Value of: Tampa fire sale

Oddbob

Registered User
Jan 21, 2016
16,665
11,208
Fire Sale when they hung on with AHL goaltending and only just got Vasi back from back surgery???

Good GMing for sure!

They won 2 covid cups, it clearly doesn't count when it involves a full 82-game schedule and regular playoffs. They are just being exposed now

No, they won 2 Stanley Cups. They won 16 playoff games, just like every other playoff team has since it took 16 wins to get the Cup. Such a lame argument/statement.
 

glenngineer

Registered User
Jan 27, 2010
7,016
1,944
Franklin, TN
TB is a victim of being good at a lot of things. Obviously the product on the ice as that was a result of great drafting, player development and shrewd moves.

Unfortunately, the salary cap hindered them as the players got better and better.

Imagine a world where a team didn’t have to let players walk in free agency that they drafted or signed as undrafted free agents. Killorn and Palat were drafted whereas Johnson and Gourde were undrafted.

Where would TB be if they were able to keep them?

I wonder if the NHL ever considered a floating cap where any player you draft or sign as an undrafted player could be given any contract you’d like without counting against the team’s cap and all other players have to fit in to a different cap. Not sure how it works, whether it’s a fixed number or a percentage. The other catch is when you trade a player, how that effects the cap of both teams involved.

I think TB is a victim of their own success on multiple different levels.
 

Beukeboom Fan

Registered User
Feb 27, 2002
16,141
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Chicago, IL
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They've got two less than ideal contracts with Cirelli and Paul. They thought Cirelli would develop more offense. Cernak might be a slight overpay, but they've had so many hometown discounts over the years, I think it's pretty hard to take too much of an issue with Brisebois' cap management skills.

Now, if you want to take issue with how much he paid for Jeannot ...
How do you not mention Sergachev on the "less than ideal contracts"? He's really been struggling actually playing defense in the games I've watched, and when you're making $8.5M you need to be able to anchor the D-pair.

Brisbois made a bunch of long term gambles, and many of those guys haven't developed as much as the Bolts probably had hoped as they've had to deal the complimentary players over the last 2-3 years.
 
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Beukeboom Fan

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Feb 27, 2002
16,141
2,097
Chicago, IL
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TB is a victim of being good at a lot of things. Obviously the product on the ice as that was a result of great drafting, player development and shrewd moves.

Unfortunately, the salary cap hindered them as the players got better and better.

Imagine a world where a team didn’t have to let players walk in free agency that they drafted or signed as undrafted free agents. Killorn and Palat were drafted whereas Johnson and Gourde were undrafted.

Where would TB be if they were able to keep them?

I wonder if the NHL ever considered a floating cap where any player you draft or sign as an undrafted player could be given any contract you’d like without counting against the team’s cap and all other players have to fit in to a different cap. Not sure how it works, whether it’s a fixed number or a percentage. The other catch is when you trade a player, how that effects the cap of both teams involved.

I think TB is a victim of their own success on multiple different levels.
The NHL is NEVER, EVER going to voluntarily break the HRR "linkage". Teams know the cap rules, and have to plan accordingly. Fans always love the idea of exceptions, but the league sacrificed a season to get the current system in place, and they're not going back because a team is TOO successful. The other 31 teams want their chance to shine.

IMO, TB isn't any different from a team like the Hawks who had to identify the core, and make tough deals on other players they would have loved to keep. The thing they've done differently (smartly IMO) is doubling down by moving draft picks for good young players who are locked up on good contracts (Hagel as an example). That maximizes their chances of being a serious competitor when you've got Kuch/Hedman/Point/Vasy at their peak. Hagel deal was great, Jeannot, not so much yet. The issue though is this has essentially killed the pipeline of talent that will be needed to replace guys who are ready to step up and contribute, or at least be available to make deals to improve the team.

The problem IMO is that when Brisbois identified the core, he expected more from guys he was locking up to 8 year terms. He really thought that Sergachev was a legit top pair d-man who could anchor a pairing, and Cirelli could be a play driver on a scoring line. TB is a REALLY top heavy team, and they have too many guys who aren't legit NHL'ers getting minutes (specifically DeHann, Perbix, and Radysh on the blueline). The Bolts still have a punchers chance because their top end talent is world class, but IMO they are too top heavy in their current form.
 

AcerComputer

Registered User
Aug 4, 2014
5,329
3,401
Is the garage sale, I mean fire sale still going? or has it been cancelled? And here I thought Leaf fans overreact to a loss.

They are not a team built for a full 82 game season and playoff.
I can tell you as a Leaf fan last year they were the better team, and were able to flip a switch in the playoffs. Despite a lackluster (for their standards) regular season. We even beat them near the end of the season thinking they were cooked, but no, they are still very dangerous, and legitimately won those 2 cups.
 
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AndreRoy

Registered User
Jan 3, 2018
4,466
3,593
TB is a victim of being good at a lot of things. Obviously the product on the ice as that was a result of great drafting, player development and shrewd moves.

Unfortunately, the salary cap hindered them as the players got better and better.

Imagine a world where a team didn’t have to let players walk in free agency that they drafted or signed as undrafted free agents. Killorn and Palat were drafted whereas Johnson and Gourde were undrafted.

Where would TB be if they were able to keep them?

I wonder if the NHL ever considered a floating cap where any player you draft or sign as an undrafted player could be given any contract you’d like without counting against the team’s cap and all other players have to fit in to a different cap. Not sure how it works, whether it’s a fixed number or a percentage. The other catch is when you trade a player, how that effects the cap of both teams involved.

I think TB is a victim of their own success on multiple different levels.

What really killed them wasn’t the salary cap itself, but years of a flat cap due to lockdown idiocy. They were well-positioned to handle a cap that rose at its standard historical rate.
 

AndreRoy

Registered User
Jan 3, 2018
4,466
3,593
How do you not mention Sergachev on the "less than ideal contracts"? He's really been struggling actually playing defense in the games I've watched, and when you're making $8.5M you need to be able to anchor the D-pair.

Serg’s problem isn’t so much the defensive play itself as it is his penchant for boneheaded turnovers once he’s possessed the puck. He generally does a decent job of stopping the opposition, but then he’ll rush the pass out of the zone and hand it right back, or attempt an ill-advised cross-ice pass that gets picked off, or drop pass it to the other team, etc. What’s really frustrating is that he didn’t used to be this bad at moving the puck - somehow as his defense got better his transition game got worse.

Serg’s just one of those players who’s infuriating to watch, not because he isn’t a capable player, but because he’s a capable player who just can’t put it all together consistently. He’s shown that he can excel in every phase of the game and has had stretches where he truly looked like the 1D everybody hoped he would become; he just can’t seem to do so on a regular basis, and the older he gets the less likely it becomes that he ever will. At some point you just have to admit that this is what he is, and he’s about reached that point.

All that said, I don’t really fault JBB for Serg’s contract because Serg at least did at one point look like he was evolving into a future 1D. Cirelli, on the other hand, had one season early on where he scored at a 50-point pace but hasn’t come close to replicating it since; JBB should have known that Cirelli was a really good defensive 3C rather than the solid two-way 2C he paid him as. Neither player is living up to his contract but at least Serg’s was somewhat understandable; Cirelli’s was bad from the start.
 
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