Re sign Suter?

[alternate]

My question is how do you improve this roster if you bring Suter back at $3.5m+?

We've got 12 forwards, 6 dmen, 2 goalies currently on the roster and signed for next year with about $14m to add 3 pieces.

Assuming we go 8 dmen (this math includes Junior and Mancini), I can see Forbort and a vet RHD costing say $3m.

This roster has Karlsson and Aman as 12-13th forwards, so you could spend a bit to upgrade those spots, but assuming those slots remain minimum wagers (also have Lekkerimaki on an ELC...not certain he is ready next year) that leaves around $11m for upgrading the forwards. You can haggle over waiving g Aman or going with 7 d, but the numbers don't change a ton.

So yes, there's room to pay Suter $3.5m and still add a $8m or so forward. But the thing is, bringing Suter back doesn't make us a better team. He keeps us the same. And other than Boeser, there's no other roster spots that come open to be upgraded. And I think both slots NEED upgrading if we are going to improve the roster.

Suter is a great piece. Can play anywhere in the top 12, high end PKer, some PP utility, some skill, and IQ to burn.

But he's also smallish, non-physical, slow, limited offensively, mid at FOs, and LHed. These are all areas I'd like to see improved, and don't think paying 2x the cap hit to bring back these elements is how to use one of our limited roster moves.

 

[Jyrki]

My question is how do you improve this roster if you bring Suter back at $3.5m+?

We've got 12 forwards, 6 dmen, 2 goalies currently on the roster and signed for next year with about $14m to add 3 pieces.

Assuming we go 8 dmen (this math includes Junior and Mancini), I can see Forbort and a vet RHD costing say $3m.

This roster has Karlsson and Aman as 12-13th forwards, so you could spend a bit to upgrade those spots, but assuming those slots remain minimum wagers (also have Lekkerimaki on an ELC...not certain he is ready next year) that leaves around $11m for upgrading the forwards. You can haggle over waiving g Aman or going with 7 d, but the numbers don't change a ton.

So yes, there's room to pay Suter $3.5m and still add a $8m or so forward. But the thing is, bringing Suter back doesn't make us a better team. He keeps us the same. And other than Boeser, there's no other roster spots that come open to be upgraded. And I think both slots NEED upgrading if we are going to improve the roster.

Suter is a great piece. Can play anywhere in the top 12, high end PKer, some PP utility, some skill, and IQ to burn.

But he's also smallish, non-physical, slow, limited offensively, mid at FOs, and LHed. These are all areas I'd like to see improved, and don't think paying 2x the cap hit to bring back these elements is how to use one of our limited roster moves.

We're not exactly flush with ELCs who are likely to play above their heads at forward. Can't really load up the Top 6 again because we'll just have too many guys who couldn't get more than a mil in the open market. For every Suter and Sherwood at 1.5, there's a Desharnais and Heinen at 2.

So someone like Suter is pretty important to retain, who has proved himself to contribute as a top 6'er in bursts and still be impactful if he has to get moved to make other lines work. Most likely we'll need not just to keep him, but to find 1-2 other forward at his level and try to make the puzzle pieces work.

 

[F A N]

We're not exactly flush with ELCs who are likely to play above their heads at forward. Can't really load up the Top 6 again because we'll just have too many guys who couldn't get more than a mil in the open market. For every Suter and Sherwood at 1.5, there's a Desharnais and Heinen at 2.

So someone like Suter is pretty important to retain, who has proved himself to contribute as a top 6'er in bursts and still be impactful if he has to get moved to make other lines work. Most likely we'll need not just to keep him, but to find 1-2 other forward at his level and try to make the puzzle pieces work.

I agree with this. I don't think anyone is advocating overpaying him but he leads the team in EVG with 17 and top among forwards in EVP. It's obviously a career year but as mentioned he brings other elements like penalty killer and he's been strong defensively even at C.

My question is how do you improve this roster if you bring Suter back at $3.5m+?

Sometimes it's not about just improving the roster but not making it worse. Unless Allvin really is able to improve the C position, having swapped Miller out for Chytil should mean that we need someone filling in at C more often. Despite someone calling Suter a 5C, we have nobody on the roster or on the farm who can filling in at 2C as well as Suter.

There are other moves to make. Boeser is a UFA. Garland is a pending UFA. The two are significant salaries that do affect the makeup of the team. And it's not like we have wingers locked up beyond next year. The makeup of the team can easily change. Even if we decide to move on from Hoglander and or Joshua I think they can be moved without retaining salary or taking an undesirable contract back.