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2015 Free Agency


phoenix66

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I hate giving out 5 year deals to role players, I think 5 years + should be reserved for your core guys. This is my biggest worry with the Frolik deal, I think we will end regretting the deal 2-3 season from now.

 

I don't like the 4 years either, wanted 4, but I don't think its a deal we will regret. What I like about targeting Frolik is this isn't a player that had one good season and is cashing in.  7 NHL seasons 5 of which are double digit goal season, 3 basically 20 goal seasons and 4 of 40 points are more. Shooting percentage never jumps up and he's known to be a consistent procession player as well so I like that at least they are committing to a solid NHL who has shown what he is and as the cap continues to go up in a few years 4 mill for a borderline 2/3rd line player won't be awful. I think the only season we may regret is the last one.

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I hate giving out 5 year deals to role players, I think 5 years + should be reserved for your core guys. This is my biggest worry with the Frolik deal, I think we will end regretting the deal 2-3 season from now.

We only regret that contract if he doesn't play well. He is 27 and the cap isn't terrible. As long as he isn't bad we can move him in a couple years if we want to.

The reality is you can't sign these guys to short term deals. I get why you want to, but it is what it is.

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Is that a shot against the Frolik deal you hate?

JW is a good player, but he is a higher risk at his age.

Your right, it isn't a great comparable to the Frolik signing because (as you say) the age is so different. But it's still a great deal for Washington.

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If we are signing guys at that low cap hit, we are basically rehashing the Raymonds of the world.

Does Frolik make us better? Everyone seems to think so...

 

The difference between Raymond and Frolik is that Raymond used to be a good scoring winger and Frolik is a good all-around player.  He never recovered well enough after the Bruins hit in the SCF.  He showed up in CGY looking to play with us, but we chose not to sign him.  He was able to sign a show-me deal in TO and managed to have a good season.  But that is the East, and he didn't have to worry about defense, hitting, etc.

 

The closest comparison to Frolik on our team I can think of is Backlund.  Actually, a Backlund that doesn't get injured and is a little harder on the puck.

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So far BT has managed to address most of our weaknesses from last season, defense and RW, the next major weakness that I see that needs to be addressed in faceoffs. Monahan is improving and finished the year with 49.3%. Faceoffs have never really been a strong suit for Backlund and he finished lat year at 48.3%. Stajan is probably our best center in regards to faceoffs and he is pretty average at 50.3%.

 

Jim Slater is one low cost solution he had 59.6 winning % last season. Even as a 4th line center Slater could help out a lot with his faceoff ability, taking faceoffs on the PK and in defensive situations late in games. Sounds like a small thing but it would go a long way in helping keeping the puck out of our net.

 

Other options I wouldn't mind are Marcel Goc (55.1%) and Maxim Lapierre (52.4%). I dislike Lapierre as a player but the advantage with him is he is a RHS, he is well known for getting under the opponents skin and he brings size at 6'2" 215lbs.

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No thanks to Lapierre.  Not for the sole purpose of faceoffs.

 

I absolutely understand where you are coming from, Lapierre is a rat and coward. He is a dirty player who turtles when it is time to pay for his actions, I can't stand him. That being said, he is solid in the circle and brings that agitating quality this team has been missing, though Ferland sure did a good of it in the playoffs. Lapierre isn't my first choice, I would much rather Slater or Goc as they better in the dot.

 

Gaudreau/Monahan/Hudler

Bennett/Backlund/Frolik

Bouma/Stajan/Jones

Colborne/Slater/Jooris

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I absolutely understand where you are coming from, Lapierre is a rat and coward. He is a dirty player who turtles when it is time to pay for his actions, I can't stand him. That being said, he is solid in the circle and brings that agitating quality this team has been missing, though Ferland sure did a good of it in the playoffs. Lapierre isn't my first choice, I would much rather Slater or Goc as they better in the dot.

 

Gaudreau/Monahan/Hudler

Bennett/Backlund/Frolik

Bouma/Stajan/Jones

Colborne/Slater/Jooris

 

I understand the need, but the aging players with good faceoff numbers aren't exactly what's going to win us games.  I like to see the 4th line center position utilized for up and comers in our system.  So far last year it was a great way to showcase the prospects and what they can do at the highest level.  We still have yet to see Arnold, or a sizable sample in Shore.

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As a team last year we lost 261 more faceoffs than we won, that means we started with out the puck 261 times.

 

Another option that I believe Kehatch brought up in a different thread would be trading for Tyler Bozak. Bozak won 53.2% of his faceoffs last year. He would fit nicely on the 2nd line as I see him as having a slightly better offensive game than Backlund. We would have to get Toronto to take a contract back though, let them choose between Stajan, Raymond or Engelland, preferably Raymond though. 

 

Gaudreau/Monahan/Hudler

Bennett/Bozak/Frolik

Bouma/Backlund/Jones

Colborne/Stajan/Jooris

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As a team last year we lost 261 more faceoffs than we won, that means we started with out the puck 261 times.

 

Another option that I believe Kehatch brought up in a different thread would be trading for Tyler Bozak. Bozak won 53.2% of his faceoffs last year. He would fit nicely on the 2nd line as I see him as having a slightly better offensive game than Backlund. We would have to get Toronto to take a contract back though, let them choose between Stajan, Raymond or Engelland, preferably Raymond though. 

 

Gaudreau/Monahan/Hudler

Bennett/Bozak/Frolik

Bouma/Backlund/Jones

Colborne/Stajan/Jooris

If I was the Leafs I would jump on that.

 

For a few reasons...we are trying to get rid of some our longer more expensive contracts for our rebuild, and Bozak is one of them. I've always liked Bozie and he has great skill in the circle.

 

I also liked MayRay when he was a Leaf. He worked hard, and used his speed to his advantage. He was a 3rd liner for us and got 19G and 26A for 45 points. That's not a bad total, considering the team he was playing with.

 

Now if we could re-sign Santorelli and have a line of MayRay-Santo-Winnik, I'd be happy with that, especially in Year 1 of a real rebuild.

 

I also don't mind MayRay's contract $/term, and we still need to ice a team. I think Raymond would do well under Babs.

 

...Shame I'm not the GM for this trade.

 

EDIT: I also really enjoyed Stajan's game when he started with us... so I wouldn't mind bringing him back either...Engelland can hug his own nuts though...not a fan.

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As a team last year we lost 261 more faceoffs than we won, that means we started with out the puck 261 times.

 

Another option that I believe Kehatch brought up in a different thread would be trading for Tyler Bozak. Bozak won 53.2% of his faceoffs last year. He would fit nicely on the 2nd line as I see him as having a slightly better offensive game than Backlund. We would have to get Toronto to take a contract back though, let them choose between Stajan, Raymond or Engelland, preferably Raymond though. 

 

Gaudreau/Monahan/Hudler

Bennett/Bozak/Frolik

Bouma/Backlund/Jones

Colborne/Stajan/Jooris

 

I would sooner give Arnold a test drive as a centre if Bennett is not able to go into that role full-time right away.  That would give you two different looks (RHS, LHS) to choose from.  Aside from that, we have Jooris and Shore and Colborne to choose from. 

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I would sooner give Arnold a test drive as a centre if Bennett is not able to go into that role full-time right away. That would give you two different looks (RHS, LHS) to choose from. Aside from that, we have Jooris and Shore and Colborne to choose from.

Generally younger players and rookies don't fare well at faceoffs, it usually takes a few seasons to get up to speed. Arnold only has half a season of pro hockey under his belt, if he comes into camp and wins a job, fantastic, but I am not counting on it. Colborne was one of our better guys in the dot but Hartley seems reluctant to play him at center. Jooris did not do well in the circle last year. Shore didn't get much of a chance and unless we start moving some forwards out I can see him being put on waivers to start the season.

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Generally younger players and rookies don't fare well at faceoffs, it usually takes a few seasons to get up to speed. Arnold only has half a season of pro hockey under his belt, if he comes into camp and wins a job, fantastic, but I am not counting on it. Colborne was one of our better guys in the dot but Hartley seems reluctant to play him at center. Jooris did not do well in the circle last year. Shore didn't get much of a chance and unless we start moving some forwards out I can see him being put on waivers to start the season.

 

I mentioned Arnold because he was the best face-off guy on the baby Flames last year.  He has 4 years of experience in college.

It's not like it is a new thing to him, but it remains to be seen how well he can do in the NHL. 

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