. Would I rather spend $5.2m x 8 on Nuge or Mangiapane, both being wingers? Pretty simple answer for me.

If Ek can get $5.25m for 8 years, what the heck is Mangiapane worth?

I think it hinders every team. We have problems with Lucic and Gio right now, but we could do longer term for less doll-hairs on Tkachuk and Johnny. There should be no reason why we can't have two players earning $8m. Are they worth it? To us, yes. Our biggest problem right now (salary wise that is) is Lucic, Gio and Backlund, who are on the back 9 of the course. You can't have that much tied up unless they are near tops on the team.

Sarcasm

I listed 2 RHS wingers (Coronato and Tuomaala) and two LHS C. The vast majority of the NHL C's are LHS. And as I prefaced it, this is possibly a draft where those Hammy, Kipper, Gio types will be off the board by 12. Beyond that, there may be one or two high risk high reward D available. The UFA crop this summer for D is not great; more accurately the ones likely to be available July 18th. If you need a guy that can score 40-60 points while providing questionable defense, see Barrie and Dougie. Why would we ever target a D that can score? I do give Dougie somke props for upping his D game, but it's still not his strongest points. Unfortunately, the expansion draft, the entry draft and FA don't all occur on the same day. So, you have to have your trades and signings know before you upgrade your 1st rounder. Impossible. We could trade for Dumba and protect him over Tanev and Gio. The trade costs would be less than other years.

The ones that "may" drop or ones that I would be happy taking a bit of risk are: Kent Johnson - not sure he makes it close to 12 unless D is prioritized Coronato - just seems the right fit for some reason Sillinger - a C that like to attack in the middle? One kid I wonder may be available way later in the 1st or even 2nd: Samu Tuomaala - could he be the RHS RW version of Mangiapane?

Ya know, that probably solves a lot of issues. It might not be fair, but I don't think we can move on with certain players. Backlund has been incredible for us, but at the same time it seems like he has 2 more gears that he can't shift into. It's like watching Bennett turn a high danger shot into a puck over the net. Gio has been a soldier for us. But I think we are following the wrong general. Lucic played with two talents; Mange and Backlund. If anyone got a bump it was him. But that really just moves us in place, doesn't allow us to improve dramatically unless the replacements are stars. A lot of cap for sure. I think we could fill up a 4th line with internal players but not the usual grinding, low event stuff. Still need a real 3rd line and perhaps another top 6 C and a #1D. One of the top players would need to be sacrificed to do it.

The two targets I would be looking at are Drieger and Brossoit. The latter always seemed to cause us grief playing against. Drieger is a potential starter down the road. We also want to prevent EDM from getting him. Brossoit is underrated a bit, since he played behind a porous D. Either choice allows us a guy that can play 25-30 games, and be insurance against injury. As much as I want them to use a guy like Parsons to finally reward him, he may not be close to ready. Or he is the kind that just needs a chance to show himself for once.

Let me attack this another way. We have a flat cap right now. If we were able to say sign a top D today, it will be cheaper than in 3 years. I wasn't sure what you meant about re-signing values hindering. If you mean re-signing Gio or Ryan? If you mean UFA's that a different story. I think what I see is a team that can't do much to improve in it's present state. I don't think we need to blow up, but we need to move on from a couple of core players. Gaudreau, Monahan, Tkachuk, Lucic, Backlund, Gio, Hanifin. Maybe two of the first three should be kept, but at least 2 of the last 4 need to be moved.

I could see him trade a 3rd and a 2nd to move up into the early 2nd round. Or both 3rds for a 2nd. I don't pretend to know what will be available later and whether they are worth jumping up for or not.

Limited quote to shorten the post. When we traded for Dougie and Hammer we were in a much different situation than today. I don't believe he will use similar tactics to make us whole. Maybe he sends a 1st for a top D younger player with term. Would that even be wrong? How about we trade for Dumba, since he will be lost anyway. We then expose both Gio and Tanev or offer a minor piece for not selecting Tanev. Let's face it, the real core of the team is still young to work with and build around. We don't need Backlund, Gio and Lucic unless we are competing for the cup. Solving that problem is key to BT. It may be painful at first, but we should recognize it. Any trade to fix the roster should take place after the draft. Should be a lot of movement. Maybe target Garland as a RFA. Just some thoughts.

Expect some new controversy to happen during a game that will decide the winner.

Well, we tried to take steps forward with UFA signings and trades. Whether we cut out of the rebuild too early or not, we failed to take the right steps. Dougie was a smart trade. Hamonic was not. Brouwer and Neal were huge mistakes based on poor scouting. Markstrom and Tanev were recognizing the lack of a starter and a tough D-man. This past summer we did nothing else to improve the team. We don't have the top talent that some teams have, but let's be honest only a few teams actually do. Tampa and VGK have talent for sure, but it's deep. For us to move on, we need to address the lack of depth. 5 of 6 required for a top 6. 1 of 3 for a 3rd line. Prospects only for a 4th line. An aging top D and one shutdown D. A decent 2/3 young LD and similar RD. A decent prospect/young LD. No backup. A few things that are preventing that from being addressed. The expansion draft throws a wrench into trades right now. We have $6.75m + $5.35m + $5.25m on three players 32 years and older. We didn't explore what we had in prospects last year when we were almost guaranteed to miss the playoffs. Even though those 3 players contributed to the team, their time to be part of the solution is drawing to a close. My wish list: A top D, not just another 2/3. A #1 or #2C that drives play. A bona fide scoring threat (30+ goals per year) for RW. A 4th line that challenges other teams.

There are very few I would even trade the 2021 1st for. Regardless of whether we are a bubble team or a threat to make the playoffs or certain to miss, we have to protect lotto picks. You can't do that with a offer sheet, so that should be off the table if it includes a 1st. I don't know about Seattle even considering a 2nd to take Lucic. If it was that simple, then yes it might make sense. Loss of a good pick. The annoying thing right now is that early 2nd round picks will include some true 1st rounders. I would actually like to upgrade our 2nd if certain players were available. A 2nd + EDM's 3rd for a top 5 in round 2.

Yes. Love it or hate it, you at least knew where Burkie stood. But, I feel we are missing the skill in evaluating the necessary skills you try to get. In some ways the players we targeted were all over the map in types, but it seems lke they weren't always good in what they were known for. Saying that, you can't just collect parts and expect them to fit, when your core group isn't even constructed 100% correctly. The line "hard to play against" doesn't cut it for me. Can't be hard without a punishing defense.

Maybe what Lucic said is accurate and warranted, but it perpetuates the belief of a country club atmosphere. I didn't see a lot of players mailing it in, with the exception of Bennett (at times), Tkachuk and Gaudreau (also at times) and maybe Backlund. Even Lucic gave up on plays. On the flip side, I didn't see a lot of players throwing their body in the way of shots. Tanev, Gio Ras, Valimaki and Stone the only ones with more than one per game. Our best PK'ers with less than one every two games (Lindholm, Mangiapane, Ryan and Backlund) Soft board battles. 50/50 plays where they lost the battle. Maybe I'm asking a bit much to do it all season. It's a lost art.

That could very well be the case, but let's not get sucked into it to protect him. We lose that gamble unless we trade him for something that equals the cost to protect him. And the optics of doing that are much worse. So it comes down to a few scenarios for me, though some may not be easy or nice: 1) Expose Gio - he may net Seattle a decent return, but can't worry about that too much 2) Protect Gio - lose an asset and a player to prevent him from being taken; resign him to shorter contract in 2022 3) Protect Gio - lose an asset and a player to prevent him from being taken; trade him with a retained salary this summer 4) Trade Gio this summer - lose someone else in the draft, retain salary and get something for him The last two require him to waive his NTC unless we can find a deal within his 11 team list.

While it's okay to call out players after a bad game, when they showed little interest or compete, I disagree that Valimaki was ever complacent. Afraid to make a mistake? Sure. But what about other players that escape the public comments? And what does it say when a player makes a bad decision and is sat while another makes an equally bad decision and plays normal minutes?