Armchair GM - 2025 Offseason Thread

[GoJackets1]

Was really hoping we’d move on from McCarthy, but I definitely wasn’t holding my breath that it would actually happen.

 

[CBJ goalie]

Damn, Healy was a nice guy - wonder why he was let go?
Have a nice story about Healy; when I did the 1st Blue Jackets alumni fantasy camp they spelled my last name wrong on my jersey. Innocent mistake, it's commonly misspelled.
Healy felt bad about it, and said he'd correct it; the name plates are made off site so they would keep my jersey after camp was done, and apply the corrected nameplate.
A couple weeks after camp, get a package from Columbus but it seems larger than just a jersey....open it up, and in addition to the jersey there's 2 hoodies, 2 hats, 2 toques/beanies and a golf shirt - with a nice card apologizing for the error.
Amazing gesture.

Hope he lands somewhere else.

P.s. think it was a good move to change the conditioning guy Collins. Maybe those injuries were bad luck, but shit, every year they're breaking 300 man games due to injuries.
Maybe just another way to prepare and train.

 

[stevo61]

Collins being gone makes sense, feel like that was on a lot of our radars for awhile now. Definitely experienced some freak injuries over the years but also a lot of injuries that shouldn't pop up as often as they do. The amount of shoulder injuries that have plagued this team is actually wild

 

[NotWendell]

Disappointed to see McCarthy stay and Dan Singleton go. Collins should have been dismissed long ago.

 

[stevo61]

#1 issue is Right D. I go big game hunting. I am willing to make the big trade for a top right D. But if that fails I look for a guy like Jalen Chatfield of the Canes. I’d overpay for him. I hope our NHL scouts have really been analyzing other teams’ second and third right Ds looking for a solid 2RD for us.

Curious what Waddell's targets are and if he's just planning to throw $ at Ekblad. RD is such a desirable position that it requires an overpay at the best of times. Don't think divisional rivals are going to be giving them away for anything considered reasonable

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

People keep saying this and there is no evidence of it. I’ve tried to find it, and never have.

Meanwhile there is actual proof of Marner almost signing an offer sheet with us the summer prior to the hub cities.

Did The Blue Jackets Approach Mitch Marner About a Potential Offer Sheet?

The Toronto Maple Leafs have Mitch Marner signed to a new six-year deal, but a new report states the Blue Jackets were interested in signing him to an offer sheet.

www.1stohiobattery.com

Not to nitpick this but I've not seen anything that say he almost signed an offer sheet here.

What I have seen is that we approached him and he declined. Maybe he thought about it at the time for 5 seconds and said "F no I'm not coming to Columbus" and that was the end of it.

He was a young party guy probably at the time. Maybe his opinion is different as a married man expecting his first child now but he's also from the Toronto area so I doubt he goes anywhere.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

Not to nitpick this but I've not seen anything that say he almost signed an offer sheet here.

What I have seen is that we approached him and he declined. Maybe he thought about it at the time for 5 seconds and said "F no I'm not coming to Columbus" and that was the end of it.

He was a young party guy probably at the time. Maybe his opinion is different as a married man expecting his first child now but he's also from the Toronto area so I doubt he goes anywhere.

From what I understand, Marner was "approached" with an OS from us. Agents just don't get "approached" with an offer sheet without it being negotiated with, or else we'd hear more and more about them in the media. Meaning Marner and his agent engaged in contract negotiations with us in order to strike a deal and have him potentially come here.

Now, was it a ploy to get more money from Toronto or get the contract with them done? Yeah, probably. But similar to Aho in Carolina/MTL, you don't just sign or negotiate an offer sheet unless you're willing to actually go there. Now, of course Marner never actually did sign. But he did negotiate.

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

From what I understand, Marner was "approached" with an OS from us. Agents just don't get "approached" with an offer sheet without it being negotiated with, or else we'd hear more and more about them in the media. Meaning Marner and his agent engaged in contract negotiations with us in order to strike a deal and have him potentially come here.

Now, was it a ploy to get more money from Toronto or get the contract with them done? Yeah, probably. But similar to Aho in Carolina/MTL, you don't just sign or negotiate an offer sheet unless you're willing to actually go there. Now, of course Marner never actually did sign. But he did negotiate.

Maybe it’s a difference in terminology but somebody has to start the conversation. We might have “approached” his agent with a serious offer. The agent did his job and presented the offer and he said no. It literally might have been as simple as that. I don’t believe there was any significant negotiating going on that makes it anywhere close to him signing here.

 

[EspenK]

I just don't get the aversion to buying out Severson. It "saves" 10.5 in cash that can be used to pay a different RD. If they do it right the cap hit over the next 6-7 years would approximate Severson's full hit, maybe a bit more. The last 6 years the hit would be 1.5 million which would be somewhere less than 2% of the cap. I don't see that as a major stumbling block.

If you trade with 50% retention that would cost 19mm in cash before considering the new guys salary.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

I just don't get the aversion to buying out Severson. It "saves" 10.5 in cash that can be used to pay a different RD. If they do it right the cap hit over the next 6-7 years would approximate Severson's full hit, maybe a bit more. The last 6 years the hit would be 1.5 million which would be somewhere less than 2% of the cap. I don't see that as a major stumbling block.

If you trade with 50% retention that would cost 19mm in cash before considering the new guys salary.

Ownership hasn’t retained salary in a trade with a contract with multiple years on it, and you’re asking them To stomach a buyout for 12 years on the payroll not to play at a still decent number.

I legitimately believe we have a higher chance to trade for Connor McDavid than that happening.

 

[EspenK]

Ownership hasn’t retained salary in a trade with a contract with multiple years on it, and you’re asking them To stomach a buyout for 12 years on the payroll not to play at a still decent number.

I legitimately believe we have a higher chance to trade for Connor McDavid than that happening.

Just because their strategy in the past hasn't been correct doesn't mean they need to perpetuate it. Circumstances are a lot different now than they have been in the past so what was wrong in their eyes before should now be looked at in a different light.

In my opinion it all comes down to is will Severson be a drag on a Cup pursuit over the next 6 years or not. If not, no problem.
If he is,he has to go sooner or later through whatever means necessary.

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

Was ZAR or Kunin later in the season better than Pyyhtia early in the season? Is Pyyhtia a reliable call-up guy at this point but not a roster guy? Maybe he's destined to be quad-A, but I feel like that was Danforth at some point in his career.

Speaking of, were Danforth and Kuraly enough better than them to clearly have a spot if they get re-signed?

 

[Long Live Lyle]

Damn how bad does an equipment manager have to mess up to get fired?

Highly doubt any of them (other than maybe Collins) were performance-related. Feels more like DW just wanting to bring in some guys he knows / pull some favors for connections. Which is sad / a bit disappointing if that assumption is correct, but it is what it is.

 

[CharlotteJacket]

So our equipment manager and video coach are holding us back? We need upgrades in those areas?

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

So our equipment manager and video coach are holding us back? We need upgrades in those areas?

Yes?

 

[majormajor]

Speaking of, were Danforth and Kuraly enough better than them to clearly have a spot if they get re-signed?

Danforth is unquestionably one of our top 12 forwards. I wouldn't want to be in a room with Evason when/if he finds out that Wads didn't extend Danforth.

Kuraly I think has faded a bit but I'd still like his versatility and toughness at least in a 13-14F role.

By average "gamescore" it goes

Danforth

Kuraly / ZAR

Pyyhtia

Kunin

That stat happens to support my argument about these players, but obviously there are other ways of slicing things up.

 

[cbjthrowaway]

Yes?

unless don waddell thinks their skate blades weren't sharp enough there was zero reason to make a change at equipment manager.

the video coach's job is a bit more nuanced than "buzz down when we should challenge a goal against" – it seems like the assistant video coach (?) had a pretty big role based on some of the behind the battle content, so maybe the plan is to promote him.

 

[Jovavic]

Sometimes the deck chairs on the Titanic need rearranged

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

unless don waddell thinks their skate blades weren't sharp enough there was zero reason to make a change at equipment manager.

If you say so I guess. With your intimate knowledge of the Jackets' hockey operations, I have no recourse but to take your word for it.

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

unless don waddell thinks their skate blades weren't sharp enough there was zero reason to make a change at equipment manager.

I mean how could we possibly know the answer to that? Are we just assuming because the players made it onto the ice wearing the correct shirt every night that the guy is perfect at his job?

Maybe there were some organizational struggles with getting the right equipment in places that made things more difficult behind the scenes that we'll ever realize. Maybe he just got complacent and felt stagnant in his job? Maybe they want to update the entire structure and method to how logistics are handled with equipment and he didn't want to adapt.

I don't think anyone here would ever know or understand why they felt to make a change and we'll probably never see the difference as fans as long as the team shows up on the ice in the correct shirts and skates.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

I hope Waddell keeps danforth

I don’t anticipate him keeping Kuraly or (unfortunately) JVR. Kunin and Fischer obviously gone too.

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

Danforth is unquestionably one of our top 12 forwards. I wouldn't want to be in a room with Evason when/if he finds out that Wads didn't extend Danforth.

Kuraly I think has faded a bit but I'd still like his versatility and toughness at least in a 13-14F role.

By average "gamescore" it goes

Danforth

Kuraly / ZAR

Pyyhtia

Kunin

That stat happens to support my argument about these players, but obviously there are other ways of slicing things up.

Thanks and to be clear, this is just me asking questions, not making challenges, as sometimes it's hard to tell the difference online.

So would you be OK with running back Danforth/Kuraly/ZAR as a fourth line? Would you drop one to allow for promotion from within (i.e. Pyyhtia)? Or a free agent?

Would you take into account salary/contract? Would ZAR be an easier drop than the other two even if he was cheaper?

What about JVR?

I admit that some of these questions come out of my hangup about "what are the slots that we're looking to make improvement," i.e. "if we bring back everyone we have a pretty full lineup so where does the improvement come from?" But I am not (necessarily) looking to be right or wrong, just to have a sub-discussion about next year's fourth line.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

Was ZAR or Kunin later in the season better than Pyyhtia early in the season? Is Pyyhtia a reliable call-up guy at this point but not a roster guy? Maybe he's destined to be quad-A, but I feel like that was Danforth at some point in his career.

Speaking of, were Danforth and Kuraly enough better than them to clearly have a spot if they get re-signed?

I wouldn't equate Pyyhtia and Danforth. Danforth's pre CBJ career path was probably dictated by financial considerations.

Danforth was 24 when he turned pro and after his split season between the AHL and ECHL when he was 25, he opted to go to Europe and make $40-80k per year instead of getting another 2 way AHL/ECHL deal where he'd only make about $500-600/week in the ECHL. He also came from a college program that had NEVER had a player make the NHL. He probably didn't think his NHL prospects were very good so he went overseas where the better money was. It's very common among good ECHL players who don't see themselves making "the show".

If it weren't for Jarmo's broad scouting reach (Marchenko/Voronkov/Tessier as examples), Danforth would probably never gotten a sniff at an NHL deal.

I'd argue that Danforth brings more overall than Pyyhtia. He's got some scoring touch at the NHL level. Pyyhtia is one of those guys who skates like the wind, but just doesn't have scoring touch. But I'm a bit partial to Danforth because of his Cincinnati Cyclones history.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

Just because their strategy in the past hasn't been correct doesn't mean they need to perpetuate it. Circumstances are a lot different now than they have been in the past so what was wrong in their eyes before should now be looked at in a different light.

In my opinion it all comes down to is will Severson be a drag on a Cup pursuit over the next 6 years or not. If not, no problem.
If he is,he has to go sooner or later through whatever means necessary.

In total agreement with all of this.

I'd guess that the primary reason that he was scratched out of the last 10 or so games of the season was to make it apparent that he's not in the plans and that if he doesn't make himself amenable to all trading options (which would likely include significant retention) then he's going to be a popcorn-eating press box fixture. He's obviously worn out his welcome with the new coaching staff and he had best smell the roses or his life in Columbus is probably going to be miserable.

 

[spintheblackcircle]

Danforth is unquestionably one of our top 12 forwards. I wouldn't want to be in a room with Evason when/if he finds out that Wads didn't extend Danforth.

He's 32 and totally replaceable. If he's back, ok. If not, they can sign one of the other few dozen players who can play on the 4th line and get 25 points.