Roster thread: Get To Work (2022-2023 Season)

[Gabrielor]

Value of: - Aaron Ekblad

Seems like a guy who could be on his way out soon in Florida. He's been relegated to 3D role behind Forsling and Montour on the Panthers this year (average almost 2 minutes less of EV TOI/game thant those 2) and Montour took over PP1. A lot of Panther fans seem ready to move on from him. 2...

forums.hfboards.com

Ekblad is an interesting consideration. Did not know his toi was down, and he was off pp1.

 

[Jim Bob]

Value of: - Aaron Ekblad

Seems like a guy who could be on his way out soon in Florida. He's been relegated to 3D role behind Forsling and Montour on the Panthers this year (average almost 2 minutes less of EV TOI/game thant those 2) and Montour took over PP1. A lot of Panther fans seem ready to move on from him. 2...

forums.hfboards.com

Ekblad is an interesting consideration. Did not know his toi was down, and he was off pp1.

I doubt he waives his NMC to come to Buffalo if PP1 time is critical to him given that he will be two seasons away from UFA when they are talking about a trade this summer.

 

[Gabrielor]

I doubt he waives his NMC to come to Buffalo if PP1 time is critical to him given that he will be two seasons away from UFA when they are talking about a trade this summer.

Depends. Playing with Dahlin or Power on a high-event offense might be worth it.


That aside, the Sabres probably don't do it at all when factoring injury history. I sadly don't see Ekblad aging well in the NHL.

 

[Jim Bob]

Depends. Playing with Dahlin or Power on a high-event offense might be worth it.


That aside, the Sabres probably don't do it at all when factoring injury history. I sadly don't see Ekblad aging well in the NHL.

Maybe, but I would be surprised given how much of his offensive stats have come on the PP. And offensive stats lead to getting paid.

I have a feeling that their interest would be highly dependent on what Florida wants back if Ekblad would waive.

 

[Gabrielor]

Maybe, but I would be surprised given how much of his offensive stats have come on the PP. And offensive stats lead to getting paid.

I have a feeling that their interest would be highly dependent on what Florida wants back if Ekblad would waive.

Fla fans opened with "which of your left d is available". The answer is none.

So now you're talking Jokiharju being the primary d to return. Which means you're wrapping that up with our 1st this year, easily one of our 21-22 non-Power 1sts, and probably another notable asset.

And Florida may stop this idea before it even starts.

 

[Jim Bob]

Fla fans opened with "which of your left d is available". The answer is none.

So now you're talking Jokiharju being the primary d to return. Which means you're wrapping that up with our 1st this year, easily one of our 21-22 non-Power 1sts, and probably another notable asset.

And Florida may stop this idea before it even starts.

I don't see Adams being willing to go that big for a guy who is under contract for two years.

 

[Gabrielor]

I don't see Adams being willing to go that big for a guy who is under contract for two years.

I mean, we know he tried pretty hard for Chychrun, and the only differences are LD vs RD, 2 years older for Aaron, and a 12 man NMC...

 

[Jim Bob]

I mean, we know he tried pretty hard for Chychrun, and the only differences are LD vs RD, 2 years older for Aaron, and a 12 man NMC...

He has a full NMC right now. It doesn't flip to the 12 team no trade list until 7/1/2024.

And we have no idea what Adams put on the table for Chychrun. All we really know is that Adams said the ask from Arizona was different and Savoie and Kulich were untouchable.

 

[Gabrielor]

He has a full NMC right now. It doesn't flip to the 12 team no trade list until 7/1/2024.

And we have no idea what Adams put on the table for Chychrun. All we really know is that Adams said the ask from Arizona was different and Savoie and Kulich were untouchable.

I think it's fair to assume he wasn't just wasting their time with offers of 2nd round picks if they called back like 5 times.

 

[Jacob582]

I'm much more anti tank than I was previously...but if the last game of the season and losing gets us to 11th place, Dahlin, Thompson, Tuch, Power are all resting and Houser is getting the start.

Are you nuts? You play Houser one NHL game this year, he is getting a shutout. He will play lights out.

 

[Jim Bob]

I think it's fair to assume he wasn't just wasting their time with offers of 2nd round picks if they called back like 5 times.

We know that he was unwilling to put Savoie or Kulich in the deal. That is 1/2 of the non-OP '21 & '22 1st round picks.

He may have been willing to move far lesser prospects than Arizona wanted and not the top tier guys.

When a deal falls apart, we never really know what a team is willing to move. We just get talk about what they were not willing to move and we see what pieces they move in other deals.

The Vegas 2nd was the most valuable trade asset that Adams moved at the deadline. That does not tell us a lot about what he would be willing to give up for a guy like Ekblad.

We also found out that Adams is comfortable with passing on a deal that he doesn't like for a top 4 D. I would not be shocked if Adams passed on an Ekblad deal like he did with Chychrun, Ekholm, etc.

 

[Gabrielor]

We know that he was unwilling to put Savoie or Kulich in the deal. That is 1/2 of the non-OP '21 & '22 1st round picks.

He may have been willing to move far lesser prospects than Arizona wanted and not the top tier guys.

When a deal falls apart, we never really know what a team is willing to move. We just get talk about what they were not willing to move and we see what pieces they move in other deals.

The Vegas 2nd was the most valuable trade asset that Adams moved at the deadline. That does not tell us a lot about what he would be willing to give up for a guy like Ekblad.

We also found out that Adams is comfortable with passing on a deal that he doesn't like for a top 4 D. I would not be shocked if Adams passed on an Ekblad deal like he did with Chychrun, Ekholm, etc.

Yeah, sorry, I forgot. When I'm talking to you there's a point where educated assumptions aren't allowed. Carry on.

 

[debaser66]

Joker is an offensive defenseman, who's offense was completely stunted and neutered by Kreuger and converted into a shut-down defender, which was never his thing.

He's not physical enough for the role Kreuger gave him, and Granato has continued to ask of him, so he leaves a lot to be desired in his deployment.

He does a lot of little things well, and he actually is decent at D, but playing with Power, who is an adventure defensively to say the least, he is in over his head.

But you are right, last nights goal was a prime example of the misplaced blame. Jokiharju was exactly where the coaches tell him to be on that play. Had he charged behind the net to challenge, and a wrap around goal or the same pass that happened had occurred, he would have been at fault and been blamed for leaving the crease.

By staying home and guarding for the wrap on the farside of the net, he was doing what they coaches wanted. Power didn't engage, pulled up to guard the other side of the net, but let the pass through, which was his one job to not let happen when he chose to cover the side of the net instead of engaging in a puck battle. Yet somehow Jokiharju is responsible.

Posters are frustrated and want someone to blame. That is natural and why some posters always have to have a whipping boy to focus all of their angst against.

he is maybe a 5-6d and plays top4 minutes which is too much for his talent level.
he is one of the few players not improving under Granato
he is not an offensive D, more a Jack of no trades
he fumbles a lot of easy passes for the break out
his shot weak
he is too weak or timid to play any kind of physical game.
that said I rather have physical D in the bottom pairing
people rightfully target him, mostly because he has the same issues since being traded, that was before Power.
its the minutes not his Partner

 

[Chainshot]

Value of: - Aaron Ekblad

Seems like a guy who could be on his way out soon in Florida. He's been relegated to 3D role behind Forsling and Montour on the Panthers this year (average almost 2 minutes less of EV TOI/game thant those 2) and Montour took over PP1. A lot of Panther fans seem ready to move on from him. 2...

forums.hfboards.com

Ekblad is an interesting consideration. Did not know his toi was down, and he was off pp1.

Ultra-slow D3 living on his reputation.

 

[Grouch]

Yeah, sorry, I forgot. When I'm talking to you there's a point where educated assumptions aren't allowed. Carry on.

Not sure what set you off in what he wrote. Kinda unnecessary imo.

I don't think KA was wasting his time, but sometimes if you are serious you need to kick in an extra. All it took for Chychrun was a 1st (protected) and 2 2nds, including 1 that could be a 1st and 1 in '26. Our 1st unprotected, and BUF (same potential 1st if in ECF and PHL 2nds this year would have gotten it done. That's a price that should have been paid to address the need.

 

[Ace]

I think it's fair to assume he wasn't just wasting their time with offers of 2nd round picks if they called back like 5 times.

Or when he openly offered so much information about the discussions.

we can’t allow pretending he wasn’t interested in Chychrun to become a talking point. He was. They were in it until the end. Arizona’s GM did a bad job and we weren’t allowed to make a realistic offer to beat Ottawa because somehow having A prospects is a punishable offense that will make a stupid GM take a low offer instead of trying to get more competitive ones.

Adams wanted Chychrun. So no more “not enough term” or “wouldn’t offer anything good” nonsense.

 

[Gabrielor]

Not sure what set you off in what he wrote. Kinda unnecessary imo.

I don't think KA was wasting his time, but sometimes if you are serious you need to kick in an extra. All it took for Chychrun was a 1st (protected) and 2 2nds, including 1 that could be a 1st and 1 in '26. Our 1st unprotected, and BUF (same potential 1st if in ECF and PHL 2nds this year would have gotten it done. That's a price that should have been paid to address the need.

I've talked to Jim Bob enough that he probably takes no offense. He does tend to wet blanket my idle speculations.

A hard line of not being able to conceive that Adams would've offered our 23 1st, for instance, for Chychrun just because 'we don't know 100% what he did!' gives me a headache. Not the first, not the last. We'll always remain civil.

Or when he openly offered so much information about the discussions.

we can’t allow pretending he wasn’t interested in Chychrun to become a talking point. He was. They were in it until the end. Arizona’s GM did a bad job and we weren’t allowed to make a realistic offer to beat Ottawa because somehow having A prospects is a punishable offense that will make a stupid GM take a low offer instead of trying to get more competitive ones.

Adams wanted Chychrun. So no more “not enough term” or “wouldn’t offer anything good” nonsense.

And that's basically it. Extrapolation is fair to use.


This is all away from the point anyways. Ekblad: interesting idea. Cost probably nuts in-division. Don't know if I'd do it. A good thought exercise nonetheless.

 

[Chainshot]

I've talked to Jim Bob enough that he probably takes no offense. He does tend to wet blanket my idle speculations.

A hard line of not being able to conceive that Adams would've offered our 23 1st, for instance, for Chychrun just because 'we don't know 100% what he did!' gives me a headache. Not the first, not the last. We'll always remain civil.

JB and I have done that to one another for the better part of 25 years. It's never personal. IRL, I want him in my corner even if he was questioning what I'm doing. So... yeah.

And that's basically it. Extrapolation is fair to use.


This is all away from the point anyways. Ekblad: interesting idea. Cost probably nuts in-division. Don't know if I'd do it. A good thought exercise nonetheless.

With his chronic injury history, my initial reaction to Ekblad is a sound that is reminiscent of his name - yech, bad.

 

[Jim Bob]

Yeah, sorry, I forgot. When I'm talking to you there's a point where educated assumptions aren't allowed. Carry on.

I've talked to Jim Bob enough that he probably takes no offense. He does tend to wet blanket my idle speculations.

A hard line of not being able to conceive that Adams would've offered our 23 1st, for instance, for Chychrun just because 'we don't know 100% what he did!' gives me a headache. Not the first, not the last. We'll always remain civil.

I am sure that Adams was probably willing to at least move the '24 1st in a Chychrun deal.

I think the issue is the difference between what he would add to a '23 or '24 1st and what Arizona wanted. That that is where I could see there being an issue with Adams getting an Ekblad deal done. My guess is that Florida would want more than Adams feels comfortable giving up.

We know he wouldn't move Kulich and Savoie. The question then likely becomes would he move Rosen or Ostlund to get Ekblad? Maybe. Maybe not.

'23 1st, Rosen, and Jokiharju for Ekblad might be more than Adams is willing to pay and what Florida would want to get a deal done.

 

[Chainshot]

I am sure that Adams was probably willing to at least move the '24 1st in a Chychrun deal.

I think the issue is the difference between what he would add to a '23 or '24 1st and what Arizona wanted. That that is where I could see there being an issue with Adams getting an Ekblad deal done. My guess is that Florida would want more than Adams feels comfortable giving up.

We know he wouldn't move Kulich and Savoie. The question then likely becomes would he move Rosen or Ostlund to get Ekblad? Maybe. Maybe not.

'23 1st, Rosen, and Jokiharju for Ekblad might be more than Adams is willing to pay and what Florida would want to get a deal done.

That's more than I am willing to pay.

 

[Gabrielor]

'23 1st, Rosen, and Jokiharju for Ekblad might be more than Adams is willing to pay and what Florida would want to get a deal done.

This response I can work with.

That's more than I am willing to pay.

I buy the souring on Ekblad for injury reasons or contract reasons.

1st, Joker, Rosen is a price, however, doesn't make me flinch at all for bonafide top-4 d (right shot no less) drafted somewhere between 2014 and 2022.

That's exactly what I want out of this summer, and we'll have to pay to get it.

 

[Jim Bob]

That's more than I am willing to pay.

And trying to find common ground on what Florida wants and what Adams would be willing to part will likely be challenging.

If Florida looks to move Ekblad, they will likely look at what Chychrun and Ekholm returned and want something somewhere in those neighborhoods.

Personally, I'd rather look at Rasmus Andersson as the primary top 4 D target. But, who knows what that ask would be, too.

 

[WhereAreTheCookies]

And trying to find common ground on what Florida wants and what Adams would be willing to part will likely be challenging.

If Florida looks to move Ekblad, they will likely look at what Chychrun and Ekholm returned and want something somewhere in those neighborhoods.

Personally, I'd rather look at Rasmus Andersson as the primary top 4 D target. But, who knows what that ask would be, too.

Trade for Ekblad, sign Erik Johnson and roll the last 4 1st overall Dmen in your top 6

 

[Gabrielor]

And trying to find common ground on what Florida wants and what Adams would be willing to part will likely be challenging.

If Florida looks to move Ekblad, they will likely look at what Chychrun and Ekholm returned and want something somewhere in those neighborhoods.

Personally, I'd rather look at Rasmus Andersson as the primary top 4 D target. But, who knows what that ask would be, too.

Same.

Per Calgary fans though, 0% chance. Weegar/Hanifin go before him.

 

[elchud]

I wonder how much pull the analytics guys really have in the roster players. Seems like sentiment and emotion are ruling the day. I get it, the players really get along well. 10 of then can go to Tahiti during the 1st round of the playoffs. We can get a Blue&Gold video out of it!