That was my thinking. I don't see Logan coming back and to be honest I'm not sure if Hertl is coming back this season either. If we trade Granlund at the deadline we basically have Eklund, Carpenter and Sturm down the middle.
I, too, prefer to be negative during the "they're all prospects" phase. That way, you can more easily stay negative (and consistent!) during the "they're not transitioning well to the NHL" phase, before staying negative in the "like the Ducks and Sabres, our rebuild is clearly failing" phase.
I know this is mostly in jest (very true however), but I don't think most people here understand how bad it would be to become a Buffalo or Anaheim. Like imagine the previous four years but with younger, more hopeful players, but year after year you hope and hope just to watch shit on ice again. At least most of us expected the result the last four years and this current year.
This is a reasonable take. My opinion is that this off-season/draft and next (2025) is what we need to truly evaluate whether we're on a good track or not. If Grier makes egregious mistakes, we could know as soon as this summer. You can lose fast but you can't win fast.
I would add Alex Carrier also. Would be more of a sneaky good pick up.
Forgot about him, he would be a good add also. I just want someone to take that PP1 until we develop our own future PP1 defencemen. Someone that could help Smith/Eklund/Musty/whoever get decent powerplay.
Next offseason is too early to add defensemen imo. They will still have Ferraro, Vlasic, Benning, Burroughs, and Rutta all signed + I suspect they will bring back at least 2 of Thrun, Emberson, and Okhotiuk (assuming Addison is gone after this year and Knyzhov stays in the AHL). That's 7 guys already with Muk hopefully in line for minutes. If two of Ferraro, Vlasic, and Rutta get traded or bought out (Vlasic), then I can see them adding someone. Otherwise, I presume they will roll with the group they have.
Trade Ferraro, bench Vlasic, and waive Burroughs, re-sign Thrun and Emberson, let Okhotiuk and Addison walk. Sign or trade for a middle pairing RHD.
Listening to Friedman tonight, he's also just out of NHL/NHLPA assistance program. Hopefully doing better, but may be a bit fragile.
I’m willing to give him a chance post-program but the Sharks need to be compensated to do it for the Caps. If the Caps retain 25% and fork over a first, I’d take him but claiming off waivers would be doing a favor for bad odds.
I agree with benching Vlasic as the 7th defenseman, trading Ferraro, re-signing Thrun and Emberson, waiving Burroughs if they need a spot, and letting Addison go. Curious as to why you would let Okhotiuk walk. Also, what's the point of doing all this and adding a defenseman if we're tanking next year?
I just don’t think Okhotiuk is good. I guess I wouldn’t hate signing him with the idea that it’s possible he could go on waivers some time during the year, and big young defensemen do tend to have value even if they’re not very good (see Megna).
Matthew is legit. Brady is an $8+ million a year less than point per game left winger. He has ‘grit’, but Hertl already makes 8million to be less than a point per game player {70pt pace}. We don’t need another one of those.
I just have a feeling that it's gonna be Duke for a third and that's it. He's playing a lot better, so hopefully he gets a shot on a contender. More than a third would obviously be better.
