Around the League delayed season edition

[Chazz Reinhold]

No idea if it's real but I'd like to believe it is!

 

[KingsFan7824]

Vancouver has the same problem every team has; inevitable bad contracts.

The class of 2016 is of course infamous. The Islanders, Oilers, Flames, and Sabres also aren't all they could be due to signing those UFA's.

Eriksson, Sutter, Roussel, and Beagle take up $16m. Eriksson alone would make Toffoli fit.

We know how it's tough to get free agents to come to the west coast though. Generally don't have a real chance at the best guys, but if you do, you'll have to overpay what will likely be an inherent overpayment in the first place. The Canucks at the time had to fill out a roster. If you need vets around the young guys, sometimes it's hit and miss.

Do you blame a GM for doing what he needs to do today, because it might handicap him in the future, after making moves he couldn't have known he was going to make?

For Toffoli to light the Canucks up like he has is pretty funny though.

 

[kovacro]

Hope he was able to charge his phone. Getting low on battery there.

 

[YP44]

Vancouver has the same problem every team has; inevitable bad contracts.

The class of 2016 is of course infamous. The Islanders, Oilers, Flames, and Sabres also aren't all they could be due to signing those UFA's.

Eriksson, Sutter, Roussel, and Beagle take up $16m. Eriksson alone would make Toffoli fit.

We know how it's tough to get free agents to come to the west coast though. Generally don't have a real chance at the best guys, but if you do, you'll have to overpay what will likely be an inherent overpayment in the first place. The Canucks at the time had to fill out a roster. If you need vets around the young guys, sometimes it's hit and miss.

Do you blame a GM for doing what he needs to do today, because it might handicap him in the future, after making moves he couldn't have known he was going to make?

For Toffoli to light the Canucks up like he has is pretty funny though.

I fully expected Vancouver to pay to dump eriksson or buy him out in order to re-sign Toffoli and a D-man. Was surprised when they didn't was shocked when TT signed in Montreal on a four year deal at fair money. Imagine if he signed a one year what he would have been able to cash that into.
Was going to cheer for the habs out of the North till they brought in Perry

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I dunno. I'm really enjoying the schadenfreude of teams who were talking shit about Lombardi and Bowman for handing out dumb contracts having their own cap troubles before they can even compete.

 

[deeshamrock]

Devils cancel games and shut down facilities for 1 week due to 10 players in COVIC lockdown. Next game Feb 9. But the ripple effect might be worse. Sabres play tonight...

And the other shoe falls, Sabres have to cancel games thru 2/8 due to players and COVID testing. Devils should have done better here...

Buffalo Sabres Games Postponed Through February 8

Buffalo was reportedly “furious” with a lack of information when they played the New Jersey Devils over the weekend, including hitting the ice against several players that entered the league’s COVID Protocol Related Absences the next day. John Vogl of The Athletic writes that the Sabres requested more information on the health of the Devils from the NHL, but that request was denied.

 

[KingLB]

Vancouver has the same problem every team has; inevitable bad contracts.

The class of 2016 is of course infamous. The Islanders, Oilers, Flames, and Sabres also aren't all they could be due to signing those UFA's.

Eriksson, Sutter, Roussel, and Beagle take up $16m. Eriksson alone would make Toffoli fit.

We know how it's tough to get free agents to come to the west coast though. Generally don't have a real chance at the best guys, but if you do, you'll have to overpay what will likely be an inherent overpayment in the first place. The Canucks at the time had to fill out a roster. If you need vets around the young guys, sometimes it's hit and miss.

Do you blame a GM for doing what he needs to do today, because it might handicap him in the future, after making moves he couldn't have known he was going to make?

For Toffoli to light the Canucks up like he has is pretty funny though.

Let’s be honest. Free agency is fools gold. Everyone gets so hyped up by it every year, and every year you see disaster contracts. I’d almost bet you are better off sitting out FA all together then to get lost in the 48 hrs of madness where everyone loses their collective minds.

That said! This years class was a little different cause COVID and cap restrictions. If anything this was the least damaging set of deals I’ve seen. Wonder if GM’s will finally smarten up? Or if the wheel starts again in 2 yrs.

 

[YP44]

Let’s be honest. Free agency is fools gold. Everyone gets so hyped up by it every year, and every year you see disaster contracts. I’d almost bet you are better off sitting out FA all together then to get lost in the 48 hrs of madness where everyone loses their collective minds.

That said! This years class was a little different cause COVID and cap restrictions. If anything this was the least damaging set of deals I’ve seen. Wonder if GM’s will finally smarten up? Or if the wheel starts again in 2 yrs.

Markstrom to Calgary was one of the bigger deals this offseason and I think it was a good deal for both club and player.
Petro's deal is one I think Vegas will regret eventually, but if they get a cup this year I don't think they should care

 

[Brodeur]

Let’s be honest. Free agency is fools gold. Everyone gets so hyped up by it every year, and every year you see disaster contracts. I’d almost bet you are better off sitting out FA all together then to get lost in the 48 hrs of madness where everyone loses their collective minds.

That said! This years class was a little different cause COVID and cap restrictions. If anything this was the least damaging set of deals I’ve seen. Wonder if GM’s will finally smarten up? Or if the wheel starts again in 2 yrs.

Sometimes it's tough since GMs often will get directives from ownership who often have the misconception that free agents will provide the immediate fix. I'm reminded of Neil Smith saying that he didn't want to sign Theo Fleury as a free agent but ownership (insert James Dolan joke here) forced him to do it, granted some of it felt like damage control after he was fired. When Terry Pegula bought the Sabres, I think he wanted to create a good first impression with the locals by having them spend big bucks. Unfortunately that ended up with them signing Christian Ehrhoff and Ville Leino to big deals with the unintended consequence of creating a sour locker room with veteran Sabres feeling underpaid.

Definitely appreciate the owners who are more hands off since if I was in their shoes I'd be meddling all the time.

 

[Lt Dan]

Sometimes it's tough since GMs often will get directives from ownership who often have the misconception that free agents will provide the immediate fix. I'm reminded of Neil Smith saying that he didn't want to sign Theo Fleury as a free agent but ownership (insert James Dolan joke here) forced him to do it, granted some of it felt like damage control after he was fired. When Terry Pegula bought the Sabres, I think he wanted to create a good first impression with the locals by having them spend big bucks. Unfortunately that ended up with them signing Christian Ehrhoff and Ville Leino to big deals with the unintended consequence of creating a sour locker room with veteran Sabres feeling underpaid.

Definitely appreciate the owners who are more hands off since if I was in their shoes I'd be meddling all the time.

Insert Tim Lie-weekly joke

 

[Little Psycho]

No one can be that gullible.

 

[kilowatt]

Let’s be honest. Free agency is fools gold. Everyone gets so hyped up by it every year, and every year you see disaster contracts. I’d almost bet you are better off sitting out FA all together then to get lost in the 48 hrs of madness where everyone loses their collective minds.

That said! This years class was a little different cause COVID and cap restrictions. If anything this was the least damaging set of deals I’ve seen. Wonder if GM’s will finally smarten up? Or if the wheel starts again in 2 yrs.

I wonder if this offseason was actually the best time to spend money on free agents? As they say, buy the dip. Toffoli signed a great contract.

 

[KINGS17]

I dunno. I'm really enjoying the schadenfreude of teams who were talking shit about Lombardi and Bowman for handing out dumb contracts having their own cap troubles before they can even compete.

Agree, but a dumb contract is a dumb contract.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Agree, but a dumb contract is a dumb contract.

Agreed, but there's a difference between spending in an attempt to stay on top and spending to try to make your team a playoff team and failing before they even become a contender, and it's the fans of the second making fun of the fans of the first that I'm enjoying popcorn over.

 

[cyclones22]

Agreed, but there's a difference between spending in an attempt to stay on top and spending to try to make your team a playoff team and failing before they even become a contender, and it's the fans of the second making fun of the fans of the first that I'm enjoying popcorn over.

Exactly. I'd rather our team fall off the mountain top trying like hell to stay up there than these other franchises trying to pay for golden handrails on the first flight of stairs and never make it to the top.

 

[Brodeur]

Lol I wasnt able to keep up with the whole Toffoli thing. That’s gotta sting for the Nucks. Did they not have enough cap space to re-sign Toffoli? Or they just chose not to bring him back? Last thing I remember he was playing decent along with Pearson.

Vancouver was on the playoff bubble and Brock Boeser sustained a rib injury in early February and wasn't expected back until the start of the playoffs (best case scenario). A week later they traded for Toffoli with the intention of him being a short term Boeser-replacement rather than necessarily a long term acquisition. But with the Covid shutdown pushing the playoffs back, Boeser had extra time to recuperate so at a high level the Toffoli trade might not have been necessary.

As others mentioned, the ugly contracts that Vancouver had limited what they could do with retaining their own free agents. Not only this year but also with Pettersson/Hughes up for new contracts this offseason.

Vancouver fans are probably overreacting with a Cup or nothing type mentality. Getting some playoff experience for their young guys has some inherent value in itself. Plus most wouldn't have predicted we would have had a playoff without fans. As much as we don't like to look at hockey as a business, a lot of teams don't turn profits without a few games of home playoff revenue. An owner would care more about that than a 2nd round pick. To this day some guys on the Devils board are still moaning about giving up a second tier prospect and a 2nd rounder to the Rangers for Michael Grabner as if those assets set back the rebuild.

Toffoli is off to a fast start but I feel fairly confident in saying that he won't maintain a 25% shooting percentage for the season. Not to say that it was a bad trade for the Kings by any means. It was a trade that made sense for both teams with different motivations.

 

[Lt Dan]

Vancouver was on the playoff bubble and Brock Boeser sustained a rib injury in early February and wasn't expected back until the start of the playoffs (best case scenario). A week later they traded for Toffoli with the intention of him being a short term Boeser-replacement rather than necessarily a long term acquisition. But with the Covid shutdown pushing the playoffs back, Boeser had extra time to recuperate so at a high level the Toffoli trade might not have been necessary.

As others mentioned, the ugly contracts that Vancouver had limited what they could do with retaining their own free agents. Not only this year but also with Pettersson/Hughes up for new contracts this offseason.

Vancouver fans are probably overreacting with a Cup or nothing type mentality. Getting some playoff experience for their young guys has some inherent value in itself. Plus most wouldn't have predicted we would have had a playoff without fans. As much as we don't like to look at hockey as a business, a lot of teams don't turn profits without a few games of home playoff revenue. An owner would care more about that than a 2nd round pick. To this day some guys on the Devils board are still moaning about giving up a second tier prospect and a 2nd rounder to the Rangers for Michael Grabner as if those assets set back the rebuild.

Toffoli is off to a fast start but I feel fairly confident in saying that he won't maintain a 25% shooting percentage for the season. Not to say that it was a bad trade for the Kings by any means. It was a trade that made sense for both teams with different motivations.

As usual , great post

We all know how streaky TT can be. But he hotter than Hansel ever was right now

 

[deeshamrock]

Again, it appears Canada is doing a much better job of containment.

 

[Stimpythecat]

I was half hoping to sign Toffoli just to see the Canuck fans' reaction.

2nd round pick, Madden, Schaller (as a fill in) for 10 games of Toffoli and only to see him return to the Kings.

 

[kilowatt]

I was half hoping to sign Toffoli just to see the Canuck fans' reaction.

2nd round pick, Madden, Schaller (as a fill in) for 10 games of Toffoli and only to see him return to the Kings.

As it is, it's essentially their Lucic trade. I feel for Vancouver fans, but Madden and Hoglander fill similar roles, so I guess it's not totally surprising that they moved him.

 

[Schmooley]

Glad to see Toffoli playing well. Forbort has looked good this year i think defensive dmen like him come into their game at an older age. When you see these guys also Pearson and Clifford playing a lot better than when they were on the Kings the last couple years it makes me question some things. Cant be coaching because theyve had 4 now with similar results. Wonder if its the laid back leadership or beach/country club leisure lifestyle. Would love to get some intensity on a nightly basis from the team.

 

[Jericho111091]

The main issue with Bort was that he likely shouldn't have been a regular on the top pairing, ideally he would've been a partner for Voynov (if Voynov hadn't been a POS)

 

[Herby]

The way that he looked towards the end of his time with the Kings it was just to big a risk to give him an extension.

Toffoli was a perfectly handled asset for the Kings, he exceeded expectations for a 2nd round pick (including a top 6 role on a cup winner) and he was moved at the deadline right before his contract expired for a young player with 2nd line upside.

Wish the same strategy had been used with Doughty.

 

[PumperNichol]

The way that he looked towards the end of his time with the Kings it was just to big a risk to give him an extension.

Toffoli was a perfectly handled asset for the Kings, he exceeded expectations for a 2nd round pick (including a top 6 role on a cup winner) and he was moved at the deadline right before his contract expired for a young player with 2nd line upside.

Wish the same strategy had been used with Doughty.

Kind of hard to compare a player who was drafted in the 2nd round and as you said " exceeded expectations" to a 2nd overall pick Norris winner. Very few didn't want Doughty re-signed. Obviously it's the amount and years that's going to hurt.

I think timing is what really killed us here. He was signed right after the team had a 98 point season and they hoped to be competitive for years to come. If he was up for a new contract once they committed to a rebuild...probably be a different story.

 

[Steve Zissou]