Around the League - 2022 offseason thread

[My3Sons]

Remember when people here wanted to re-sign Kulikov and give him and multi-year deal (Ryan Murray too, who was a healthy scratch all playoffs for Colorado and is a UFA and signed nowhere as of now) ourselves?

Clearly a missed opportunity, as we could have gotten future considerations for him, which could be a pretty big asset.

I thought Murray was going to be something along the lines of Siegenthaler. Something happened when he got sick and he never was the same after he came back. Really weird in my view. Maybe just his back got worse but it seemed odd.

 

[britdevil]

I thought Murray was going to be something along the lines of Siegenthaler. Something happened when he got sick and he never was the same after he came back. Really weird in my view. Maybe just his back got worse but it seemed odd.

Nah, dude is just made of glass.

 

[MadDevil]

Remember when people here wanted to re-sign Kulikov and give him and multi-year deal (Ryan Murray too, who was a healthy scratch all playoffs for Colorado and is a UFA and signed nowhere as of now) ourselves?

Clearly a missed opportunity, as we could have gotten future considerations for him, which could be a pretty big asset.

It would help make up for the ones we gave up for Gillies.

 

[Bleedred]

I thought Murray was going to be something along the lines of Siegenthaler. Something happened when he got sick and he never was the same after he came back. Really weird in my view. Maybe just his back got worse but it seemed odd.

He really should have been better than Siegenthaler (but he ain’t), the guy is a former 2nd overall pick. By the way, can anyone think of a worse 1st and 2nd overall combo to kick off a draft than Yakupov and Murray in 2012? Oh god, and then there’s Galchenyuk and Reinhart at 3rd and 4th overall. That’s gotta be the weakest first four picks to open a draft EVER! Murray might go down as the weakest 2nd overall pick in a long time, next to maybe only Nolan Patrick. From what I remember, Scott Niedermayer was Ryan Murray’s idol and there were comparisons to Niedermayer early on.

 

[devilsfan35]

It’s summertime and this guy has a black eye. What a brick head

 

[devilsblood]

Remember when people here wanted to re-sign Kulikov and give him and multi-year deal (Ryan Murray too, who was a healthy scratch all playoffs for Colorado and is a UFA and signed nowhere as of now) ourselves?

Clearly a missed opportunity, as we could have gotten future considerations for him, which could be a pretty big asset.

Just looking at the headline #'s but looks like Kulikov had a nice season at a cheap price tag. (I assume he was hurt in the playoffs as he only played 2 games).

I was OK with the idea of signing Murray, but then we traded for Graves, so Murray was out.

 

[Bleedred]

Just looking at the headline #'s but looks like Kulikov had a nice season at a cheap price tag. (I assume he was hurt in the playoffs as he only played 2 games).

I was OK with the idea of signing Murray, but then we traded for Graves, so Murray was out.

I thought Kulikov was pretty good here and was open to a one year deal, but not really into a two year deal.

I thought Murray was pretty meh and it looks like that continued in Colorado.

 

[sabremike]

Jack’s deal started after his ELC, Thompson is coming off a 3 year/1.4m bridge deal and has one UFA year.

Jack’s deal is great, the best other contract for a forward coming off an ELC recently is Svechnikov’s 8 year/7.75m. That was bonkers the day it was signed.

Players coming off bridge deals are different and many of them leave their teams. Basically all of them have left Buffalo so Adams is using the good vibes of their last season to prevent that from happening here.

There’s a real chance Buffalo struggle a ton next season, they picked up points at the end of the season in OT games and a soft schedule, and that could color negotiations. Last season ended with a happy locker room.

If he wanted to pay him less it would have fewer years. The players to compare him to are RFAs like Reinhart.

Thompson has only played center for a year, like Reinhart there whose played center at the end in Buffalo but mostly plays wing in Florida. (He plays some C, it definitely adds value to him too.)

I get people being wary about the deal. Thompson doesn’t have a track record with amazing finishing and that was a big part of his season. He’s a real work in progress as a center.

But Buffalo is trying to team build and get younger players who are all in on the team. My guess is they felt Tage, like Tuch, is part of the new wave.

Cozens is up next. He was very vocal in his exit interview about wanting to be in Buffalo and turn it around in 2020-21, while Eichel was imploding and Reinhart & Risto had “don’t want to be in a rebuild” quotes.

Now he was 20, so he didn’t have a choice anyway, but it was actually endearing. It will be very interesting to see how he does this season and what kind of deal he gets for it.

Middelstadt has two years left on his bridge deal so he can remain a question and they can cut bait there.

Um, we literally had the toughest strength of schedule of any team's last 30 games. There were lots of people who thought we would fall into a bottom 3 position because of this. Instead we had our best finish in the standings since the lockout shortened 2013 season.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

That money wasn't being better spent elsewhere and top 6 centers are almost never available in FA. If they are they are like Nazem Kadri, over 30 and you need to give them 7m+ (for now) and a long term deal anyway if you want to add them and they need to agree to come. Not sure the objection to the Thompson deal honestly. His year last year wasn't a fluke and he's 24...

That was the discussion they had on After The Whistle. If not a total fluke last season was certainly the outlier to this point. Would have even had the opportunity to be a first center if he was with a stronger team, playing meaningful games?

Certainly a risky deal if not a gamble.

 

[devilsblood]

I thought Kulikov was pretty good here and was open to a one year deal, but not really into a two year deal.

I thought Murray was pretty meh and it looks like that continued in Colorado.

If we weren't breaking in young d-first 3rd pairing guys, I think Kulikov would be a really good fit. Especially at a the 2 year $2.25per deal he is signed at. I think he turns 31 in Oct so still young enough for a 2 year deal.

Muray was meh, but at the time meh was Ok. Graves was an upgrade who was acquired for relatively cheap, so it made sense to move on from Murray.

 

[Eggtimer]

I thought Kulikov was pretty good here and was open to a one year deal, but not really into a two year deal.

I thought Murray was pretty meh and it looks like that continued in Colorado.

I was never really impressed at all with Murray and was fine moving on from him but I thought Kulikov was good value and should have just kept him and tried extending him (1 year ) instead of trading him for a bag of peanuts at the TDL.
Not a big issue but it left us very thin at D after we moved him. I didn’t see the point of running a shit D core just for a crap late draft pick

 

[Triumph]

He really should have been better than Siegenthaler (but he ain’t), the guy is a former 2nd overall pick. By the way, can anyone think of a worse 1st and 2nd overall combo to kick off a draft than Yakupov and Murray in 2012? Oh god, and then there’s Galchenyuk and Reinhart at 3rd and 4th overall. That’s gotta be the weakest first four picks to open a draft EVER! Murray might go down as the weakest 2nd overall pick in a long time, next to maybe only Nolan Patrick. From what I remember, Scott Niedermayer was Ryan Murray’s idol and there were comparisons to Niedermayer early on.

Murray's career was always overshadowed by injuries, by the time he got here he was one of these guys who had to go through hours of stretching and warmup just to play. I think people thought that he was going to be what Charlie McAvoy is now, just an all-situations D, isn't at the top of the D scoring chart but who just controls the game when he's out there.

Just looking at the headline #'s but looks like Kulikov had a nice season at a cheap price tag. (I assume he was hurt in the playoffs as he only played 2 games).

I was OK with the idea of signing Murray, but then we traded for Graves, so Murray was out.

Kulikov was not hurt, he had a rough Game 1 and they scratched him for the next 4, and then he was apparently no good in Game 6. He did have a nice season, but this sort of player just isn't valuable because of their age and upside and position - Minnesota got nothing at all for him.

Um, we literally had the toughest strength of schedule of any team's last 30 games. There were lots of people who thought we would fall into a bottom 3 position because of this. Instead we had our best finish in the standings since the lockout shortened 2013 season.

It's nice but I don't think it's particularly real. The underlying numbers are better than I thought they would be, though, so who knows, maybe there is something there. I'd be concerned about the goaltending and the offense, I think the defense should be okay.

 

[Bleedred]

Buffalo needs Eric Comrie to not only repeat what he did last season, but to do it in a SIGNIFICANT number of games played. And if he doesn't do it in a significant number of games played, then they need Luukkonen to step up.

Craig Anderson is a very nice story, considering how many times his career looked like it was ending and it didn't and the fact that he's as of today the oldest player under contract (non-LTIR) to play this year (and only player in their 40's), but he's been BAD for 5 years now. His last good season was in 16-17 when he was 35 years old. It was the year his wife had cancer and the Sens made it all the way to the conference finals.

But Ancient Andy really can't be counted on. They probably shouldn't have re-signed him. He's probably the worst goalie in the league with a full time role (not including call ups) other than maybe the Finnish Faucet over in Columbus, but even he had an average season just 3 years ago. I bet if we looked at worst save percentages since the 17-18 season among goalies that are still active (and with a minimum of so many games played), those two are gonna be neck and neck at the bottom. Anderson probably hasn't played enough in those years (he barely played at all in 20-21) to really be below Korpisalo since the start of 17-18, though Korpisalo had a decent 19-20. And poor, decrepit, washed up play aside, Anderson is probably also a lock to end up hurt. He was hurt for what felt like half of last year, then got hurt again at the very end of the season and missed the last week or two from what I remember.

 

[Brodeur]

 

[Devils731]

I remember when the hype was really high.

 

[billingtons ghost]

I thought Kulikov was pretty good here and was open to a one year deal, but not really into a two year deal.

I thought Murray was pretty meh and it looks like that continued in Colorado.

I was fine with kulikov at a really low number on a one year deal too. I might have even gone two. He gave us top 4 minutes despite clearly being a bottom pairing guy. I'd have been fine with him in Siegenthaler's role, had Siegenthaler not become Superenthaler.

 

[billingtons ghost]

I remember when the hype was really high.

Aren't all rangers prospects the best prospects tho? I remember when this guy was going to be awesome... And then this happened

 

[njdevils1982]

Remember when people here wanted to re-sign Kulikov and give him and multi-year deal (Ryan Murray too, who was a healthy scratch all playoffs for Colorado and is a UFA and signed nowhere as of now) ourselves?

Clearly a missed opportunity, as we could have gotten future considerations for him, which could be a pretty big asset.

peckerhead farm remembers

 

[sabremike]

Buffalo needs Eric Comrie to not only repeat what he did last season, but to do it in a SIGNIFICANT number of games played. And if he doesn't do it in a significant number of games played, then they need Luukkonen to step up.

Craig Anderson is a very nice story, considering how many times his career looked like it was ending and it didn't and the fact that he's as of today the oldest player under contract (non-LTIR) to play this year (and only player in their 40's), but he's been BAD for 5 years now. His last good season was in 16-17 when he was 35 years old. It was the year his wife had cancer and the Sens made it all the way to the conference finals.

But Ancient Andy really can't be counted on. They probably shouldn't have re-signed him. He's probably the worst goalie in the league with a full time role (not including call ups) other than maybe the Finnish Faucet over in Columbus, but even he had an average season just 3 years ago. I bet if we looked at worst save percentages since the 17-18 season among goalies that are still active (and with a minimum of so many games played), those two are gonna be neck and neck at the bottom. Anderson probably hasn't played enough in those years (he barely played at all in 20-21) to really be below Korpisalo since the start of 17-18, though Korpisalo had a decent 19-20. And poor, decrepit, washed up play aside, Anderson is probably also a lock to end up hurt. He was hurt for what felt like half of last year, then got hurt again at the very end of the season and missed the last week or two from what I remember.

The plan is for Comrie and UPL to split the workload with Anderson as a spot starter. The long term goal is Levi. Honestly given how crap the goalie market was Comrie was realistically the best we were going to do. UPL actually looked good in his NHL appearances, his problem is durability.

 

[Devils731]

Aren't all rangers prospects the best prospects tho? I remember when this guy was going to be awesome... And then this happened

Not to turn it into a make fun of another team thread but…

One of the most egregious was after a pre-season game the Ranger announcers discussing how Del Zotto and Gilroy would probably win multiple Norris trophies between them.

 

[devilsblood]

Kulikov was not hurt, he had a rough Game 1 and they scratched him for the next 4, and then he was apparently no good in Game 6. He did have a nice season, but this sort of player just isn't valuable because of their age and upside and position - Minnesota got nothing at all for him.

Once we traded Kulikov I never considered bringing him back. But if we were to have signed him I would have done so strictly for what he brought to the ice, not what we could have potentially traded him for. If age and upside means you can get a solid player on a cheap contract, I see that as value even if the market doesn't.

 

[Guttersniped]

24 year old 1Cs won’t be getting 7.14m in 2023-24, it’s the exact same cap hit Kevin Haye’s deal had in 2019-20. Couturier and Giroux played 1C above Hayes when healthy.

Hays’s deal started in 2019-20 when the cap was 81.5m. It’s 83.5m now, it will be at least 84.5m next off-season when this deal starts and big cap increases will come right after escrow is settled.

It’s definitely not a bargain but I get the price for a long term deal for a younger player with only two RFA years. This is a contract for a top six W/C with unique skill set who scores a lot of goals. And it doesn’t have to be 38 of them.

It ends when Tage is 32 which is likely a good time to get out, big dudes don’t have the longest shelf life.

Buffalo has cap space, they’re using it to get a guy signed long term. If he’s a total disaster, then yes, this is bad, but he doesn’t have a super star here. Buffalo’s cap isn’t going to balloon for a couple of years (and then they presumably have to buy out or cap dup Skinner).

 

[My3Sons]

24 year old 1Cs won’t be getting 7.14m in 2023-24, it’s the exact same cap hit Kevin Haye’s deal had in 2019-20. Couturier and Giroux played 1C above Hayes when healthy.

Hays’s deal started in 2019-20 when the cap was 81.5m. It’s 83.5m now, it will be at least 84.5m next off-season when this deal starts and big cap increases will come right after escrow is settled.

It’s definitely not a bargain but I get the price for a long term deal for a younger player with only two RFA years. This is a contract for a top six W/C with unique skill set who scores a lot of goals. And it doesn’t have to be 38 of them.

It ends when Tage is 32 which is likely a good time to get out, big dudes don’t have the longest shelf life.

Buffalo has cap space, they’re using it to get a guy signed long term. If he’s a total disaster, then yes, this is bad, but he doesn’t have a super star here. Buffalo’s cap isn’t going to balloon for a couple of years (and then they presumably have to buy out or cap dup Skinner).

The real question is do 24 year old 3Cs make $7 mil these days?

 

[Triumph]

Once we traded Kulikov I never considered bringing him back. But if we were to have signed him I would have done so strictly for what he brought to the ice, not what we could have potentially traded him for. If age and upside means you can get a solid player on a cheap contract, I see that as value even if the market doesn't.

The point isn't what we could or could not have traded him for, he's signed to an excellent deal and Anaheim got him for nothing. There was a poster having a conniption that we ever dealt him in the first place.

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

@Guttersniped has already made my point better than I can re: Tage Thompson. I get that he shot 15% and 38 goals is probably not gonna happen again unless they build the PP around his shot or something but Buffalo isn't signing him just to score 38 goals or more every year. They need guys who can be effective top 6 centers and they can't find them in free agency. Also someone on the main board said Thompson's year was more of a breakout year than a fluke year which I think is an accurate characterization.