GDT: Let the Free Agency Madness begin

[spockBokk]

Maybe a bargain bin forward to keep an eye on him after the dust settles with the potential for a Karlsson acquisition, TDA acquisition and the fates of Pesce/Skjei are settled, would be Tatar.

He’s useless in the playoffs, but scored 20g last year and seems to fit the analytical nature of what the Canes would look for. Being a natural LW helps too. He’d probably fit well with Kotkaniemi or Staal.

If he came cheap enough, maybe a late summer signing is possible.

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

Tatar would fit like dzingel. I hope we pass

The FAs that have some interest to me:

Bergeron- just to watch the world burn. Plus give him one more shot at the cup. Call him up orlov
Ritchie: as a cheap depth add. Scores more than play makes and doesn’t mind getting physical
Rodrigues: if cheap enough but Anaheim or chicago will pay him a well to play for them.

 

[moses malone 12]

Maybe a bargain bin forward to keep an eye on him after the dust settles with the potential for a Karlsson acquisition, TDA acquisition and the fates of Pesce/Skjei are settled, would be Tatar.

He’s useless in the playoffs, but scored 20g last year and seems to fit the analytical nature of what the Canes would look for. Being a natural LW helps too. He’d probably fit well with Kotkaniemi or Staal.

If he came cheap enough, maybe a late summer signing is possible.

Canes could be fine up front right now. I think Necas and TT are the keys aside from injuries.

I would reunite the SAT line. TT excels on his off wing and he should be motivated to return to form after a difficult season. Necas might excel playing with Bunting and KK. those two guys should compliment Necas' speed and shot. Let him play an "Ovi light" type of game in the o zone. KK showed his skill set in the 2nd half of the season. It looked like he was not in RBA shape early in the season and was a lazy skater. Led to penalties and being in poor position. He was a different player post all-star break. If he comes into camp in proper physical condition, he's a 60-point player IMO. already good on faceoffs and will play physical.

Jarvis plays 3rd or 4th line depending on how RBA want the strcuture the 3rd line. Martinook and Fast were excellent beside Staal. That line was very effective.

4th line of Noesen-Drury-Jarvis can lean offense. let Jarvis forecheck and play opportunistically. This line does not have to be a grinder line.

 

[mikeyfan]

Does anyone know how Burns feels about playing with EK again? Was EK a reason he wanted out of SJ?

 

[Navin R Slavin]

Does anyone know how Burns feels about playing with EK again? Was EK a reason he wanted out of SJ?

I'm pretty sure that losing was the reason he wanted out of SJ.

 

[Sens1Canes2]

Does anyone know how Burns feels about playing with EK again? Was EK a reason he wanted out of SJ?

Pretty sure they got along really well.

EK is an interesting cat. He was supposed to be a leader in Ottawa - but, he doesn’t work super hard during the season and basically is who he is because of super freakish talent and athleticism (which is fine). He decides when to try defensively. 2017 I could count on one hand how many one on one battles he lost. It was super human.

But many years he’s very average defensively.

I’d wager that he saw his old friend Mark Stone win a Cup and figured out there’s something more he’s missing …

 

[Sigurd]

Who's the game changer that's been moved or in the rumor mill? DeBrincat is an awkward fit with Aho, Jarvis and Necas because of size. Dubois is a better Trocheck, not a superstar.

They'll just have to be patient for the next top forward that becomes available. Pettersson . Keep the powder dry as much as a contender picking late can in the meantime.

I wanted to quote this from the main board. This is a very interesting idea, and one that hasn't been brought up before. Maybe the Canes wait on making a big move for a good top 6 forward until the trade deadline of '24 when they like the players available more at that time than what the forward trade market is now.

Obviously Pettersson, as you mentioned, would be one of the best forwards we could possibly get in this league if he were to become available; which very well could happen since his contract expires next summer and he's on a dumpster fire team.

Actually, now that I think about it, Pettersson is even more interesting if do get Karlsson because that means we will have two Sweds for him to play with (the other of course being Fast). That could make our team even more appealing to him if he requests a trade from Vancouver.

this feels like next level chess by the Borg. They pursue an elite player and don't overpay as the market is not deep. Its Canes and perhaps one other team pursuing EK at this point. My concern is if the Canes get him, do they make him fit their system. Mike Johnson correctly identified that EK needs to play his game. I'm all for this as he is truly elite in terms of passing and playmaking.

what's interesting to me is the potential to move out both Pesce and Skjei. Not necessarily at same time but there is a likelihood both are not extended. Those guys played heavy minutes and excelled at it. Is it worth it to move on from that simply because the next contract(s) will be too rich in 4 years. Burns may be done in 2 years and EK may not be durable going forward.

I don't have a firm position on the EK play yet. It's potentially brilliant if they leverage his skill set properly. Regardless, good stuff to start the offseason.

Fair point. However, as Waddell said, things have changed. The Hurricanes are a destination for top free agents, and Carolina no longer has to chase them because they are coming to us. I don't see our team's performance dropping off a cliff when Burns presumably retires in 2 years; so it's not a crazy assumption that we can get a good replacement in free agency when the time comes for either Burns or Karlsson.

Also, I don't see Carolina trading Nikishin given their past statement, and in 2 years, he should be in the NHL after that contract in Russia expires iirc. Although maybe in the scenario that Pettersson becomes available, perhaps Carolina considers trading him for a franchise tier center man; that'd be a scenario worth throwing the treasure trove at a player.

There's also Morrow who presumably will play at least on our 2nd pairing in 2 years if we keep him (and if he wants to play for us by then), but I think Carolina is willing to trade him for a good top 6 forward if necessary.

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

Florida is using up their cap space on rodrigues

 

[Stickpucker]

Sure, but as I said, then 4/6 of your other great defenseman are twiddling their thumbs every minute he plays. You're too concentrated in one area. Have great defense, sure, but when it comes at the expense of upgrading the forwards, when you're already stacked on D it's just redundant.

Maybe an example will help:

If I've got Vasy in net and Sorokin on the bench, am I going to go trade forwards and defensemen to acquire Shesterkin as well?

The Canes spend more time than any other team in the ozone.

The idea is instead of Pesce and Skjei back there doing their best to create offense you swap that for Orlov and EK and watch the points pile up.

Yeah but when Orlov walks and Karlsson is old making 11.5 and Burns retries, is Nikishin+Slavin enough to keep the cup window open?


Because instead of paying $10m to have those guys play less, you could instead get a forward that will actually play meaningful minutes like a top line winger.

The 2nd d pair usually gets about 20 mins a game.

A top line forward won't see as many minutes on the Canes

 

[mikeyfan]

Just my thoughts, but the Hurricanes are too caught up with the D scoring on the PP instead of concentrating on getting that big time scorer who is Dangerous inside the dots both on the PP and Even Strength

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

Just my thoughts, but the Hurricanes are too caught up with the D scoring on the PP instead of concentrating on getting that big time scorer who is Dangerous inside the dots both on the PP and Even Strength

Karlsson is far more than a PP scorer last year though

 

[mikeyfan]

Karlsson is far more than a PP scorer last year though

I’d still rather have a high scoring forward

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

I’d still rather have a high scoring forward

Sure but the acquisition cost is going to be quite, quite high.

 

[bleedgreen]

I don’t know why TDA if they’re really in on Karlsson, that would be three guys to play the pp which I don’t think we need or fits the style. If the Karlsson thing happens I wonder if TDA is included? Burns/Karlsson/Chat makes more sense.

I mildly enjoy the spectacle of a player like Karlsson coming to us, but I also kind of hope we don’t do it.

Also, Bunting isn’t enough of an add to the offense imo. Like I said yesterday it’s basically replacing the Nino slot we didn’t replace last year. I do suspect we’re going to use him more/higher up than we did Nino of course. We’ve been short at least one good forward for a few years now.

We’re still in the middle of whatever it is we’re doing though, so we’ll see.

 

[bobc222]

Sure but the acquisition cost is going to be quite, quite high.

If we manage to secure EK AND a scoring forward I take back everything I said. I'll be more suspect if it's just EK

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

I get the feeling that we are already looking to move Pesce or Skjei, and if we get Karlsson we might be looking to move both. And we will probably be going into the trade market thinking we can package someone like Turbo with either and be able to take on a big salary for a top line player, possibly in the Nylander mold.

And along with this, I get the impression the main thing holding up the Aho deal is a willingness on both sides to see what our cap situation looks like next year and making sure his structure fits it while still making sure we can still bring back as many key pieces as possible.

While I would have guessed it would be Pesce a few days ago, now I think Skjei makes more sense for a few reasons from a Canes POV.

1) Orlov is a LHD and so is Skjei
2) Moving Skjei clears up about $1M more cap space than moving Pesce
3) After his 18G season, he's going to command a high price contract

On the flip side, he has a 10 team NTC.

From other teams POV, Pesce is a RHD which makes him a bit more desirable on the open market, and his cap hit is less this year so that may be more desirable to other teams as well, but I still don't see either of them getting a huge return so I'm not sure how much that matters.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

Just my thoughts, but the Hurricanes are too caught up with the D scoring on the PP instead of concentrating on getting that big time scorer who is Dangerous inside the dots both on the PP and Even Strength

It seems like we say this every year now, but it's worth saying again: we don't know what the puzzle looks like until after it's finished.

We have two D men who are in the last year of their contracts and aren't likely to re-sign the short term deals that we clearly prefer for supplemental pieces, and there are two attractive D-men targets: one in free agency, one via trade. That's an urgent problem, so it makes sense to get that situation settled first. If you can improve the backend D scoring in the process, so much the better.

Once that problem is solved, then you've got good, proven players you can trade for forwards, alone or paired with futures, and then you don't have to limit yourself to what's available via FA: you can make any trade that makes sense. That could be a trade for a for young cost controlled player, or a short term contact for a vet with demonstrated scoring ability.

In any event: there is a plan, we are not privy to it, and this front office continues to do a good job in bringing in good talent while maintaining the cap flexibility that is so vital to success in this league.

 

[StormCast]

Just my thoughts, but the Hurricanes are too caught up with the D scoring on the PP instead of concentrating on getting that big time scorer who is Dangerous inside the dots both on the PP and Even Strength

Aho, Necas, Svech, and Turbo all can do that but the absence of a better playmaking and puck handling D has resulted in an overreliance on scoring on the cycle. Sure, you are in closer but with tighter angles and less margin for error. Not surprisingly many pucks end up in the goaltender's crest.

EK and Orlov would boost the transition game and put the forwards in more favorable scoring spots. EK would provide greater offensive impact than another F on the market IMO.

 

[Unsustainable]

If we get EK for 7mish cap, we can make moves with Pesce and Skjei to get a top scorer like Nylander or Lindhol.

 

[Lempo]

My concern is if the Canes get him, do they make him fit their system. Mike Johnson correctly identified that EK needs to play his game. I'm all for this as he is truly elite in terms of passing and playmaking.

I'd like to think an elite player breaks the system without breaking the system. Elevate it to next level, like.

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

If we get EK for 7mish cap, we can make moves with Pesce and Skjei to get a top scorer like Nylander or Lindhol.

???

 

[Lempo]

Does anyone know how Burns feels about playing with EK again? Was EK a reason he wanted out of SJ?

If Burns dislikes him, Burns is wrong.

Now off to make some steak and new potatoes. Someone make some moves in the meanwhile, goddamnit!

 

[AD Skinner]

???

View attachment 725354

I loved this game

 

[StormCast]

I'd like to think an elite player breaks the system without breaking the system. Elevate it to next level, like.

The FO and coaching staff loved TDA's offensive game feeling it was right in line with the optimal way to play a system based on speed, playmaking and passing. The coaches raved about his on ice vision and passing

EK is all that but on a whole different level. I really don't see it as having to change the system but rather getting pieces that better fit the ideal deployment of the system.

EK makes the forwards he pkays with better. Guys like Nylander and Debrincat don't.

 

[spockBokk]

I’ll say this about Karlsson - if they pull that off while also still acquiring TDA, they’d be able to ice an elite offensive D (might be a stretch to call TDA elite offensively, but I’m gonna anyway) on each of their 3 pairings. The potential for all offense, all the time would be immense.

Thing is, the more I think about it, with the strength of their defensive forwards (Staal, Fast, Aho, Teravainen, etc) they just might be able to pull that off and not sacrifice too much defensively, even if they end up moving on from both Pesce and Skjei this offseason.

Signing Orlov to a 2yr deal is about a creative of a solution they could have thought of to contract-apocalypse coming next summer. Now, they are still guaranteed too have 3/4 of their top 4 under contract until Nikishin and perhaps Morrow are ready to step in as replacements.

I still don’t think they’ll pull off Karlsson, but man, it’s an interesting thought. Now, if they could pull off Karlsson AND another scorer…I don’t think I could ever question what they do again…