Proposal: Free agency edition Trade Rumours/Proposals [MOD - Stay on Topic] 5

UglyPuckling

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May 14, 2021
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We have a head coach that was run out of town by the fans of all the teams he's coached in the NHL.

Two of our core players have been chronically injured over the past few years.

To date, the younger core players have not necessarily shown the required focus on two-way play that will also be required to improve our overall competitiveness. Meanwhile, Giroux has been admirably battling Father Time to date, but how long does he keep that up?

We have no idea what Perron, Amadio and Gregor can bring to the table now that the games will matter.

We have no idea if Jensen was deemed expendable by the Capitals because his abilities have fallen below a certain threshold due to age.

We don't know how many games Ulmark can actually start and be effective as a #1 goalie.

Question marks abound with this team.

I'm excited to see what this team can do - the off-seasons have been long for us over the past few years.

But I don't think it's going to be an instant transformation, and with the amount of scrutiny on the early season in Ottawa, it could turn very ugly very quickly around here.
The bolded text is something that I’ve thought about a few times. How many games do we think Ullmark can start? What’s the upper limit?

How many games will Forsberg (or whomever) start?
 

Hale The Villain

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We're going to score plenty this year. My question marks are on defense and in goal.

Defense should be solid when healthy. Only question mark when everyone is playing is who will be the 3rd pairing RD, but if that pairing has it's minutes managed JBD/Hamonic should be able to survive in that role with minimal impact.

My concern is what the backup plan is if we experience a single injury to one of our key D. There's zero good LD besides Sanderson, Chabot and Kleven. Roos is terrible and Davies/Sebrango just aren't NHL quality guys. On the right side an injury to Zub or Jensen means JBD/Hamonic on the 2nd pairing, which isn't exactly ideal. Guenette should be able to fill in reasonable well if JBD/Hamonic get injured, but I really wish Staios had added better depth on D in case the injury bug hits.

Goaltending overall should be significantly improved with Ullmark playing 50-60 games, but the other 20-30 games where presumably Forsberg/Sogaard/Merilainen will play worries me, as Forsberg looked as terrible in pre-season as he did last year, and Sogaard has never been able to stop a beach ball when facing NHL shooters. Not sure what to make of Merilainen yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if he became the backup at some point due to lack of alternatives.

Good news for us is that the other teams that will be fighting for wildcard spots have question marks as well, and arguably bigger ones than we do.
 
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BonHoonLayneCornell

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Oct 16, 2006
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I think Ullmark will at least allow them to settle in as the biggest key. It's not just about him stealing the show, but rather, giving them a foundation they can actually build off of. I don't expect an elite team, but a team that actually has the chance to find its footing now. I think some things will fall in to place and not look nearly as bad as they have.
 

GCK

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Oct 15, 2018
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We have a head coach that was run out of town by the fans of all the teams he's coached in the NHL.

Two of our core players have been chronically injured over the past few years.

To date, the younger core players have not necessarily shown the required focus on two-way play that will also be required to improve our overall competitiveness. Meanwhile, Giroux has been admirably battling Father Time to date, but how long does he keep that up?

We have no idea what Perron, Amadio and Gregor can bring to the table now that the games will matter.

We have no idea if Jensen was deemed expendable by the Capitals because his abilities have fallen below a certain threshold due to age.

We don't know how many games Ulmark can actually start and be effective as a #1 goalie.

Question marks abound with this team.

I'm excited to see what this team can do - the off-seasons have been long for us over the past few years.

But I don't think it's going to be an instant transformation, and with the amount of scrutiny on the early season in Ottawa, it could turn very ugly very quickly around here.
Question marks about every team. This is the best roster we’ve for over a decade. Kick back and enjoy. Professional org now.

We're going to score plenty this year. My question marks are on defense and in goal.

Defense should be solid when healthy. Only question mark when everyone is playing is who will be the 3rd pairing RD, but if that pairing has it's minutes managed JBD/Hamonic should be able to survive in that role with minimal impact.

My concern is what the backup plan is if we experience a single injury to one of our key D. There's zero good LD besides Sanderson, Chabot and Kleven. Roos is terrible and Davies/Sebrango just aren't NHL quality guys. On the right side an injury to Zub or Jensen means JBD/Hamonic on the 2nd pairing, which isn't exactly ideal. Guenette should be able to fill in reasonable well if JBD/Hamonic get injured, but I really wish Staios had added better depth on D in case the injury bug hits.

Goaltending overall should be significantly improved with Ullmark playing 50-60 games, but the other 20-30 games where presumably Forsberg/Sogaard/Merilainen will play worries me, as Forsberg looked as terrible in pre-season as he did last year, and Sogaard has never been able to stop a beach ball when facing NHL shooters. Not sure what to make of Merilainen yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if he became the backup at some point due to lack of alternatives.

Good news for us is that the other teams that will be fighting for wildcard spots have question marks as well, and arguably bigger ones than we do.
I think we have enough depth to survive normal injuries, it’s the 4-6 month injuries which would force a move on the back end.
 

Dan Patrick

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Mar 11, 2020
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We have a head coach that was run out of town by the fans of all the teams he's coached in the NHL.

Two of our core players have been chronically injured over the past few years.

To date, the younger core players have not necessarily shown the required focus on two-way play that will also be required to improve our overall competitiveness. Meanwhile, Giroux has been admirably battling Father Time to date, but how long does he keep that up?

We have no idea what Perron, Amadio and Gregor can bring to the table now that the games will matter.

We have no idea if Jensen was deemed expendable by the Capitals because his abilities have fallen below a certain threshold due to age.

We don't know how many games Ulmark can actually start and be effective as a #1 goalie.

Question marks abound with this team.

I'm excited to see what this team can do - the off-seasons have been long for us over the past few years.

But I don't think it's going to be an instant transformation, and with the amount of scrutiny on the early season in Ottawa, it could turn very ugly very quickly around here.

 

TheNewEra

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Jul 10, 2013
8,138
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a number 6 dman isnt supposed to play a lot but hamonic somehow played 16:44 tonight and did so poorly, if JBD looks like garbage too then we need to cut the minutes or get literally anyone else
 
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StutzlingAway

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Feb 28, 2017
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a number 6 dman isnt supposed to play a lot but hamonic somehow played 16:44 tonight and did so poorly, if JBD looks like garbage too then we need to cut the minutes or get literally anyone else
I missed most of the game but I was listening on the radio late and I heard they had a near three minute shift of being hemmed in. There must have been a few other shifts of being hemmed in leading to that TOI ? I'm not sure however.
 
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TheNewEra

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Jul 10, 2013
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I missed most of the game but I was listening on the radio late and I heard they had a near three minute shift of being hemmed in. There must have been a few other shifts of being hemmed in leading to that TOI ? I'm not sure however.
he had 2 or 3 shifts that were over 2 minutes in the third. If the minutes arent 'planned' but he cant get off the ice then thats more damaging
 
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StutzlingAway

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Feb 28, 2017
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he had 2 or 3 shifts that were over 2 minutes in the third. If the minutes arent 'planned' but he cant get off the ice then thats more damaging
Yup, sounds like he is not capable of playing in that role.. everyone in the media was saying how much quicker and healthier he looks. Was he not able to win pick battles and get the puck out?
 

TheNewEra

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Jul 10, 2013
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Yup, sounds like he is not capable of playing in that role.. everyone in the media was saying how much quicker and healthier he looks. Was he not able to win pick battles and get the puck out?
one of those two shifts he had an easy way to get the puck out of the zone and then played it straight to a panther. To be somewhat objective, i didnt notice him in the first period which is a good thing but we cannot afford that level of garbage against good teams, its going to burn us
 
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StutzlingAway

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Feb 28, 2017
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Like someone said, all rosters tend to have holes and something to complain about. It's just the reality of a hard cap. With how quickly in short order the new regime has made changes, we can't be anything but happy with the direction we're headed in not just now, but in the long term as well. In one year the changes in so many aspects of the organization have been visible and refreshing. We can't forget that we're also handicapped in our prospect cupboards and have slight cap difficulties that will need to be navigated.
 

BondraTime

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Nov 20, 2005
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I missed most of the game but I was listening on the radio late and I heard they had a near three minute shift of being hemmed in. There must have been a few other shifts of being hemmed in leading to that TOI ? I'm not sure however.
Yeah the minutes were divided in a way like that because of some very poor shifts and getting stuck by Hamonic and co.

Probably an extra 1.5/2 mins for the bottom pair and 1.5/2 mins less for the 2nd compared to what will be normal.

Sanderson is the clear cut guy, his minutes should be 25 every game in all situations.
 
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LiseL

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Chris Driedger is on waivers. He might be someone worth looking at if we aren't comfortable with Forsberg. Florida is deep in net. They might be hoping to sneak him through waivers now to give them some flexibility.
Forsberg and Ullmark are friends. I don't see management getting rid of Forsey unless he shits the bed numerous times, then everyone on the team would understand why.
 

LiseL

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I hope we (fan base) start looking at the here and now and the future more now versus spending so much time talking about Dorion & Korpisalo. We seem to have turned the corner on most everything i.e., new owner, GM, management, players, etc. Sometimes I think the Around the NHL thread needs to be renamed to “Korpisalo”.
"And Brannstrom".
 
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LiseL

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Yup, sounds like he is not capable of playing in that role.. everyone in the media was saying how much quicker and healthier he looks. Was he not able to win pick battles and get the puck out?
He got hemmed in a couple of times. Once during a Panthers change, he passed it to Kleven behind our net. Instead of Kleven getting it out to one of our forwards, he passed it back to Hammer and got off the ice. At this point, Sens were making a change. By that time, the fresh Panther line-up was in the zone on the attack. Also, he wasn't the only player on the ice. A few times, a forward would send the puck to the neutral zone pretty much on a Panthers stick, back in they came. Other times, they iced the puck so still stuck in their zone. But, in spite of these mistakes, they didn't get scored on. They were blocking the center of the zone so all of the Panthers shots were on the perimeter. They weathered the storm (no pun intended). Some of those mistakes will get cleaned up with time and practice.

Also, let's not judge too harshly when the game was against the Champs who are a forechecking machine. Also, many of the core are still learning how to play as a unit. I expect the Montreal game to be a better example of how they will play in their zone.
 

LiseL

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Yeah the minutes were divided in a way like that because of some very poor shifts and getting stuck by Hamonic and co.

Probably an extra 1.5/2 mins for the bottom pair and 1.5/2 mins less for the 2nd compared to what will be normal.

Sanderson is the clear cut guy, his minutes should be 25 every game in all situations.
I agree. Sandy's minutes will always be the highest because he's on the 1st pair + time on PP1 and the PK. I think he's the only D that does all 3.
 
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