Around the League '16-'17 Other Teams' Free Agent Frenzy

[KINGS17]

When’s the last time a scorched Earth approach ever worked for a team to build itself back as a contender? Serious question, I can’t think of this idea ever working, and it usually takes more than a decade to get there, see the 90s Penguins until 2009.

The Oilers never recovered from their big sell offs in the 80s and early 90s. It doesn’t work. Unless you expect a turn around in you want another 20 years.

I am not advocating scorched earth, but there is no need to keep every vet on this roster.

 

[Reaper45]

You’ve been missing out on some good hockey. It’ll also make one take notice that there is no way the Kings could keep up with the pace the remaining team’s are playing in.

Ha I know that without watching.

I just dont have the time to watch hockey I'm not emotionally invested in.

 

[fsanford]

You’ve been missing out on some good hockey. It’ll also make one take notice that there is no way the Kings could keep up with the pace the remaining team’s are playing in.

The games overall had sucked, too many of these games are over by the 2nd period if not the 1st.
Very little drama.

 

[King'sPawn]

Good idea, trade them as well. KP insists the Kings need to keep some veteran leadership, so I included those two in the "keep" list. Highly doubtful either one of those two contracts could be moved anyway, plus Kopitar has a NTC.

No. I insist on keeping players who can't be replaced unless you want to have prospects playing in over their head or you overpay in the UFA market for a lesser player.

There's a big difference in keeping vets just to keep them, just like trading players just to trade them. It's like the motto in chess: "Don't castle just because you can."

 

[KINGS17]

No. I insist on keeping players who can't be replaced unless you want to have prospects playing in over their head or you overpay in the UFA market for a lesser player.

There's a big difference in keeping vets just to keep them, just like trading players just to trade them. It's like the motto in chess: "Don't castle just because you can."

So, you overpay for a couple of seasons for a UFA. The Kings overpaid for Handzus, and it worked out fine. They can do it again. There are plenty of candidates on the UFA market this summer.

It's not trading players just to trade them. You get future assets in return. Those future assets have more value than the current assets on the books.

 

[King'sPawn]

So, you overpay for a couple of seasons for a UFA. The Kings overpaid for Handzus, and it worked out fine. They can do it again. There are plenty of candidates on the UFA market this summer.

It's not trading players just to trade them. You get future assets in return. Those future assets have more value than the current assets on the books.

Handzus was 4 years, $4 million/year when the cap was $50.3 million. And that was with a rising cap.

An equivalent today would be over $5.7 million.

You want to pay 2007 Handzus at least $5.7/year for four years?

 

[KINGS17]

Handzus was 4 years, $4 million/year when the cap was $50.3 million. And that was with a rising cap.

An equivalent today would be over $5.7 million.

You want to pay 2007 Handzus at least $5.7/year for four years?

No, it's not ideal. I would prefer to pay a vet filler who isn't a bridge player for two seasons. That would be until we know if Vilardi is ready and capable.

Handzus is merely an example. I wouldn't call his deal the exact blueprint for a solution. Again, what is to be gained by keeping Jeff Carter for the next few seasons if the Kings aren't contending? I assume you have been watching the playoffs. What makes you believe the Kings are going to come close to beating teams like Winnipeg or Nashville, and other up and comers in the next few seasons? Playing Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar 30 and 25 minutes a night respectively isn't going to get it done.

You assume the Kings have to overpay, or force feed a youngster. Neither is necessarily true.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

No, it's not ideal. I would prefer to pay a vet filler who isn't a bridge player for two seasons. That would be until we know if Vilardi is ready and capable.

Handzus is merely an example. I wouldn't call his deal the exact blueprint for a solution. Again, what is to be gained by keeping Jeff Carter for the next few seasons if the Kings aren't contending? I assume you have been watching the playoffs. What makes you believe the Kings are going to come close to beating teams like Winnipeg or Nashville, and other up and comers in the next few seasons? Playing Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar 30 and 25 minutes a night respectively isn't going to get it done.

You assume the Kings have to overpay, or force feed a youngster. Neither is necessarily true.

I believe you are wrong, you will overpay for a UFA, or force feed a youngster,

So look at the UFA market, let's assume Carter is traded for a 1st and a B prospect so we have a 2nd line hole to bridge until we can make a determination on Vilardi,

Who are your candidates?

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Given how disappointing Pearson and Toffoli were, I’d rather hang onto Carter and hope the scouts do a better job at identifying talent who can eventually play critical roles on this team. They can only ice so many players of the ilk of King, Nolan, Shore, Dowd, Clifford, Andreoff, etc.

 

[KINGS17]

I believe you are wrong, you will overpay for a UFA, or force feed a youngster,

So look at the UFA market, let's assume Carter is traded for a 1st and a B prospect so we have a 2nd line hole to bridge until we can make a determination on Vilardi,

Who are your candidates?

I will suggest a few:

38-year old Joe Thornton
33-year old Mark Letestu
32-year old Tyler Bozak

Any of these would be acceptable for two seasons. Bozak might want more years, but 4 years for him wouldn't be a terrible thing. You get one of these players without giving up any assets, and you get the assets you obtain in a Carter deal. Why is Carter only worth a 1st and a B prospect?

Why do the Kings need to find a perfect fit for the 2C role immediately? Frankly, it doesn't matter as long as they don't overpay and don't force feed a youngster. The player just needs to be a good example for the younger players. Blake should be able to manage an acquisition of this kind.

 

[KINGS17]

Given how disappointing Pearson and Toffoli were, I’d rather hang onto Carter and hope the scouts do a better job at identifying talent who can eventually play critical roles on this team. They can only ice so many players of the ilk of King, Nolan, Shore, Dowd, Clifford, Andreoff, etc.

Eventually? How many more years does Carter have as an effective pivot? Again, someone explain the value of having Carter stick around until his trade value is virtually nil when you can clearly see the Kings will not be contending for the next few seasons.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

I will suggest a few:

38-year old Joe Thornton
33-year old Mark Letestu
32-year old Tyler Bozak

Any of these would be acceptable for two seasons. Bozak might want more years, but 4 years for him wouldn't be a terrible thing. You get one of these players without giving up any assets, and you get the assets you obtain in a Carter deal. Why is Carter only worth a 1st and a B prospect?

Why do the Kings need to find a perfect fit for the 2C role immediately? Frankly, it doesn't matter as long as they don't overpay and don't force feed a youngster. The player just needs to be a good example for the younger players. Blake should be able to manage an acquisition of this kind.

So Thornton, coming off of 2 major knee surgeries back to back as a bridge?

Letetstu? Bozak? Ok, just curious, what cap hits?

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Eventually? How many more years does Carter have as an effective pivot? Again, someone explain the value of having Carter stick around until his trade value is virtually nil when you can clearly see the Kings will not be contending for the next few seasons.

I’m not convinced they’ll be able to get a great enough return for Carter that’ll make any impact. Given his cap hit and production, he’s more valuable to the Kings. Unless they get blown away by an offer that is hard to turn down, I don’t see a reason to move him now.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

I’m not convinced they’ll be able to get a great enough return for Carter that’ll make any impact. Given his cap hit and production, he’s more valuable to the Kings. Unless they get blown away by an offer that is hard to turn down, I don’t see a reason to move him now.

Their only reason is, he old. and We suck, so trade him now, suck more, I guess is the reasoning....

I'm just interested in how they think they won't over pay for UFAs

 

[Brodeur]

I was thinking that also.

Drouin is a fine top 6 forward, but Sergachev could be something special. It's so rare for a teenage rookie defensemen to be this competent right away. Hedman wasn't this good at 19.

Montreal could have had Subban and Sergachev on their blueline for years to come, but they gave both players away. One of the stupidest organizations in the league.

Sergachev looks great, but he's also gotten sheltered minutes for most of this season. I can only imagine what would have happened had he been getting 20+ minutes a game in Montreal this year. I have visions of Oilers Justin Schultz vs. Penguins Justin Schultz.

Sergachev was getting 15 minutes a game during the regular season with a healthy dose of PP time. He's been averaging 12 minutes during the playoffs.

Hedman maybe didn't have that advantage when he first joined the league. Tampa wasn't as deep and Hedman was playing 20 minutes right away. They can put Sergachev in a limited role which is totally the smart thing to do.

 

[KINGS17]

I’m not convinced they’ll be able to get a great enough return for Carter that’ll make any impact. Given his cap hit and production, he’s more valuable to the Kings. Unless they get blown away by an offer that is hard to turn down, I don’t see a reason to move him now.

Again, what is his value to the Kings? Carter makes them first round playoff fodder instead of the 5th place team in the Pathetic Division? The fact that Carter is one of the few assets which still hold trade value is why he should be moved.

Their only reason is, he old. and We suck, so trade him now, suck more, I guess is the reasoning....

I'm just interested in how they think they won't over pay for UFAs

The only reason, yet it is one you can't come up with a good argument against. You don't overpay, because you don't go after the expensive UFAs. You are looking for vets to temporarily fill a hole, and you aren't expecting them to make the team better in the standings.

 

[King'sPawn]

I will suggest a few:

38-year old Joe Thornton
33-year old Mark Letestu
32-year old Tyler Bozak

Any of these would be acceptable for two seasons. Bozak might want more years, but 4 years for him wouldn't be a terrible thing. You get one of these players without giving up any assets, and you get the assets you obtain in a Carter deal. Why is Carter only worth a 1st and a B prospect?

Why do the Kings need to find a perfect fit for the 2C role immediately? Frankly, it doesn't matter as long as they don't overpay and don't force feed a youngster. The player just needs to be a good example for the younger players. Blake should be able to manage an acquisition of this kind.

You don't get fair market value for UFAs. That's the point. It's why you are better off getting depth players in free agency as opposed to top 6.

So why trade Carter to get assets when you literally have to overpay to replace him?

I would rather have Carter for the next few years at $5.5 than a late first, a prospect, and Tyler Bozak at around $6 million for the next 4-6 years. Contenders or not.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

Again, what is his value to the Kings? Carter makes them first round playoff fodder instead of the 5th place team in the Pathetic Division? The fact that Carter is one of the few assets which still hold trade value is why he should be moved.



The only reason, yet it is one you can't come up with a good argument against. You don't overpay, because you don't go after the expensive UFAs. You are looking for vets to temporarily fill a hole, and you aren't expecting them to make the team better in the standings.

I've come up with several reasons against, you choose to ignore them.

You don't overpay because you don't go after expensive UFA's, yet you brought up Bozak....you think Bozak is gonna get less than 6 million? Good luck.

 

[WHOneedsSOX]

I will suggest a few:

38-year old Joe Thornton
33-year old Mark Letestu
32-year old Tyler Bozak

Any of these would be acceptable for two seasons. Bozak might want more years, but 4 years for him wouldn't be a terrible thing. You get one of these players without giving up any assets, and you get the assets you obtain in a Carter deal. Why is Carter only worth a 1st and a B prospect?

Why do the Kings need to find a perfect fit for the 2C role immediately? Frankly, it doesn't matter as long as they don't overpay and don't force feed a youngster. The player just needs to be a good example for the younger players. Blake should be able to manage an acquisition of this kind.

Easy pass on Thornton. Letestu is a 4th line specialist kind of guy. Don't need him and Thompson. Bozak would be interesting but he'd probably want too many years and too many dollars since he's probably the second or third best center available depending on how you compare him with Stastny.

 

[KingsFan7824]

What makes you believe the Kings are going to come close to beating teams like Winnipeg or Nashville, and other up and comers in the next few seasons?

I'll throw out a guess why the Kings will believe that until they're forced not to; the 17-18 Washington Capitals. Whether or not they beat TB at this point, or come close against Winnipeg, isn't the point. They are where they are right now. Go read Tampa fans. They're ready to jump.

The Caps traded Johansson for picks(which haven't helped them yet) because of the cap, not value. They gave 30+ Oshie a bad contract. They have bottom of the barrel free agents like Chiasson and Smith-Pelley actually helping them. They lost Schmidt for nothing, and replaced him with a 7th round pick from 6 years ago, and/or Michal Kempny. Orpik is still in their top 5. They have a 29 year old player that had 1 goal in his previous 25 playoff games with 5 in 14 games this year. This was all after their championship window closed, but they've managed to find themselves in a better physical position to win after that window shut than when it was predicted to be open.

That's what the Kings will sell people on.

 

[BigKing]

Kings will continue to sell "You just have to get in to the dance". That is pretty much Luc and Blake's motto.

While it is true you have to make the playoffs to have a chance and "anything can happen", the Kings last two playoff trips don't leave much optimism. Compare that to 2010 and 2011 where the Kings still felt competitive in their first round losses, including sans Kopitar in 2011.

Luc would rather take what he feels is a very high probability of playoff ticket revenue (for at least a few games) every season v. blowing it up and rolling the dice that a rebuild will be done correctly.

 

[KINGS17]

You don't get fair market value for UFAs. That's the point. It's why you are better off getting depth players in free agency as opposed to top 6.

So why trade Carter to get assets when you literally have to overpay to replace him?

I would rather have Carter for the next few years at $5.5 than a late first, a prospect, and Tyler Bozak at around $6 million for the next 4-6 years. Contenders or not.

As long as it isn't a long term contract, it doesn't matter. If Bozak wants $6M for six years, you pass and move on. There were other examples on the list. You think Letestu is in a position to dictate terms?

 

[Reaper45]

The problem is the Kings need to improve their roster and UFA's never come here/cant be relied upon to improve the roster. So what assets can you move to improve the roster? Carter's only downfall to a club acquiring him is his age. The same can't be said for other assets the Kings have.

 

[KINGS17]

Kings will continue to sell "You just have to get in to the dance". That is pretty much Luc and Blake's motto.

While it is true you have to make the playoffs to have a chance and "anything can happen", the Kings last two playoff trips don't leave much optimism. Compare that to 2010 and 2011 where the Kings still felt competitive in their first round losses, including sans Kopitar in 2011.

Luc would rather take what he feels is a very high probability of playoff ticket revenue (for at least a few games) every season v. blowing it up and rolling the dice that a rebuild will be done correctly.

This is so true and will be what will happen, and what Robitaille is selling is utter BS. I am posting what should happen, and eventually the Kings will get around to a rebuild. It will be much more difficult because they will be starting from scratch instead of with the additional assets the Kings could have had by dealing some of their vets now.

 

[KINGS17]

I'll throw out a guess why the Kings will believe that until they're forced not to; the 17-18 Washington Capitals. Whether or not they beat TB at this point, or come close against Winnipeg, isn't the point. They are where they are right now. Go read Tampa fans. They're ready to jump.

The Caps traded Johansson for picks(which haven't helped them yet) because of the cap, not value. They gave 30+ Oshie a bad contract. They have bottom of the barrel free agents like Chiasson and Smith-Pelley actually helping them. They lost Schmidt for nothing, and replaced him with a 7th round pick from 6 years ago, and/or Michal Kempny. Orpik is still in their top 5. They have a 29 year old player that had 1 goal in his previous 25 playoff games with 5 in 14 games this year. This was all after their championship window closed, but they've managed to find themselves in a better physical position to win after that window shut than when it was predicted to be open.

That's what the Kings will sell people on.

Then we should expect to see the Kings go after Tavares in a big way, right?