Oshawa Generals 2024-25 Season Thread, Part 1

[HUSH10]

If Ritchie doesn’t come back at all that’s a huge blow to Oshawa and probably puts them behind Brampton and Barrie. With Ritchie I think they’re at least the second best team in the east without they could be 4-5th best imo

It is very unlikely he doesn't get sent back. Most of us have thought all along he would play some regular season games.

 

[Stellar29]

If that's the case, they will keep him all year. It's either 9 games or all games for them. They won't keep him for let's say 20 games then send him back. They would lose a year of his ELC to the OHL which wouldn't make sense for Colorado.

It's not just the 9 games that is a milestone. I believe 41 games on the roster(as opposed to games played) is also important as I believe(may not have it exact) grants salary arbitration a year early. There have been cases of players playing more than 9 games and still coming back. Point being, I wouldn't be disheartened as a Generals fan if he plays longer than 9 games.

 

[leafs4life94]

I wouldn't be surprised if Colorado ends doing the same thing Seattle did with Wright - spread out the 9 games until Christmas with a couple AHL "conditioning stints" thrown in there - then he after he plays for Canada at the Juniors he gets sent back in the new year.

 

[HUSH10]

I wouldn't be surprised if Colorado ends doing the same thing Seattle did with Wright - spread out the 9 games until Christmas with a couple AHL "conditioning stints" thrown in there - then he after he plays for Canada at the Juniors he gets sent back in the new year.

I guess that's a possible route. I think if A.L. comes back end of the month, then maybe he comes back. I guess we just gotta wait out the next 20 days to see.

 

[yessir29292]

If that's the case, they will keep him all year. It's either 9 games or all games for them. They won't keep him for let's say 20 games then send him back. They would lose a year of his ELC to the OHL which wouldn't make sense for Colorado.

It does make somewhat sense if at Christmas time they don’t see him as a valuable piece to the team anymore and think that him playing in the world juniors and half a season in the OHL is best for his development.

 

[Generalsupdates]

I wouldn't be surprised if Colorado ends doing the same thing Seattle did with Wright - spread out the 9 games until Christmas with a couple AHL "conditioning stints" thrown in there - then he after he plays for Canada at the Juniors he gets sent back in the new year.

I'd be shocked if they did that. I think teams universally saw that didn't work and just led to Wright not playing hockey for a lot of that season.

Colorado's GM has been quoted specifically talking about Ritchie that they'd love to see him make an impact in the NHL but they were in the same position with Bowen Byram a couple years ago and sent him back to Jr and it was great for Byram and he's sure if they end up doing the same with Ritchie it'd be great for him too.

Richie has a great opportunity in these next 2 weeks while COL forwards are hurt, but you know they have 3 top 9 Fs coming back so he's going to have to be really, really good to stick all season

 

[OMG67]

If that's the case, they will keep him all year. It's either 9 games or all games for them. They won't keep him for let's say 20 games then send him back. They would lose a year of his ELC to the OHL which wouldn't make sense for Colorado.

Not necessarily. There is also the 40 game mark which kicks in when he is eligible for UFA. They could eat an EL year but still retain rights until 27 if they send him to Team Canada and then to Oshawa. It would cost them a cheap year but it wouldn’t affect them long term. They’d still get him for seven years starting next year.

 

[HUSH10]

Not necessarily. There is also the 40 game mark which kicks in when he is eligible for UFA. They could eat an EL year but still retain rights until 27 if they send him to Team Canada and then to Oshawa. It would cost them a cheap year but it wouldn’t affect them long term. They’d still get him for seven years starting next year.

I just don't see it going that way. I think it will be the simpler 9 games then home. Unless he lights it up during those 9 games

 

[OMG67]

I just don't see it going that way. I think it will be the simpler 9 games then home. Unless he lights it up during those 9 games

It will depend on needs. If they need him to play 12 games, they will play him 12 games. Teams like Colorado aren’t going to worry about ELC management. They will worry about today and worry about 2026-27 when they get there.

The main thing is retaining his rights through his 27 year old year.

 

[Generalsupdates]

It will depend on needs. If they need him to play 12 games, they will play him 12 games. Teams like Colorado aren’t going to worry about ELC management. They will worry about today and worry about 2026-27 when they get there.

The main thing is retaining his rights through his 27 year old year.

Colorado will definitely worry about ELC management. They're a high payroll team who can't afford to lose a cheap year of him over 3 games. If he plays more than 9 games, he's going to play the full season.

Colorado coach today said Nichuskin and Lehkonen are going be back around the same time, and that's likely the end of Oct. Which coincides with right around their 9th game of the season.. As I said yesterday, with 3 top 9 Fs coming back for COL, Ritchie is going to have to be really really good to stay in the NHL into November

 

[dirty12]

Colorado will definitely worry about ELC management. They're a high payroll team who can't afford to lose a cheap year of him over 3 games. If he plays more than 9 games, he's going to play the full season.

Colorado coach today said Nichuskin and Lehkonen are going be back around the same time, and that's likely the end of Oct. Which coincides with right around their 9th game of the season.. As I said yesterday, with 3 top 9 Fs coming back for COL, Ritchie is going to have to be really really good to stay in the NHL into November

The odds are stacked against Nichuskin sad to say.

 

[OMG67]

Colorado will definitely worry about ELC management. They're a high payroll team who can't afford to lose a cheap year of him over 3 games. If he plays more than 9 games, he's going to play the full season.

Colorado coach today said Nichuskin and Lehkonen are going be back around the same time, and that's likely the end of Oct. Which coincides with right around their 9th game of the season.. As I said yesterday, with 3 top 9 Fs coming back for COL, Ritchie is going to have to be really really good to stay in the NHL into November

In fairness, I landed on 12 games as a random number. It will come down to his impact and their needs.

For the NHL teams, it is more about managing when they turn UFA. That is the main priority. So, you have to circle the 40 game mark as the key indicator. IMO, if they do need Ritchie for more than 10 games, it is not a guarantee they keep him for the entire season specifically because they likely would prefer him not reach 40 games. This is all assuming they only need him until LTIR players return to the roster and they can breathe a bit easier.

I agree if players return before he reaches the 10 game mark he will be returned. But, if those players don’t return and he is playing well, I don’t see them sending him back to protect his ELC. I see them keeping the player until December and then make a decision then on where they want him to play in the 2nd half of the season. If they feel he is now a pro, they keep him. If they feel he’d benefit from more time in Junior, they will send him to Team Canada and then back to Oshawa.

Ultimately, I agree that it is much more likely that enough players return to allow them to reassign to Oshawa later this month.

 

[ScoutLife4]

In fairness, I landed on 12 games as a random number. It will come down to his impact and their needs.

For the NHL teams, it is more about managing when they turn UFA. That is the main priority. So, you have to circle the 40 game mark as the key indicator. IMO, if they do need Ritchie for more than 10 games, it is not a guarantee they keep him for the entire season specifically because they likely would prefer him not reach 40 games. This is all assuming they only need him until LTIR players return to the roster and they can breathe a bit easier.

I agree if players return before he reaches the 10 game mark he will be returned. But, if those players don’t return and he is playing well, I don’t see them sending him back to protect his ELC. I see them keeping the player until December and then make a decision then on where they want him to play in the 2nd half of the season. If they feel he is now a pro, they keep him. If they feel he’d benefit from more time in Junior, they will send him to Team Canada and then back to Oshawa.

Ultimately, I agree that it is much more likely that enough players return to allow them to reassign to Oshawa later this month.

Managing the extra contract year is an essential part of the development plan for rookies on their ELC.
You can get a 9 game preview and send them back home to JR and the contract slides and you get another full 3 years out of it. -Some teams will drag this on for months as we saw with Shane Wright.

In colorado's case they have 2 forwards returning soon.
Nichuskin is an elite NHL player and will bump Richie 11 times out of 10.
Bednar is willing to look past the off ice issues because of the impact he makes on the ice.
Unless something happens to prevent 2 of those players from returning I would be shocked if Ritchie sticks on the AV'S this season.

 

[OMG67]

Managing the extra contract year is an essential part of the development plan for rookies on their ELC.
You can get a 9 game preview and send them back home to JR and the contract slides and you get another full 3 years out of it. -Some teams will drag this on for months as we saw with Shane Wright.

In colorado's case they have 2 forwards returning soon.
Nichuskin is an elite NHL player and will bump Richie 11 times out of 10.
Bednar is willing to look past the off ice issues because of the impact he makes on the ice.
Unless something happens to prevent 2 of those players from returning I would be shocked if Ritchie sticks on the AV'S this season.

I think we all agree.

The question is what happens “IF” those players are not back by then? GU suggests they will send him back regardless to protect the ELC, especially if it is only 2-5 games. My point is that they would likely keep him until the injured players are back and then focus on protecting his UFA age meaning they focus on 40 games.

But all of that is dependent on who they can bring up to replace Ritchie if they send him back down? Will the player they bring up require waivers to send back down? Do they have someone that can competently sub in? I am not familiar enough with the franchise to suggest anything one way or the other.

 

[ScoutLife4]

I think we all agree.

The question is what happens “IF” those players are not back by then? GU suggests they will send him back regardless to protect the ELC, especially if it is only 2-5 games. My point is that they would likely keep him until the injured players are back and then focus on protecting his UFA age meaning they focus on 40 games.

But all of that is dependent on who they can bring up to replace Ritchie if they send him back down? Will the player they bring up require waivers to send back down? Do they have someone that can competently sub in? I am not familiar enough with the franchise to suggest anything one way or the other.

If those players are not ready I can see them dragging out spending the 9 games.
Scratching him for a game then playing a game to prolong the roster move decision.

Av's have 8 waiver exempt forwards on their AHL team they can use that can go up and down without a risk of losing them.
I'm guessing they play this similar to the Shane Wright situation.

Col can drag this out for a couple months if they want to.

 

[OMG67]

If those players are not ready I can see them dragging out spending the 9 games.
Scratching him for a game then playing a game to prolong the roster move decision.

Av's have 8 waiver exempt forwards on their AHL team they can use that can go up and down without a risk of losing them.
I'm guessing they play this similar to the Shane Wright situation.

That is assuming they have the cap space to do it.

The other factor is competency. If the Avs aren’t concerned about competency then so be it. They will play him the 9 games and then send him down. There is no sense in needlessly eating cap space IMO. If they are concerned about competency, then they will play the best player after he reaches 9 games. If the best player is Ritchie, they will play him.

Since we don’t know what they value more (competency of player vs cap ramifications 3 years from now), we can’t say one way or the other.

 

[ScoutLife4]

That is assuming they have the cap space to do it.

The other factor is competency. If the Avs aren’t concerned about competency then so be it. They will play him the 9 games and then send him down. There is no sense in needlessly eating cap space IMO. If they are concerned about competency, then they will play the best player after he reaches 9 games. If the best player is Ritchie, they will play him.

Since we don’t know what they value more (competency of player vs cap ramifications 3 years from now), we can’t say one way or the other.

As long as Nichuskin is on LTIR they have ab out 7M so not an issue.

Also not sure whats going on with Landeskog he might be out a bit still.

 

[OMG67]

As long as Nichuskin is on LTIR they have ab out 7M so not an issue.
View attachment 913925

Also not sure whats going on with Landeskog he might be out a bit still.

At least they have a bunch of flexibility.