Ron Francis

[HoseEmDown]

The Ron Francis defenders are all over the map.

"Francis didn't make big moves in Carolina because owners were cheap - but Seattle owners will spend big, so just watch Ronny go big at the trade deadline!"

"Francis couldn't take chances on big salaries because ownership didn't have the dough!"

"Francis went all in for free agency because the Kraken had to win right away - he couldn't just tank and build the cupboard!"

I'm not sure what explains the dedication to pretending that Francis is doing a good job while we sit here with minimal extra draft picks, very few good young players, and a garbage product on the ice....

So let's say you're right and ownership vetoed Tarasenko because he's too expensive. Now explain taking Quenneville over, say, Zadorov. Is that ownership's fault too?

So angry about the team not having the 90th overall pick. Pretty sure that pick isn't going to change much in the grand scheme of things. Sure having extra picks are nice but that trade might not have been there at the ED. If you look at the Zadorov and Dillon trades, then were after free agency started when they didn't land any defenders. Seattle clearly favored Oleksiak to Zadorov as they're extremely similar players so they were never gonna sign him. He had a qualifying offer already so you were committed to paying him, and it was clear teams weren't clamoring to acquire him since he wasn't traded at the regular draft or ED.

As for not having any good young players who in the ED was available that fit that criteria? Dunn, McCann, Geekie, Appleton, Lauzon and Fluery are all 26 or under. Not a group of names that wow you but it's a decent base to work with. Top 4 or top 6 players under 25 aren't readily available and they aren't cheap when they are. We have to draft those types which will take time.

 

[Kat Predator]

I don't find the idea of going after a big name FA this offseason all that enticing. We're more than 1 player away from being a contender, and a big splash in free agency seems like the exact opposite of being frugal, conservative, and building from within.

One aspect of how the ED went is that we ended up with a lot of players playing on their contract years. So Francis has to hit the ground sprinting to figure out who he wants to try to bring back and what offers to make. The cheap contracts this season will be going out the window rather quickly.

 

[GrungeHockey]

I don't find the idea of going after a big name FA this offseason all that enticing. We're more than 1 player away from being a contender, and a big splash in free agency seems like the exact opposite of being frugal, conservative, and building from within.

One aspect of how the ED went is that we ended up with a lot of players playing on their contract years. So Francis has to hit the ground sprinting to figure out who he wants to try to bring back and what offers to make. The cheap contracts this season will be going out the window rather quickly.

Overall I'm with you 100% but there are always some interesting pieces you can add in free agency. You want players that fit your style/system, veteran leadership, and missing pieces to build with and speed things up.
Kotkaneimi is an interesting anomaly. A UFA @ 22 years of age. Won't rewrite the plan, but he'd make an interesting addition at the right price.
Zadorov is only 27 and would round out the D nicely.
Curtis Lazar could be a relatively cheap 4th line upgrade from Sheahan.
Andrew Copp could be a decent fit if the price is right.
Forsberg is also intriguing but I suspect he stays in Nashville.
Maybe Ryan Strome as well.

All depends on the price of course. In general I think the best value in free agency is not on stars, but on mid range players who have come into their prime years and are underpaid at this time. You give them term and they might jump at the opportunity to shine.

 

[Kat Predator]

...
All depends on the price of course. In general I think the best value in free agency is not on stars, but on mid range players who have come into their prime years and are underpaid at this time. You give them term and they might jump at the opportunity to shine.

Yeah, but that can be argued as the opposite of how Francis handled the ED. He clearly avoided selecting anyone with a bigger contract and/or longer term. They were available and given how many teams left them available, I assume he's not much of a poker player.

To play conservative penny poker in the ED and then turn around and saunter directly over to the high-roller's craps table and lay down big contracts with term on some above average to not quite superstars feels a bit off.

I think we agree that most teams do spend big contracts with term on their "core" players. And the salary structure is such that those contracts don't all expire at the same time. They round out their group with journeyman free agents, cheap European imports, and cheap young players they develop in their system.

At any rate, Vegas going out and signing Stone, trading for Patch and Eichel makes sense as they feel their window for winning a Cup has already opened. From where we are now, moves like that make a lot less sense. And a big factor in that is the high degree of uncertainty as to what the core group of this team actually is moving forward, given all the expiring contracts. I'm not even sure what Hakstol is looking for as this team's identity with all the shuffling of the lines, etc.

 

[Irie]

Some good points, and I agree that a lot of what we have seen so far seems a bit disconnected. I think we have all had a paradigm shift with Vegas and their success (which was in no way replicable.)

Had Vegas never happened, we would all be judging the Kraken on a different set of standards, and the results would likely be inline with expectations, and what we have seen so far would make far more sense.

Yeah, but that can be argued as the opposite of how Francis handled the ED. He clearly avoided selecting anyone with a bigger contract and/or longer term. They were available and given how many teams left them available, I assume he's not much of a poker player.

Francis made some fairly astute moves during his time in Carolina, and his plan ultimately led to the outstanding farm system that allowed Waddell to throw prospects and picks away left and right to build what they currently have, and even then, half of their core was acquired by Francis there.

I have a feeling Waddell would be on the hot seat now instead of a GM of the year candidate had the previous GM been Fletcher, Benning, or Milbury.

Francis did all the ground work that set Waddell up for the perfect situation.

Even in hindsight, I think it was smart. The young core in Carolina was not on the cusp of contention in Francis' final year. He waited to make the big moves, and it ultimately cost him his job, but it was the right thing to do. Had he gone for broke to save his job early, the Canes likely would not have made the finals, and would probably be in a lot worse shape now

To play conservative penny poker in the ED and then turn around and saunter directly over to the high-roller's craps table and lay down big contracts with term on some above average to not quite superstars feels a bit off.

I firmly believe that Francis targeted players with a certain work ethic and culture, both in the expansion draft and free agency. He wanted guys that were firtst-to-the-rink-last-to-leave, extra time in the weight room, and quality dressing room personality type players more than stars on the ice type of guys.

He wants a culture in place for when the draft picks start arriving - healthy environment full of good habits and positive intangibles. Spending to contend was never part of the early plan. Spending to be somewhat competitive on most nights while instilling a philosophy was the goal.

At any rate, Vegas going out and signing Stone, trading for Patch and Eichel makes sense as they feel their window for winning a Cup has already opened. From where we are now, moves like that make a lot less sense. And a big factor in that is the high degree of uncertainty as to what the core group of this team actually is moving forward, given all the expiring contracts. I'm not even sure what Hakstol is looking for as this team's identity with all the shuffling of the lines, etc.

I believe in Francis' vision, this team's core would always be Beniers, Evans, the 22' and 23' 1st and 2nd round picks.

Until those guys arrive, maintain a solid, positive team culture and load up on secondary assets by moving out all expiring contracts until the core is ready to contribute. Then you make the deals and target the big names that address holes and needs.

 

[Kat Predator]

...
I believe in Francis' vision, this team's core would always be Beniers, Evans, the 22' and 23' 1st and 2nd round picks.
...

The Canes have been run on a shoestring budget for the most part. Francis was part owner, I believe, so he arguably had some extra incentive not to throw money around like a drunken sailor. He was one of the front office members during a 9 year run of not sniffing the playoffs, before the new owner demoted and then fired him. For his period of 4 years of being the GM there, they have Aho and Necas to show for it. (Geekie and Fleury are playing for us.)

The turnaround in Raleigh has less to do with brilliant drafting, crushing other teams in one-sided trades, or pillaging the league in free agency. In my opinion the Canes turnaround is named Rod Brind'Amour. The system he installed and the work ethic he demands from his players had a clear and noticeable impact on the organization and team. A fair number of players that have played really well under him have moved on and struggled. He's been extremely impressive as a coach.

So, I don't know. I guess I'm less confident in Francis overall than you seem to be. It's cool that you think he's got it figured out, but I'm going to reserve judgement for now.

 

[HoseEmDown]

I mean having a good coach helps but getting a 1C in the 2nd round. Signing two top 4 defenders to below market long term deals. Acquiring a top 6 wing to take on a cap dump. Those are 4 key pieces to the Canes that Francis had a part in either bringing in or keeping around at a discount. They also won 2nd in the lottery to get a stud top line winger and picked up an offensive defenseman off the trash heap because of character issues. The Canes are a mix of good work by Francis, good luck with the draft and free agency and having a good coach to bring it all together.

Francis might not last 5 years but I'm sure when he does leave the team is set up fairly well with their prospect pool, cap structure and current roster. He's not gonna be the guy that gets you to a Stanley Cup final but he's the guy who'll help make it a but easier on the next guy too. He's not going to burn through futures, he's not gonna leave you in cap hell and he can draft well so there will be pieces in place.

 

[Irie]

The Canes have been run on a shoestring budget for the most part. Francis was part owner, I believe, so he arguably had some extra incentive not to throw money around like a drunken sailor. He was one of the front office members during a 9 year run of not sniffing the playoffs, before the new owner demoted and then fired him. For his period of 4 years of being the GM there, they have Aho and Necas to show for it. (Geekie and Fleury are playing for us.)

The turnaround in Raleigh has less to do with brilliant drafting, crushing other teams in one-sided trades, or pillaging the league in free agency. In my opinion the Canes turnaround is named Rod Brind'Amour. The system he installed and the work ethic he demands from his players had a clear and noticeable impact on the organization and team. A fair number of players that have played really well under him have moved on and struggled. He's been extremely impressive as a coach.

So, I don't know. I guess I'm less confident in Francis overall than you seem to be. It's cool that you think he's got it figured out, but I'm going to reserve judgement for now.

How much of the Canes did Francis actually own? I thought he was part of a group that only owned a small minority of the team that had limited say in the spending. Either way, that is irrelevant to the situation here.

Along with Aho and Necas, Teravainen was a Francis move as well.

Looking back at Francis' time as GM in Carolina, at no time was the core of that team ready to contend, so being patient and not going all in was the right decision during his time there, imo.

If Francis goes all in in year 3 or 4, and moves young assets and brings in quality free agents, then they would not have Svechnikov either. His patience let the build develop.

He had some solid young talent in McGinn, Slavin and Pesce in the minors and college that he could have traded for help, instead he hung on to his prospects and let them properly develop without rushing them.

Hanifin was a big trade chip too that brought over Hamilton and Fox. We can't pretend that Don Waddell wasn't gifted a pretty good situation, especially considering it was a situation where the team just fired the previous GM.

I do agree, Brind'Amour is a big part of the reason they are having success there, and Francis was not amazing as a GM in Carolina by any means, but the folks that claim he was a dumpster fire need to look at the state of the Canes roster and farm when he took over and compare it to when he was fired.

Francis is the poster child for slow and steady, stay the course. And in Carolina, although the team record didn't change much, the core got much younger and the future brighter during Francis' time as GM, so while I see the Seattle build progressing slowly, I can find some optimism in that, versus most that just see short term failure.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

To add to what @Irie has said, I think it is unfair to assume that Francis is the same GM today as he was with Carolina. That was a different team under a different situation back then. It will be interesting to see where we are in 2-3 years with both our prospect pool as well as roster players.

It is fine to express disappointment and unhappiness with some of the decisions that Francis has made but it is way too early to judge him as a GM.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

To add to what @Irie has said, I think it is unfair to assume that Francis is the same GM today as he was with Carolina. That was a different team under a different situation back then. It will be interesting to see where we are in 2-3 years with both our prospect pool as well as roster players.

It is fine to express disappointment and unhappiness with some of the decisions that Francis has made but it is way too early to judge him as a GM.

I think that describes it best.

We've got our points we don't really understand and critizise Francis for certain things he's done during the expansion draft or after.

Still, there's loads of possibility left for him to turn this around and keep on building from what the FO determines to be the current core of players.
And it starts with the time between now and the TDL, where he could recoup some assets he didn't/couldn't bring in during the expansion draft.

 

[GrungeHockey]

I'm not even sure what Hakstol is looking for as this team's identity with all the shuffling of the lines, etc.

Some of that has of course been necessary due to injuries and whatnot but I think the identity is clear. Hard working, aggressive and no quit. I think we've seen that, and given the way this expansion draft was playing out (other GMs learned from their Vegas mistakes) that was the goal, to get players that would fit that model and create that type of locker room. That part has been a success.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

Some of that has of course been necessary due to injuries and whatnot but I think the identity is clear. Hard working, aggressive and no quit. I think we've seen that, and given the way this expansion draft was playing out (other GMs learned from their Vegas mistakes) that was the goal, to get players that would fit that model and create that type of locker room. That part has been a success.

Aye. That is the identity. I would say strong defensive showing, good goal tending and no quit. The first 2 were missing during early part of the season but has been there for the last 10 games.

 

[GrungeHockey]

Aye. That is the identity. I would say strong defensive showing, good goal tending and no quit. The first 2 were missing during early part of the season but has been there for the last 10 games.

True, but in theory they made the right moves on the goaltending. They did sign the best available goalie and started the build from the back end out and most people in hockey will tell you that's the right way for long term success.
I think some fans, and definitely new to hockey people in Seattle, undervalue what creating an identity and a close knit locker room will mean to the team. It'll take time, but it will last longer. You create that environment and your talent primarily comes from the draft. When Beniers and Wright (or whoever) join that room they will have the ethic and the attitude in place and be able to mold those guys into real stars. It'll work. Seattle fans need to have a little faith and patience.

 

[Gniwder]

This is such a hockey's future take and is not grounded in reality.

Seattle's ownership went way over budget on bringing this team into the league.

They spent nearly 2 BILLION dollars before they even played a game.

Tarasenko is earning 9.5 million this year, and there were serious questions about his health and ability to recover and not reinjure a shoulder he had had multiple surgeries on.

Fans that say "10 million dollars? Who cares about the risk, they can pay 10 million and *maybe* trade him for a draft pick. If he can't play, no big deal, the team has the cap space and it isn't my money".

Seriously, you can not ignore the financial side of this equation if you want to be realistic while trying to play armchair GM.

It doesn't work that way in the real world

Player contracts are insured, if he couldn't play he would've cost the team ~20% ($1.5M/season)
How the NHL salary cap created a secondary market of injured players and costly contracts

It was worth the risk "in the real world".

 

[Irie]

Player contracts are insured, if he couldn't play he would've cost the team ~20% ($1.5M/season)
How the NHL salary cap created a secondary market of injured players and costly contracts

It was worth the risk "in the real world".

They are insured? Really? Are you sure?

Did you know that all time missed by injured players is not covered by insurance? Players have to miss over a third of the season before the insurance even kicks in.

Did you know that each team has to pay the league insurance premiums based on the value of their most expensive contracts? So more expensive contracts = more expensive premiums. IIRC, the cost starts around 5%, but then goes up with a steep curve the more and higher priced players you have.

So having Tarasenko, Giordano, Schwartz, JVR, Duchesne, ect, would start to get into several million in premiums alone, and then if they get hurt, but aren't on IR long enough, Seattle would still have to pay the entire contract.

Not to mention there is the gamble of the opportunity cost of who you lose, (Dunn), which would be steep if you draft someone that doesn't rebound coming off of injury.

And the risk is always huge that players returning from injury will play, but not be the same.

In the case of Tarasenko, the risk was absolutely not worth it with Dunn also available.

As for the article, Players on retirement LTIR insurance contracts that are acquired for picks are different in that the teams know what they have to pay up front, and insurance is already covering them, so the cost is set.

 

[Gniwder]

They are insured? Really? Are you sure?

Did you know that all time missed by injured players is not covered by insurance? Players have to miss over a third of the season before the insurance even kicks in.

Did you know that each team has to pay the league insurance premiums based on the value of their most expensive contracts? So more expensive contracts = more expensive premiums. IIRC, the cost starts around 5%, but then goes up with a steep curve the more and higher priced players you have.

So having Tarasenko, Giordano, Schwartz, JVR, Duchesne, ect, would start to get into several million in premiums alone, and then if they get hurt, but aren't on IR long enough, Seattle would still have to pay the entire contract.

Not to mention there is the gamble of the opportunity cost of who you lose, (Dunn), which would be steep if you draft someone that doesn't rebound coming off of injury.

And the risk is always huge that players returning from injury will play, but not be the same.

In the case of Tarasenko, the risk was absolutely not worth it with Dunn also available.

As for the article, Players on retirement LTIR insurance contracts that are acquired for picks are different in that the teams know what they have to pay up front, and insurance is already covering them, so the cost is set.

Every team has high dollar contracts, if you don't want to pay the insurance premium, you shouldn't buy a team, lol. The majority of teams are spending close to the cap limit, if not over.

Francis could have taken Bean instead of Geekie, then not having Dunn wouldn't be that much of an issue. The only people that don't think Francis screwed up the expansion draft are the posters here. I have no idea why you guys are such hardcore Francis apologists. It's amazing considering how crappy the product on the ice is.

Going conservative in the expansion draft then throwing $5.9M x 6 to Grubby is just a strange way to do business. Obviously there are risks with free agents not performing to expectations as well.

And the really strange part is that all of these people you're mocking would have put together a better team than Francis did, and yet you still think Francis did a good job. Don't let reality get in the way of your arguments, lol.

 

[Irie]

Every team has high dollar contracts, if you don't want to pay the insurance premium, you shouldn't buy a team, lol. The majority of teams are spending close to the cap limit, if not over.

Francis could have taken Bean instead of Geekie, then not having Dunn wouldn't be that much of an issue. The only people that don't think Francis screwed up the expansion draft are the posters here. I have no idea why you guys are such hardcore Francis apologists. It's amazing considering how crappy the product on the ice is.

Going conservative in the expansion draft then throwing $5.9M x 6 to Grubby is just a strange way to do business. Obviously there are risks with free agents not performing to expectations as well.

And the really strange part is that all of these people you're mocking would have put together a better team than Francis did, and yet you still think Francis did a good job. Don't let reality get in the way of your arguments, lol.

For me, looking at the expansion lists pre draft, I knew that no matter how you drafted that team, there was not a contender there. And the chances of signing any significant UFAs to make you competitive would cost a ton and was extremely unlikely that they would choose Seattle over other suitors.

The logical path to contention was always going to be through the draft imo.

I look at the potential now with 20/20 hindsight, and there still is not a contender there. Just an over-priced list of false hope.

I also have a really difficult time believing that a guy like Tarasenko would be having the same type of season playing with the expansion Kraken. St Louis has one of the deepest top 9 forward cores in the league. Tarasenko's stats are benefiting from that, which would not happen in Seattle, so even the on paper results should be realistically tempered.

My position was always that drafting cheaper players with shorter deals and trading expiring contracts for extra assets was the way to go, and I stated so several times before the draft, so yes, I did agree with the general premise behind Francis' draft philosophy, although I would have liked to see a few more younger players taken, but then the team would be even worse, which I am assuming management didn't want to have too crappy of a team and turn off new fans.

I didn't get the Grubauer signing either, and publicly said so here. I am assuming it was a panic reaction to Francis's failures in finding a quality starter in his time in Carolina?

But you can not deny the fact that nearly half the teams in the league had positioned themselves so well for this draft after the Vegas fiasco, that there literally was nothing but crap to choose from. Thus the strange picking of players they didn't qualify. Had Francis gone with the "general poster consensus, the team would be against the cap and have several untradeable boat-anchor contracts handicapping the franchise for several years to come.

Being totally cap flexible once the drafted prospects start arriving is going to make filling out the roster properly with legitimate talent much easier.

 

[Gniwder]

For me, looking at the expansion lists pre draft, I knew that no matter how you drafted that team, there was not a contender there. And the chances of signing any significant UFAs to make you competitive would cost a ton and was extremely unlikely that they would choose Seattle over other suitors.

The logical path to contention was always going to be through the draft imo.

I look at the potential now with 20/20 hindsight, and there still is not a contender there. Just an over-priced list of false hope.

I also have a really difficult time believing that a guy like Tarasenko would be having the same type of season playing with the expansion Kraken. St Louis has one of the deepest top 9 forward cores in the league. Tarasenko's stats are benefiting from that, which would not happen in Seattle, so even the on paper results should be realistically tempered.

My position was always that drafting cheaper players with shorter deals and trading expiring contracts for extra assets was the way to go, and I stated so several times before the draft, so yes, I did agree with the general premise behind Francis' draft philosophy, although I would have liked to see a few more younger players taken, but then the team would be even worse, which I am assuming management didn't want to have too crappy of a team and turn off new fans.

I didn't get the Grubauer signing either, and publicly said so here. I am assuming it was a panic reaction to Francis's failures in finding a quality starter in his time in Carolina?

But you can not deny the fact that nearly half the teams in the league had positioned themselves so well for this draft after the Vegas fiasco, that there literally was nothing but crap to choose from. Thus the strange picking of players they didn't qualify. Had Francis gone with the "general poster consensus, the team would be against the cap and have several untradeable boat-anchor contracts handicapping the franchise for several years to come.

Being totally cap flexible once the drafted prospects start arriving is going to make filling out the roster properly with legitimate talent much easier.

The team was gonna have to build through the draft regardless, and I agree with that. My take on it is that guys like Tarasenko, Domi, etc would have more trade value, while making the team more watchable in the meantime.

I think Francis and his scouts did a good job in the draft and having more high end draft picks would have sped up the building process. They could've picked up another second rounder with Jake Bean, Domi, and even more with Tarasenko.

 

[Irie]

The team was gonna have to build through the draft regardless, and I agree with that. My take on it is that guys like Tarasenko, Domi, etc would have more trade value, while making the team more watchable in the meantime.

I think Francis and his scouts did a good job in the draft and having more high end draft picks would have sped up the building process. They could've picked up another second rounder with Jake Bean, Domi, and even more with Tarasenko.

I think the market pre draft and post draft was obviously very different. Tarasenko was rumored to be on the market, and no one would give up anything for him, so for Francis to assume that one, he would fully recover from the shoulder surgeries, and two, have value and not be a cap dump he'd be forced to attach assets to to rid himself of were not foregone conclusions.

Domi was reported by Columbus' training staff to be out until at least January,and quite possibly much longer, which makes me think they lied. But if Francis took their reports as honest, then drafting Domi was undesirable. I also question whether or not he would have targeted him had he been healthy, given his perceived attitude. I think it is pretty obvious that Francis targeted character over talent in many cases, and he wanted a positive locker-room as much as a solid on ice product.

I can understand that, and we will see what Domi returns next month, but the risk of drama may have ultimately not been worth the potential gain, even if Francis didn't believe the report that he was going to miss most of the season.

Some extra assets are ultimately not worth the cost, and so avoiding potential pitfalls was probably high on the list of things to look for in the draft.

We look at the team and where it is now, and I will admit, there were some moves that could have been better, there were also a lot of moves that would have been worse. No GM was going to make every correct decision, no matter who Seattle had hired. Looking back with hindsight and assuming someone could have is unrealistic.

 

[larueskee]

Look it folks, the team is bad because the players are bad. If the players were good teams would be calling and making deals for them but they haven't moved a soul yet. One month until the trade deadline and it will be interesting to see if any players get moved. Schwartz might have been good but he got hurt in 15-16 and has never really been the same since. The points he put up after that were due to the fact that he was playing on a good team. The scouts should have known this. Same thing with Grubs, the guy never played more than 40 games in a NHL season and somehow Francis gives him 6 million a year for 6 years. There is a reason Sakic didn't feel the need to spend money retaining him. I could go on and on about the free agent signings like Larsson, Oleksiak, but I'll move on to the draft picks that the the team hasn't even picked yet. All I'll say is look at Edmonton and ask your selves when was the last time they were any good? As for Beniers, he might just stay in college and avoid playing for the Kracken. This team is about as poorly constructed as I have ever seen and I been through quite a few expansions. The only one worse might have been the California Golden Seals but they had 5 other teams competing with them. Francis had every opportunity to get it right but this a hole that will take a decade or more to dig out of.

 

[The Marquis]

Deadline is a month away. Oh, and Arizona has moved guys that would fit the same role in Seattle, so I’m optimistic moves will happen.

 

[Mike Jones]

Deadline is a month away. Oh, and Arizona has moved guys that would fit the same role in Seattle, so I’m optimistic moves will happen.

Yeah but once again Arizona jumps ahead of Seattle and grabs a 2nd and all it cost them were a couple of expiring contracts (Both depth players) and $2.5M in cap space next season.

You'd think Francis would have learned - Ritchie's been available for a while now and something could have been negotiated.

 

[Gniwder]

Looking back with hindsight and assuming someone could have is unrealistic.

I said all of the above the day of the expansion draft and you know I did, as did others who criticized the ED. It's not hindsight drafting at all.

I believe Domi would have behaved simply because he's on a contract year. He also gets along with his teammates, his problem is that he butts heads with his coaches. I would've picked him strictly as a trade piece, so the timeline doesn't matter, but I don't think CBJ lied. He came back from his shoulder surgery really quickly.

I also expected Francis to draft extra defensemen like Bean, then trade for prospects or picks. If the plan was to build through the draft then he should have gotten as many trade chips are possible. The ED was terrible, look at any mock ED and Francis did worse.

 

[Gniwder]

Yeah but once again Arizona jumps ahead of Seattle and grabs a 2nd and all it cost them were a couple of expiring contracts (Both depth players) and $2.5M in cap space next season.

You'd think Francis would have learned - Ritchie's been available for a while now and something could have been negotiated.

It also costs real money, about $4M until his contract expires ($3.3M next season). So they basically bought a 2nd rounder for $4M of real money, the cap space doesn't matter to them obviously. It's somewhat amazing that they're spending all of this money when they're playing in a 5,000 seat arena next season.

$4M for a conditional late 2nd is overpayment, Yzerman got a 2nd for eating Staal's $3.2M contract. Keep in mind 2nd rounders in the NHL are hit or miss, this isn't the NFL.

 

[Mike Jones]

It also costs real money, about $4M until his contract expires ($3.3M next season). So they basically bought a 2nd rounder for $4M of real money, the cap space doesn't matter to them obviously. It's somewhat amazing that they're spending all of this money when they're playing in a 5,000 seat arena next season.

$4M for a conditional late 2nd is overpayment, Yzerman got a 2nd for eating Staal's $3.2M contract. Keep in mind 2nd rounders in the NHL are hit or miss, this isn't the NFL.

Hire scouts and prioritize development and the odds increase. And $4 million for a 2nd is pretty decent. Plus if Ritchie has a decent 22-23 he can be flipped for another pick at the deadline if the Kraken don't mind retaining a bit.