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Everything posted by DownUndaCanuck
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I worry it sounds like Ferland wants to give next season a go. 3.5M tied up in a cap this off season a lot considering he's not technically on LTIR right now, and we could have easily squeezed Toffoli in with that money, buy Ferland really doesn't want to give up. If he has a relapse right away after an off season you've got to think that he has to retire. The first few relapses were bad enough, but if he keeps pushing it then he's just being stupid. Obviously we could use his 40 points and hitting, but I don't think he's that player anymore. Without his 3.5M we'd still have 7.5M in cap Jake for 2.5M, Gaudette for 1.5M, Leivo in there for a similar amount and we could still go and sign an extra defenceman.
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I'm not sure if he's our most NHL-ready prospect to be honest, he's got a long way to go physically before he can deal with NHL forwards, and Green is going to have to trust him with 12-15 minutes on our bottom pairing. Rafferty, Rathbone, Chatfield and Sautner all bring a lot of competition to Juolevi so let's see who comes ready at training camp because I think one of them will get Fantenberg/Stecher's spot.
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Smart JB praying on loaded teams with cap problems, it was either Vegas or Tampa. We did get lucky as well, Vegas were stupid to trade within their own division (not sure why they didn't ship him out far to Florida?) but we'll take it of course. I'd like to think he starts with Hughes. Myers had some nice chemistry going but I worry he's just not strong enough defensively whereas you can trust Schmidt. He'll be more exposed playing with a wheeling Hughes compared to a slightly more sturdy Theodore and in a much more run and gun style than the Vegas 5 man defending unit, but hopefully he'll adjust to the system quickly. Great player who's really grown since Washington and will probably play out his career here, let's hope he can just maintain good quality defending for at least 3-4 years. Perfect contract replacement for Edler as well, that leaves us with a solid top-3 the next few years going forward.
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As of right now he sadly starts on our 2nd line, maybe third depending on how Virtanen and Gaudette play in training campm that's the scary bit.
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You've got to think JB is losing his patience with this kid but to be fair, he did go out and pick him knowing full well that a physical forward would take longer to develop than the skilled guys like Nylander and Ehlers who basically started scoring right away. Now we're several years down the line, I still think Virtanen is yet to play his best hockey and may really surprise us still in 3-5 years but we need something more positive in terms of work ethic and physicality. I've seen Nylander and Ehlers play and hell, fair play to Ehlers who throws his tiny body around more than Virtanen. Nylander doesn't really, he's much more of a perimeter player, but he's almost a point per game. Those two are entering their prime now which would have coincided nicely with the rest of our young squad whereas I think Jake is still far off. If he can get 20-30 goals then I'd be happy and he may do that this coming season but JB has to practice the patience that he knew he'd have to show when he picked this guy over Nylander.
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[Signing] Canadiens sign Tyler Toffoli
DownUndaCanuck replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in Trades, Rumours, Signings
To be fair to JB, when he went out to get Toffoli, we were expecting a higher cap and easily could have squeezed him in as well as a defenceman. Unfortunately the flat cap and Covid happened so can't really blame him for losing Toffoli and hence Madden for nothing, and every step of the way JB has made the right call. Basically swapping out Tanev and Toffoli for Schmidt and letting the youth play a bigger role is the only financial way he could get everything to work. If we resigned Toffoli we'd have to settle for a pretty average 2M defenceman in our top 4. -
TAMPA Salary Cap Issue
DownUndaCanuck replied to Elias Pettersson's topic in General Hockey Discussion
I'm thinking Tampa will try a bridge contract for Sergachev especially but they'll still have to move Killorn or someone up front to free up space because Cernak deserves 2-3M and Sergachev at the least deserves 4-5M for 1-2 years. -
(Discussion) Lopsided Deals from Covid-Times
DownUndaCanuck replied to Nuxfanabroad's topic in Proposals and Armchair GM'ing
Killorn for a pick is on the table for a lucky bubble playoff team for sure. -
Ironically, look at Motte, how hard he works and plays, and how he gets peanuts compared to what Virtanen is awarded. I agree there's lots of potential still for Virtanen, but if he played with half the gusto of Motte he could be a 30 goal scorer and serious threat. Sadly, that energy and will seems to be the hardest thing to teach. Look at guys like Burrows and Gallagher, that's how I hoped Virtanen would play and that's how he was advertised. Don't think that will change, but his skill level can improve as he ages. Let's all just hope something clicks and he has an off season to remember in the future, hopefully even the next one. As much as I've always publically hated Virtanen being picked, I'm still patient that he can be a useful player for us.
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Got to say, I was as shell shocked as everyone else with the big cleanse-out, but always have faith that JB knows what it takes to build a winner and more importantly, groom kids in (JB did this well in Boston too). Throwing 2-4 rookie defenceman into one season with a regressing Holtby and young Demko is a recipe for disaster but one more defenceman brings this defence into contention.
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Completely agree, I thought arbittation would only do him damage. Maybe after the regular season, but that pathetic post season bumps him from a 3M to a 2M tops IMO. They drafted him for physicality and he didn't even bring that. No hitting, no defence and 3rd line scoring isn't worth more than 2.5M.
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I'm expecting a breakout 20 goal season for Gaudette next year on our wings, he'll play in our top 6 when injuries arise and especially without Toffoli. The kid's shown heart and some serious hand and shot skills. Don't waste him defending at center, play him on the wing. He deserves a low bridge contract, like 1-1.5M for a couple of seasons. I have much more patient for Gaudette than 6th overall party Jake.
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Don't know what leverage he has, he was scoring at a 20 goal pace during the regular season then was invisible with 2 goals 1 assist in 16 playoff games. Yes, on the cusp of a breakout, but that bad playoffs IMO means he deserves less. Gaudette deserves 1-1.5M, Virtanen deserves 2-2.25M. Both 1-2 yr deals, max.
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All these moves would be lovely but it's been such a quiet trade front, I'm worried he might sit pat and just let the kids do the work for us. Benn's value right now is drained low after not playing much last season so if JB could deal him + a kid for a solid 15 minute defenceman that'd be great but doubtful. Realistically I think the kids on defence are going to play. They're going to make mistakes, it's going to be an ugly season and our GA is going to be downright bad but mainly down to how good Demko is (because I think Holty is going to be shelled for a GAA of 3+).
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[Signing] Canadiens sign Tyler Toffoli
DownUndaCanuck replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in Trades, Rumours, Signings
To be honest a new Gaudette and Virtanen may be better combined than Toffoli, and Schmidt basically is the same as Tanev, so it's a pretty close write-off. The loss of 20-40 goals though from a full season of top line Toffoli really depends on our youth and Boeser. I'm sure the kids have it in them to produce, and I think Gaudette and Virtanen are on the cusp of breakouts. JB clearly has faith in our youth. I think Gaudette certainly deserves a decent shot because he looks like he could easily blow the 20 goal mark if given adequate minutes. As for Virtanen, he has always frustrated me but has proven he can score 20 goals so deserves a chance as well. Both these kids deserve bridge contracts because we're in a transitional period but I'm sure combined, they equal (or are greater than) one Toffoli. -
I wonder if JB's done yet or not. Personally I'd like him to go out and get a 1M bottom pairing backup defenceman for when injuries hit or ideally just resign Fantenberg, because we currently have very little depth. Hughes - Schmidt Edler - Rathbone/Rafferty Juolevi - Myers Benn Or Hughes - Schmidt Edler - Myers Juolevi - Benn That's how we line up right now and I think we just need one rookie to start the season, but they need to be paired with Edler or Myers to be safe. If a top 4 guy gets injured then we've got rookies playing 20+ minutes consistently, and heaven forbid if 2 or when 2 get injuried we're looking at call ups to very inexperienced rookies. One more cheap depth defenceman and we're safe again, basically just need a Stecher/Fanta replacement.
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Say what you want he's a top 3 NHL defenceman and that's what they're worth, but for how long. Vegas are clearly gunning for it now, but that MAF contract hurts them because that's an extra star forward right there and they needed that when Dallas and Demkl blanked them. In 4-5 years this contract will handcuff them but I don't think they care if they win a couple of cups.
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The cap hit may hurt us in the future but Schmidt is the type of player you want and JB didn't have to give up anything really to acquire him. Can score goals, can hit and has good experience. Hughes - Schmidt may be our top pairing for the next 3 years. I worry about this contract in 3-5 years but by then hopefully the cap will be raised and the team will look completely different. On the whole, Schmidt + youth vs Tanev + Stecher + Toffoli really comes down to how well our kids play, but Nate is an upgrade on Tanev.
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[Signing] Canadiens sign Tyler Toffoli
DownUndaCanuck replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in Trades, Rumours, Signings
Obviously a disaster letting such talent go for such little money but JB must have a plan. I'll reserve judgement for after the off season, maybe even after the first half of the season, but quite frankly if we miss the playoffs JB comes under the spotlight for the first time in his career. I know it's a hard situation but this flat cap and extension draft really puts GMs under pressure so let's see what he can do. I hope he's lining up some big top 4 D man with this extra cap... -
[Signing] Sabres sign Taylor Hall
DownUndaCanuck replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in Trades, Rumours, Signings
1 year 8M deals don't happen very often, I think this is a suss out deal for both teams. Seems a bit steep to me but the Sabres have it, let's see what else they do. -
[Rumour] Nate Schmidt to Panthers
DownUndaCanuck replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in Trades, Rumours, Signings
They still need to move some cap, probably one of their forwards. Theodore and Peitrangelo on the same defence in their prime is a scary thought, obviously the last team to try this was the Sharks and that went horribly wrong but the Knights have the depth.