I disagree with that. I don't think a team in the cap era is ever that far away to have someone materially impact their record but they won't do it alone. We will probably be one of the worst teams in the league next year even with Celebrini but the road to competitiveness isn't going to happen if we don't get aggressive when we find the guy to build around. It just depends on who else is brought in. The Sharks have the space for it but I just don't see much in way of availability to make a playoff push. However, if we're bringing in Celebrini, we should be taking reasonable steps towards putting talent around him to win which in my eyes means bringing in any young player internally that is on the cusp of being an NHL'er, revamping the blue line pretty much entirely, and fill out spots with veterans where needed. If we don't get Celebrini, you can be patient with the young players that we have and fill more spots with vets.
I agree with this. My hope is that Couture finds a way to get healthy, plays the year, and gives us the opportunity to use that retention slot on him. Otherwise, being a third party retainer for a 4th or 5th is about what I'd expect there.
I would hope that would be a last ditch option and only for the year (the third party retainer). As for Logan, man, I dunno. If he's healthy next year I'm not interested in spending the last retention spot on him for another 3 years. If we do end up going that route, our Cap in 25-26 would be like 10 million on players actually on the team and 10 million on players not on the team.
Why would a player give up guaranteed salary while a contract is in effect?
I guess my question is about LTIRetirement --- the team holding the retained salary wouldn't get any benefit, even if the team holding the contract would?
Right, ltretirement they still get paid. Only benefit that might happen is that insurance may just may cover that part of the contract also.
but what about the cap? it seems odd that the team holding the contract actively could get LTIR cap relief, but not the team retaining salary (?). Maybe this is in the CBA and I just need to look it up. Also it doesn't matter for us because we will have trouble hitting the cap floor at this rate lol
I am assuming the cap stays kind of the same way it would stay if you had bought the contract out. It was a choice to add that cap for certain amount of time to make that trade.
Progress is measured by getting good players in, development of draft picks, chemistry within the team, climbing in the standings, and effectiveness of coaching. Beyond that, cap management and trades. Progress should be measured year over year with the understanding that growth is not linear and that there may be regression along the way. It takes time to build a championship caliber team. And luck. See the Avs as an example.
In that case I'm quite confident that our 2nd and NJ 2nd are targeting the 3-5 D in that range like Emery, Mews, Freij, etc. At that point in the draft it's a solid bet that one of them turns into a middle D lineup roster player to play or move. But I have thought the same thing... It's why I'm more bullish on the Pens pick this year. We get the last of the D tier whoever everyone left on the board, or if all the D went before 11-15, then we get a pretty great F prospect like Iggy, Helenius, Greentree. And if we don't get Celebrini then we get two bites at the top D apple.
Soft second line center (60-65pts), maybe solid second line winger (same points total). I don't get the sense that he has much beyond that in him, but he is at least solid, slippery, creative, and plays a complete game.
I think he will be a useful player for us. I think the most likely outcome for him is a two way and well rounded 2nd line winger who is a 20 goal 60 point type player. I think his play will improve when he is on a more talented team and has better players to pass to and receive passes from. I appreciate that he is a clearly an intelligent player and that he has been able to improve his game since we drafted him to be more physical and well rounded.
I think Eklund will be a high-end 2nd line winger who plays excellent defense, can sub at center in case of injury, and plays first unit on both special teams. I think his high end could be someone like Clayton Keller or Mats Zuccarello, though I don’t think he has quite that much scoring potential. I think he could hit 70 points with the right center.
