Offseason Roster Moves, Rumors, and Discussion

[Cowumbus]

Shatt-deuces and Barrie still available..

 

[CBJWerenski8]

Cap friendly officially dead. Sad

 

[DankoCBJ]

Our TOP9 forwards are set for the next season and beyond. Minor suffling coming in the next few years in terms on Brindley, Lindstrom etc but we dont need new top9 forwards from outside at all.

TOP9 forwards are Gaudreau, Fantilli, Marchenko, Chinakhov, Johnson, Monahan, Jenner, Sillinger and Voronkov. Thats a good up-and-coming group with skill, size, firepower, muscle etc and it is mostly just going to get better.

Don Waddells focus should be imporing and cleaning up the defence and getting rid of Merzlikins.

That, and the right coach in place and this thing will move pretty quickly to the right direction.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

With the Greaves signing, winger Kirill Marchenko is the club’s last remaining RFA who has filed for arbitration. The Blue Jackets have discussed both long-term and short-term deals with Marchenko, including a conversation that Waddell expected to have with Marchenko’s agent, Dan Milstein, on Saturday. Milstein and Marchenko are pushing for a longer deal, and that’s prompted Waddell to do some deep-digging on the player before he considers it. Waddell, after all, has only been on the job for two months. “I’m trying to get a good feel from everybody who’s been here,” Waddell said. “Some guys you want to be careful about going long-term, right?” What’s his digging revealed so far? “I haven’t heard too many negatives, that’s for sure,” Waddell chuckled.

• Marchenko’s arbitration hearing, should it get to that point, is scheduled for Aug. 4. Needless to say, Waddell would like to have a deal in place before then. The Blue Jackets have never gone through arbitration with a player.

The Jackets have two other RFAs, but neither Cole Sillinger nor Kent Johnsonhave arbitration rights, so Waddell was able to put those talks on the backburner until this past week. Talks are underway with Sillinger’s agent, Craig Oster, and Johnson’s agent, Pat Brisson.

Waddell is still hopeful it’s not too late to find a trade partner for Patrik Laine, who asked the club for a change of scenery after a difficult last season in Columbus. Laine is still in the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program. While the Jackets can trade him while he’s still in the program, neither they nor any other club can speak directly to Laine, and Waddell said all interested parties have asked to speak to Laine before putting together a trade package for him. “Teams keep checking in to see if there’s anything new,” Waddell said. “I tell them, ‘You guys have to be comfortable with (Laine), and I can’t help you.’ I don’t know the player personally. I’m not one to try and trick people either, so (we) made him available to chat (when he’s cleared).”• The prime time to trade Laine — the NHL Draft and the start of free agency — have both passed, but Waddell remains hopeful. “There really aren’t a lot of free agents out there,” he said. “If (teams) have the (salary) cap (space) today, they’ll probably still have it tomorrow. I know there are teams that are still interested.”

https://x.com/i/web/status/1812551179638866234

 

[Cyclones Rock]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1812551179638866234

Based on what Waddell said and my perceived tone of it, it seems that the notion that Nash is being groomed to be his replacement is correct.

 

[VT]

I'm not sure it's a good idea for Marchenko to have a long-term contract.

 

[stevo61]

I'm not sure it's a good idea for Marchenko to have a long-term contract.

hes got more to give but at the same time nothing in life is guarenteed. Some people like stability instead of doing what people like Klingberg did or have some terrible injury with no deal in place. Some players dont like going through contract talks/negotiations so maybe he just wants to deal with it as little as possible

 

[DoingItCoolKiwi]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1812551179638866234

Marchenko is at an age where most players are pretty close to their best. Definitely a skip if Marchenko wants a Slafkovsky type contract that assumes the player will improve.

I'd maybe consider it was like $3-4m AAV for 6-8 years, but I bet that's not what he wants.

 

[majormajor]

Based on what Waddell said and my perceived tone of it, it seems that the notion that Nash is being groomed to be his replacement is correct.

It sounded less specific to me, more like they want to keep seeing him slowly move up the ladder.

Marchenko is at an age where most players are pretty close to their best. Definitely a skip if Marchenko wants a Slafkovsky type contract that assumes the player will improve.

I'd maybe consider it was like $3-4m AAV for 6-8 years, but I bet that's not what he wants.

He's probably asking for more like a $5m x 5, and that's not too far off his value I think, just a little too high. There's not much leverage on their end so they're not going to get anywhere asking for something ridiculous, it's going to have to be an agreement that a long term deal is best for both sides. And I can see that in Marchenko's case, he's a relatively solid player who can be a leader for us.

 

[LJ7]

5x5 for Marchenko is an interesting one for me. Monahan has proven far more over the years but has the injury problems. Marchenko is not an established upper-lineup player yet. If he does want the privilege of stability in the NHL then I would hope he's willing to sign something team friendly.

I'm more comfortable with Monahan at 5x5ish than Marchenko now. I don't know if Marchenko will be one of the 4 best wings on the team over the span of the next 5 seasons. Gaudreau is better, I expect Chinakhov and Johnson to be better, Jenner might be better if he plays wing, same goes for Voronkov. That doesn't even consider the younger forward prospects who's expectations are higher.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

Wouldn’t 5 years walk marchenko right to UFA? If we’re going to go long term with him, might as well go for 7-8 years and really lock him in.

I’m more in favor of a bridge deal though, personally.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

Generally 26-year-olds on AHL contracts are hard to regard as prospects; particularly after playing college hockey for five years.

But do the Jackets have something in Justin Pearson? Led Cleveland in scoring in the playoffs and Is back with the Monsters for the second year of his original AHL deal.

 

[majormajor]

Wouldn’t 5 years walk marchenko right to UFA? If we’re going to go long term with him, might as well go for 7-8 years and really lock him in.

A five year deal would buy one year of UFA.

I don't see the upside to merit a 7 or 8 year deal. There's no point to take on that risk. I have no worries with Marchenko's professionalism but anyone can get derailed by bad injuries.

 

[domi28]

A five year deal would buy one year of UFA.

I don't see the upside to merit a 7 or 8 year deal. There's no point to take on that risk. I have no worries with Marchenko's professionalism but anyone can get derailed by bad injuries.

I'm in agreement with this. Marchenko is probably close to his ceiling so unless it's a really cheap deal I just don't see locking him in for 7 or 8 years. I would rather do something like 3 years $4-5m AAV. Waddell could even do something like $3.5m/5m/6m so his next QO is relatively large to entice Marchenko to sign. If he really ups his game great, Waddell has a year to negotiate an extension.

The big question in my mind is what does Milstein think Marchenko is worth?

 

[DoingItCoolKiwi]

He's probably asking for more like a $5m x 5, and that's not too far off his value I think, just a little too high. There's not much leverage on their end so they're not going to get anywhere asking for something ridiculous, it's going to have to be an agreement that a long term deal is best for both sides. And I can see that in Marchenko's case, he's a relatively solid player who can be a leader for us.

What makes him a $5m or close player for you?

Comparing his 23-24 season to CBJ projected 24-25 top 9 players (excluding Monahan, Laine), he had the worst even strength xGF% and P/60. I don't see how you can afford to commit $5m on that. If he doesn't improve you're stuck paying 5m for a 3rd liner.

 

[stevo61]

What makes him a $5m or close player for you?

Comparing his 23-24 season to CBJ projected 24-25 top 9 players (excluding Monahan, Laine), he had the worst even strength xGF% and P/60. I don't see how you can afford to commit $5m on that

He's 23, has 2 years in the NHL and 2 20 goal seasons. He improved a ton this year compared to last, major thing that slowed him down was the system they played did not allow anyone to show off their offense and creativity. Id expect him to see a nice bump in points this season should he find himself in an offensive role.

Id also suggest go looking at and reminding yourself of the players making 5mil, it doesnt look very outrageous at all

 

[majormajor]

What makes him a $5m or close player for you?

Comparing his 23-24 season to CBJ projected 24-25 top 9 players (excluding Monahan, Laine), he had the worst even strength xGF% and P/60. I don't see how you can afford to commit $5m on that. If he doesn't improve you're stuck paying 5m for a 3rd liner.

I would say his play last year was more like a $4m guy. And he could improve on that, maybe to be more than a $5m caliber player. So getting Marchenko locked in around $4-4.5m x 5 is fine with me. And if he's just a middle sixer that's actually still a decent number these days.

 

[DoingItCoolKiwi]

He's 23, has 2 years in the NHL and 2 20 goal seasons. He improved a ton this year compared to last, major thing that slowed him down was the system they played did not allow anyone to show off their offense and creativity. Id expect him to see a nice bump in points this season should he find himself in an offensive role.

He's 24 with +100gp, and has gotten a lot top 6 and PP opportunities. Out of forwards, he played 2nd most minutes in both 5v5 and 5v4 last season. I feel your point of view on his performances is overly optimistic.

Id also suggest go looking at and reminding yourself of the players making 5mil, it doesnt look very outrageous at all

I prefer not to use other teams' mistakes to justify signing bad value contracts. You could justify signing Gudbransson the same way

 

[majormajor]

I prefer not to use other teams' mistakes to justify signing bad value contracts. You could justify signing Gudbransson the same way

Except it's not even a mistake. A solid middle sixer can be worth $5m.

 

[DoingItCoolKiwi]

I would say his play last year was more like a $4m guy. And he could improve on that, maybe to be more than a $5m caliber player. So getting Marchenko locked in around $4-4.5m x 5 is fine with me. And if he's just a middle sixer that's actually still a decent number these days.

We can agree to disagree on his value, but outside that, would you want to sign a middle 6 player for long-term when he hasn't yet shown ability to provide value defensively? I don't really want another Roslovic repeat. Most of the middle 6 players with big contracts that arent bad, play good PK and defense.

 

[stevo61]

He's 24 with +100gp, and has gotten a lot top 6 and PP opportunities. Out of forwards, he played 2nd most minutes in both 5v5 and 5v4 last season. I feel your point of view on his performances is overly optimistic.


I prefer not to use other teams' mistakes to justify signing bad value contracts. You could justify signing Gudbransson the same way

no my point of view is our coach/system/team sucked ass last year and I think there is a lot of room for improvement. I think conditioning through his own work and higher expectations alone would do wonders.

I also think Johnny is better than a 60 point player aswell. I think the only player that had an actually impressive offensive season under Vincent was Werenski. Its actually nuts the numbers he put up on a team that didnt score.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

A five year deal would buy one year of UFA.

I don't see the upside to merit a 7 or 8 year deal. There's no point to take on that risk. I have no worries with Marchenko's professionalism but anyone can get derailed by bad injuries.

If thats the mindset, then you'd sign almost nobody long term. Including Johnny or Werenski.

I agree its a risk to sign Marchenko to a 7-8 year deal but you lock him up for his entire prime, and even if he doesn't grow from what he is now, you have a 2nd liner capable of scoring 20+ goals on a contract that would probably be 3-4M per season. That's a worthy risk IMO.

 

[DoingItCoolKiwi]

no my point of view is our coach/system/team sucked ass last year and I think there is a lot of room for improvement. I think conditioning through his own work and higher expectations alone would do wonders.

I also think Johnny is better than a 60 point player aswell. I think the only player that had an actually impressive offensive season under Vincent was Werenski. Its actually nuts the numbers he put up on a team that didnt score.

It sucked for sure, but it was the same for all of the players I compared Marchenko to, yet he performed the worst in offensive production and xGF%. I don't see why it'd hurt him more than Chinakhov, KJ, or Voronkov

 

[stevo61]

It sucked for sure, but it was the same for all of the players I compared Marchenko to, yet he performed the worst in offensive production and xGF%. I don't see why it'd hurt him more than Chinakhov, KJ, or Voronkov

Almost like stats only tell part of the story and why I hate them to begin with. Chinakhov I have huge hopes for and Im glad he started putting it together. A number of times those guys would be on lines that worked and then quickly get broken up. I also have mega expectations for Johnson, higher than the others listed here but he sucked last year. I dont need a fancy stat to tell me how he played

 

[majormajor]

We can agree to disagree on his value, but outside that, would you want to sign a middle 6 player for long-term when he hasn't yet shown ability to provide value defensively? I don't really want another Roslovic repeat. Most of the middle 6 players with big contracts that arent bad play good PK and defense

That's your opinion, I like Marchenko defensively.

If thats the mindset, then you'd sign almost nobody long term. Including Johnny or Werenski.

I agree its a risk to sign Marchenko to a 7-8 year deal but you lock him up for his entire prime, and even if he doesn't grow from what he is now, you have a 2nd liner capable of scoring 20+ goals on a contract that would probably be 3-4M per season. That's a worthy risk IMO.

If he's signing for $3m-$3.7m (I doubt he would), then sure I'd do 7-8 years.

You give guys like Johnny and Werenski 7-8 year offers because they can just go somewhere else if you're not willing to take risks with them. If you had the option of stringing them along on short term deals like you could with Marchenko (an RFA) you might prefer that.