Baggins

Your math is nonsense.The first four years there is a cap savings on what his cap hit would have been. The last four years there would be no 7.26m cap hit as his contract would have expired. Thus the last four years are pure buyout penalty, not savings, post expiration date. I still see no reason to do it this offseason. We're unlikely to be a contender next year so why the rush? Waiting a year lowers both the amount and length of the cap penalty. Honestly, I'd wait two years to buy him out unless the team goes past the first round and puts up a solid fight in the second next year. Patience is a virtue. Red is the negative penalty. Wait one year and the penalty is... 24/25 $2.03m 25/26 $4.49m 26/27 $4.49m 27/28 $1.81m 28/29 $1.81m 29/30 $1.81m Wait two years and the penalty is... 25/26 $4.18m 26/27 $4.18m 27/28 $1.54m 28/29 $1.54m You want to carry a $2.13m hit throogh the 30/31 season out of impatience. I rather just retain $2.5m and offer our 2024 1st and 2025 2nd to unload him with a cap hit under $5m. I'd even toss in Rathbone or Hoglander. it's better cap savings two of the four remaing years and completely done in four instead of eight years. But his NMC makes moving him highly unlikely.

Is that record solely on OEL or does the adjustment period to the new system have anything to do with it? Bear in mind when Demko returned as well. Demko has played 6 of those 9 games without OEL. The nine games with OEL include.... Martin 3 GP .815 S% 5.04 GAA Delia 6 GP ..842 S% 3.94 GAA Silovs 2 GP .891 S% 3.54 GAA Is it really all on OEL's shoulders?

It makes little sense to me to buy him out at this point. Are we somehow contending next year? Highly unlikely. Do we have a home grown top 4 replacement on an elc? Doesn't appear to be. You could argue Wollanin but he's 28 not 21 or 22. Each year we wait to buy him out lowers the length and amount of the cap penalty. Buying out OEL doesn't exactly solve money for Petey either because OEL also needs to be replaced and those two $4.7m years, in Petey's next contract, won't exactly leave much for a top 4 replacement and four years down the road his replacement needs to be under $5m for 4 years to gain anything. His replacement would need to be at 2.5m or less just to break even on those two years high cap years. That's why I think it's better to wait until we have that home grown potential top 4 replacement before buying him out. It's just a long time to carry a cap penalty. In addition we haven't exactly seen much of the RT effect on OEL with only 9 games. The team as a whole is playing better defensively. They're finally playing a more aggressive game and not handing the opposition easy zone entries. I 've complained about how passive they play going back to Green. Personally I think it might be better to wait two years to buy him out or at very least review it again next year. I just don't think this is the time to do it. It seems more like an impatient panic move at this point with long term consequences.

It's been one freakin' year. Btw, everybody expected Pettersson to be two to three years away to fill out his 6'2" frame. Nobody predicted what followed the next two seasons. The truth is predictions are meaningless to reality. You just never know. If there was any actual certainty a whole lot of players wouldn't be drafted where they were. But with a top 15 pick do you really want to bunt for a safe 3rd line player or swing for the fence for a top 6 player? Which is harder to find? I think GM's are hoping for a Kesler with a mid 1st rounder far more than a Malhotra. A Malhotra is a consolation prize with a mid first. Better than striking out but not what you hope for.

This group never will accomplish anything if you don't build on it.

Were Pettersson and Hughes errors in drafting strategy? An undersized d-man and a lightweight bean pole forward. If you don't view them as drafting "mistakes" you're simply playing the hindsight game. Hindsight is 20/20 but no GM has a crystal ball to predict things like mono or serious injuries. Things that could happen to any draft pick.

Struggles how exactly?

Why? JR did say he wasn't going to rush into anything and would take his time to assess things. You don't think his initial assesment from arrival could possibly change after taking time to assess the team? Plans are always fluid. Hronek is 25 not 32. He's a whopping one year older than Petey. If Hronek doesn't fit the plan we might as well move Petey and just start over from square one. The odds are that 1st and 2nd moved for him are years away from stepping on NHL ice and becoming what they need to be. How many years of Petey, Hughes, and Demko do you want to waste waiting for magic beans to grow, or *gasp* fail?

Tired of the team losing, yet angry about a trade that immediately addresses a serious need and improves the team.

A lofty prediction. I just want to be back in the conversation and let the chips fall where they may.

3-2 Dallas Pavelski

That list exists every summer. You said there were great players available at bargain prices. Give me the names of the great players at bargain prices, not a general inventory of the bargain bin. The very reason the majority of these players don't get qualified is their teams didn't view them as worth using a contract spot for, or weren't playing up to their QO price. There are players that become late bloomers, but if that was obvious they likely would have been qualified in the first place. Those that the QO is too high for what they provide doesn't equate to not having value, but rather a decent add at a lower price. But those guys tend to get more interest and being ufa's can choose who they sign with. Those that go unqualified because of performance to open a contract slot are the players nobody was interested in trading an asset for. The bottom line is this - I have no problem with the team signing unqualified players. But I also have no problem trading assets for young players of higher value, and thus better odds of success. You don't put all your eggs in one basket. Prospects are hit and miss regardless of free agency, trades, or drafting. Never limit your options.

Names...

There have been some players sign for less because of the flat cap, but I wouldn't exactly call it bargains. Every team has contracts come off the books and there's still a bidding war for the good players. A team can decline the arbitration award and the player simply becomes a ufa at that point. When was the last time a good rfa wasn't qualified and allowed to walk for nothing into free agency?

No thanks to other teams trash. We're not Arizona, we're actually building around our young talent. Anything that improves the team around Petey, Hughes, Miller, Demko etc, I'm all for. I'm a firm believer in icing the best team you can every year.

That happens every year and every year teams will overpay the top ufa's come July. The only real exception to that rule is those rare ufa's that really want to play for a specific team and are willing to leave money on the table to get that done. Myers, despite not living up to his contract, is actually an example. He took less than what analysts expected, and more surprisingly, a shorter term than expected. Because he really wanted to be here. I don't buy the plethora of good ufa's signing cheap this summer and any good ufa RHD will see multiple money trucks backing up to his door to choose from.

Byram is talented, but he's one hit away from the end of his career. He makes Salo look like Ironman.

5-2 Nucks Joshua

I trust Rick Dhaliwal's information far more Drance. I have heard it said several times through the season by analysts that his bonus is payable July 1st. Regardless, once it's paid, the full cap hit still goes with him without retention.

Personally I wouldn't have a problem if they kept Myers until the trade deadline. Then a 50% retention makes sense. Btw, where did you get Myers bonus is paid in September? Typically contract bonus is paid July 1st. I can't find anything saying his is different. I did find this about moving him before the deadline though.... Today, while discussing the particulars on CHEK TV, Rick Dhaliwal explained how difficult it will be to move Myers.

When it comes to retention the percentage is applied to actual balance money owing and full cap hit. So a 50% rentention would be $500k salary and $3m cap hit. This is the same with a declining contract where the last years salary is lower than the first year. The new team pays 50% of that lower final year salary but also takes 50% of the full cap hit.The bonus isn't actually considered salary but is part of the cap hit. So the new team pays 50% of money remaining and takes 50% of the full cap hit .

Once Meyers bonus is paid July 1st what point is there in retaining 50%? You're only freeing up $3m cap for a replacement. For a budget team he's a pretty good deal after the bonus is paid. $6m cap hit to stay above the floor and only $1m owed in salary for the season. I don't think it would take much to move his contract after the bonus is paid.

That's a fair statement when the players are drafted. The 2nd rounder is more likely to make it than the 5th rounder when drafted. But does that mean anything 3 or 4 or 5 years later? Is the 2nd rounder more likely or more valuable at that point? That initial "more likely" becomes rather meaningless as time passes. A 5th rounder can pass the 2nd rounder on the depth chart as time passes. You don't assign roster spots by draft position. That's decided by performance. This why I couldn't understand you bringing it up. Draft position becomes meaningless if you haven't made the NHL by the time you're waiver elligible. I do agree, at this point, I'd take Garland over Hogs. Although I don't have a problem with moving Garland either if it improves the team or somebody surpasses him. I'm all about the best players for the roles on the team regardless of their draft position or how we acruired them.

I don't understand why you were comparing where Hogs was drafted and played at what age compared to Garland. It's as utterly meaningless as my Bieksa/Juolevi comparison. It doesn't matter where you were drafted or where you played at what age. What matters is actually making the NHL and what you become there.