GDT: Free Agent Frenzy: The Horror, the Horror!!!

[NotOpie]

Don't think Chicago is sweating it

I'm not sure they were happy about either the Versteeg/Nordstrom trade or the loss of Teravainen.

But you may be right....

And this may be the best news of the day:

 

[DaveG]

Sounds like Nestrasil is progressing as expected and should be back at 100% for start of camp.

 

[Ole Gil]

Ha, Stahlberg can move up and down the lineup. Be nice to have another single digit goal scorer available to play on Jordan's wing.

 

[Blueline Bomber]

Both good to hear.

 

[w e l o s t b o y s]

wish someone would ask about kuokkanen

 

[DaveG]

Might watch the Bergevin presser at 3:30.

Does anyone know what "how high are you really?" and "did you take ALL the drugs?" are in French?

 

[CandyCanes]

I'm still curious about Dadonov. RF said a few days ago the price is to high, curious what the feeler is now for him.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

Dear God yes please.

 

[NotOpie]

By my calculations we are still about $6.85 million south of the salary floor.

EDIT: Ooops, check that, forgot the Wiz buyout $$$ we're about $3.35 million south of the floor.

 

[GoldiFox]

By my calculations we are still about $6.85 million south of the salary floor.

One Bishop away?

 

[tarheelhockey]

Agree 100% with this. Also, that "war chest" allows for trades where we're sending lower salaries for higher salaries (and assuming higher performance) in return.

Exactly -- one of my takeaways from the past month or so is that Francis really is committed to building a foundation and then waiting for the right trade to come along. He's not making silly Hall-for-Larsson type trades, he's not signing Bernier-level goalies to silly 5-year deals, and he's not signing mediocre wingers to silly 7-year contracts.

Looking back on the landscape of this summer, every move has been calculated with the long term in mind. No panic decisions. When a team Kessels or Seguins or Forsbergs their way into cutting ties with a young stud, we'll have all the assets necessary to move on it.

Is it? They had all those picks, cap space, guys on amazing contracts, roster spots, etc..

And they added TT, Stempniak, Cam Ward, and some grinders.

Seemed like they were in a position to try to transition into a winner, and decided to punt until next year.

Ward was a punt, and a smart one. The goalie market is horrible and it's better to wait for the right opportunity than try to force the issue with a Reimer type replacement.

At forward, who were we going to sign today for less than 6x6 who would suddenly make this team a winner? Look at the big contracts that got signed today -- Ladd, Okposo, Lucic, Nielsen, Backes, Eriksson will ALL be liabilities soon. We'll have our shot at those guys when they're being cap-dumped in a panic a couple of years from now.

That leaves... Brouwer, Perron (who went back to his old team), Staal (who we needed to move on from), Radulov (who wouldn't have signed here anyway) and a bunch of scraps. Maybe we missed on Brouwer, but giving him something like 5x4 would have been a travesty as well.

In a way, Francis won the day by NOT doing anything stupid.

 

[Wild Caniac]

Still would be nice to try a push for Boedker. He's been in small markets. He probably wouldn't cost more than 4.5 AAV. I think he would be a great physical presence on a line with Rask and PDG.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

Is it? They had all those picks, cap space, guys on amazing contracts, roster spots, etc..

And they added TT, Stempniak, Cam Ward, and some grinders.

Seemed like they were in a position to try to transition into a winner, and decided to punt until next year.

IIRC from someone's notes from a meeting with Waddell + some big wig, the "plan" is to compete starting 2018.

E

In a way, Francis won the day by NOT doing anything stupid.

Yeah, but how many years in a row have we said this circa July 1st? It gets frustrating.

 

[caniac247]

Is it? They had all those picks, cap space, guys on amazing contracts, roster spots, etc..

And they added TT, Stempniak, Cam Ward, and some grinders.

Seemed like they were in a position to try to transition into a winner, and decided to punt until next year.

What Francis said in his presser made sense. Said in 2-3 years time, he will have to sign Slavin, Pesce, Hanifin, Lindholm, Teuvo, etc and depending on what they do with Rask, possibly him. He said he didn't want to offer these long term deals to guys like Okposo that would prevent him from signing these guys. He said he wants to build this team from the ground up and it just didn't make sense to sign one of these guys for where the team is at now.

 

[Led Tasso]

One Bishop away?

I'd like to see a deal centered around something like:

Lack
Murphy
+

for Bishop
Killorn


Killorn will most likely be the one that they cannot hold onto after next year. Why wait?

I am sure this deal needs to be altered. But it serves as a nice base

 

[GoldiFox]

I'd like to see a deal centered around something like:

Lack
Murphy
+

for Bishop
Killorn


Killorn will most likely be the one that they cannot hold onto after next year. Why wait?

I am sure this deal needs to be altered. But it serves as a nice base

Would be a fairly big +, but Bishop's value drops every day he isn't traded. Might be a great deadline addition if he is still available and the Canes are a Playoff team.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

Dumping Murphy as a spare part no longer makes sense now that Wiz is gone, unless the plan is to have a guy on his offside for the entire year, when fully healthy.

Obviously changes if the 'Canes get another RHD.

 

[Ole Gil]

What Francis said in his presser made sense. Said in 2-3 years time, he will have to sign Slavin, Pesce, Hanifin, Lindholm, Teuvo, etc and depending on what they do with Rask, possibly him. He said he didn't want to offer these long term deals to guys like Okposo that would prevent him from signing these guys. He said he wants to build this team from the ground up and it just didn't make sense to sign one of these guys for where the team is at now.

We have to stay 20-25 million below the cap because in 2 or 3 years some guys will be getting RFA contracts? Come on.

 

[DaveG]

Fletcher projecting Eric Staal as their #1 on a line with Parise right now?

 

[Roboturner913]

We have to stay 20-25 million below the cap because in 2 or 3 years some guys will be getting RFA contracts? Come on.

If you want to be a fan of a team that spends to the salary cap, go be a Rangers or Red Wings fan. There's no point in griping about it, everybody knows the score.

RF isn't going to commit 5-6 years to some UFAs who are going to prevent extensions for Hanifin/Slavin/Aho/Rask and the like in the future. Homegrown talent is the priority. Look at what the KC Royals have done in a relatively short timeframe. That should absolutely be the model for any small-market team.

 

[Wolfpuck]

Fletcher projecting Eric Staal as their #1 on a line with Parise right now?

Do you want to get buried in the Central division, because that's how you get buried in the Central division.

 

[Roboturner913]

To be fair, they have Jack and Squat at center. I assume that was one of Eric's main motivations to sign there. He wanted to play center and they desperately needed one.

 

[Ole Gil]

If you want to be a fan of a team that spends to the salary cap, go be a Rangers or Red Wings fan. There's no point in griping about it, everybody knows the score.

RF isn't going to commit 5-6 years to some UFAs who are going to prevent extensions for Hanifin/Slavin/Aho/Rask and the like in the future. Homegrown talent is the priority. Look at what the KC Royals have done in a relatively short timeframe. That should absolutely be the model for any small-market team.

You know who the team has under contract for 18-19? Jordan, Skinner, and Faulk (and maybe Rask). And it's Skinner's last season. So you can pencil me in as skeptical that the reason they can't add any top level players is because they wouldn't be able to fit Hanifin and Slavin's RFA contracts under the budget in 18-19.

 

[Novacane]

Thanks Liles

 

[Roboturner913]

You know who the team has under contract for 18-19? Jordan, Skinner, and Faulk (and maybe Rask). And it's Skinner's last season. So you can pencil me in as skeptical that the reason they can't add any top level players is because they wouldn't be able to fit Hanifin and Slavin's RFA contracts under the budget in 18-19.

You're ignoring Aho, Saarela, TT, PDG, Tolchinsky, Fleury, Roy, Bean, Gauthier, etc. any number of other players who could become significant parts of the team who will need contracts down the road. RF is looking at this long-term and committing to his homegrown players and filling in with cheap FAs. I have no problem with that.

Again, KC Royals. It's not that they "can't" add a high-end free agent. They've simply chosen not to, and given some of the insane deals given out today, it's a wise move to hold off. IMO.