travel_dude

The chances on staying on a particular course are dependent on succes/lack of success. The unfortunate thing is that we seldom stay on a trajectory. More like a sine wave. The NHL is like that too, though some teams take longer to hit the trough. Predicting the Pacific is next to impossible for standings. Anyway, it's good to seem to be making honest decisions instead of non hockey people making them. It was like we we keeping together a cup winner, which we weren't. Sutter was the throwaway coach you get when you couldn't push through. Not the guy to build you up to contender year after year. One shot is all he deserved and we didn't have the team to do it. The love afair with some players should be over now. We have some good pieces to build with, so let's build it. We have a 3 year window for the over 30 crowd that is really good. In 3 years they have to be the completer pieces. Need new blood to become the stars.

We passed over him at a horrible contract, like every NHL team did. Doesn't mean we shouldn't have signed him at 1.1M. Whether we tried or not, who knows. If you are thinking we are in a rebuild, you probably will be upset to find out otherwise. Maybe down the road, when every team is going through one. Right now we are on the teeter totter. Half on one side of 30, half on the other side. We will add to each side, some getting over the 30 hump, some traded/released. Then we add to the under 30 crowd along the way - prospects and trade and signings. That doesn't signal rebuild. Whether it's right or wrong.

Unfortunately, Connie is managing by not signing without cap going out. It's not a bad thing, since BT paid a high cost to get rid of Monahan. But, it leaves holes that can't just be plugged internally or by waiting and waiting. I still can't figure what we are doing. Are we trading out players to get younger, stronger, bigger, cheaper? Is that the reason why the rumors have dried up, since the deals on the table are just a game of chicken?

The Beck thing is odd.

Sorry, but I don't think he's worth taking the risk on. Keep him and you get a career season out of him and we don't trade him.

Solutuon is simple for both sides. Short term deal. 2 or less. Evaluate after this season. Stuff still exists, he is easily tradeable. 2 years also lines up better with a high cap.

Coronato is best suited for playing with Huberdeau, but I don't know he is ready for that kind of minutes. Maybe 3rd line with whomever we will have as #3C. Maybe that's where Pelletier belongs. I'm thinking Govich belongs on 2, either side.

At this point I don't even care about the return on a Backlund trade. If all you get is a Hathaway, that's exactly what we miss. I sometimes trash Coleman, but it's not him. He was brought in as a cup finisher to a team that is devoid of emotion. Backlund is the "hold me back" player after the whistle type. Skate by a situation or chance because you tired. Dump the puck in OT. Perimeter. The only time I like his play is the drive the net on an odd man rush. But then you look at the guy he was with and wonder why doesn;t this turn into a 2 on 1 passing play instead of a 1 on 1 and still have the goalie to beat, I can count on one hand players I would be upset to see go. Even then it would be more upset at the lack of return.

I worry about how the media is either being used to put forth an agenda, or is forcing an agenda. Like the report of Lindy 8x9. Is that some leaked inept contract negotiations or is it the media try to soft sell whatever deal is igned. Oh, we signed 8x8.5 so we dodged a bullet. Honestly, I don't know what he's worth. Was one of the better 2-way C's a couple of years ago. Then he played with Toffoli and ??. Less than specatular. Anyway, to your point, we hang onto players like they are the solution. Every good team turns over the roster. I hate Vegas, but they show no mercy. They don't care about the individual just the team. All business. We are all feelings and rainbows. We outbid on the crap and underbid on the usefull players. I don't think this is the GM. It's the people that determine what the team needs. The pro scouts. The guy telling the GM who we need. They gotta go. And FFS, make a trade if a guy doesn't want to play here instead of the media circus.

I believe that is the typical response. It can get dicey if your cap trouble is next year.

Not sure if this is exhaustive, but : A level bonuses, $250K x 4 max (these are the top categories you could ever get) B level - $2.5Mmax for things like Calder, Conne Smythe, 1st All Star team, top 10 in F goals, So that would be $3.5M max + reguar salary

This goes back some time, but IIRC he was on schedule and would be ready for camp.

For sime odd reason, I think he would do well in CGY. Don't know why. Maybe it's because players that should do well here end up being really bad. Jarnkrok was a player that should have meshed well here, but struggled to do anything. And Sutter actually loved the player. Toffoli was nothing much until he was placed on the top line. Rooney couldn't even make a dent in the lineup, but maybe expecting a middle 6 player to play well on a grind line was too much. I don't think he's in position to demand anything. Waiver wire no takers and we have team struggling to fill their rosters and cap. Even a claim isn't a guaranteed spot, though it's a waste to have to have dead cap to send him back down. As for fit, who knows. Mangiapane isn't recovered yet, and whether that had anything to do with his struggle to score, who knows. I think he tries to play bigger than he really is. Hence why he falls a lot. I think we should try to take advantage of the one time 35 goal scorer and trade him for a more durable player. Maybe one that can play RW so we aren't always trying to convert LW's. I know it should be easier, but we seem to get dedicated LW'ers. Sing him now and look at other players to add that are better 4th line fits. We kinda have to figure out the top of the lineup, whether we replace Backlund, whether we are moving Mange, whether we need a top 3 RW, whether we need a RHS C, whether we solve some of it with trades....

SOmtimes I think you need to let the players develop where they learned the game. Then you don't need to bother when they don't develop.

I think sometimes the players feel that the contract will limit their play, due to cap reasons carrying a bit hit. He was probably destined to play in the AHL for DET, which has a pipeline of players. Playing in the AHL would mean no team is going to bother trading for him. I suppose he can get a chance to sign with any team he wants and sees an opportunity for minutes. If there is nothing good, he can go sign in Europe. Not the typical route, but the cap is squeezing players out in general. Overpaying for "stars" that put up 50 points and the journeymen are not getting offers. CHI has to overpay just to reach the floor. Or trade for an overpriced player.

Works for us, yes. For him? Sweden not a bad place to learn the game.

I'm not sure he come over for this. What are the advantages to him playing in Canadian juniors?

Maybe ne can explain to Ras how to find lanes to the net. Ras has almost as powerful a shot, but almost never is able to use it.

So..... Are you saying we should try to pick him up as a UFA after they terminate his contract? I can think of players with less defensive accumen. Really, I think there are bargains out there that we appear frozen on making decisions on. Or, we suck so bad on pro scouting that they don't even appear on our lists. FFS, move on from Backlund already. Trade Hanifin for whatever you can get. Move on. Sick of PTO's that are basically retreads and just take up space we could use on our kids. Or decent PTO's that might actually make a team.

All well and good, but there are 32 teams inviting players. Some teams might be able to sign them to NHL deals. Some are teams that will be in the playoffs. Who knows what we are. Not really an indication of the direction. No rebuild is about it. Maybe one team out there actually announcing a rebuild? Not too loudly, as the fans don't want to hear it,

Read where Poirier will not play at dev camp, due to recovering to an old injury. Said to be one that he's had for some time.

Thanks for that part. There are parts that I foget about the CBA that i used to know and prompty forgot.

I dunno. I guess there are players signed a couple of years after they first get invited to a dev camp. This guy is young enough to go back to junior club and then come back to the draft next year. Couldn't play in the AHL this year.

So, the only players that were passed over in the draft eligible for PTO signings are 20 year olds.

Calgary Hitmen forward Oliver Tulk, Western Michigan forward Chad Hillebrand, Kelowna Rockets goalie Jari Kykkanen, Union College goalie Connor Murphy, U Alaska-Fairbanks goalie Matt Radomsky, Michigan Tech goalie Max Vayrynen are all undrafted plyrs who got invites