GDT: Free Agent Frenzy

[LongTimeDRWF]

Gun to head fellas:
Theodore, Pietro or Ekblad?

Prefer Theodore to play with Mo, but Ekblad (if healthy) likely fills a bigger mid-term need

 

[nbwingsfan]

It’s also hilarious to see how many posters were perplexed as to why Walman wasn’t playing down the stretch and kept saying her would have been better with him in the lineup and maybe even made the playoffs had he been playing are now saying he’s just a terrible “healthy scratch” player.

He was good for us, and Yzerman is just making some truly head scratching moves

 

[datsyukfan]

Walman trade - not great. I liked Walman and thought he was a serviceable defenseman, not any worse than some of our alternatives that's for sure. I also don't even want to fathom what the cost to move Holl's contract would be if Yzerman is being genuine in his statement that he tried to move the contract, and I don't think he has any reason to lie.

Big fish free agents - I really wanted Stamkos. I also saw the deal that Stamkos got from Nashville and that contract is going to to be a boat anchor in two years max. Can you LTIR him? Sure. Stamkos is also a competitor and I think he'll fight an LTIR kicking and screaming. I have no idea what Yzerman offered if it even got to that point, but I can't imagine he offered more than 3x7 or 2x8.. I like Montour, but 7x7+ for another right shot defenseman on the wrong side of 30 that has one season over 40 points is.. steep.

Signings - Love the Kane signing, especially with the incentivized 1 year deal. I think this was a fantastic deal and that seems pretty unanimous. Talbot signing seems odd given that we have Husso and Lyon. One of those guys has to be moving or we roll with all 3 like we did Husso, Reimer, Lyon. Gustaffson I have no opinion on because I have no knowledge of his game, but it seems Yzerman was pretty adamant about not giving term to Ghost so this is who we got.

Trades that didn't happen - Chychrun trade. We were never going to get Chychrun for what the Capitals got him for just based on the fact that we are in division. We got Debrincat for cheap because he was holding Ottawa hostage.

Rest of summer - I think a Necas trade could still materialize. If that doesn't work out and Tarasenko would take a short term deal, I think he'd be a solid option in the 2LW spot for a year or so. Play him with Kane and on the PP and I think he's a 30 goal scorer again. We'll also see how the rest of the d corps shakes out as I don't think we're done there.

At the end of the day, we have a few contracts that aren't great(Copp, Holl) and a few holes to fill but the doom and gloom "it's so over" shit is getting ridiculous. We bottomed out in 2020 with a barren prospect pool and a glorified AHL roster. We now have an elite pipeline and an NHL roster that missed the playoffs on a technicality. Do we make the playoffs this year? I'm not sure. Are we better off today than we were 4 years ago? Yes, without question.

I mean not very hard being better off today than we were 4 years ago. We were pathetic

 

[JediOrderPizza]

Sure, if there's a few trades incoming, then I'll change my tune. The rumored trade was for Trouba, also a third pairing defenseman, and that has fallen through. Most rosters are fairly solidified now that FA is done. I'll be surprised if there's some big move coming to fix this. We can update our opinion then if so. But as is, I think everyone complaining is being mostly reasonable.


We didn't need to trade Walman and a second to play Ed. We could have just buried him in the AHL or on the third pairing.

Honestly didn't like the sound of getting Trouba at all, so that wouldn't be it for me.

I just don't care about Walman and a 2nd like some of you do. I think the trade was bad, but not enough to keep talking about it for an entire summer.

 

[lhsgolf19]

It’s also hilarious to see how many posters were perplexed as to why Walman wasn’t playing down the stretch and kept saying her would have been better with him in the lineup and maybe even made the playoffs had he been playing are now saying he’s just a terrible “healthy scratch” player.

He was good for us, and Yzerman is just making some truly head scratching moves

At the start... he was awful down the stretch

 

[Frk It]

Also devils advocate to the justification people are giving for not signing anyone.

These are the types of deals that are given out every year in free agency.

 

[HisNoodliness]

How can you say we aren’t making room for Edvinsson.

Edvinsson’s path to big minutes on the left side is blocked by who at the moment?

Honestly, concerning Ed, I'm more annoyed that he's probably going to have to carry the second pairing with a 3rd pair D as his partner. Is this the plan?

Chiarot-Seider
Ed-Gustafsson
Petry-Maatta

Seider will have to try to carry the hardest workload in the NHL again-with a 3rd pairing partner. Ed will be forced to play top 6 competition and with a 3rd pairing partner. AlJo still doesn't have a spot. AlJo should be able to win out over Petry and Maatta but that means we're going to be benching Petry and Holl all season, and I'm not sure that we're going to trust that second pairing enough to make AlJo-Maatta our 3rd pairing.

 

[dalem177]

Maybe this is just pissing into the drain trough, but to me it makes much more sense to evaluate the last few weeks based on the pictures on our little puzzle pieces as opposed to the picture on the box of a different puzzle on a different shelf.

• SY said last year that he has 2 (IMO sometimes competing) goals: 1) build a team that can compete for a cup, and 2) ice a legitimate team (that will put butts in seats).
• SY said last year that his goal was not playoffs. This aligns with the above. To think he doesn't know that the FANS want playoffs, at least, and NOW, is ludicrous. But he has to please both masters.
• SY said that he's happy with his prospect pool and the young players he's got to work with.
• Walman gone: clearly his value to SY off the team was higher than his value on the team.
• 2nd round pick to grease the Walman exit: SY's happy with his prospect pool and doesn't rate a 2nd round pick very highly at this point.
• He's got enough cap space to pay Ray and Mo silly amounts if necessary.

To me, push all those puzzle pieces around on the table and it comes up looking pretty much like last year except with a known core, a heavy dose of youngsters, and maybe a veteran surprise trade later. Maybe they make the playoffs this time. Next year some of the plug contracts start falling away, some kids will have their first year in.

All of that aligns with SY's 2 competing goals above. I don't see why anyone would panic.

 

[Frk It]

Honestly, concerning Ed, I'm more annoyed that he's probably going to have to carry the second pairing with a 3rd pair D as his partner. Is this the plan?

Chiarot-Seider
Ed-Gustafsson
Petry-Maatta

Seider will have to try to carry the hardest workload in the NHL again-with a 3rd pairing partner. Ed will be forced to play top 6 competition and with a 3rd pairing partner. AlJo still doesn't have a spot. AlJo should be able to win out over Petry and Maatta but that means we're going to be benching Petry and Holl all season, and I'm not sure that we're going to trust that second pairing enough to make AlJo-Maatta our 3rd pairing.

I’m going to assume we make a trade until we don’t make a trade.

Not to justify the shittiness of the Walman trade, that ship has already passed. Because I think it’s the logical thing to do and I don’t think they want to go into the season with this current group we have on defense.

I’m thinking it will be a RD. So I’m thinking Edvinsson and Johansson should have ample opportunity for minutes on the left. And that’s like the one silver lining I get from looking at this group.

 

[Henkka]

Big fish free agents - I really wanted Stamkos. I also saw the deal that Stamkos got from Nashville and that contract is going to to be a boat anchor in two years max. Can you LTIR him? Sure. Stamkos is also a competitor and I think he'll fight an LTIR kicking and screaming. I have no idea what Yzerman offered if it even got to that point, but I can't imagine he offered more than 3x7 or 2x8.. I like Montour, but 7x7+ for another right shot defenseman on the wrong side of 30 that has one season over 40 points is.. steep.

There was not really any chance to get Stamkos, after signing for Kane.

Kane did eat the cap space for bigger name, as a bargain, and that's the best move. By far.

If you go full blast after Stammer, you force Raymond to 3-year bridge.

Yzerman did avoid that bullet.

Rest of summer - I think a Necas trade could still materialize. If that doesn't work out and Tarasenko would take a short term deal, I think he'd be a solid option in the 2LW spot for a year or so. Play him with Kane and on the PP and I think he's a 30 goal scorer again. We'll also see how the rest of the d corps shakes out as I don't think we're done there.

Don't think Necas will move. Carolina lost so much offense in Guentzel/Teräväinen/Noesen/Skjei, they just have to keep him.

Their cap space pretty much will match with Necas+Jarvis extensions.

 

[nbwingsfan]

Honestly, concerning Ed, I'm more annoyed that he's probably going to have to carry the second pairing with a 3rd pair D as his partner. Is this the plan?

Chiarot-Seider
Ed-Gustafsson
Petry-Maatta

Seider will have to try to carry the hardest workload in the NHL again-with a 3rd pairing partner. Ed will be forced to play top 6 competition and with a 3rd pairing partner. AlJo still doesn't have a spot. AlJo should be able to win out over Petry and Maatta but that means we're going to be benching Petry and Holl all season, and I'm not sure that we're going to trust that second pairing enough to make AlJo-Maatta our 3rd pairing.

Unless there a trade coming, that’s a bottom 5 defense in the NHL

 

[norrisnick]

Wasted. But until something changes, we don't need that space right now.

Ok. That's fine. However, the cost of taking on salary after teams have constructed what they want their roster to be is going to be much higher than before everyone spent their space via free agency. Especially if the team looking to move salary is now up against, if not over, the cap. And if all we do is sign our own RFAs and make no other significant moves, Walman would put us over the cap. Or Maatta. Or Holl. Or Chiarot. Doesn't really matter who it was, someone had to go. Walman was deemed by some calculation as the most easily replaceable at the lowest cost to movement. Or a coinflip. It might have been random chance.

 

[Axel Sandy Pelikan]

When the trade happened, the defense of it was "Wait and see. Yzerman has more cooking. After we upgrade the roster it will be clear why we needed 3.4 mil in cap space and the roster spot." That answer was Erik Gustafsson. So now the only defense is just "Walman is a below NHL caliber D and needed to be moved out ASAP because that's just how bad he is." But even if that's the case, we didn't need to move him. We could just waive and bury him. We paid assets to accomplish nothing. That's annoying.

I’m annoyed because I was a person that said wait and see. I thought with the urgency he made that deal… he had money all but spent.

No, man, I’m pissed. I wanted a hell of a lot more out of yesterday after you determined Walman had to go and you sold it as “buying cap space is really expensive.” This would be like me bitching about how expensive the led lights in my computer are and they’ll be on sale next week. They don’t actually add function, so i don’t need them today.

But that’s separate. I’m on the Walman actually sucks bandwagon now because so many people have just assumed that you could get a pick with him and it was malfeasance to not.

The two things are separate. I hate the urgency of the the trade to get cap space that we didn’t even use and also think that a player who is stapled to the bench as a healthy scratch during the most important games the team played in a decade isn’t very good at hockey.

And that we shouldn’t be bemoaning the loss of a guy with a career high of 21 points in a season making 3.4m x 2 when we wanted to trebuchet away DDK and Ericsson for doing almost exactly that while being better at the defensive side of the game

 

[Henkka]

Unless there a trade coming, that’s a bottom 5 defense in the NHL

It wasn't that on last year, and it isn't that next year either.

Do we really have to see another day of these moronic comments, "how this is a lottery team if there's no trade", "we have bottom5 defence", "those goalies are league worst" etc.

 

[datsyukfan]

It wasn't that on last year, and it isn't that next year either.

I wouldn’t say it’s bottom 5 but it’s definitely in bottom half

 

[HisNoodliness]

I’m going to assume we make a trade until we don’t make a trade.

Not to justify the shittiness of the Walman trade, that ship has already passed. Because I think it’s the logical thing to do and I don’t think they want to go into the season with this current group we have on defense.

I’m thinking it will be a RD. So I’m thinking Edvinsson and Johansson should have ample opportunity for minutes on the left. And that’s like the one silver lining I get from look

If we do make a trade, I'll be cooler with what we've done. Until then, I think we've had a pretty disappointing off-season and I don't like what we're doing with our defense. Signing Kane was good. The rest is neutral at best.

 

[JediOrderPizza]

It’s also hilarious to see how many posters were perplexed as to why Walman wasn’t playing down the stretch and kept saying her would have been better with him in the lineup and maybe even made the playoffs had he been playing are now saying he’s just a terrible “healthy scratch” player.

He was good for us, and Yzerman is just making some truly head scratching moves

Who said that?

I remember people wondering why his play was not good and wondering if he was hurt. Then he was out of the lineup which we assumed was the said injury only to find out he was fine. Which made his poor play even more confusing.

Dude looked lost for months and Seider was eating 2on1's because of it.

Chiarot, Edvinsson and Maatta all looked better than Walman.

 

[better Red than Dead]

Also devils advocate to the justification people are giving for not signing anyone.

These are the types of deals that are given out every year in free agency.

Exactly what I’ve been saying.

 

[raymond23]

A big part in all of this is the rest of the division got clearly better. Ottawa got Ullmark for instance. Boston went all in. Etc.

It’s going to be an uphill battle next season

 

[Pavels Dog]

Also devils advocate to the justification people are giving for not signing anyone.

These are the types of deals that are given out every year in free agency.

But you can’t jump in every offseason.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

I'll always love him for the hops on keeping the puck in and follow up play, but I'm glad the Wings didn't commit to 3 years of Ghost.

And does the Free Press usually run such ridiculous headlines these days? I know the reporter often doesn't get to pick the headline, but "Gosted! Shayne Gostisbehere blows off the Red Wings to sign with the Hurricanes" sounds a little desperate and sad.

 

[HisNoodliness]

Ok. That's fine. However, the cost of taking on salary after teams have constructed what they want their roster to be is going to be much higher than before everyone spent their space via free agency. Especially if the team looking to move salary is now up against, if not over, the cap. And if all we do is sign our own RFAs and make no other significant moves, Walman would put us over the cap. Or Maatta. Or Holl. Or Chiarot. Doesn't really matter who it was, someone had to go. Walman was deemed by some calculation as the most easily replaceable at the lowest cost to movement. Or a coinflip. It might have been random chance.

If we don't sign Gustafsson, send Walman, Campbell and Holl to the AHL (or whichever of our useless D), promote AlJo and one of Mazur/Kasper/Danielson, re-sign Berggren and Veleno to 1.5 mil deals, and Seider and Raymond to 8.5 mil deals, we'd fit under the cap. Sure we'd be rolling out:

Chiarot-Seider
Edvinsson-Maatta
AlJo-Petry

And that's arguably worse than
Chiarot-Seider
Edvinsson-Gustafsson
Petry-Maatta

But if it is worse, it's not by much. And we wouldn't have wasted a 2nd to do it.

 

[norrisnick]

If we don't sign Gustafsson, send Walman, Campbell and Holl to the AHL (or whichever of our useless D), promote AlJo and one of Mazur/Kasper/Danielson, re-sign Berggren and Veleno to 1.5 mil deals, and Seider and Raymond to 8.5 mil deals, we'd fit under the cap. Sure we'd be rolling out:

Chiarot-Seider
Edvinsson-Maatta
AlJo-Petry

And that's arguably worse than
Chiarot-Seider
Edvinsson-Gustafsson
Petry-Maatta

But if it is worse, it's not by much. And we wouldn't have wasted a 2nd to do it.

Again, the Redden Rule exists. If you ship Walman and Holl to the AHL, they still count over $4M against the cap.

 

[ricky0034]

But you can’t jump in every offseason.

the most talented free agency group in years is a weird time to suddenly decide you want to take a stand against paying free agent prices though

 

[HisNoodliness]

Again, the Redden Rule exists. If you ship Walman and Holl to the AHL, they still count over $4M against the cap.

Yeah we only get 1 million of relief or whatever. But 1 mil from Walman + 1 mil from Holl + 775k from Campbell would be enough