Speculation: 2023-24-25 Sharks Roster Discussion

[Jargon]

not to change the subject, but what are your thoughts on waiving benning and sending him down?

He seems god awful and not an nhler. I wonder if Thompson would be better? And when mukh is healthy, he might be too?

I doubt Benning gets waived? It’ll likely be Thrun/Benning being cycled in.

Walman and Ceci have looked good, Walman particularly, having Muhk in the top 4 would be hugely helpful.

 

[weastern bias]

If Ekblad is willing to sign here you give him whatever contract he wants. Can't see Florida letting him go while they're trying to win another Cup.

Yeah, I think Ekblad is a pretty unrealistic target anyway, Florida can't afford to lost him after losing Montour and OEL last summer

They're going to give him a big contract but it will be less than everybody thinks so he can stay with the team that picked him #1, that he won a cup with and where he pays no state income tax, it'll be ugly in the back half but that's tomorrow's problem

 

[sampler]

I doubt Benning gets waived? It’ll likely be Thrun/Benning being cycled in.

Walman and Ceci have looked good, Walman particularly, having Muhk in the top 4 would be hugely helpful.

Agreed on walman and Ceci. Agreed in walman particularly too….

Goes to show that getting good D really matters. It’s kinda why I’d like to see Thompson get a real look. We need some young D to step up. Thrun does not appear to be part of the long term future to me. He’s not terrible but I don’t think he’s good enough to pencil in nightly and benning is terrible.

Obviously would like to see what we got in mukh, but for now, I’d like to see Thompson get a shot. We need to find young D that can play top 4 going forward.

We have the goalie of the future. We have the forwards of the future. We need to find the D of the future sooner than 3 years from now when dick might be ready. I’d love to see Thompson penciled in and banning in the rafters.

 

[Cas]

not to change the subject, but what are your thoughts on waiving benning and sending him down?

He seems god awful and not an nhler. I wonder if Thompson would be better? And when mukh is healthy, he might be too?

Benning has been god-awful for his entire Sharks tenure and has no future. I would be happy to see the back of him.

 

[sampler]

Yeah, I think Ekblad is a pretty unrealistic target anyway, Florida can't afford to lost him after losing Montour and OEL last summer

They're going to give him a big contract but it will be less than everybody thinks so he can stay with the team that picked him #1, that he won a cup with and where he pays no state income tax, it'll be ugly in the back half but that's tomorrow's problem

Yeah, I think he’ll be tough to pry. Grier might need to trade for a number one like DW did with Boyle, burns, and karlsson.

The good news is that the Sharks are so flush with forward prospects that they can probably do it if they strike when the irons hot. We don’t have the draft capital anymore after trading the knights pick, but we used have a lot of future nhl forwards and can get more picks for rentals at the deadline than can be flipped over the summer for top unsigned RFAs or other good D targets.

Next summer, the sharks will be ready to make big moves. 40m in cap space. An army of prospects ready to step in (Askarov will be ready. Likely bystedt and haltunnen will be ready. Cags and Thompson may be ready. Smith Eklund and Celebrini will be ready to lead all on elcs… not to mention mukh , gush, and possibly Cardwell.) they should be able to form a very competitive roster.

 

[DG93]

If Ekblad is willing to sign here you give him whatever contract he wants. Can't see Florida letting him go while they're trying to win another Cup.

Not sure if they fit him in after giving out necessary big extensions to Verhaeghe, Lundell, Furlong, and Reinhart (in addition to Barkov and Tkachuk already signed). I guess Bobrovsky's huge cap hit will be off the books soon though.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

not to change the subject, but what are your thoughts on waiving benning and sending him down?

He seems god awful and not an nhler. I wonder if Thompson would be better? And when mukh is healthy, he might be too?

Thompson can be afforded the opportunity to prove that he's better without putting Benning on waivers. The same goes for Mukhamadullin. If the team thinks Muk is healthy, they ought to reassign Thrun to activate him.

 

[Juxtaposer]

Not sure if they fit him in after giving out necessary big extensions to Verhaeghe, Lundell, Furlong, and Reinhart (in addition to Barkov and Tkachuk already signed). I guess Bobrovsky's huge cap hit will be off the books soon though.

Ultimately, I think they'll have to choose between Bennett and Ekblad. Really will be a fascinating decision.

 

[DG93]

Ultimately, I think they'll have to choose between Bennett and Ekblad. Really will be a fascinating decision.

I'd pick Ekblad if I was Florida...Lundell can step into the 2C role and they already invested a lot of money into 5 forwards whereas the defense behind Furlong is pretty bad. If Ekblad has a bad year whereas Bennett has a good one, maybe that calculus changes though.

 

[Juxtaposer]

I'd pick Ekblad if I was Florida...Lundell can step into the 2C role and they already invested a lot of money into 5 forwards whereas the defense behind Furlong is pretty bad. If Ekblad has a bad year whereas Bennett has a good one, maybe that calculus changes though.

Personally, I think Bennett is the right play. Ekblad seems like he's held together with duct tape at this point.

I'm really interested in the kind of contract Ekblad could get in UFA. He seems to me like one of the players with the biggest difference between the perception of him nationally and what he actually is at this point. I mean, Panthers fans are debating if they'd even be willing to give him $4.5M annually over on their subforum.

 

[LadyStanley]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1845879023534330296

 

[CanadienShark]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1845879023534330296

My goodness that 2nd unit is bad.

 

[TheBeard]

My goodness that 2nd unit is bad.

I don't honestly understand why they just wouldn't put Will on that first PP. Right now he's expected to be the focal point on PP2 where as on the first unit he could slowly adapt to understanding the system without being the main piece.

 

[vortexy]

I don't honestly understand why they just wouldn't put Will on that first PP. Right now he's expected to be the focal point on PP2 where as on the first unit he could slowly adapt to understanding the system without being the main piece.

Completely agree. As has been stated several times, this is a development year, the players all on PP1 are all better players than Smith at the moment but again isn't the main goal here to help develop Smith? Smith's creativity and playmaking can be best displayed on the power play with more space and time. It is also a great opportunity to boost his confidence making plays on the PP and earning points there. The second unit that Smith is playing with is abysmal, basically a checking line, I expect all of their zone entries would be rims around the board or dump and chases. It sucks but I would replace Zetterlund on PP1 for Smith, less points on the season for Zetterlund = cheaper next contract and keep Granlund on PP1 to raise his trade deadline value and Smith+Eklund get to develop and improve with PP1 time.

 

[timorous me]

My goodness that 2nd unit is bad.

Safe to say Gushchin isn't coming back in tomorrow night.

 

[weastern bias]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1845879023534330296

Sure seems like they're not setting up Smith for success

Seems like a coaching mistake

 

[Hodge]

Sure seems like they're not setting up Smith for success

Seems like a coaching mistake

Who are you taking off that top unit for Smith? It's funny when people act like Gushchin's AHL stats entitle him to a job in the top six (he did everything they asked of him!!) but Zetterlund scoring 24 goals in the NHL doesn't entitle him to a spot on the top PP unit.

 

[Barrie22]

Who are you taking off that top unit for Smith? It's funny when people act like Gushchin's AHL stats entitle him to a job in the top six (he did everything they asked of him!!) but Zetterlund scoring 24 goals in the NHL doesn't entitle him to a spot on the top PP unit.

I would personally spread the talent out on the 2 powerplays.

 

[Hodge]

I would personally spread the talent out on the 2 powerplays.

There's not enough talent to spread out over 1 power play unit let alone 2. With Macklin out we have maybe 4 guys who belong on a NHL power play.

 

[DG93]

Who are you taking off that top unit for Smith? It's funny when people act like Gushchin's AHL stats entitle him to a job in the top six (he did everything they asked of him!!) but Zetterlund scoring 24 goals in the NHL doesn't entitle him to a spot on the top PP unit.

I'd swap Smith in for Granlund. I know Granlund is the better player right now, but I want to see what Smith can do, and that gives him Zetterlund and Toffoli as snipers.

 

[Cas]

I'd swap Smith in for Granlund. I know Granlund is the better player right now, but I want to see what Smith can do, and that gives him Zetterlund and Toffoli as snipers.

Granlund will not be on the next good Sharks team - odds are he will be out of the league. With Celebrini out, moving Smith to PP1 for development purposes is a no-brainer.

 

[Barrie22]

There's not enough talent to spread out over 1 power play unit let alone 2. With Macklin out we have maybe 4 guys who belong on a NHL power play.

Thrun, grandlund, toffoli, Zetterlund, wennberg
Walman, eklund, smith, kostin, kunin

Those would work without leaving 1 of the units entirely void of any talent whats so ever.

 

[Hodge]

I'd swap Smith in for Granlund. I know Granlund is the better player right now, but I want to see what Smith can do, and that gives him Zetterlund and Toffoli as snipers.

Granlund is far and away our best PP player. I feel like this would just neuter both units.

Granlund will not be on the next good Sharks team - odds are he will be out of the league. With Celebrini out, moving Smith to PP1 for development purposes is a no-brainer.

This is a ridiculous way to run a NHL bench. You don't just bump your best offensive forward off PP1 "for development purposes." Maybe in March after you've sold at the trade deadline but not in Game #3.

 

[weastern bias]

Who are you taking off that top unit for Smith? It's funny when people act like Gushchin's AHL stats entitle him to a job in the top six (he did everything they asked of him!!) but Zetterlund scoring 24 goals in the NHL doesn't entitle him to a spot on the top PP unit.

Toffoli, he exist on this team to give Celebrini a finisher and he has 4 full years under contract so his point totals have no bearing on his future earnings

This is not about what it "deserved", this is about what is in the best interest of our long term development project, Tyler Toffoli will not be on the next great Sharks team, there's a chance Smith will be, he needs the reps

When Celebrini comes back take Granlund and Zetterlund off to run PP2 and have the 3 guys who really, really matter run PP1 in Celebrini, Smith, and Eklund along with Toffoli and Walman as their finisher and point support

 

[Hodge]

Toffoli, he exist on this team to give Celebrini a finisher and he has 4 full years under contract so his point totals have no bearing on his future earnings

This is not about what it "deserved", this is about what is in the best interest of our long term development project, Tyler Toffoli will not be on the next great Sharks team, there's a chance Smith will be, he needs the reps

When Celebrini comes back take Granlund and Zetterlund off to run PP2 and have the 3 guys who really, really matter run PP1 in Celebrini, Smith, and Eklund along with Toffoli and Walman as their finisher and point support

Smith is not a good NHL player right now (which is 100% to be expected and doesn't mean he should be sent down to the Cuda) and taking Toffoli or Granlund off the top unit just to give Smith more reps would probably not sit well with the locker room. This isn't a video game. You can't ask these guys to put their bodies on the line and sacrifice to win every night then purposely weaken your power play, which is this team's only shot at scoring most games, for Smith's long term development.