Post-Game Talk: Grade Our Free Agent Day

[Synergy27]

How did they get slower? Is Wheeler slower than Tarasenko or an injured Kane? Is Gustafsson/Jones slower than Harpur? Is adding Cuylle to the roster not adding speed? I don't get the bullshit we got slower narrative.

Wheeler is slower than Tarasenko/injured Kane believe it or not.

Bonino is slower than Wheeler, and the likelihood that Cuylle is on the opening night roster has decreased significantly after all of these depth signings.

I have some hope for the defense at least.

 

[KOVALEV022473]

I was genuinely surprised by the veteran signings and the cost. Quick, Bonino, Wheeler and Gustafsson for under $4MM is quite a haul. The market is certainly softer than I expected and Wheeler in particular is a great signing. The experts who think he can’t skate anymore didn’t watch much hockey last year.

I saw Quick play 4-5 games in Vegas and was surprised at how good he looked. One was a shutout against Carolina and he looked terrific.

Do you think we resign Kane?

 

[jerseyjinx94]

It’s easily an A. Signing Wheeler to $800K with only $300K in bonuses is a coup. He solidifies the top 9 and gives Laviolette options. He’s big and has some snarl to his game.

Pitlick is a solid 13/14 F, he may even win a job out of camp on the 4th line. Barely over minimum. Good depth.

Bonino is a legitimate 4C. He’s the type of guy every year that teams try to sign, and he allows us to move Goodrow around the lineup versus forcing him into a 4th line C role. He’s a good veteran leader.

Gustafsson had 40 points last year and we got him for 825K. Good insulation for Jones. I guess they are not sold on Zac yet. I can’t see him getting waived or being the 7D so I’m not sure what the plan is exactly.

Quick is whatever. He’s a backup, a proven winner, and a local guy. I would have preferred a more diamond in the rough type signing like Nedeljkovic but he got 1.5. Needed to squeeze this spot and Allaire can make a few adjustments. I’ll wait and see on it.

Good vet additions to Hartford too.

Overall, a great day. Not sure why anyone would be upset considering the circumstances. This isn’t a video game

 

[Leonardo87]

So A and B have like over 80% of the votes, are evenly split, and I gave Drury a B+

 

[NYR Viper]

Wheeler is slower than Tarasenko/injured Kane believe it or not.

Bonino is slower than Wheeler, and the likelihood that Cuylle is on the opening night roster has decreased significantly after all of these depth signings.

I have some hope for the defense at least.

If we go back to the start of last season the team was playing Reaves, Carpenter and Hunt.

I’m not arguing that I wish they got a bit faster but if the team game plan is built correctly it won’t matter AS much.

Also having a legit puck mover on another pairing will help immensely. Most of the issue I saw was being able to get the puck to the forwards with speed moving up the ice together. When Kreider and Zibanejad look slow regularly it’s a system thing

 

[haohmaru]

I did. They didn’t get better and got worse at they were weak at.

How do you figure this? Are you talking opening right roster vs. opening night roster last year or this vs. the team fielded after the deadline? Comparing to the post deadline team isn't fair.

Opening night? There's no way we're worse.

Goalie? Toss up. We'll see.
RW 2023 > 2022
D 2023 > 2022
LW 2023 = 2022
C 2023 > 2022

 

[leetch99]

If we go back to the start of last season the team was playing Reaves, Carpenter and Hunt.

I’m not arguing that I wish they got a bit faster but if the team game plan is built correctly it won’t matter AS much.

Also having a legit puck mover on another pairing will help immensely. Most of the issue I saw was being able to get the puck to the forwards with speed moving up the ice together. When Kreider and Zibanejad look slow regularly it’s a system thing

Keep in mind Turk Gallant was not provided with the options that Lavy now has......so in saying that , do all these moves mean that Lavy gets us above one of Canes and Devs and past round one in the playoffs ? Can we get home ice against Canes and or Devils for round one ? Everything we do has to be for what we face come April....reg season means diddly squat ! We know RIGHT NOW we will face one of them two teams round one . Are we as good as them ? Myself....I like Wheeler signing .

 

[Synergy27]

If we go back to the start of last season the team was playing Reaves, Carpenter and Hunt.

I’m not arguing that I wish they got a bit faster but if the team game plan is built correctly it won’t matter AS much.

Also having a legit puck mover on another pairing will help immensely. Most of the issue I saw was being able to get the puck to the forwards with speed moving up the ice together. When Kreider and Zibanejad look slow regularly it’s a system thing

All true and reasons for hope.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Look, Drury didn't have much to work with. He created this mess by trading for Goodrow 2 years ago. And giving Fox 9.5m on a 2nd contract.

Considering the situation he put himself in, he did a good job.

Erik Gustafsson is a potential steal.

Wheeler is good, and not as slow as people think he is.

Ultimately, the improvements have to come from the coaching staff squeezing more out of the same group Gallant had. I think that is definitely possible.

Laviolette is a great mentor to the assistants Peca and Muse, who are "new kids on the block" in terms of coaching. And they have head coaching potential. Don't be surprised if one of these is Laviolette's successor.

Phil Housley did a great job in Nashville with Josi, Ekholm, Ellis and others, and then did it again with guys like Chychrun in Arizona. Defensively we could see some serious improvements. Remember how different our defense was under Jacques Martin? Should never have let him go, but here we are. Housley is a good option for that.

Muse is a masterful tactician. EXACTLY what we need. And Peca is really exciting too.

Other teams around us got better personnel-wise on the ice. We got better personnel-wise behind the bench, already having the personnel to get us to where we want to be. This is the best Drury could have done on day 1 of free agency.

KAM and Laf are the two last roster spots

And with Miller signed, they will have 8 D-men on the roster including Mackie and Harpur.

Only 2 of Jones, Robertson, Harpur, Mackie, Gustafsson will be on the roster with the core 5 (Fox, lindgren, Miller, Schneider, Trouba).

 

[howztheglass]

I know some people are not happy about all the moves but it's easy an upgrade over last year's team.

Wheeler at $ 800 + $ 300 bonus is a steal--Trouba must have convinced Wheels that NYC is the place. Helps out at the RW position that we don't have.

Quick we hope works with Allaire and fills in for Shesty 15-20 games this season.

Pills 100% better than Hunt.

Bonino yeah, he's getting up there in age but had a good season last year, and if I remember correctly the Rangers were going after him at the DL.

Gustafsson is another steal at that price, 3rd line Dman who could but up points, worst case scenario be a 7th Dman--do you want to see Harpur again.

So, in a nutshell:

Wheeler improves RW.
Pills over Hunt.
Bonino over Carpenter
Gus over Harpur

It's as much bang that Drury could get when you're shopping in the basement.

Signing Laff, and Miller to under 7M, maybe trading Goodrow and signing Tank back at part of Goody salary would be a great weekend.

 

[bubba5]

We are so slow now. Devils will
Skate circles around us.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

People are too obsessed with team speed.

Neither of the finalists this year were fast. All the speed teams were out by round 2. There’s a reason for this.

You don’t have to be fast to play fast. As long as the exits get better (and they should) you’ll see an improvement on that end.

 

[Leonardo87]

People are too obsessed with team speed.

Neither of the finalists this year were fast. All the speed teams were out by round 2. There’s a reason for this.

You don’t have to be fast to play fast. As long as the exits get better (and they should) you’ll see an improvement on that end.

Vegas won the cup and speed is the last thing I think about with them. Was more size, physicality, and defense.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Vegas won the cup and speed is the last thing I think about with them. Was more size, physicality, and defense.

They played fast for sure. Really well structured which is something I worry about with the new coaching staff.

The only real burner on their team is Eichel.

 

[Synergy27]

Who the f*** is Pills?

 

[PuckLuck3043]

Wheeler is slower than Tarasenko/injured Kane believe it or not.

Bonino is slower than Wheeler, and the likelihood that Cuylle is on the opening night roster has decreased significantly after all of these depth signings.

I have some hope for the defense at least.

Wheeler is not slower than Tarasenko and injured Kane. I watched him a few times and he looked pretty good to me. Bonino(assuming he makes the team) is also better than some of the garbage we tried at 4c last year. I want the best players on the team. Small upgrades across the roster all matter. If Cuylle doesn't make it that means he wasn't quite ready and somebody else was. It should be a very competitive camp.

 

[Shesterkybomb]

I give him a b for filling holes he helped create. Wheeler and Gustafson were good gets at that money. Halak is a better goalie than Quick right now so thats an immediate downgrade but maybe Allaire gets him going but an aging goalie that scrambles around the net usually doesn't get fixed.

Vegas won the cup and speed is the last thing I think about with them. Was more size, physicality, and defense.

They have both, they also have some slower guys that can play like Stone but people get caught up in "speed" as being an individual trait when it's more of a team trait that can be created with a proper breakout and a system to foster the players on the team to move the puck up the ice. As they say, the puck moves faster than the players.

 

[Savant]

How did they get slower? Is Wheeler slower than Tarasenko or an injured Kane? I don't get the bullshit we got slower narrative.

Yes.

 

[LaffyTaffyNYR]

I’ll go with a B bc I would’ve gotten rid of Goodrow and replaced him with 2 other guys. But since we kept him it is what it is. Wheeler for 800K is great value, same with Gustafson. Bonino I don’t know about his offense but he’s a shut down center that we didn’t have.

 

[Gardner McKay]

We signed Wheeler and Gustafsson for $1.6 mil combined. Toronto is paying $5.5 million a year for Reaves and Klingberg, two significantly worse players.

Just let that sink in.

 

[will1066]

People are too obsessed with team speed.

Neither of the finalists this year were fast. All the speed teams were out by round 2. There’s a reason for this.

You don’t have to be fast to play fast. As long as the exits get better (and they should) you’ll see an improvement on that end.

Positional hockey. As people have said, you're only as fast as you move the puck.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

People are too obsessed with team speed.

Neither of the finalists this year were fast. All the speed teams were out by round 2. There’s a reason for this.

You don’t have to be fast to play fast. As long as the exits get better (and they should) you’ll see an improvement on that end.

Pace is great as an asset, but only if you use it right. Lack of pace is something that can easily be overcome by a solid gameplan and strategy.

 

[will1066]

If we go back to the start of last season the team was playing Reaves, Carpenter and Hunt.

I’m not arguing that I wish they got a bit faster but if the team game plan is built correctly it won’t matter AS much.

Also having a legit puck mover on another pairing will help immensely. Most of the issue I saw was being able to get the puck to the forwards with speed moving up the ice together. When Kreider and Zibanejad look slow regularly it’s a system thing

The majority of the time, forwards should receive the puck in stride and going forward. We relied too much on a forward curling back and touch-passing the puck to a second forward before going up ice. It's an extra step in the zone exits, and a momentum-defeating one.

 

[KOVALEV022473]

Wheeler is slower than Tarasenko/injured Kane believe it or not.

Bonino is slower than Wheeler, and the likelihood that Cuylle is on the opening night roster has decreased significantly after all of these depth signings.

I have some hope for the defense at least.

Not even close to accurate. He might actually be the second fastest guy on the team behind Krieder.

They played fast for sure. Really well structured which is something I worry about with the new coaching staff.

The only real burner on their team is Eichel.

Eichel? You mean that scrub that was never supposed to win anything?

 

[TheDirtyH]

Larry makes an interesting point about the overall age of the group, and it is striking to suddenly have a very old forward corps. OTOH someone here made the great point that Drury loaded up on exactly the players we've been burning assets on at the deadline, and knowing that Drury will once again load up on reinforcements, the age factor becomes less concerning.

@NYR Viper and @Amazing Kreiderman have pretty much summed up my thoughts. The bulk of the changes this off-season will come down to the coaching. Last season really was the year of the 'new coach bump'. Lots of teams in our position got a huge facelift from a change of staff. The two cup finalists (although Florida is a dubious example), Dallas, Winnipeg, Boston... Here's hoping that the potential concerns about the footspeed of these players and their ages can be mitigated by an improved staff that knows how to utilize their strengths.

I'd still like to see Drury add another winger who could slot into the middle six, even if they're a bubble player most of the time. Like I'd feel way better about having a Hinostroza or Heinen, even Sheary on deck to fill a top-six injury than Goodrow or Cuylle.