Roster Building Thread - Part VIII (2023-24 season)

[LaffyTaffy13]

If the Wild are selling rather go after Duhaime over Maroon. Duhaime one of the younger UFA at 27 years old. Duhaime stuck up for teammates in both fights. Huge upgrade from Pitlick

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Just watched him last night as im in boston with inlaws for xmas. This kid is a great skater. Im all for him. Plug him in for pitlick and a 4th line of vesey-goodrow-duhaim is pretty damn good

IMO this team's biggest needs right now are:

-An actual shooter who can beat goalies clean from the circle, who thinks shoot first (this is what Kakko was supposed to become and what Tarasenko was last year - and Vatrano a poor man' version of before - though Tarasenko's use wasn't optimized)
-A 3C or Chytil to return and actually be capable of staying healthy
-An upgrade at defenseman
-Some kind of depth move to free up cap (somehow trading Goodrow would be amazing) so that Vesey and Pitlick can stay in the lineup, but Goodrow and Bonino on the same offensive line is a guaranteed minute and a half pinned in their own end.

The team's start overall has been good but the same recurring threads pop up when they lose:
-Inability or unwillingness to attack the neutral zone with speed.
-Soft clearing attempts with forwards flying the zone and getting trapped.
-Defensemen either leading the rush or activating down low at stupid times and getting trapped. Usually one of Lindgren, Miller, or Schneider.
-Defensemen vacating the net front when their partner is also caught up high.

Lindgren has been atrocious this year and it seems to be starting to hurt Fox's game. I still hold a long term contract for him would be a massive mistake. He's 25 and already plays like he's 32. He can't protect himself from hits. He's far less physical than he was two years ago, and his puck movement, never his strong suit, has taken a big step backwards. If we go into the playoffs with him as a top pair D, we're in trouble.

Agreed. Cant sign lindy long term. Sign Zadorov instead and bump kandre to 1st pair. Although kandre still is making some bonehead plays

 

[UAGoalieGuy]

Hey has anyone brought up the ideas of?
- Re-Acquiring Buch
- Trading for Duclair
- Trading Lindgren
- Adding Hanifan/Lindholm
- Trading for Tarasenko

 

[kovazub94]

Did I miss the apology tour of those unbearable Zibanejad haters posting dumb nonsense (at best) from late October to mid-November? All readily available right here in this thread if anyone is interested to learn about how to not generalize / extrapolate from a small sample size.

 

[Rongomania]

Did I miss the apology tour of those unbearable Zibanejad haters posting dumb nonsense (at best) from late October to mid-November? All readily available right here in this thread if anyone is interested to learn about how to not generalize / extrapolate from a small sample size.

That OT play he made was disgusting. Especially considering Buffalo has been a pain in our ass this year.

 

[kovazub94]

That OT play he made was disgusting. Especially considering Buffalo has been a pain in our ass this year.

I remember something like 10 points in 15 games stats when these Zibanejad “concerns” were being voiced and now he’s back to PPG for the season with 33 in 32 (I literally promised this will be the case by Christmas) so he’s been on 23 points in 17 games pace taking over from a bit cooled down Panarin. Again just shows that small sample sizes are treacherous and can lead to looking foolish. Not a new lesson but some seem can’t help themselves and fall for it time and time again.

 

[RGY]

10 games, 10 points. 7 points ES. Not looking over cooked eh Patrick Kane.

 

[Shesterkybomb]

All the talking about our dmen, i mean im still of the opinion that Lindgren is still far from 100%, and have we figured out why Miller was out? Both important things to consider during what has been a fairly mediocre stretch for both. Schneider imo needs to sit for a game or two to reset, i still believe in him but he might need to sit to watch some video and watch the team play.
My biggest concern last night was that our d were almost surprised to see a player coming at them on the forecheck, it's almost like whatever they are doing at practice doesn't include a forechecker.

 

[Avery16]

10 games, 10 points. 7 points ES. Not looking over cooked eh Patrick Kane.

Who cares. Aren’t they 1-9 in those 10 games? Performance questions was only one of a few reasons why Kane was never coming back.

 

[Shesterkybomb]

10 games, 10 points. 7 points ES. Not looking over cooked eh Patrick Kane.

I wanted them to sign him only because he was free and it would add a rw. I'm still not convinced he is the guy we need, i think we need a rw with more beef and tenacity that can also put the puck in the net. Thankfully Wheeler has found his game and got us out of a hole for now but we need Kakko to find himself when he gets back in the worst way. I'm hopeful a year in the minors will ready one of Sykora, Othmann or Berard for some help before playoffs. It would be amazing if we could just add a depth dman this year and not use any draft picks or good prospects at the deadline.

 

[RGY]

Who cares. Aren’t they 1-9 in those 10 games? Performance questions was only one of a few reasons why Kane was never coming back.

Maybe Detroit just stinks? Maybe its not his fault and the guy is actually keeping them in games with his production?

Just saying i was told he is cooked, but production (facts) would say otherwise

 

[SnowblindNYR]

We took a chance on Wheeler for nothing and it hasn't worked out. I'm not losing sleep that we didn't do the same with Kane. 10 game sample size be damned.

 

[Avery16]

We took a chance on Wheeler for nothing and it hasn't worked out. I'm not losing sleep that we didn't do the same with Kane. 10 game sample size be damned.

5 points in the last 3GP Blake Wheeler?

 

[KOVALEV022473]

10 games, 10 points. 7 points ES. Not looking over cooked eh Patrick Kane.

He’s washed, brah!

 

[SA16]

Hey has anyone brought up the ideas of?
- Re-Acquiring Buch
- Trading for Duclair
- Trading Lindgren
- Adding Hanifan/Lindholm
- Trading for Tarasenko

I think Motte would be a better fit

 

[SnowblindNYR]

5 points in the last 3GP Blake Wheeler?

He's heating but he's about 0.3 PPG player.

 

[Megustaelhockey]

Imagine if people here were forced to watch a bad team.

They'd just give up on hockey altogether.

 

[hardnosed]

He's heating but he's about 0.3 PPG player.

Is there anybody else that Drury could have signed for the vet minimum that they could put on line 1? Whatever you think of Wheeler, because of the cap, there were no better options. Bargain basement shopping netted us Gus, Quick, Wheeler. Don't know what more you can expect for 3 mil.

 

[RGY]

Washed. Cooked. Insert BS here.

 

[Boris Zubov]

Lindgren has been atrocious this year and it seems to be starting to hurt Fox's game. I still hold a long term contract for him would be a massive mistake. He's 25 and already plays like he's 32. He can't protect himself from hits. He's far less physical than he was two years ago, and his puck movement, never his strong suit, has taken a big step backwards. If we go into the playoffs with him as a top pair D, we're in trouble.

I agree with the first part of the bolded, but to blame Lindgren for Fox's poor/average play is one step too far. I've been vocal about breaking up their bromance for well over 2 years, but if you think Lindgren is the sole reason Fox isn't playing well, maybe Fox isn't as good as we like to think he is on this board.

Truth is, Fox hasn't been himself since the calendar turned 2023. I dunno if it's nagging injuries, or the league started to figure out his tendencies, but something is off. With that said, I am all in favor of upgrading at 1LD simply because it helps the team & it would benefit Fox to play with a better partner.

 

[kovazub94]

Looks like I will have to take an L on my earlier assessment of Wheeler. Even as recently as 10-15 games ago I thought that he’d be an odd man out when everyone’s back healthy. Seems he was adjusting to the new team and conference competition etc. Additionally his (changing) role too - when he started on a line with Cuylle and Trocheck the ask was more for a checking winger (something that Wheeler wasn’t much used to). Then he got shifted to Kreider - Zibanejad and it was another adjustment for him. I’m still concerted whether he’d be able to keep it up down the line in the spring given his age but for now Laviolette is looking smart again sticking with it even when it wasn’t looking pretty.

 

[Boris Zubov]

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Washed. Cooked. Insert BS here.

You really need to let it go. Or pull a Webster & head to the Wings board.

 

[kovazub94]

Is there anybody else that Drury could have signed for the vet minimum that they could put on line 1? Whatever you think of Wheeler, because of the cap, there were no better options. Bargain basement shopping netted us Gus, Quick, Wheeler. Don't know what more you can expect for 3 mil.

Maybe the ROE is not as high as on those you mentioned but don’t forget Pitlick too.

 

[hardnosed]

Lindgren is a glorified role player. He's the type of guy that serious contenders trade for at the deadline to beef up their defensive depth. He's a great PK. He's not a first pair defenseman. We don't even play him like that. He gets 18 minutes or so of ice time a game and sits for 4,5 minutes at a time while Fox plays 1:40 of a power play. I say glorified role player because we use him with Fox, for better or worse, because of their connection. No contender is going to trade for this guy and put him on the top pair. Therefore, take it easy when discussing what we could get in return for him.
Now on the other hand, there are 31 teams out there that would trade for Miller right now because of his physical attributes, potential, etc. Plus he plays over 20 minutes a night and we treat him as a 1st pair guy. If we want to hit a jackpot in a trade, he's the guy to move, especially if you no longer believe he will turn into a star. And to be frank, he's quickly losing that shine. Lindgren is who he is. Miller still has that rep around the league of an upcoming stud.

 

[Avery16]

Is there anybody else that Drury could have signed for the vet minimum that they could put on line 1? Whatever you think of Wheeler, because of the cap, there were no better options. Bargain basement shopping netted us Gus, Quick, Wheeler. Don't know what more you can expect for 3 mil.

I’ve appreciated the Bonino and Pitlick signings as well. Good value. Imagine where’d we be this season with our injuries and without those five vets at essentially league minimum.

 

[McRanger92]

All the talking about our dmen, i mean im still of the opinion that Lindgren is still far from 100%, and have we figured out why Miller was out? Both important things to consider during what has been a fairly mediocre stretch for both. Schneider imo needs to sit for a game or two to reset, i still believe in him but he might need to sit to watch some video and watch the team play.
My biggest concern last night was that our d were almost surprised to see a player coming at them on the forecheck, it's almost like whatever they are doing at practice doesn't include a forechecker.

That pair looks good on offense, but Schneider is on his own in the D zone. Gustafsson is what he is. A 3rd pair/2nd PP offensive D man. He’s not much of a shot blocker/crease clearer

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I call it like I see it.