Claimed off Waivers: [NJD] Nathan Bastian claimed off waivers by the Devils from the Kraken

[RainyCityHockey]

It has. Gavin Beyreuther, Vitek Vanacek and now Nathan Bastian. All wasted picks. There might be others, but those I know for a fact.

EDIT: Barre Boulet, and someone else already said this. But yeah. What a mess.

Vanecek was traded back to Washington for a 2nd round pikc(2023 from Winnipeg).
That's a bit different than Bastian being lost on waivers.

 

[Mike Jones]

Appleton has played every game he was available for.
Him coming back from injury was the reason why Bastian was waived.

Though, we've still got eight defensmen on the active roster and Will Borgen has changed his job description to "Dude in the press box".

They could do something like call him 'Associate Video Coach' to make him feel more useful.

 

[Mike Jones]

Vanecek was traded back to Washington for a 2nd round pikc(2023 from Winnipeg).
That's a bit different than Bastian being lost on waivers.

True. Trading a guy for a pick is a legitimate part of an expansion team's work.

Waiving players who could contribute if you use them properly is another story entirely.

 

[3074326]

Vanecek was traded back to Washington for a 2nd round pikc(2023 from Winnipeg).
That's a bit different than Bastian being lost on waivers.

They could have drafted Brendan Dillon and gotten two seconds.

My angle is that they seem to have done absolutely no homework regarding trades, and then went on to select worse players than they could have. Three of the four players I mentioned were completely lost for nothing. I view all of them as wasted picks, even the Vanacek one. But you are right, they didn't lose him for nothing at least.

 

[cyris]

You just said the guy had two bad seasons in a row, knee injury history as well as Covid complications and Francis should take that risk? He makes 3.4M and hadn't played up to that contract in years, that's a easy pass.

Johnsson wasn't undervalued, he was damaged goods. Vegas was handed good young players, I wouldn't call Theodore or Tuch undervalued or some wise discovery by Vegas, they were former 1st round picks who's teams foolishly gave them away for cap purposes. I would say McCann is the top candidate for that as he's close to a ppg player now. Geekie hasn't broken out yet but he's slowly building his game and should be a key part of the top 9 for many years.

No one said the job was easy. That’s why GMs make millions.
Francis made bad picks and often left better players on the teams he picked from. Would I expect the average HF poster to look at Johnsson and see that he was prime for a turn around? Not really.
But I do expect a highly paid GM and pro scouting staff to look at the underlying reasons for his rough seasons and see he has more to give. It’s a hard job but that’s what they are paid for.
Vegas did get gifted some good young players but they had to do things to get them. Francis didn’t seem to figure any of that out.
Vegas also got paid a first to select William Karlsson.

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

It may be too late if they wait until next season.

I completely agree with you, lots of things I thought out in this scenario, but all in all, Francis is still deemed new to the team and the ownership group probably likes one thing or believes it'd be unfair to just let him go.

But Seattle needs a true general manager right now.

 

[Mike Jones]

I completely agree with you, lots of things I thought out in this scenario, but all in all, Francis is still deemed new to the team and the ownership group probably likes one thing or believes it'd be unfair to just let him go.

But Seattle needs a true general manager right now.

Beware of what you wish for - you might just get Chiarelli.

 

[Moose and Squirrel]

No one said the job was easy. That’s why GMs make millions.
Francis made bad picks and often left better players on the teams he picked from. Would I expect the average HF poster to look at Johnsson and see that he was prime for a turn around? Not really.
But I do expect a highly paid GM and pro scouting staff to look at the underlying reasons for his rough seasons and see he has more to give. It’s a hard job but that’s what they are paid for.
Vegas did get gifted some good young players but they had to do things to get them. Francis didn’t seem to figure any of that out.
Vegas also got paid a first to select William Karlsson.

the Karlsson point is a good example of other GM's a) not knowing how good their own prospects were and b) not taking the expansion draft serious enuff

 

[hotcabbagesoup]

Beware of what you wish for - you might just get Chiarelli.

That's Peter Chiarelli, Stanley Cup-winning GM of the illustrious original-six franchise the Boston Bruins to you. I mean yeah Ron Francis won the Cup as a player, but Chiarelli won it as a GM, and that's what matters.

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

Waive Appleton next, so we can have him back? You're not even using him!

I know, right? Appleton could easily be a very key offensive player for the Kraken he's playing more. Watch them trade him for peanuts and light it up with his next team. Not quite a superstar, but a very good player who you can rely on every night.

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

Beware of what you wish for - you might just get Chiarelli.

Chiarelli isn't a true GM.

Hoping for something along the lines of Kelly McCrimmon.

 

[HoseEmDown]

No one said the job was easy. That’s why GMs make millions.
Francis made bad picks and often left better players on the teams he picked from. Would I expect the average HF poster to look at Johnsson and see that he was prime for a turn around? Not really.
But I do expect a highly paid GM and pro scouting staff to look at the underlying reasons for his rough seasons and see he has more to give. It’s a hard job but that’s what they are paid for.
Vegas did get gifted some good young players but they had to do things to get them. Francis didn’t seem to figure any of that out.
Vegas also got paid a first to select William Karlsson.

If Johnsson was so good and primed for a breakout then why was he left exposed in the first place?

Vegas also had to take Clarkson and his 5.25M contract which had 3 years left. Just dumping that was costly. I haven't seen any reports of where Francis turned down a 1st to take a specific player. I've seen the ones to get a 2nd but those players had either term or big cap or cash owed. Detroit got a 3rd from Tampa last year to eat 1M in cap and less than that in cash. A 2nd for 4M or more isn't worth it.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

I feel like this has happened a few times now, where Seattle has already cast away one of their expansion picks and he ends up either with a different team or the original team that left him exposed.

What is Ron Francis doing over there, anyway?

Well.

Who else are their castaways supposed to go to?

 

[GM Armchair]

No one said the job was easy. That’s why GMs make millions.
Francis made bad picks and often left better players on the teams he picked from. Would I expect the average HF poster to look at Johnsson and see that he was prime for a turn around? Not really.
But I do expect a highly paid GM and pro scouting staff to look at the underlying reasons for his rough seasons and see he has more to give. It’s a hard job but that’s what they are paid for.
Vegas did get gifted some good young players but they had to do things to get them. Francis didn’t seem to figure any of that out.
Vegas also got paid a first to select William Karlsson.

Your last point is the whole difference between expansion drafts. But people are going to tear into Seattle regardless.

 

[Mike Jones]

That's Peter Chiarelli, Stanley Cup-winning GM of the illustrious original-six franchise the Boston Bruins to you. I mean yeah Ron Francis won the Cup as a player, but Chiarelli won it as a GM, and that's what matters.

After what he did in Edmonton? No - it doesn't matter.

 

[Mike Jones]

Chiarelli isn't a true GM.

Hoping for something along the lines of Kelly McCrimmon.

Anybody like that available? I haven't been keeping up with who's on that bench.

 

[cyris]

If Johnsson was so good and primed for a breakout then why was he left exposed in the first place?

Vegas also had to take Clarkson and his 5.25M contract which had 3 years left. Just dumping that was costly. I haven't seen any reports of where Francis turned down a 1st to take a specific player. I've seen the ones to get a 2nd but those players had either term or big cap or cash owed. Detroit got a 3rd from Tampa last year to eat 1M in cap and less than that in cash. A 2nd for 4M or more isn't worth it.

There was no direct cap hit that came with Clarkson. He was LTIR retired and his real money was covered by insurance.

 

[HoseEmDown]

There was no direct cap hit that came with Clarkson. He was LTIR retired and his real money was covered by insurance.

LTIR only works if you're going to be spending over the cap. Clarksons 5.25M would've been taken up cap space. His cap hit doesn't disappear because he was never playing again. If it wasn't an issue Vegas wouldn't have added a pick to him just to trade him down the road.

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

Anybody like that available? I haven't been keeping up with who's on that bench.

McCrimmon was a hidden gem, I personally knew about him because he's extremely loyal and did an amazing job with the Wheat Kings for many, many years and basically cemented himself with the Golden Knights where the only way he's gone is if he either retires or resigns. It's why he bought the Brandon Wheat Kings (recently sold) and never left whereas some forgot about him because it's junior. But if I did a lot more research, I could tell you who'd be the next best bet. But the unfortunate thing on the side is hockey connections make AGMs of NHL teams get hired, for example Paul Fenton. Another hidden gem was Barry Trotz who started as a scout for the Capitals.

Seattle will have a rough start with Francis, Botterill, Hakstol, and Bylsma who works with the Checkers in lieu of the Kraken. Unless it's their view of the Wright way.

 

[EpiK Sandwich]

Remember when Tarasenko was available, even to flip for assets? The players available vs what Francis is doing/did is ridiculous. If he wanted to trade people away he should gave at least picked BPA from teams, rather than picking people just to have them get claimed.

It is like watching a little kid on a video game.

 

[DingDongCharlie]

Hey Mr Francis, Edmonton will give you a 3rd rounder for Appleton, unless you'd rather waive him.

 

[Brodeur]

Not that I would endorse all of Seattle’s moves, I think some in this thread are being a little overly critical with Bastian and ABB.

As other Devils fans said, Johnsson was a non factor last year and they could have used the 3.4 mil cap hit elsewhere. Bastian was an acceptable 4th liner but once they signed guys like Donato and Johansson after the Expansion Draft there going to be a number crunch.

They claimed ABB after they had like four forwards go on the COVID list right before the season. Claiming him wasn’t a long term addition, more a “oh crap, we might not have enough forwards to dress tomorrow” move.

 

[HoseEmDown]

Remember when Tarasenko was available, even to flip for assets? The players available vs what Francis is doing/did is ridiculous. If he wanted to trade people away he should gave at least picked BPA from teams, rather than picking people just to have them get claimed.

It is like watching a little kid on a video game.

Then why hasn't St. Louis flipped him yet? They've been trying to for awhile and now that he's playing better he should get them even more, what is Armstrong doing?

You have 30 selections and a 23 man roster. This is before free agency even begins. Besides a couple of goalies every player available was waiver eligible. You have an AHL affiliate that needs players and you don't have any prospects to send them. There was always going to be players waived, you just hoped you can get them through waivers.

 

[AveryStar4Eva]

I’m not gonna harp on Seattle about this one when they have much worse offences. Johnsson had back to back poor seasons, most GM’s won’t take a swing on that. Instead they took a younger guy, didn’t work out so not much lost

 

[Irie]

I know, right? Appleton could easily be a very key offensive player for the Kraken he's playing more. Watch them trade him for peanuts and light it up with his next team. Not quite a superstar, but a very good player who you can rely on every night.

Appleton has been out because he's been injured. He really hasn't been a healthy scratch at all.

That said, he hasn't been very good. He's been caught flat footed watching the play in the neutral zone a lot. Regularly has been chasing the pick in his own end and caught out of position, and he has made a lot of mental mistakes in most games he's played in.

He's a young player playing in a new system, so a lot of the errors are to be expected, but people in here making him out to be some can't miss future top line player are getting way ahead of themselves.