Salary Cap: Dr Dubas Cap Thread: He wants the Nurse

[eXile3]

I refuse to believe Nurse is our best option. Just watched Kesselring go to move 7 spots late in the 1st.

 

[Ugene Magic]

Plenty of people on here saw Wotherspoon’s underlying numbers and said “this guy could be legit if he maintains this in a top-4 role”. The most similar defenseman to him in FA this year is Blankenburg, but he’s a RD rather than a LD.

I don’t know why you think Kulak would want to come back after Dubas cast him aside after 20 games here.

Dubas gave him a chance to compete for a cup, so we should be pretty sure he'll take that every day. Unless the Avs re-sign him, ofcourse.

 

[Ulf5]

I know LeBrun claims Dubas isn't going to trade EK. But I'm thinking he could extract some value from Anaheim with Trouba and Carlsson going to market. And Gudas too.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I refuse to believe Nurse is our best option. Just watched Kesselring go to move 7 spots late in the 1st.

Kesselring isn't a LD.

Dubas gave him a chance to compete for a cup, so we should be pretty sure he'll take that every day. Unless the Avs re-sign him, ofcourse.

I think this is a bizarre argument for why Kulak would be okay with signing with Pittsburgh after Dubas shipped him off so quickly.

If Kulak is signing anywhere in UFA, it will be him looking for somewhere for him to settle for 3-4 years. He's not going to sign a contract with a team that traded him after 20 games the previous season.

 

[Ugene Magic]

I refuse to believe Nurse is our best option. Just watched Kesselring go to move 7 spots late in the 1st.

He shouldn't be anyone's best option.

It's stupidity trying to convince stupid that it's worth persuing.

Let another stupid GM take him on and bask in the glory it is not here.

 

[Ugene Magic]

I know LeBrun claims Dubas isn't going to trade EK. But I'm thinking he could extract some value from Anaheim with Trouba and Carlsson going to market. And Gudas too.

People are under the assumption he can. Which is really annoying. Karlsson has to "want" to leave.

Dubas has zero control here.

 

[Empoleon8771]

If the Penguins do go the Nurse trade route, I wouldn't mind them trying to bring in Blankenburg as his partner to recreate the Wotherspoon signing. He's the most similar guy to Wotherspoon in free agency this year:

He's never been a highly valued defenseman due to his size, he's only 5'9" and 180 lbs. Colorado traded a 5th for him as depth at the deadline last year and very sparingly played him. But with Nashville, he was a regular 18 minutes a night guy playing in a 2-way role and having success in that role. Especially because you kinda need that kind of partner to be playing with Nurse, I think signing Blankenburg to make that pair Nurse-Blankenburg would be a really smart decision if Dubas does go through with trading for Nurse.

That would make sense from an asset management POV as well, since you'd be getting Blankenburg for free (on what I'd bet is a pretty cheap UFA contract) and you'd be getting assets for taking on Nurse. Another interesting hypothetical is that you won't need to dump Graves in a Nurse deal, but can rather dump Graves in a Pettersson deal. Most NHL insiders seem to think that Pettersson is borderline immovable with his contract:

 

[Ulf5]

People are under the assumption he can. Which is really annoying. Karlsson has to "want" to leave.

Dubas has zero control here.

Obviously. And no one knows EK's thoughts. Especially after this season's abysmal playoff showing.

 

[Ugene Magic]

Obviously. And no one knows EK's thoughts. Especially after this season's abysmal playoff showing.

So, you are just wishing... Because, Karlsson has stated he likes it here, and would deal with anything should they "try" to trade him. It's more likely he gets re-signed. They have no one in the waiting/ready to take over the #1 D-man slot.

 

[wej20]

So, you are just wishing... Because, Karlsson has stated he likes it here, and would deal with anything should they "try" to trade him. It's more likely he gets re-signed. They have no one in the waiting/ready to take over the #1 D-man slot.

Unfortunately the d prospects currently look like Brunicke and a bunch of lottery tickets.

 

[pistolpete11]

When it comes to Nurse, I get both sides of the argument. Personally, I think there is some potential for him to rebound in a different situation, but even if they get him for good value, they need to consider the construction of the defense. Girard was a good value trade, but it threw off the balance of the defense IMO. I'd rather not do that again. So IF they trade for Nurse, it better come with some more corresponding moves.

EP40, again, I get both sides of the argument, but he's a perfect fit for what they need in 2026. His age, contract, cost to acquire, etc., I get, but he's a scoring line 2C. Maybe it's not the best move they could make, but it makes sense.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I think the situation with the defense going forward is that you should try to re-sign them if it's a deal that makes sense to the team to keep them around, otherwise you should trade them. I think this applies to Shea this off-season and Wotherspoon and EK next off-season. A short term, high AAV deal is totally fine with me, but if they want term, let them go elsewhere.

I think you can probably get EK to a 2 or 3 year deal and it makes sense, but I figure Wotherspoon is getting a bag next off-season and he's gone. Shea probably gets 4-5 years in UFA this year too with how bad the LD market is.

When it comes to Nurse, I get both sides of the argument. Personally, I think there is some potential for him to rebound in a different situation, but even if they get him for good value, they need to consider the construction of the defense. Girard was a good value trade, but it threw off the balance of the defense IMO. I'd rather not do that again. So IF they trade for Nurse, it better come with some more corresponding moves.

EP40, again, I get both sides of the argument, but he's a perfect fit for what they need in 2026. His age, contract, cost to acquire, etc., I get, but he's a scoring line 2C. Maybe it's not the best move they could make, but it makes sense.

If you add Nurse, I think the ideal defense is something like:

Wotherspoon-Karlsson
Nurse-XXXXXX
XXXXXX-Letang

Where you trade Girard and look to bring in 2 more DFD types to play with Nurse and Letang. For Nurse, I mentioned Blankenburg as a UFA that makes a lot of sense as this year's Wotherspoon type of addition. There are a few trade options too, Kesselring made a ton of sense but Korczak could be another option. With Letang, the options are far more limited and your best bet may just be running with Pickering or Solovyov in the role.

 

[Ulf5]

So, you are just wishing... Because, Karlsson has stated he likes it here, and would deal with anything should they "try" to trade him. It's more likely he gets re-signed. They have no one in the waiting/ready to take over the #1 D-man slot.

EK has never said he'd reject a trade. Only said he'd deal with any proposals presented to him.

 

[wej20]

I'm pro moving Girard though he did have a few games where he was good. I can't see Dubas giving up on him yet.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

Not a fan of Nick Blankenburg at all.

 

[Empoleon8771]

If they're trading for Nurse and don't care about the money aspect of adding Nurse (so they don't need to include Graves in a deal), I think the ideal way to go about that is:

-Trade Brazeau for Nurse+, with trying to get as many futures on top of Nurse as possible and using Brazeau as extra incentive to drive up the cost
-Take advantage of the shitty LD market to sell Girard for picks
-Either sign Blankenburg or trade for Korczak to pair with Nurse
-Either go with Pickering or Solovyov or trade for another young LD (such as Del Mastro from Chicago or Seabrango from Florida) to pair with Letang on the 3rd pair

Not a fan of Nick Blankenburg at all.

Why not? I did a bit of reading on him from Reddit and it seemed like a lot of people really liked him. His size is really his only issue from what I can tell.

 

[chethejet]

No to Nurse. Just to much cap hit for a over rated player. Karlsson to the sharks for the 20th pick makes the most sense. Pens can add a RW and center in the draft. Still have a need at LD but Dubas can make moves here with Rust to get a young RW and go from there.

 

[Lust for Life]

I think we should strive to be the most unlikeable team ever built. Get Trouba and Gudas. Draft f***ers with stupid names like Rutger.

 

[Duffy13]

If you are a free agent or a player with any type of control over where you can go.... And your team came and said we want to trade you to Pittsburgh so you can pair with either Nurse or Letang, why would you commit career suicide?

 

[pistolpete11]

If you add Nurse, I think the ideal defense is something like:

Wotherspoon-Karlsson
Nurse-XXXXXX
XXXXXX-Letang

Where you trade Girard and look to bring in 2 more DFD types to play with Nurse and Letang. For Nurse, I mentioned Blankenburg as a UFA that makes a lot of sense as this year's Wotherspoon type of addition. There are a few trade options too, Kesselring made a ton of sense but Korczak could be another option. With Letang, the options are far more limited and your best bet may just be running with Pickering or Solovyov in the role.

It's not a bad suggestion and I don't have any suggestions of my own on what I'd do with or without Nurse.

My main concern with that D corps is that it is 3 guys that kinda need very specific partners. Does not give them much flexibility in case of injury and/or under performance.

 

[eXile3]

If they're trading for Nurse and don't care about the money aspect of adding Nurse (so they don't need to include Graves in a deal), I think the ideal way to go about that is:

-Trade Brazeau for Nurse+, with trying to get as many futures on top of Nurse as possible and using Brazeau as extra incentive to drive up the cost
-Take advantage of the shitty LD market to sell Girard for picks
-Either sign Blankenburg or trade for Korczak to pair with Nurse
-Either go with Pickering or Solovyov or trade for another young LD (such as Del Mastro from Chicago or Seabrango from Florida) to pair with Letang on the 3rd pair



Why not? I did a bit of reading on him from Reddit and it seemed like a lot of people really liked him. His size is really his only issue from what I can tell.

I don’t think he’ll be the Wotherspoon. I think he’s going to get a decent amount of money and term.

 

[Ugene Magic]

EK has never said he'd reject a trade. Only said he'd deal with any proposals presented to him.

That wasn't the tone he used when he said it, he was quite annoyed when asked it.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I think we should strive to be the most unlikeable team ever built. Get Trouba and Gudas. Draft f***ers with stupid names like Rutger.

Maddox Dagenais, get ready to learn yinzer

I don’t think he’ll be the Wotherspoon. I think he’s going to get a decent amount of money and term.

Honestly I can't see this with Blankenburg based on what he went for as a rental. He went to Colorado for a 2027 5th last year, that doesn't make me think he's a guy that's super highly valued around the league. Especially with RD being a good bit deeper in free agency than LD this year, I think he's the best bet to be able to grab on a 2 year, $1.5 million AAV or so deal to get a chance in a top-4 role. He'll get undervalued due to his size IMO.

It's not a bad suggestion and I don't have any suggestions of my own on what I'd do with or without Nurse.

My main concern with that D corps is that it is 3 guys that kinda need very specific partners. Does not give them much flexibility in case of injury and/or under performance.

I agree with this, but I'd also throw out it's kinda the same case if you don't add Nurse either. With Karlsson, Letang and Brunicke on RD, I don't think it's that much of a different situation.

Realistically they just need Letang to retire and Brunicke to develop well for things to really change with that.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

Why not? I did a bit of reading on him from Reddit and it seemed like a lot of people really liked him. His size is really his only issue from what I can tell.

Oh well if the people on reddit say it's a good idea...

I don't want to keep going down that well. This is not Chinakhov or Soderblom, who were underperforming players still young enough to pop in the right situation. Yeah, we hit a home run with Wotherspoon. That should not be the standard going forward.

Can we develop our own defensemen, please? Yeah, we might not have two guys ready to play right away next season, but maybe we do? Maybe the Calder Cup run was good for those guys. Also, he is another tiny defenseman and we have not moved Girard yet. What are we doing?

 

[Empoleon8771]

Oh well if the people on reddit say it's a good idea...

I don't want to keep going down that well. This is not Chinakhov or Soderblom, who were underperforming players still young enough to pop in the right situation. Yeah, we hit a home run with Wotherspoon. That should not be the standard going forward.

Can we develop our own defensemen, please? Yeah, we might not have two guys ready to play right away next season, but maybe we do? Maybe the Calder Cup run was good for those guys. Also, he is another tiny defenseman and we have not moved Girard yet. What are we doing?

You didn't answer what you dislike about Blankenburg's game whatsoever.

If you don't want to sign Blankenburg because you want young guys like Brunicke to play...well have fun with Brunicke playing with Nurse.