Speculation: Offseason Roster Building Thread - Trades, Signings, Rumors

[DougieSmash]

We finally move from this. Staal is not the solution.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

We finally move from this. Staal is not the solution.

But he might be!

 

[Roboturner913]

If you're looking for 35-40 points and good possession from a wing spot, or a 3rd line C, I'm ok with it. Doesn't really solve any problems but neither does Stempniak or similar.

 

[RodTheBawd]

I've been completely against bringing him back, even after his pretty solid season. For some reason, I'm warming to the idea. And then thinking nah, **** it.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

It will never happen.

But hey, it might!

 

[bobc222]

If you're looking for 35-40 points and good possession from a wing spot, or a 3rd line C, I'm ok with it. Doesn't really solve any problems but neither does Stempniak or similar.

Not saying its the right move but 35-40 points is lowballing it. He was top 30 in the league in scoring this season. Just think about that when considering how many amazing players there are and he was right there with them. When he was in Carolina, especially the later years, he wasn't playing with quality wingers like Skinner. He played with Semin who had slowed down, PDG, Tlusty etc. Let him center Skinner/Aho/TT and he will certainly put up more than 60 points.

 

[Brock Anton]

Not saying its the right move but 35-40 points is lowballing it. He was top 30 in the league in scoring this season. Just think about that when considering how many amazing players there are and he was right there with them. When he was in Carolina, especially the later years, he wasn't playing with quality wingers like Skinner. He played with Semin who had slowed down, PDG, Tlusty etc. Let him center Skinner/Aho/TT and he will certainly put up more than 60 points.

He couldn't play with Skinner, not because we didn't want to, but because they never meshed.

 

[FreshSeabass]

I think bringing eric back sends the wrong message. Its a new era lets move on to something else. Just my two cents.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

He was top 30 in the league in scoring this season.

And *this* is why, despite being fun/lulzy to think about, it ain't gonna happen. Minny would be stupid to give him up on that contract.

But hey, ya never know!

 

[bobc222]

Don't get me wrong I don't think RF will go for it but Staal's better than I think he sometimes gets credit for around here. Also I think Aho/TT are still good options who he could have chemistry with. Just my two cents but perhaps Skinner's age when they did play together factored into that. Maybe with some experience they would work better.

 

[FreshSeabass]

Don't get me wrong I don't think RF will go for it but Staal's better than I think he sometimes gets credit for around here. Also I think Aho/TT are still good options who he could have chemistry with. Just my two cents but perhaps Skinner's age when they did play together factored into that. Maybe with some experience they would work better.

It seemed to me skinner grabbed another gear pretty much right after we traded staal. Maybe just coincidence or there is a correlation there.

 

[bobc222]

My guess would be that has to do more with leadership and being shown how confident the organization was with him as opposed to the roster "opening up" if that makes sense.

 

[RodTheBawd]

It will never happen.

But hey, it might!

I think you're right!

It seemed to me skinner grabbed another gear pretty much right after we traded staal. Maybe just coincidence or there is a correlation there.

My completely tinfoil hat theory has been that Skinner and Staal did not get along, and Skinner was very happy to see him gone.

 

[Vagrant]

The laundry list of reasons why Eric wouldn't work coming back make it a non-issue to discuss. But if Vegas throws a curveball and takes him in hopes of flipping him at the deadline, that would be quite hilarious. I feel like they're only exposing him because of the protection that having one of their defensemen exposed would provide them.

 

[Roboturner913]

It seemed to me skinner grabbed another gear pretty much right after we traded staal. Maybe just coincidence or there is a correlation there.

I think there is probably something to that, and it doesn't have to be anything insidious - just Skinner feeling like he needed to level up and fill that void.

I generally agree that we are best served moving forward without him, but then again, we can only speculate as to the nature of the relationship between him and the org. It might be much better than we think.

 

[DougieSmash]

Wallmark could be a waste at fourth line. He's good offensive playmaker, according some prospect sites.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Wallmark could be a waste at fourth line. He's good offensive playmaker, according some prospect sites.

The other option is to make the 4th line good, instead of a bunch of plugs who can't play. For instance, if he's ready, put wallmark with McGinn and PDG as the 4th line .

 

[Roboturner913]

Wallmark certainly get his chance to prove he belongs on the 3rd line or higher. It's interesting that he's become more of a goal scorer since entering the AHL. Rask didn't make half that big a splash in his first AHL season and he was good enough to play in the NHL the next year.

 

[Vagrant]

Wallmark is an interesting case. I'm basically baffled by him as a prospect. Part of me looks at him and says there's no way he's a good enough skater to be a full time NHL player, and there's another part of me that says that it might not be as big of a problem as long as he produces. The similarities to Victor Rask are pretty pronounced, but Wallmark is a bit smaller and that makes his skating deficiencies slightly more difficult to overcome. In situations where Rask can use his reach and his body to protect the puck to get out of places his first step would hurt him, Wallmark doesn't have the same option. That will limit him and will always limit him to some degree. If you're not fast and you don't have the frame to fight off checkers, your path to the NHL will be a steady uphill climb against players that have some sort of edge on you as it pertains to being faster or being bigger or being stronger. Another problem is that he's not a specialist in the traditional sense. He's not going to be a penalty killer for Carolina due to not meeting the requirements for what we look for in our high men on that unit. He's not really fast or really rangy. Unless he can become an absolute ass kicker in the dots (which isn't unreasonable as he's already good), that's probably not his path to the league. Conversely, he's not really a driver on the powerplay. Poturalski was more the engine down there for Charlotte and Derek Ryan before him.

So what you have is an undersized jack of all trades who can raise the skill level of a 4th line, but might not have what it takes to play higher. Additionally, he's not a player at present that you can rely upon to play special teams or excel in any particular situational hockey. But there again, there's the production. The production says he's a player and while counting stats aren't everything, they're not something that can be dismissed as irrelevant. This offseason will be critical to his future. There's a window presently between the wave of prospects like Roy, Saarela, Gauthier, Kuokkanen, etc. and the last batch with McGinn, Di Guiseppe, Woods, Brown, etc. that he can take advantage of if he works hard this Summer and improves enough to be noticed in camp. However, that window is short and dependent upon a lot of variables such as the NHL readiness of those aforementioned guys. If he can come in and claim his spot, now is the time.

 

[tomdundo]

Wallmark is an interesting case. I'm basically baffled by him as a prospect. Part of me looks at him and says there's no way he's a good enough skater to be a full time NHL player, and there's another part of me that says that it might not be as big of a problem as long as he produces. The similarities to Victor Rask are pretty pronounced, but Wallmark is a bit smaller and that makes his skating deficiencies slightly more difficult to overcome. In situations where Rask can use his reach and his body to protect the puck to get out of places his first step would hurt him, Wallmark doesn't have the same option. That will limit him and will always limit him to some degree. If you're not fast and you don't have the frame to fight off checkers, your path to the NHL will be a steady uphill climb against players that have some sort of edge on you as it pertains to being faster or being bigger or being stronger. Another problem is that he's not a specialist in the traditional sense. He's not going to be a penalty killer for Carolina due to not meeting the requirements for what we look for in our high men on that unit. He's not really fast or really rangy. Unless he can become an absolute ass kicker in the dots (which isn't unreasonable as he's already good), that's probably not his path to the league. Conversely, he's not really a driver on the powerplay. Poturalski was more the engine down there for Charlotte and Derek Ryan before him.

So what you have is an undersized jack of all trades who can raise the skill level of a 4th line, but might not have what it takes to play higher. Additionally, he's not a player at present that you can rely upon to play special teams or excel in any particular situational hockey. But there again, there's the production. The production says he's a player and while counting stats aren't everything, they're not something that can be dismissed as irrelevant. This offseason will be critical to his future. There's a window presently between the wave of prospects like Roy, Saarela, Gauthier, Kuokkanen, etc. and the last batch with McGinn, Di Guiseppe, Woods, Brown, etc. that he can take advantage of if he works hard this Summer and improves enough to be noticed in camp. However, that window is short and dependent upon a lot of variables such as the NHL readiness of those aforementioned guys. If he can come in and claim his spot, now is the time.

I believe you meant to say "these is the times"

 

[bleedgreen]

I'm fine with him as fourth line center, at least for a month or two to see how it goes. If he hangs defensively I think he has enough pop in his game to contribute at that level. Jstaal is enough of a defensive center for us to not need a selke candidate on the fourth, and Wallmark does his due diligence in his own end. I think he has potential to be a strong role player.

I think he's a bit quicker than Rask, and is also a more aggressive player.

 

[Ole Gil]

I'm fine with him as fourth line center, at least for a month or two to see how it goes. If he hangs defensively I think he has enough pop in his game to contribute at that level. Jstaal is enough of a defensive center for us to not need a selke candidate on the fourth, and Wallmark does his due diligence in his own end. I think he has potential to be a strong role player.

I think he's a bit quicker than Rask, and is also a more aggressive player.

They don't need a Selke guy. But Jordan isn't going to play 30 minutes a night. They're going to need 8-10 minutes a night of solid defensive play, because the alternative is Skinner or TT starting in the wrong end, which even if they are more capable now than in the past, isn't where you want to use them.

Unless there is a high level of certainty in the organization in regards to Wallmark, I think you go out and get a new McClement. A guy who will kill penalties, and can go out with Nordstrom and whoever, and take tough shifts against 2nd lines all night.

If they role the dice on Wallmark, and it doesn't work out, what's plan b?

 

[geehaad]

If they role the dice on Wallmark, and it doesn't work out, what's plan b?

Seems like plan B isn't all that hard to come by, so it's not like that roll of the dice has major stakes riding on it.

 

[Roboturner913]

McClement wasn't exactly good last season. From what I've seen of Wallmark, it's kind of hard to imagine that he would be worse than that over the long term.

 

[Ole Gil]

McClement wasn't exactly good last season. From what I've seen of Wallmark, it's kind of hard to imagine that he would be worse than that over the long term.

To this and Geehead's comment, I think McClement's not exactly good play was a serious part of the teams overall failure.

With only one 'top 3' line that I think would be considered good defensively, this 4th line center needs to be good at their job, because they are going to be matched up against the 2Cs.

--
Once the season starts, and Wallmark doesn't work, who takes over at 4C?