GDT: Free agency madness, brought to you by the letter G - PART 2

[JimmySpaetzle]

Pretty clear we wait on the Formenton situation before make move

I mean I’m sure there’d be some clause in said contract that it would be void if he was found guilty of anything, that’s not hard to do

EDIT: oh I guess you mean for a trade, not re-signing him

 

[Sweatred]

I mean I’m sure there’d be some clause in said contract that it would be void if he was found guilty of anything, that’s not hard to do

EDIT: oh I guess you mean for a trade, not re-signing him

Re: clause … does he sign a contract with that clause assuming he knows he was “heavily involved” ?

 

[R2010]

Trading Chabot would suck, a lot, but if they grab Chycrun, it would make sense in another year or two

Would move a high priced winger first for sure, and the only guy that fits that bill is Debrincat

'Make sense' is doing a lot of work in this sentence. Chychrun at the end of his contract will get a Chabot like contract except he's a much worse player. I don't think this team can be a playoff team without a Chabot caliber defenceman replacing him. Chychrun is not that & it isn't particularly close imo.

 

[Wondercarrot]

We could trade for Chychrun, and then trade him out in the last year and recoup quite a bit I’m sure if we didn’t think we had the space to re-sign him.

These guys are still amazing assets if we need to create space. (Chychrun, Zub, DeBrincat etc)
I’d love to keep them but if not we can certainly restock the cupboard while staying competitive.

 

[Tap on the Ankle]

Forsberg establishing himself as a legit starter option this year is so important for navigating the cap crunch. It would allow the team to roll with him and one of the AHL boys in 2023-24, clearing 2.5m cap space by replacing Talbot’s contract with an ELC or similar salaried contract. If Forsberg falters then they’re stuck having to pay him 2.7 while finding another solution.

 

[Answer]

We could trade for Chychrun, and then trade him out in the last year and recoup quite a bit I’m sure if we didn’t think we had the space to re-sign him.

These guys are still amazing assets if we need to create space. (Chychrun, Zub, DeBrincat etc)
I’d love to keep them but if not we can certainly restock the cupboard while staying competitive.

I think Chychrun trade is not going to happen. We are going in with the defense we have. Maybe add in a Hamonic type piece come trade deadline

Who cares about defense is the tune the Sens organization likes since past 10 years

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

Forsberg establishing himself as a legit starter option this year is so important for navigating the cap crunch. It would allow the team to roll with him and one of the AHL boys in 2023-24, clearing 2.5m cap space by replacing Talbot’s contract with an ELC or similar salaried contract. If Forsberg falters then they’re stuck having to pay him 2.7 while finding another solution.

I've wondered about the scenario that Talbot could end up the clear starter this year and what that could mean for the team going forward. Would they try to move Forsberg? Still let Talbot walk? Tough decisions if that transpires. Would be ideal if Forsberg runs with it and proves to be the better goalie this year.

 

[Silencio]

Wonder if this has any effect on speeding up a Chychrun trade.

 

[DaveMatthew]

I've wondered about the scenario that Talbot could end up the clear starter this year and what that could mean for the team going forward. Would they try to move Forsberg? Still let Talbot walk? Tough decisions if that transpires. Would be ideal if Forsberg runs with it and proves to be the better goalie this year.

Sogaard is only 21, so best case scenario is that Talbot plays well enough to sign another 2 year contract after this year and him/Forsberg are the tandem for the next 3 seasons until Sogaard is 24.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

Sogaard is only 21, so best case scenario is that Talbot plays well enough to sign another 2 year contract after this year and him/Forsberg are the tandem for the next 3 seasons until Sogaard is 24.

That was my assumption when we first got him, but with this team still being on a budget and potentially even having cap concerns, I could see them just going with it for the one season only. Conundrum under that scenario would be if Talbot ends up the number 1.

 

[SensPerpetualRebuild]

I just cannot see Dorion risking all our moves to collapse to the gutter because our D's depth falters. I would pursue overpaying for someone like Larsson and what have you. But if the market is really difficult, then we are left with no choice but with what we have.

No doubt he wants to improve the D. The team is improved as is and the last thing I want him to do is to overpay in a desperate move for his job security. I'd rather the team be patient and not make a trade that we'll regret. Even if it takes a year.

 

[God Says No]

Two good posts. I agree with both.

Chabot-Hamonic
Sanderson-Zub
Brannstrom-Holden

can hold its own, especially with Sanderson playing as a bonafide top 4 to start. However, with the moves on offence, I do not think Dorion will want to risk hesitancy or faltering on the D side of the game, and especially for Chabot (who will want Zub over Hamonic) and I doubt we will want to introduce our next star D with Hamonic, thus I see a move as imperative.

Chabot-Zub
Sanderson-Larsson
Holden-Hamonic

is a heck of a D group(not excellent but really solid) to go with a above average starter and a deep forward group who possibly still need time to mesh.

I just cannot see Dorion risking all our moves to collapse to the gutter because our D's depth falters. I would pursue overpaying for someone like Larsson and what have you. But if the market is really difficult, then we are left with no choice but with what we have.

I agree that it's an ok group, but I'm really apprehensive about Hamonic on the top pair. I think he gets exposed there real fast. Don't think Larsson is coming, so I would start with this:

Chabot - Zub
Sanderson - Holden
Brann - Hamonic

 

[Daffy]

Well Bruce’s buddy/“insider” tweeted a gif of chychrun and Bruce liked it the post. Take that with a tub of salt

If Bruce liked a gif of Chychrun, couldn't that be pretty telling that we could be close on him?

 

[Burrowsaurus]

If Bruce liked a gif of Chychrun, couldn't that be pretty telling that we could be close on him?

Bruce does shit like this.

 

[Cosmix]

Wonder if this has any effect on speeding up a Chychrun trade.

There goes the big winger we wanted.
.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

 

[Do Make Say Think]

Wonder if this has any effect on speeding up a Chychrun trade.

Why would it though?

The hold up has to be that no one wants to pay the price Arizona is asking for.

 

[aragorn]

Imo our D isn’t bad and is definitely better than many other teams.

Chabot-Zub
Sanderson-Hamonic
Holden-Zaitsev
Brannstrom-Thomson

The depth is there, but the biggest factor is Sanderson. If he performs well this group ends up pretty good..

I say you run with this for 10-15 games and make adjustments if there’s injuries or if Sanderson doesn’t excel.

Obviously if you can acquire a good dman for a fair price you don’t say no.

Very soft defence & it gets worse if either or both Holden & Hamonic are gone by the trade deadline.

 

[GCK]

Very soft defence & it gets worse if either or both Holden & Hamonic are gone by the trade deadline.

They won’t be traded unless we are out of the playoff race.

 

[ATdaisuki]

I agree that it's an ok group, but I'm really apprehensive about Hamonic on the top pair. I think he gets exposed there real fast. Don't think Larsson is coming, so I would start with this:

Chabot - Zub
Sanderson - Holden
Brann - Hamonic

Hamonic is better than Zaitsev by a good chunk. Chabot should easily be able to carry him. Chabby is a veteran, a leader, and a proven NHL performer. Let him take the harder assignment. He's paid the big bucks for a reason.

Give Sanderson the support he will need as a rookie and pair him with Zub. It gives us a better shot at having two good pairs. With your suggested configuration, it all falls on Sanderson to make it so we have a decent second pair. I have great faith in him, but I also want to put him in a position to succeed.

 

[jbeck5]

We have Chabot and zub as top 4 D. We're banking on Sanderson stepping in.

What are the odds that 2 of these guys fill that need in the next year or two?

23 year old brannstrom
22 year old JBD
22 year old Thomson

I would think by this age, if they aren't budding to step into that role, we should trade them or package them for someone who can play that role. If they're not ready In the next year or two, they'll never be.


Why have we stopped projecting these guys for second pair duties? Are they losing value quickly?

 

[NorthCoast]

If Bruce liked a gif of Chychrun, couldn't that be pretty telling that we could be close on him?

I think what we are seeing right now is a very complicated chicken-egg situation, like Turducken-Egg.

- There are only a few teams willing to take on dead salary.

- There are a lot teams that Have to dump salary (ie: projected to be above cap), and some that Want to dump salary (below cap but at budget)

- Supply/demand dictates therefore that the price to dump salary is very high right now. (If there was a reasonable price to dump salary then the Have To teams would have already jumped on it.)

- Ottawa is not going to pay Have To rates and therefore has to wait to see what happens first.

- Some of Ottawa's trade assets are complicated right now...


At the end of the day, Ottawa has the capspace and tradeable assets to make a deal work. Season doesn't start for a while. I can understand why PD isn't rushing it because prices will at some point come down once the Have To teams go through their pain, and worst case once the season start and teams cap opens up from injury. Nobody is buying Zaitsevs, or even Brannstomm's, when they can get Pacioretti's for free.

Which could also be an option for Ottawa. Keep the dead salary and assets, and just wait for someone to be desperate to hand off a decent 2-3 mil RD upgrade for almost nothing that gets us to the TDL in contention, and then you use the assets to upgrade further. TBH, might not be a bad thing if Ottawa is one of the only teams in contention with decent cap room come TDL this year.

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

Hamonic is better than Zaitsev by a good chunk. Chabot should easily be able to carry him. Chabby is a veteran, a leader, and a proven NHL performer. Let him take the harder assignment. He's paid the big bucks for a reason.

Give Sanderson the support he will need as a rookie and pair him with Zub. It gives us a better shot at having two good pairs. With your suggested configuration, it all falls on Sanderson to make it so we have a decent second pair. I have great faith in him, but I also want to put him in a position to succeed.

Well said. And management know how integral it is to support Sanderson in his transition to the NHL; especially in a top 4 role.

Conversely, if Chabot was focal about improving the team at season's end, it would make sense why Dorion suddenly became so vocal and fixated on bringing in a top 4 D: to give him a good partner to play with (perhaps a demand he made) while also allowing Zub to be calming presence for Sanderson.

To me it is the only explanation. Prior to Dorion's end of season meeting with Tkachuk and Chabot, Dorion was quiet on our defence. He actually spoke on Hamonic being someone in the top 4 to help--the sudden shift in prioritizing a top 4 D didn't come out of the blue.

 

[JD1]

We have Chabot and zub as top 4 D. We're banking on Sanderson stepping in.

What are the odds that 2 of these guys fill that need in the next year or two?

23 year old brannstrom
22 year old JBD
22 year old Thomson

I would think by this age, if they aren't budding to step into that role, we should trade them or package them for someone who can play that role. If they're not ready In the next year or two, they'll never be.


Why have we stopped projecting these guys for second pair duties? Are they losing value quickly?

I completely agree with this. All 3 are at an age where the projection becomes more clear and is nearer in term. JBD actually strikes me as the straight man to Chabot. Plays a quiet game, defensively sound, simple and efficient puck movement. Exactly what Chabot needs. Thomson and Sanderson paired up could both be more two way guys.

Regardless of how you pair them, I agree that all 3 are knocking on the door

 

[JD1]

I think what we are seeing right now is a very complicated chicken-egg situation, like Turducken-Egg.

- There are only a few teams willing to take on dead salary.

- There are a lot teams that Have to dump salary (ie: projected to be above cap), and some that Want to dump salary (below cap but at budget)

- Supply/demand dictates therefore that the price to dump salary is very high right now. (If there was a reasonable price to dump salary then the Have To teams would have already jumped on it.)

- Ottawa is not going to pay Have To rates and therefore has to wait to see what happens first.

- Some of Ottawa's trade assets are complicated right now...


At the end of the day, Ottawa has the capspace and tradeable assets to make a deal work. Season doesn't start for a while. I can understand why PD isn't rushing it because prices will at some point come down once the Have To teams go through their pain, and worst case once the season start and teams cap opens up from injury. Nobody is buying Zaitsevs, or even Brannstomm's, when they can get Pacioretti's for free.

Which could also be an option for Ottawa. Keep the dead salary and assets, and just wait for someone to be desperate to hand off a decent 2-3 mil RD upgrade for almost nothing that gets us to the TDL in contention, and then you use the assets to upgrade further. TBH, might not be a bad thing if Ottawa is one of the only teams in contention with decent cap room come TDL this year.

Here's a list of D men by AAV. 2-3 million places 100 to 137 on the list. Run down the names in that bracket. When you take out the up and comers that you likely aren't getting, how many upgrades on Zaitsev are on the list?

NHL Rankings

There really aren't many. 17 or 18 minutes a night and PKing and Zaitsev is fine. And DJ has shown that is how he'll use him if he has the options to use him that way