Speculation: Armchair GM Thread

weeze

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May 2, 2011
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Bruno also seems to love sissons McCarron and Smith. Doesnt matter how they are doing. He pressboxed McCarron and i imagine it was one of those "this hurts me more than it hurts you" moments.

Pärssinen like Tomasino and Fabbro before him is an afterthought to Bruno and Trotz. We may like him but it has been clear that they are going to make minimal effort to get things to work out.

Ive just got this sinking feeling that most if the picks that were made before Trotz is gonna be wasted because they werent his guy
Look at how how Fabbro was handled. Same goes for Tomasino. Now Pars is getting same treatment. IDK if either BT/AB can evaluate anything right now. They haven't shown it. AB was given his team in FL that was stacked. Same goes for BT in DC. He didn't do as well in NYI. Heck Lavy did better here than BT ever did and BT had at one time Peter Forsberg, Paul Kariya, JP Dumont, Steve Sullivan, Jason Arnott, Rads, Shea Weber, Hartnell, Zidlicky, Ryan Suter and more! ALL on the same team!! And how far did they get in the playoffs? So BT wins the SC with a loaded Caps team and is now some genius. I think he may be a good coach but he hasn't shown he is a great GM.
 

herzausstein

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Look at how how Fabbro was handled. Same goes for Tomasino. Now Pars is getting same treatment. IDK if either BT/AB can evaluate anything right now. They haven't shown it. AB was given his team in FL that was stacked. Same goes for BT in DC. He didn't do as well in NYI. Heck Lavy did better here than BT ever did and BT had at one time Peter Forsberg, Paul Kariya, JP Dumont, Steve Sullivan, Jason Arnott, Rads, Shea Weber, Hartnell, Zidlicky, Ryan Suter and more! ALL on the same team!! And how far did they get in the playoffs? So BT wins the SC with a loaded Caps team and is now some genius. I think he may be a good coach but he hasn't shown he is a great GM.
Even Hynes before Bruno with Tolvanen. Im not sure anyone in this organization can properly evaluate young forward talent.

How i imagine it:
"I tried him with minimal minutes with grinders. I tried deploying him in a defensive role. I gave him 3 shifts with the top 6. I tried giving him new linemates every shift. And after all that, he still isnt producing"

Sissons was thrown on the 2nd line for several games. They didnt produce at all and got scored on frequently. They got all sorts of runway. Pärssinen, Tomasino, Svechkov, and L'Heureux arent extended that kind of opportunity. They get a shift or at most a game and if it dont work out they are discarded/demoted.

Fabbro played perfectly fine when given the opportunity to play. Then out of the blue he is just waived. Didnt even need the roster space. Just told to bugger off.
 

Kat Predator

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Nov 28, 2019
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In Parssinen's case, "production" isn't going to be him scoring hat tricks every game. (Watching the stats line isn't going to tell someone much.) He's a big, strong kid, who should be playing C in a north/south system. He can move people off the puck. He isn't afraid to go to the hard areas and knows how to use his size to possess the puck. To use him properly, I think, is to put him out there on consistent shifts for a string of games and let him find his groove with a pair of wingers that can mesh with him being the playmaker and score the goals.

And under Bruno that absolutely has not happened. Nothing close to it, since as we all know Bruno's system is inverted. Wingers are supposed to play back and defensemen are supposed to drive to the net. Wingers are supposed to be puck movers in a one-and-done attack after selling out on extended d-zone shifts... and, Bruno insists on using Juuso as a winger.

Getting rid of him does seem like the most likely Trotz move (and I've said as much for quite a while now). It would be a mistake and another short sighted dumb-as-a-fence-post utilization of resources for a team that really should be thinking about what it needs to be 2, 3, 4 seasons from now. Getting rid of the younger, developing guys on the cusp of being useful NHL players so we can keep aging tweener retreads around is exactly the wrong message to send within the organization as a whole. Couple that with situations like Askarov, where the developing player becomes disillusioned and is thrown away because "he didn't want to be here." In a league with 31 other teams, it's patently obvious to young players that there are other opportunities.
 

glenngineer

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Jan 27, 2010
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You're a team failing to score consistently. Yes, the big guns have not been producing. Add more talent to the lineup to supplement the big guns. I don't see how McCarron and Smith are better options than Svechkov and Parsinnen. McC and Smith are not going to be long term fixtures and the team already sucks so why keep playing guys that have no future with the team as opposed to kids who might?

I was having a discussion with some folks that I'm in a fantasy league with and they mentioned these two can play the PK. I responded with, we have more than enough guys who can play the PK and if the only reason to keep McC and Smith in the lineup is because of that, I'm vehemently opposed. 5 on 5 play happens more and we're struggling there so anything we can do to improve our 4 lines I'm all for.

I just don't get the love for these two. We put them out there to start games why exactly? To prove our identity? We put them out there after we score goals, killing all momentum in most instances. We put them out there regularly and lose momentum. If they're out there and getting beat by the other team repeatedly, this is a problem. Let them see the bench and get the kids out there playing and seeing what you've got. In a shorter time, Svechkov has shown more than either of them yet got benched with the return of ROR and Gus last night. Stupid is mild to what I really want to say.
 

weeze

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May 2, 2011
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Illinois
So the last two players that were at one time regular players to get wiaved/traded were Fabbro and Tomasino. Now that both are playing regular minutes and being utilized on their current teams, their stats are:

Fabbro - 15 games- 3G/4A/7P +13 22:13TOI
Tomasion - 7 games- 3G/1A/4P -1 15:31TOI

Two players and 11 points. This Org has no idea what it is doing right now! The old way of cook the young players in the AHL is the way of the past! Fans have ALWAYS wondered why we have had a hard time getting top players to come to Nashville. Maybe it is the way the Org plays or handles its players. IDK. But the top two leaders now sure ain't getting it done!
 

herzausstein

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Aug 31, 2014
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So after a couple games without Lauzon and Carrier, do we have any reservations about trading either of them?

Wilsby had been really good
Stastney is healthy and getting up to game speed in Milwaukee.
Blinken has been good outside of being microsized.
MDG is passable as a bottom pairing dman

Once Josi is healthy, im personally more than fine trading "hits-r-me" and "carrier my bags out the door". We arent goin anywhere at the moment. Might as well get a return while we can.
 

Porter Stoutheart

Seen Stamkos?
Jun 14, 2017
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So after a couple games without Lauzon and Carrier, do we have any reservations about trading either of them?

Wilsby had been really good
Stastney is healthy and getting up to game speed in Milwaukee.
Blinken has been good outside of being microsized.
MDG is passable as a bottom pairing dman

Once Josi is healthy, im personally more than fine trading "hits-r-me" and "carrier my bags out the door". We arent goin anywhere at the moment. Might as well get a return while we can.
It is pretty easy to argue at this point that Lauzon and Carrier are, charitably, no better than our generic Milwaukee callups anyhow. Neither Wilsby nor Stastney arrived on the scene with great fanfare, they weren't blowing up the AHL. But. They are clearly at least able to replace those 2 on our D, much cheaper.

I happen to actually like Wilsby and Stastney BETTER than Lauzon and Carrier, but I'm deliberately trying not to be overenthusiastic here. I don't see how anybody could argue they're WORSE though. :dunno:

So for sure, if you can trade Lauzon or Carrier for anything, DO IT!!!! (This might involve some minor pain for us when they come back off IR and we have to play them a few more games to prove to the world they are good to go.)
 

herzausstein

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Cozens is intriguing. A young (23) center, big frame and buffalo has given up on players before just to watch them get better elsewhere. Down side is he has a big AAV and a long contract so if he doesnt turn around his trend that is one very ugly contract. If the price is right for him, norris, or pinto, trotz should be making the calls and doing his due diligence. Im not sold any of them are the answer but they may make the team better in the long term. Would still love a top 5 pick this season though since it is already dead in the water. But getting one of those players could make next season much more tolerable
 

ShagDaddy

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Nov 24, 2021
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Cozens is intriguing. A young (23) center, big frame and buffalo has given up on players before just to watch them get better elsewhere. Down side is he has a big AAV and a long contract so if he doesnt turn around his trend that is one very ugly contract. If the price is right for him, norris, or pinto, trotz should be making the calls and doing his due diligence. Im not sold any of them are the answer but they may make the team better in the long term. Would still love a top 5 pick this season though since it is already dead in the water. But getting one of those players could make next season much more tolerable
I’m thinking he would turn out to be our Jack Eichel or another Kyle Turris. That’s a big Chuck of change to take a risk with but Trotz said he wanted to swing for the fences on players so…….
 

herzausstein

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I’m thinking he would turn out to be our Jack Eichel or another Kyle Turris. That’s a big Chuck of change to take a risk with but Trotz said he wanted to swing for the fences on players so…….
Lol either an awesome core piece or the next buyout. Yeah it is a huge risk for sure but if trotz wants to maximize our chances in the next 2-3 seasons to get the most out of the stamkos/josi/saros/forsberg group then he will need to make a splash like that. Now if it works out cozens would also be a core piece for the next group coming up as well. If it doesnt work out, buy him out after the 27-28 season and it replaces the duchene & Turris buyouts
 
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Porter Stoutheart

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I dunno, we're not exactly the place where struggling young players come to turn things around? :dunno:

Buffalo fans sure don't seem to think Cozens is very good, nor do they think he can stick at center in the NHL. I don't watch him play enough to have a personal opinion, but putting together all the hearsay, he sure sounds like he'd really be some kind of desperation pickup if we went after him.

I guess if you put together a bunch of stuff we don't want or need like Carrier, Sissons, etc, then maybe you could take a gamble, but it's a pretty high stakes one given his contract, with low odds of a payoff?

I for sure wouldn't be putting in any futures assets that we still have high hopes for. Not any of our 1sts (not the late VGK one even) or any of our top prospects. We shouldn't get overexcited just because he's a "young center"... he might be an overly expensive middle-6 RW in reality.
 

predfan24

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Looking at Cozens contract I can't help but think the best way to get paid in the NHL is show promise as a young offensive center and before you know it Boom! Rich.

I've never really paid attention to Cozen's play. What's the scouting report? What would the cost be to acquire him? He's getting 7.1 million a year for five more seasons after this one. You better be damn sure he is going to be good.
 
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herzausstein

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I dunno, we're not exactly the place where struggling young players come to turn things around? :dunno:

Buffalo fans sure don't seem to think Cozens is very good, nor do they think he can stick at center in the NHL. I don't watch him play enough to have a personal opinion, but putting together all the hearsay, he sure sounds like he'd really be some kind of desperation pickup if we went after him.

I guess if you put together a bunch of stuff we don't want or need like Carrier, Sissons, etc, then maybe you could take a gamble, but it's a pretty high stakes one given his contract, with low odds of a payoff?

I for sure wouldn't be putting in any futures assets that we still have high hopes for. Not any of our 1sts (not the late VGK one even) or any of our top prospects. We shouldn't get overexcited just because he's a "young center"... he might be an overly expensive middle-6 RW in reality.
We also arent a place that has a history of drafting center talent and turning it into gold. Half of me wants us to fail miserably and draft hagens/other top C and him come in and solve our problems. The other half tells me we will turn him into David Legwand or Colton Sissons and still have this issue several years down the road.

No clue if Norris/Cozens/etc would work out for us or if Bruno will even give them a real shot. I just know what we got now isnt working. Maybe we can packages some combination of Novak, Lauzon, Carrier, a later 1st, and Wood for Byram and Cozens. Then we can package Josi off to somewhere and profit.

Im terrible at trade proposals and thinking out the future but c'est la vie
 
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Porter Stoutheart

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This is where you need to have actually good pro scouting. I'm not sure if we have that either, given some of our signings and NHL-level moves the last few seasons. So I don't have much optimism on the Cozens front. Buffalo fans seem to describe him as a low-IQ player who can use his size effectively as an offense-only one-dimensional winger, but who knows. People also told us Byfield might be similar. Then it sort of seemed like Byfield popped a bit last season. But he isn't really looking that great again now either.

I would definitely be leery of putting in stuff that had a "1st and Wood" tagged onto the end of it for Cozens. That's going in the wrong direction. (And that's even with me being pessimistic about the value of the 1st and Wood... I'm very doubtful we get a player out of either of those assets IMO, but I'd still rather gamble on them turning into something because there's not really any downside if they don't - whereas the Cozens contract is a definite downside if he doesn't pan out).
 
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herzausstein

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Looking at Cozens contract I can't help but think the best way to get paid in the NHL is show promise as a young offensive center and before you know it Boom! Rich.

I've never really paid attention to Cozen's play. What's the scouting report? What would the cost be to acquire him? He's getting 7.1 million a year for five more seasons after this one. You better be damn sure he is going to be good.
Bigger center
Willing to lay down a hit (7.04 hits/60)
Fair amount of giveaways (3.30/60) which is near the worst for forwards on buffalo. Near the worst for forwards on Buffalo for takeaways too
Willing to block shots

No the giveaways and takeaways are both the worst of his career and the hits/60 and blockedshots/60 is the highest. Probably a correlation there. This season and last season saw elevation in his hitting so it is possible that he is being forced to chase the game and his production is seeing a dip as he is being more physical. Not sure if it is a usage thing or what. I dont watch enough sabres hockey. It may be that theyre telling him to amp up the physical play and just like lauzon cant do that and play good hockey. He has about triple the hits/60 that he did in 22/23 when he had 68 points in 81 games. 47 of those points were even strength but he also shot an absurd 14.7% which is about 5% over his career norm.

He is ok at the dot. Not great but not horrid averaging 47% win. For reference, novak is ~43%. Glass was around 48%
 
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ILikeItILoveIt

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Apr 2, 2010
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Another long-term $7m contract for an underperforming player. We'd need Cap relief. How would Trotz sell this to ownership? We dump our disappointing 1st round picks before we pay them and get nothing in return. Now we'll solve Buffalo's problem by bailing them out of their Cap-Heck with this guy.

How about we keep playing our remaining disappointing younger players who don't cost us squat rather than taking on $35m in salary for 5 years to play other teams overpaid disappointing young players?
 

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