Centre Options for Vegas in Expansion Draft

[AslanRH]

Carl Soderberg is your answer.

 

[HoweHullOrr]

not the sexiest pick but I would think Bozak would be a target. Good 2-way center that is excellent on face offs.

Unless they trade for one or draft one, center is going to be a tough position for LV. They may have to settle for a veteran for their top guy if they want to be somewhat competitive immediately.

Minnesota and Columbus are in trouble with the expansion draft. Eric Staal and Wennberg may be two available options if moves aren't made.

Lehtera, Soderberg, Sheahan, and Granlund may be wild card options for a middle 6 center if exposed. Also depending on the teams, Killorn (who's more of a wing) and Deharnais could be left out.

Good points. Thanks.

 

[edguy]

After I did a mock expansion draft I got these centermen: Soderberg/Dano/Pirri/Laughton/Bouma

 

[Sheriff Bert]

You have 7 forwards. Hartnell, Clarkson, Dubi, and Foligno need to be protected unless Clarkson is still on LTIR. That leaves three spaces.

Saad and Atkinson are locks, and Wennberg may take the final space. Then you're exposing Jenner and Karlsson. So either lose one of those two, lose a quality defender, or make a move prior to get something in return.

I said Wennberg "may" be available depending on what the decision is. Torts may favor a heavier player like Jenner going forward if he can rebound from his slump.

 

[kittiecarlyle]

After I did a mock expansion draft I got these centermen: Soderberg/Dano/Pirri/Laughton/Bouma

Dano is a winger. The Jets will have a C available though, as of right now either Matthieu Perreault or Adam Lowry won't be protected.

I would protect Armia, Lowry and Dano over MP. Perreault offers versatility as he can play both C and W and has extensive PP time.

 

[Viqsi]

You have 7 forwards. Hartnell, Clarkson, Dubi, and Foligno need to be protected unless Clarkson is still on LTIR. That leaves three spaces.

Saad and Atkinson are locks, and Wennberg may take the final space. Then you're exposing Jenner and Karlsson. So either lose one of those two, lose a quality defender, or make a move prior to get something in return.

I said Wennberg "may" be available depending on what the decision is. Torts may favor a heavier player like Jenner going forward if he can rebound from his slump.

I wasn't accusing you with that post (I was more annoyed with the article writers, as they've tried to reiterate that insanity a few times before), but I sure as hell am doing so now. Wennberg is the team's #1C, and is performing like it. There was never any chance of him getting exposed to begin with, and it's even more absurd now that Wennberg is doing better than Johansen ever did in union blue. Tortorella has spoken very highly of him, too, so that excuse isn't going to help you.

And trying to lean on the Clarkson thing is the height of insanity. He's not going to be allowed to take a protection slot. He stays on LTIR, or he waives, or he's bought out. No other outcome allowed. At absolute worst, buying him out is sure as hell worth the chance to not give your two-way almost-point-per-game #1C.

Trying to claim that there's an actual debatable decision between Wennberg and Jenner right now is akin to suggesting that there's an actual debatable decision between Dylan Larkin and Riley Sheahan.

 

[JetsHomer]

Dano is a winger. The Jets will have a C available though, as of right now either Matthieu Perreault or Adam Lowry won't be protected.

I would protect Armia, Lowry and Dano over MP. Perreault offers versatility as he can play both C and W and has extensive PP time.

I'd take Perreault over any of those other guys very easily

 

[Kshahdoo]

There are some good centers in the KHL...

 

[Curufinwe]

Doubt it, Because if Holland were to leave Zetterberg unprotected. And Vegas took a shot on him. He would be a cap recapture penalty for the Wings if he were to retire early and that more then likely would happen if he goes to Vegas.

I wouldn't rule it out after the Weber trade. Nashville went ahead with that despite facing possibly ruinous cap recapture penalties.

 

[tjs*]

Given the Lightning's cap situation it's difficult to believe that they'll have both Filppula and Callahan on their protected list at the time of the expansion draft (which would almost certainly be required for Namestnikov and Killorn to both be available as the article expects.) They are most likely looking at having to lose two of Filppula/Callahan/Killorn/Palat/Johnson/Drouin just to get under the cap; waiting until after the draft to do so could lead to a worst case scenario where Vegas takes Namestnikov (which hurts Tampa's depth without helping them capwise) and then Tampa still has to trade/buy out two additional forwards for cap reasons.

The smarter move would be to trade/buy out at least one of Filppula and Callahan before the draft - this would then allow them to protect whichever of Namestnikov and Killorn they don't intend to lose and force Vegas to take the one left over. If Killorn is the chosen sacrifice to the cap gods protecting Namestnikov in this fashion would make Killer the only attractive forward option available, and if Yzerman thinks he can somehow fit his entire top six under the cap then he'll want to protect Killorn and let Namestnikov (who is ultimately expendable if the top six stays) be taken.

Another possibility is that Filppula waives his protection with the expectation that Vegas would be unlikely to select him anyway (not sure why he'd do this though unless Yzerman plans to keep him for some reason.) And yet another is that Filppula is traded AND Callahan bought out before the draft, which would keep Tampa's top six intact and potentially (if both Killorn and Namestnikov are protected) leave Vegas with slim pickings at forward. That could however have the unfortunate effect of causing them to take a defenseman - Yzerman would almost certainly prefer to give up Namestnikov than hurt his defensive depth even further and might even choose to protect somebody like Brown in this scenario just to leave Vladdy as expansion bait in the hopes that his blue line will be left alone.

 

[Figgy44]

After I did a mock expansion draft I got these centermen: Soderberg/Dano/Pirri/Laughton/Bouma

I'd be very happy if that was the forward Vegas took from the Flames, but honestly, Stajan would probably be a more utile player than Bouma for an expansion Vegas team. I really like Bouma. But it sucks for him that he's have trouble getting into a groove due to injuries.

Furthermore, Bouma is more LW than a C. Stajan is a legit C and can also play decent wing on both sides.

 

[Warden of the North]

not the sexiest pick but I would think Bozak would be a target. Good 2-way center that is excellent on face offs.

He'll be protected or traded. Hes worth too much to give away for free

 

[uncleben]

He'll be protected or traded. Hes worth too much to give away for free

Yeah, not really sure why people think Bozak will be exposed.
It's not because of exposure minimums.

Smith, Rychel, and Leivo will likely be exposed before Bozak, and Holland too if he's still around.

 

[McSuper]

Interesting idea. AAV 7.3mil is 1st/2nd/3rd.

I dont think EDM can match anything over 6, since McD's next contract will be 10+

and ?

Contracts coming off the books this year

Ference 3.25
Russell 3.1
Hendricks 1.8
Gustavsson .800
Gryba .950

Total 9.9 million

Next season

Fayne 3.625
Letestu 1.8
Maroon 1.5

Total 6.925 million


Pouliot will probably be moved 4 .0

Then we have just shy of 4 million in space right now

Lets assume Draistail gets 6 million . That is a 5.025 raise Hendricks and Ference takes care of that


If McDavid gets 10 million that 9.025 raise we have the almost 7 million coming off the books next year then the 3.792.00 of cap space this year ,that is close to 20 million over the next 2 season . We will still have about 6 million for a Back up goalie and a few guys from the AHL pushing their way onto the team . Nurse will probably get a Klefbom type of deal if he is still developing well . There cap space to go higher on Draisaitl . Then we can also trade RNH for a cheaper 3rd line C . Eberle could be traded as well once Puljujari is ready

 

[kittiecarlyle]

I'd take Perreault over any of those other guys very easily

Why?

He has value obviously but is substantially older, has a penchant for missing time, has a much bigger contract and scored 9 goals last year, 3 non PP ones. 3 points in 14 games this year, the trend isn't positive.

I'm sure if a group of Winnipeg fans made their choices it would not be unanimous that MP would be protected.

I could certainly see a move or two being made before the expansion draft.

 

[pheasant]

Why is "Canadian" in bold when talking about Athanasiou? That seems really odd. I mean, no other nationalities are even mentioned, let alone bolded. One city name, and one executive's name are bolded in the article, so it appears someone just likes hitting Ctrl+B at random, since these aren't links or anything.

But that reads very strangely with "Canadian" in bold.

 

[JetsHomer]

Why?

He has value obviously but is substantially older, has a penchant for missing time, has a much bigger contract and scored 9 goals last year, 3 non PP ones. 3 points in 14 games this year, the trend isn't positive.

I'm sure if a group of Winnipeg fans made their choices it would not be unanimous that MP would be protected.

I could certainly see a move or two being made before the expansion draft.

I like how you bring up Perreault's goal numbers from last season but completely ignore that he had more assists by himself than Lowry/Armia and Dano had combined points.

I'd protect Perreault over any of them because Perreault is a much better hockey player than any of them

 

[kittiecarlyle]

I like how you bring up Perreault's goal numbers from last season but completely ignore that he had more assists by himself than Lowry/Armia and Dano had combined points.

I'd protect Perreault over any of them because Perreault is a much better hockey player than any of them

I brought them up because they were actual numbers. No matter what else he had 3 non PP goals, with lots of ice time, when he wasn't missing time.

Yes he had more assists than those 3 players combined but again he is much more advanced in age and his career, you could go back to when he was 20, 21 and 22 and use his points from a similar age if you wanted to compare in a more accurate way.

It's about what's ahead not what it was a year ago, at least that is what I would do and presume what Jet's management will also do. Perreault has value, he is a good player, versatile and can be quite good on the forecheck but he isn't a player you automatically protect as I see it.

Small sample size but Perreault definitely wasn't a "much better hockey player" than any of them this season. Armia was clearly better and while it isn't a given he arguably has a better future, as do the other two imo.

See where they are in 4 to 6 years, then add in the time missed and salary/cap and you have decisions to make. One could make Perreault the decision but that is not a clear cut one and likely means Winnipeg will make a move or two prior to the waiver draft.

Vegas will get a quality player from Winnipeg regardless.

 

[Skobel24]

Best center option off the Flames will likely be Stajan. Can't see them claiming him.

 

[Skobel24]

After I did a mock expansion draft I got these centermen: Soderberg/Dano/Pirri/Laughton/Bouma

Bouma isn't a C.

 

[Figgy44]

Bouma isn't a C.

Bouma is a C and we have used him as such on the 4th line. But he is definitely more effective to a team if he is converted to a LW than retained as a C.

But stop telling people that. We want them to claim Bouma over Stajan. I love Bouma when he's playing his game, but his game is so reckless that he's often injured and unable to effectively play his game as a result.

 

[SirPaste]

Has anyone mentioned how great of a pick Jori Lehtera would be?

 

[Skobel24]

Bouma is a C and we have used him as such on the 4th line. But he is definitely more effective to a team if he is converted to a LW than retained as a C.

But stop telling people that. We want them to claim Bouma over Stajan. I love Bouma when he's playing his game, but his game is so reckless that he's often injured and unable to effectively play his game as a result.

He may be listed as a C, but that doesn't make him a C. He's a winger at this point in his career. Same way Tanguay and Cammalleri weren't C's, despite being listed as one.

 

[Skiffer55]

...
Not a very good article at all IMO, how can you accurately assess Vegas' potential center options and only mention a handful teams? Maybe you should've waited to publish this until you did more research.

Lol haven't you heard of Last Word before? This is probably the highlight of their work.

 

[Figgy44]

He may be listed as a C, but that doesn't make him a C. He's a winger at this point in his career. Same way Tanguay and Cammalleri weren't C's, despite being listed as one.

Can we agree on being on the same page but different paragraphs? I think we both agree Bouma isn't good as a C and would be better suited on the wings.