I'm not sure who's disappointing me more in the first two games, Hedman or McD. Both have taken knocks and seen the tunnel. Hedman is playing like his brain was in the microwave pre game and McDonagh isn't far off from that.
Might be having a rough couple of games (I think he still was okay), but he's consistently been one of the best D on our 3 runs. We don't win one, let alone two Stanley Cups without him. And we likely wouldn't currently be in the SCF without him.
Like i mentioned after game 5, I think the door has cracked open for a McD/Sergachev debate. Recency bias says Sergachev cause he's been solid and McD (and Hedman for that matter) have been mediocre to poor, but if McD is battling through injuries, I still don't know if we move him.
The problem is, they can't. Keeping both McD and Serg means likely losing both Palat and Killorn between this year and next(maybe keeping Paul) and still having very little, if any cap space for any F replacements(after re-signing the rfas). The forward group is going to lose even more depth in that scenario, and Tampa would really need at least two, if not three of the Syracuse guys to really step up and contribute considerably or find more guys at basically league min to be serviceable.
I really think we will just lose the forwards and keep the top-4 D. If that means Killorn, Palat, and Paul? My guess is that's what we do. Because each of those guys are easier to replace than McDonagh -- we didn't even start the year with Paul, and Hagel works as a replacement for one.
They can also give Palat up to 5, and Paul in the 3 range and make it work next year(provided Killorn is moved). I don't think they moved Joseph out for Paul thinking there was no chance they could.keep either of them. In that scenario, they'll lose Rutta as well this off season, but there was a decent possibility of that happening regardless. If JBB doesn't want to make a decision on McD or one of the rfas, he can wait until next Summer. By then, McD is 34 and Serg is 25, and if Serg starts to look more consistently like Serg from last night during next season, then moving McD is not out of the question. I've tried to make several lineups for '23-'24, and the forward group is just not looking like a strong unit if Tampa sinks everything into the defense these next couple of seasons.
Yeah, and almost all of our scoring has come from the top line and the top PP unit under Cooper. Every once in a while we get a hot 3rd line or 4th line, but the 2nd line always seems to be the one we complain about under-performing. At a certain point you have to think it's just part of Cooper hockey.
No need to lose all three of Palat, McD, and Killorn. We can easily fit any one of the three under the cap (just can't easily fit more than one).
He blocks a lot of shots. I think a couple of early ones got him badly. He was great in the region season and last playoffs.
If they choose to keep McD and Serg, by season after next they will have one of the worst looking bottom 6 F units around, unless some of the Syracuse players take a big step. The team will have 27.77 million to sign Serg, Cirelli, Cernak, Colton, Foote, and 7 other players(4 or 5 other F, 1-2 dmen, and a backup G). If they keep Paul for let's say in the 3 range, now they'll have 24.77 for 11 players. Those 5 mentioned above are going to eat a big chunk. I'm estimating those 5 will require around 20-21 million to keep. So that leaves 3 77-4 77 for 5 players. A back up G is 800-900k, so now ~3 to ~4 million left for 4 players. Guys like Koepke, Fortier etc can take 2 spots and then hopefully one of Thompson/Perbix/Day etc can be the 7th D. Maybe there would be enough space to sign one free agent to min level, but it would be close. No Palat, Killorn or Rutta, guaranteed. Maybe keeping McD for his 35-37 year old seasons is worth it, but it's not a open and shut call to have 3 or 4 elc/min contracts making up the bottom 6 as a result.
