That's a great insight. You make a great case for it and it makes sense. Hopefully NJ will step up its efforts then.
2023-24 Utica Comets and ECHL thread
- Thread starter NJDevs26
- Start date
@ Guttersniped
How many contracts does NJ currently have available?
I would assume they are saving one for Casey and maybe another for Edwards.
How about any imminent Euros?
With the state the parent club is with an absence of Center as well as Forward depth, you'd think a serious attempt to land a top prospect or 2 would be high on their list of priorities. This season they discovered there was zero forward depth in Utica and ended up keeping Tierney, who is nothing but an AHL middle forward, becausde they had nothing else..
Are they holding out until the NCAA teams are available as teams bow out before the NCAAS and then as the rest peel off 1 by 1 as theyare eliminated? I would assume there will be better guys there and every NHL team will be there after them. Would make sense for Fitz to offer the 2-way NHL deal that the rest are offering if he actually wants a couple. Undrafted Jrs. as well, if there's any left.
I would assume there will be a few contracts freed up with guys they don't offer a new deal like Tierney and Nosek and a few down in Utica like Willman, Bowers, Legare, etc. After Fitz gets his guys those contracts go to Comets. He has to know about how many he has earmarked for the farm and getting them before the good ones are all gone could be done if he was interested.
It just seems it's the same every year. The other NHL teams know their situation and signing some UFAs they might be able to use and stashing them on the farm is what they do. Utica gets thre dregs and the low life ECHL guys that Mackinnon signs to AHL deals to satsh in Adirondack are way below the talent level the Comets need to compete. I know you know this and have been in on the urging to the deaf ears as well.
How many contracts does NJ currently have available?
I would assume they are saving one for Casey and maybe another for Edwards.
How about any imminent Euros?
With the state the parent club is with an absence of Center as well as Forward depth, you'd think a serious attempt to land a top prospect or 2 would be high on their list of priorities. This season they discovered there was zero forward depth in Utica and ended up keeping Tierney, who is nothing but an AHL middle forward, becausde they had nothing else..
Are they holding out until the NCAA teams are available as teams bow out before the NCAAS and then as the rest peel off 1 by 1 as theyare eliminated? I would assume there will be better guys there and every NHL team will be there after them. Would make sense for Fitz to offer the 2-way NHL deal that the rest are offering if he actually wants a couple. Undrafted Jrs. as well, if there's any left.
I would assume there will be a few contracts freed up with guys they don't offer a new deal like Tierney and Nosek and a few down in Utica like Willman, Bowers, Legare, etc. After Fitz gets his guys those contracts go to Comets. He has to know about how many he has earmarked for the farm and getting them before the good ones are all gone could be done if he was interested.
It just seems it's the same every year. The other NHL teams know their situation and signing some UFAs they might be able to use and stashing them on the farm is what they do. Utica gets thre dregs and the low life ECHL guys that Mackinnon signs to AHL deals to satsh in Adirondack are way below the talent level the Comets need to compete. I know you know this and have been in on the urging to the deaf ears as well.
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Does NJ have anything to do with the Adirondack signings.? Ghantous would be a great guy to give an AHL 2-way. He is going to open eyes very quickly if he continues to light the lamp down there and NHL teams can go after players in the ECHL. Meaning the Devils don't have all the time in the world to wait.
Poulter signed an AHL deal on 6/24 before nobody had offered him a better deal. He didn't get the NHL deal until February when there was danger of losing one of Daws or Schmid to waivers or an injury. Say what you want, but if those issues didn't exist , he'd still be on his AHL deal. The "reward" for great work was a nice cover for we have a problem and you are an easy fix. All Isaac has done is keep up his stellar effort and now he's in Adirondack. If he continues to play like this next season, when the contract runs out, he'll be snapped up in a second. A large number of teams in the East have seen him and he has impressed. He might be requested in a trade as the throw in There are a lot more NHL teams in a goalie shortage besides the Devils.
Won’t he stay as an RFA when his ELC ends? I’m wondering if they trade Schmid as part of the package for a veteran goalie which opens the door for Poulter
Yeah, I forgot all about that in my frustration at the lousy break this kid just caught. The only reason the Comets have even a sniff at the playoffs this season has been the steady goal tending of Isaac Poulter.
Schmid is probably trade bait. He needs a fresh start.
We are at 46 of 50 contracts, and as @Bad Goalie pointed out, there's a chance Casey signs an ELC this year, leaving 3. Edwards rights expire next summer, not this summer, so they could wait another year, but then they risk him becoming FA and signing elsewhere and he's a good defensive defenseman with great wheels so I'd prefer to see what we have in him and worst case, he's depth for trades. More assets = better chance of trades.
This center would have been good to have. He just wants an NHL ELC. Let's see if he gets one.
We are at 46 of 50 contracts, and as @Bad Goalie pointed out, there's a chance Casey signs an ELC this year, leaving 3. Edwards rights expire next summer, not this summer, so they could wait another year, but then they risk him becoming FA and signing elsewhere and he's a good defensive defenseman with great wheels so I'd prefer to see what we have in him and worst case, he's depth for trades. More assets = better chance of trades.
This center would have been good to have. He just wants an NHL ELC. Let's see if he gets one.
How many more contracts do you see coming with players the Devils might not re-sign ? e.g. Tierney, Nosek, MacDermid, DeSimone, Kahkonen, + Comets like Willman, Wotherspoon, Kallgren, Laberge, Criscuolo. Then there's Kinkaid. They also have Comets who become RFA that they might just not tender an offer and let them go UFA like Bowers.
I realize they may simply exchange contracts between guys going out and guys coming in at both levels, but there will be more than 4 contracts available at some point.
If they finally don't see the complete lack of centers in their organization from top to bottom, they have to be totally inept.
NHL.com has a piece this morning about the Devils maybe looking at Spencer Knight, 22-yrs-old playing in the AHL for Charlotte. 2.59 GAA and .899 SV%. Nothing would be a further slap in Poulter's face. Poulter has 2.55 GAA and a .911 SV%.
Why would you spend to acquire a guy when you already have a guy in house who looks to be just as good?
Why would you spend to acquire a guy when you already have a guy in house who looks to be just as good?
At this point, NJ has been linked to every goalie with a pulse, probably including you. I take anything about NJ adding a goalie with a grain of salt. I'm skeptical both Daws and Schmid are with the organization next season. Poulter should have a chance to step Into the slot of whichever goalie gets moved.
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We aren’t in danger of any contract crunch next year if that’s what you’re worried about.
UFAs: Kinkaid, Kallgren, Laberge, Criscuolo, Willman
Not sure which non-roster forwards get qualified.
Not a lot of undrafted CHL players get ELCs straight out of the gate.
This might be all of them last year (their age now):
DET 3/1/23
Alexandre Doucet 22 W/C QMJHL
6’0” 187 Jan 12, 2002
ECHL: 44 GP 15G 18A 33 pts
ANA 3/2/23
Jaxsen Wiebe 21 RW/C WHL
6’1” 209 May 16, 2002
AHL: 21 GP 4G 1A 5 pts
VGK 3/2/23
Christoffer Sedoff 22 LHD WHL
6’1” 196 Feb 20, 2002
AHL: 39 GP 0G 9A 9 pts
DAL 3/10/23
Kyle McDonald 22 RW OHL
6’4” 207 Feb 5, 2002
AHL: 47 GP 13G 8A 21 pts
DAL 3/18/23
Chase Wheatcroft 21 F WHL
6’2” 176 May 28, 2003
AHL: 36 GP 3G 10A 13 pts
CBJ 3/17/23
Cameron Butler 21 RW OHL
6’4” 209 Jun 9, 2002
AHL: 42 GP 2G 6A 8 pts
SEA 4/11/23
Logan Morrison 21 C OHL
6’0” 179 Jun 9, 2002
AHL: 57 GP 15G 24A 39 pts
STL 7/19/23
Jérémie Biakabutuka 22 RHD QMJHL
6’4” 203 Mar 5, 2002
ECHL: 58 GP 4G 14A 18 pts
OTT 10/21/23
Djibril Touré 20 RHD OHL
6’7” 203 Jun 5, 2003
OHL: 45 GP 8G 10A 18 pts
EDM 11/5/23
Brady Stonehouse 19 RW OHL
5’10” 194 Aug 6, 2004
OHL: 64 GP 20G 22A 42 pts
COL 11/6/23
Saige Weinstein 18 LHD WHL
6’1” 183 May 30, 2005
WHL: 62 GP 10G 15A 25 pts
NSH 11/14/23
Nolan Burke 21 C OHL
6’1” 185 Dec 9, 2002
ECHL: 37 GP 4G 9A 13 pts
No, quite the opposite. Even assuming Casey signs, I'm saying we still have 3 spots open now, not even considering the number of players that will not be renewed... we have plenty of room to sign people. But that doesn't mean we sign a fringe guy to an NHL contract just because.
Logan Morrison would have been a nice addition to NJ's depth. He kicked around long enough without a deal that he likely would have said yes previously to a NJ offer. I'd be curious why so many teams passed on him when he's clearly a decent prospect to at least play some games in the NHL at some point.
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Andre Ghantous didn’t lead the Thunder in SOG in their 5-3 win over the Worcester Railers, he only had 3 of a team total of 33 SOG.
He did have 3 points however, 1G 2A, which gives him a total of 7 points, 2G 5A (4 primary), in his first 3 ECHL games.
Ghantous to Ashbrook! (1st assist)
Ashbrook to Ghantous! (Goal)
Sexy back pass for that 2nd assist
The win puts Adirondack back on top of the Eastern Conference in Win % at least.
They’re 37-15-8 with 12 games left.
He did have 3 points however, 1G 2A, which gives him a total of 7 points, 2G 5A (4 primary), in his first 3 ECHL games.
Ghantous to Ashbrook! (1st assist)
Ashbrook to Ghantous! (Goal)
Sexy back pass for that 2nd assist
The win puts Adirondack back on top of the Eastern Conference in Win % at least.
They’re 37-15-8 with 12 games left.
Guadana
Registered User
No, we just all were clamoring for him because we knew the organization needed centers, he seemed to be a non-draftee twice for no apparent reason, and @StevenToddIves was a big fan of him as a 2nd half of the draft pick. He signed with Seattle after attending Dallas camp a couple of times and is on track to have 20-30-50 in his first AHL season with Coachella.
Such a huge miss for the org.
Guadana
Registered User
Ah. He didn't sign Devils hfboard offer because he didn't saw it.
Yeah, its a miss and it was free to deal. No trades, no picks. I would like if Fitz or his assistants would work more active and better on the minor level.
Because it looks like they don't.
UticaHockey
Registered User
This Ghantous kid signed an ECHL contract with Adirondack so any AHL team can offer him a PTO or even an AHL contract. He isn't going to stay long if he keeps putting up numbers like this. MacKinnon should have this kid on the phone this morning and in Utica this afternoon.
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I don't see how this is real.
Knight hast two more years at $4.5 million on his contract. That's over $3 million per year in dead cap if he's in the AHL. And right now, Knight doesn't seem to be much more than an AHL goalie. For that reason, I can see Florida moving him, but not to the Devils.
If the Devils were in a different position where they had an aging but good goalie (e.g., Bob), no goalie pipeline, and wanted a lottery ticket with high end goalie upside, I could see it. But that describes Florida way more than New Jersey.
The Devils need stability in net at the NHL level.
"I would like if Fitz or his assistants would work more active and better on the minor level."
Maybe you could have more influence on them than I or @Guttersniped have. We have been pushing on multiple ocassions for 3 seasons on the need for centers and a couple of known scoring wings for those centers and prospects to work with. Toronto also often brings in veteran centers and others from Europe to play with their prospects in the AHL.
"Because it looks like they don't."
It's not "looks like", it's they don't. These undrafted guys pop up all the time in the summer and at the end of the NCAA and Jr. seasons. Other NHL teams snap them right up. NJ has to make themselves look attractive to these kids. Instead MacKinnon signs guys like Erik Middendorf, T.J. Friedman, Jake Isley, and others and assigns them to Adirondack and many more like them the previous 2 seasons. They will never amount to anything and didn't have serious promise in the first place. They become place fillers when the Comets roster is depleted.
Now we see a guy like Ghantous arrive down in Adirondack, Utica's farm team for cripe's sake, who could be signed to the PTO I mentioned the second @Guttersniped posted the info on him. There's also no mention of Artem Shlaine. Whether they have been in contact or not we don't know, but he was drafted by them and has to sign by 8/15/24. He was a linemate of Ghantous. 2 guys they could get in here right away and see what they have to offer the organization. What the Hell would they have to lose? It's not like the Comets roster is stocked with scoring forwards!!!!!!
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It’s a problem but a lot goes into attracting FAs.
The success, and reputation, of the NHL club.
The success of the minor league clubs.
The resources put into player development in the minor leagues.
The success that team has in producing pro-hockey players and NHL players out of FA signings.
A few teams dominate the signing.
5 ELCs have been handed out to NCAA players. 3 were on Elite Prospect NCAA Free Agency list.
5 ELCs have been handed out to CHL players. 4 were on Elite Prospect CHL Free Agency lists
The teams that got those 7 players on those lists (aka the top players)?
3 Dallas (2 NCAA, 1 CHL)
2 Tampa (2 CHL)
1 Boston (1 NCAA)
1 Washington (1 CHL)
Those are top destinations for Free Agents. They do this every year. There’s a few others: Florida, Pittsburgh, Colorado.
I’m not just shrugging my shoulders here, we need to get better here. Buffalo and Columbus do well here too, it’s f***ing annoying.
And we absolutely need to do better than last off-season with FAs. Technically we already did by signing Diotte, but we need to get forward talent into the system.
But when players get multiple ELC offers, your team can lose out while trying to sign players.
Not sure what’s up with Shlaine. He could go back to college another year. He was out with an injury at the end of the season, he last played on 2/23, but I don’t know anything more about what’s happening with him.
If Shlaine goes back to college he becomes a free agent. The Devils need to get on his trail yesterday IF they want him.
You say players look to the good teams. That seems shortsighted of them if they are overlooking NJ. There is just as little chance they move right into the NHL plans on those other good teams as they are likely to have space in NJ. Actually with the current state of things with the Devils, they have huge need for centers throughout their system top to bottom. Utica also only has one actual RD and he's on an AHL contract. All the rest are LDs. ECHL Felix is a RD, but he has no future with NJ. He is what he is, an ECHL D-man who can play a little in the AHL, but has lots of flaws.
I still say that Fitz needs to delegate some authority in dealing with the crop of UFAs coming out of the NCAA and the Jrs.. The scouts must have some idea as well or they aren't very good at their jobs either. It is just mind numbing watching other teams sign EVERY Possible GOOD UFA while NJ signs guys that don't even look good at the AHL level. 3 years here and Halonen is it.
You say players look to the good teams. That seems shortsighted of them if they are overlooking NJ. There is just as little chance they move right into the NHL plans on those other good teams as they are likely to have space in NJ. Actually with the current state of things with the Devils, they have huge need for centers throughout their system top to bottom. Utica also only has one actual RD and he's on an AHL contract. All the rest are LDs. ECHL Felix is a RD, but he has no future with NJ. He is what he is, an ECHL D-man who can play a little in the AHL, but has lots of flaws.
I still say that Fitz needs to delegate some authority in dealing with the crop of UFAs coming out of the NCAA and the Jrs.. The scouts must have some idea as well or they aren't very good at their jobs either. It is just mind numbing watching other teams sign EVERY Possible GOOD UFA while NJ signs guys that don't even look good at the AHL level. 3 years here and Halonen is it.
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UticaHockey
Registered User
MacKinnon must have been listening.
I need some information.
They sent van de Leest back to Adirondack. Now they are recalling him. He was signed to a PTO. If they sent him back down did that nullify the PTO requiring him to sign a new one?
*Doesn't Ghantous require a PTO to play with Utica since he was signed by Adirondack just like van de Leest was?
TO change the subject.
Maybe MacKinnon will listen to this as well. Get Artem Shlaine in here to center his linemate, Ghantous. They put up lots of points together at Nothern Michigan Univ. He's a NJ draft selection and has to sign with NJ by 8/15/24. He can't sign with anyone else before then. So this is a great time to go get him if he wants to play any more this season. It's a golden opportunity. I'm betting he has to get this by Fitz. Maybe the kid wants a contract. Can't see why he wouldn't. You drafted me so sign me, I'm ready.
Could waive someone not necessary for purpose of release like Kallgren, but that seems unnecessary.
*It appears the Comets have signed Ghantous to a Standard AHL Player Contract, but have not officlally announced it on their website and AHL.com does not list the transactions of either Ghantous or van de Leest on their site.
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