GDT: FA Frenzy time ladies and gents (for everyone else that is)

[AD Skinner]

I'm not super worried about kotkaniemi at center. He will almost certainly have some combination of svechnikov jarvis teravainen and/or pacioretty on his wings... he hustles, he's not awful on faceoffs or on defense, even if he's getting carried by his wingers he should be fine

 

[LakeLivin]

I don’t disagree I just think it’s standard off season maneuvering vs insightful genius. We have faith we’re going to replace guys. It’s not always about the AAV it’s about term as well obviously when you see when look at Trocheck’s term.

We took a huge chance on Koko. Rod has said it, he’s the Trocheck replacement. That was financially motivated no? Sign a guy for less and hope he exceeds what he’s been. For eight years. I agree that taking those chances are better than taking other chances but it’s all a roll of the dice and we’re trying to do things other teams don’t that lead to us to getting new players because we can’t or won’t compete the more standard ways. It’s good, it takes guts….but we make it out that we’re seeing things other teams are incapable of seeing.

I've read some of the more in depth interviews with Tulsky and I believe he is somewhat of a "genius". He espouses some higher level general principles that I bet are above most people and applies them to hockey. One is the ability to identify "market inefficiencies" and effectively use them to the team's advantage. If a bunch of teams were successfully doing that, they wouldn't be market inefficiencies.

The Borg won't always be right, but they recognize that it's impossible to do so (unless they can find a true clairvoyant to hire, lol) and don't let that stop them from making what many see as unconventional / risky moves as long as the net sum of their risky moves stand to be positive. They're not afraid to make a mistake.

 

[SlavinAway]

That's an interesting idea for a lineup. After Rod's latest comments about Koko stepping up though, I think at least to begin with, he's gonna be the 2c. If he's not that good after a while in that role, then I wouldn't rule out them flipping Koko and Staal.

I'm not certain about Kase and Fast flipping from where we've assumed they'd be. If Kase lives up to his potential and doesn't get injured, we're looking at a potential 20 goal scorer, and with good linemates, that's more likely. However, Fast had a great season overall, and him, Staal, and Nino were the only consistently good forward line in the playoffs for us.

I think arguing about 2C vs 3C for this team is just semantics. Their ice time is going to be similar; obviously Staal is going to take heavier defensive minutes than KK.

I remember a presser last year where I believe Sara Civ asked Rod a question about either the 2nd or 3rd line and he had to ask her which line she meant; he even followed up asking who she considered the 1st line ha.

 

[ndp]

So looking at the current roster:

Turbo - Aho - Necas
Patches - KK - Svech
Kase - Staal - Fast
Marty - Drury - Jarvis

That 4th line would be sneaky.

I've been trying to figure what the opening night lineup could look like and I can't figure it out. Other than I think they should go back to S-A-T and leave it the hell alone for the majority of the season.

I would imagine Rod is going to want two vets with KK, maybe Rod would play Necas there but I doubt it.

Patches on Staals wing seems like a waste of his offensive talent to me. I think if Staal ever breaks .65ppg again it will be a gdamn miracle. Probably not where you want your newly acquired ppg winger playing. I would be willing to bet that Staal's ATOI gets back up to 18 essentially making him the 2nd line center based on minutes. But maybe not?

When was the last time Kase played a whole season? Can Kase play his offside? I don't know much about him other than his reputation for getting his noggin scrambled.

I can't see Jarvis on the 4th, he's one of Rod's favorites, and Rods favorites are going to get minutes. Jarvis deserves to play further up the lineup than the 4th anyway.

I can't find a fit for Necas at all, he's not a 4th liner, playing him beside Staal takes away his biggest asset in his speed, I doubt Rod's going to play him over Jarvis, and he shouldn't play over Turbo.

I think the team is an improvement from last seasons roster, especially if Patches can stay healthy. I still think there's some round pegs where they've got square holes but that's just the nature of it. Jarvis and Svech should take another step, if they find a way to keep Necas around and he get's back to his 20/40 pace that right side is stacked. Burns is going to be just fine beside Slavin. I really like what they did this offseason, it feels a little more boom or bust than last season, which I like, and they haven't given up anything of real value to make it happen. Great work by the FO.

 

[Canes]

It doesn't matter who Staal's wingers are, he's still gonna get 2nd line minutes most of the season because Rod loves line matching.

 

[ndp]

I think arguing about 2C vs 3C for this team is just semantics. Their ice time is going to be similar; obviously Staal is going to take heavier defensive minutes than KK.

I remember a presser last year where I believe Sara Civ asked Rod a question about either the 2nd or 3rd line and he had to ask her which line she meant; he even followed up asking who she considered the 1st line ha.

I'm in the minority here but to me that's not a good thing. Staal isn't good enough offensively to be a #2C on a cup team, he's an elite #3. That #2 position needs to be able to produce at a .6+ppg pace, I don't think Staal has that in him anymore.

 

[spockBokk]

Doesn’t really sound like they want to move Bear:

 

[Svechhammer]

If I had to guess going into next year

Svechnikov - Aho - Teravainen
Pachoretty - Kotkaniemi - Jarvis
Kase / _____ - Staal - Fast
Martinook - Drury - Kase / ____ / Noesen

Slavin - Burns
Skjei - Pesce
Gardiner - Chatfield / Coghlan

Andersen
Raanta

Top 6 will be interchangeable. If we get Necas back, I think he probably slots into the 4th line until he proves himself with Kase playing alongside Staal and Fast. I do not see him cracking the top 6 until he shows with his play that he deserves it, not with the players we have already in the fold.

 

[LakeLivin]

In addition to Bear I believe that both Chatfield and Coghlan are subject to waivers. The general consensus here seems to be that all of them are probably capable of holding down a 3rd pair spot for the Canes. If that's the case for a team as deep defensively as the Canes (relative to much of the league), doesn't it seem likely that some team is going to scoop one of them up if he hits the waiver wire? Seems to me like the Canes will move at least one of them rather than lose him for nothing. My money is on Bear.

edit: I wonder if Bear is the Future Consideration going to Vegas once his contract / arbitration gets sorted out? They seem like they've got a RD slot open, and would still have gained considerable cap space from the Patches trade.

 

[CanesFanBudMan]

Doesn’t really sound like they want to move Bear:

That’s just one of the things they say. Bear is good as gone

 

[bleedgreen]

Doesn’t really sound like they want to move Bear:

That sounds like both sides may not be getting what they want and they’re making the most of it.

 

[Svechhammer]

In addition to Bear I believe that both Chatfield and Coghlan are subject to waivers. The general consensus here seems to be that all of them are probably capable of holding down a 3rd pair spot for the Canes. If that's the case for a team as deep defensively as the Canes (relative to much of the league), doesn't it seem likely that some team is going to scoop one of them up if he hits the waiver wire? Seems to me like the Canes will move at least one of them rather than lose him for nothing. My money is on Bear.

And, lets be honest for a second.... Chatfield and Coghlan are probably about as good and their combined salaries ($1,525,000) will probably be less than what Bear is looking to get on his own (his salary last year was $2m). It just makes sense to move on from him and wish him well.

 

[bleedgreen]

I'm in the minority here but to me that's not a good thing. Staal isn't good enough offensively to be a #2C on a cup team, he's an elite #3. That #2 position needs to be able to produce at a .6+ppg pace, I don't think Staal has that in him anymore.

I’d question that he ever was really that guy even when he was getting points. He’s an amazing third center, period. We definitely have second and third lines no matter the semantics. A defensive matchup line and an offensive line that plays as much as they can get them out there. Rod likes the defensive matchups so he plays the third a ton but that’s what they are. They’re the checking third line. There’s not much offensive expectation. Grind the other team. Worked amazing all season and then was pretty non existent in the playoffs. I don’t remember many shifts where the Staal/Fast/Nino line spent the whole shift grinding away in the post season, teams got away from them.

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

I've read some of the more in depth interviews with Tulsky and I believe he is somewhat of a "genius". He espouses some higher level general principles that I bet are above most people and applies them to hockey. One is the ability to identify "market inefficiencies" and effectively use them to the team's advantage. If a bunch of teams were successfully doing that, they wouldn't be market inefficiencies.

The Borg won't always be right, but they recognize that it's impossible to do so (unless they can find a true clairvoyant to hire, lol) and don't let that stop them from making what many see as unconventional / risky moves as long as the net sum stands to be positive. They're not afraid to make a mistake.

Wasn't Tulsky like a rocket scientist or something before coming to the Canes? Did a hockey blog in his spare time which led him here but yeah I think the dude is more than "somewhat" a genius. He's certified genius. Whether it ultimately works to bring us a Cup win(s) here in Carolina, we'll see, but the guy's definitely insanely smart.

 

[WreckingCrew]

Svech - Aho - Jarvis (offensive firepower)
Patches - KK - TT (Turbo sets up Patches while KK screens/crashes)
Necas - Staal - Fast (Staal/Fast handle defensive responsibilities/netfront while Necas dangles/dishes?)
MartyParty - Drury - Kase (who the **** know?, mishmash)

 

[Canes]

Wasn't Tulsky like a rocket scientist or something before coming to the Canes? Did a hockey blog in his spare time which led him here but yeah I think the dude is more than "somewhat" a genius. He's certified genius. Whether it ultimately works to bring us a Cup win(s) here in Carolina, we'll see, but the guy's definitely insanely smart.

He has a Ph.D. in chemistry from Cal-Berkeley

 

[Svechhammer]

He has a Ph.D. in chemistry from Cal-Berkeley

Pac 12 school? Laaaaaaame

 

[SlavinAway]

Svech - Aho - Jarvis (offensive firepower)
Patches - KK - TT (Turbo sets up Patches while KK screens/crashes)
Necas - Staal - Fast (Staal/Fast handle defensive responsibilities/netfront while Necas dangles/dishes?)
MartyParty - Drury - Kase (who the **** know?, mishmash)

I like this top 6 and your reasoning behind it.

Can't have Mismash on the 4th line; he plays for Tampa.

 

[Canes]

Pac 12 school? Laaaaaaame

Well he went to Harvard before that so he came to play school. Tripp Tracy was also at Harvard while he was there.

 

[raynman]

Well he went to Harvard before that so he came to play school. Tripp Tracy was also at Harvard while he was there.

Did they know each other? I’m guessing no

 

[Chrispy]

I’d question that he ever was really that guy even when he was getting points. He’s an amazing third center, period. We definitely have second and third lines no matter the semantics. A defensive matchup line and an offensive line that plays as much as they can get them out there. Rod likes the defensive matchups so he plays the third a ton but that’s what they are. They’re the checking third line. There’s not much offensive expectation. Grind the other team. Worked amazing all season and then was pretty non existent in the playoffs. I don’t remember many shifts where the Staal/Fast/Nino line spent the whole shift grinding away in the post season, teams got away from them.

Staal/Fast/Nino did a great job grinding Boston's top line in the Raleigh games in the first round. They did not do as well against the Rangers, but that line was a big reason the Canes advanced out of the first round.

Also, in terms of Kotkaniemi vs Trocheck: I don't think it was a money issue exactly. The numbers are pretty similar. But I do think it's a calculation of expected return over the life of the contract, and they saw that signing Kotkaniemi for years 22-29 made more sense than signing a 29 year old Trocheck to a long-term deal.

I think it mostly comes down to age. If they could get Trocheck on a 3-4 year deal I think the Borg would have liked that. That's not what Trocheck wanted, and I that makes perfect sense.

 

[ndp]

A quick Google and pretty sure Tulsky owns several patents related to the creation of and stabilization of nanoparticles. What ever the f that is.

 

[LakeLivin]

Wasn't Tulsky like a rocket scientist or something before coming to the Canes? Did a hockey blog in his spare time which led him here but yeah I think the dude is more than "somewhat" a genius. He's certified genius. Whether it ultimately works to bring us a Cup win(s) here in Carolina, we'll see, but the guy's definitely insanely smart.

I included the "somewhat" only because some may have different definitions of genius, lol. But, yeah, I'm with you. Bachelors in Chemistry & Physics from Harvard, PhD in Chemistry from Cal Berkeley. Party to at least 20 patents. Sample job summary: Nanoscience project leader for single molecule DNA sequencing program.

One of the most impressive things I got from the interviews I read was how he was able to take principles he recognized from his science experience and apply them to hockey / life in general.

 

[MinJaBen]

Doesn’t really sound like they want to move Bear:

To me, that quote doesn't elucidate the teams feelings on him staying or going, but more of "he's here so we are going to make the best of it for everyone."

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Prob won’t happen, but IF they REALLY trust Drury and they DO decide to pidgeon-hole Staal into a checking role:

Svechnikov-Aho-Jarvis
Pacioretty-Kotkaniemi-Necas
Teravainen-Drury-Kase
Martinook-Staal-Fast

You want Martinook playing a ton of ES minutes? Because we know Staal’s line is going to get those minutes whether we call it the 2nd , 3rd, or 4th/checking role line.