The Out of Town Thread CVIII - Free Agency Edition

[hockeyfan2k11]

I think it's too early to call Nill a great GM. He signed Hemsky to 4MM per year for 32 points. Gonchar signing was a mistake. Spezza put up Plecanec numbers last year, he doesn't appear to be the 75 point guy they were hoping for. Seguin was obviously a steal. I think he overpaid for Sharp, not sure they need another 6MM 50 point guy.

Will be interesting to see how his team performs this year but his moves haven't resulted in a winning team as of yet. He is willing to take risks though.

LMAO. Nill had a lot of work to do in Dallas. Anyone that expects immediate results from a team that needs to be rebuilt from the ground up is out to lunch...

Nill is making moves for the team to contend for many years to come in the future. I can't wait to see the backtracking if Dallas improves and the Habs falter.

 

[hockeyfan2k11]

No ****ing chance. If it is, Plekanec should just start packing his things right now and be ready to move.

Habs actually need Pleks. The C situation is a complete mess.

 

[Lebowski]

So Toews just won the ESPY for best NHL player of the year...

I don't... I just don't.

 

[bsl]

They won't make the playoffs.

Dallas could win the cup with Price.

 

[bsl]

Habs actually need Pleks. The C situation is a complete mess.

Said it three years ago. It's kind of pissing me off that it took all of you smart guys this long to realize it.

 

[bsl]

I think Plekanec will aim for a Markov like contract but for more years. 5.75M for 4 or 5 years.

No ****ing chance. Pleks is done in two years and is **** in the PO. See YA.

 

[Sterling Archer]

I think it's too early to call Nill a great GM. He signed Hemsky to 4MM per year for 32 points. Gonchar signing was a mistake. Spezza put up Plecanec numbers last year, he doesn't appear to be the 75 point guy they were hoping for. Seguin was obviously a steal. I think he overpaid for Sharp, not sure they need another 6MM 50 point guy.

Will be interesting to see how his team performs this year but his moves haven't resulted in a winning team as of yet. He is willing to take risks though.

Not every move is going to be a gem. Spezza would still be the best centre on this team by far. If Nill started off with Price, PK and Patches like Bergevin did and added Spezza and Seguin, where do you think the Stars would be right now?

Patches Seguin Spezza PK Price Benn...

 

[hockeyfan2k11]

Said it three years ago. It's kind of pissing me off that it took all of you smart guys this long to realize it.

I've been talking about this for a while now...GM is more interested in Dmen though.

 

[PricePkPatch*]

Not every move is going to be a gem. Spezza would still be the best centre on this team by far. If Nill started off with Price, PK and Patches like Bergevin did and added Spezza and Seguin, where do you think the Stars would be right now?

Patches Seguin Spezza PK Price Benn...

Thats a nice sentiment, but i dont think i would do much good

 

[Kents polished head]

No ****ing chance. If it is, Plekanec should just start packing his things right now and be ready to move.

I'm scared Bergevin just hands it to him. I personally would trade him ASAP. It's been two playoffs in a row now he lost us pretty crucial games/faltered in important moments.

 

[Miller Time]

So Toews just won the ESPY for best NHL player of the year...

I don't... I just don't.

Not undeserving at all if playoffs are factored in.

 

[Bergevillain]

Not undeserving at all if playoffs are factored in.

I think I would have had a better choice.

 

[Fozz]

Not every move is going to be a gem. Spezza would still be the best centre on this team by far. If Nill started off with Price, PK and Patches like Bergevin did and added Spezza and Seguin, where do you think the Stars would be right now?

Patches Seguin Spezza PK Price Benn...

They'd be in deep cap trouble, that's where the Stars would be.

 

[Habset]

They'd be in deep cap trouble, that's where the Stars would be.

After seeing teams like the Rangers and Hawks constantly up against the cap and still making winning moves, I'm starting to believe theres no such thing.

 

[hockeyfan2k11]

They'd be in deep cap trouble, that's where the Stars would be.

Chicago had no trouble with that.

 

[417]

That's besides the point and something we can never really know, just speculate about. I'm not talking about those players in particular. Any team in the West etc. could have acquired them as well. It was Nill he identified his needs and filled them by trading for them. He's a great GM and deserves some props here. Bergevin is saying centres never get traded period and here you have Nill getting 2 in 2 years for arguably very little in assets.

There was no way the Bruins were trading Tyler Seguin to the Habs...

As for Jason Spezza, he had a NTC and wanted to play in the U.S., the Habs weren't an option for him, never mind the Sens themselves.

I think when Bergevin talked about the difficulty in acquiring centres, people took it too literally.

I think it is possible to acquire such players, but it almost has to be a perfect storm...Dallas also benefits from being a tax free state, so when you're talking about big name players getting moved, the Stars are an attractive option.

It's not so easy for the Habs...that's not an excuse, just reality.

 

[417]

After seeing teams like the Rangers and Hawks constantly up against the cap and still making winning moves, I'm starting to believe theres no such thing.

There is no such thing as 'salary cap hell' or whatever catch phrase media/fans like to use...When you have a good roster and prospects, the cap is just a question of making the math work.

 

[dmanfish90]

I'm scared Bergevin just hands it to him. I personally would trade him ASAP. It's been two playoffs in a row now he lost us pretty crucial games/faltered in important moments.

Huh? Plekanec lost us "pretty crucial games/faltered in important moments"? Are you just looking at his stat line and making assumptions or are you forgetting about his real task in the playoffs which was shutting down team's top lines. I.e. Ovechkin, Crosby (2010), Krejci (2011), Stamkos, Krejci (2014) and Matt Stone's lines...

Man this guy gets so much flack. His LW and RW (for the most part) the past 8 years.

2006-07: A. Kostitsyn/Latendresse & Kovalev/Ryder - 81 GP, 47 PTS
2007-08: A. Kostitsyn & Alex Kovalev - 81 GP, 69 PTS
2008-09: Tanguay/Higgins & Kovalev - 80 GP, 39 PTS
2009-10: Cammalleri & Gionta - 82 GP, 70 PTS
2010-11: Cammalleri/Darche & Gionta - 77 GP, 57 PTS
2011-12: Cammalleri/Darche/Moen & Gionta/Bourque/A. Kostitsyn - 81 GP, 52 PTS
2012-13: Galchenyuk/Bourque/Prust & Gionta - 47 GP, 33 PTS
2013-14: Galchenyuk/Bourque/Vanek & Gionta - 81 GP, 43 PTS
2014-15: Galchenyuk/Pacioretty/Moen/Prust & Weise/DSP/Sekac - 82 GP, 60 PTS

Outside of Kovalev and Cammalleri, what stellar offensive stalwarts has Plekanec been paired with? And as you can see playing with Pacioretty for a brief period last year (and on the PK) helped his stat line.

PO stats last two years:

2014: 17 GP, 9 PTS (playing with Vanek/Galchenyuk/Moen & Gionta)
2015: 12 GP, 4 PTS (playing with Galchenyuk/Prust & Gallagher/DSP/Weise)

So yeah, maybe we should all look at big picture before discussing things incorrectly...

 

[hototogisu]

I've been talking about this for a while now...GM is more interested in Dmen though.

Something Nill should probably check into

24 JORDIE BENN
4 JASON DEMERS
33 ALEX GOLIGOSKI
2 JYRKI JOKIPAKKA
3 JOHN KLINGBERG
37 PATRIK NEMETH
## JOHNNY ODUYA

32 KARI LEHTONEN
31 ANTTI NIEMI

You guys actually think this is a team in good shape? Yeah their offense is sexy and they'll score a ton of goals - just like they did last year. But unless they get a miracle year out of their goalies (and I hope they do, considering they're investing like $9m in them)...they're not going anywhere.

 

[Sterling Archer]

Thats a nice sentiment, but i dont think i would do much good

Not at all

They'd be in deep cap trouble, that's where the Stars would be.

Like the Hawks and Kings? What a terrible ordeal they've had what with winning all the Cups in the past 5 years.

There was no way the Bruins were trading Tyler Seguin to the Habs...

As for Jason Spezza, he had a NTC and wanted to play in the U.S., the Habs weren't an option for him, never mind the Sens themselves.

I think when Bergevin talked about the difficulty in acquiring centres, people took it too literally.

I think it is possible to acquire such players, but it almost has to be a perfect storm...Dallas also benefits from being a tax free state, so when you're talking about big name players getting moved, the Stars are an attractive option.

It's not so easy for the Habs...that's not an excuse, just reality.

Again, it's not just about those two players in particular. It's that Jim Nill landed both after realising his need at centre. He isn't the only GM of a team that wanted them. Even with limited destinations there was still multiple options. He managed to get them. How many times have we heard the Habs were in on this player or that player etc and he ended up going to another team.

You can make all the excuses you won't but at the end of the day results count. We still have David ****ing Desharnais as a top 2 centre. We're not going anywhere as long as we're this weak down the middle. At least Nill is building a nice little team for himself. Meanwhile, Bergevin and MT are riding the coat tails of their predecessors with Price, PK and Patches leading the way for the Habs.

 

[Kents polished head]

Huh? Plekanec lost us "pretty crucial games/faltered in important moments"? Are you just looking at his stat line and making assumptions or are you forgetting about his real task in the playoffs which was shutting down team's top lines. I.e. Ovechkin, Crosby (2010), Krejci (2011), Stamkos, Krejci (2014) and Matt Stone's lines...

Man this guy gets so much flack. His LW and RW (for the most part) the past 8 years.

2006-07: A. Kostitsyn/Latendresse & Kovalev/Ryder - 81 GP, 47 PTS
2007-08: A. Kostitsyn & Alex Kovalev - 81 GP, 69 PTS
2008-09: Tanguay/Higgins & Kovalev - 80 GP, 39 PTS
2009-10: Cammalleri & Gionta - 82 GP, 70 PTS
2010-11: Cammalleri/Darche & Gionta - 77 GP, 57 PTS
2011-12: Cammalleri/Darche/Moen & Gionta/Bourque/A. Kostitsyn - 81 GP, 52 PTS
2012-13: Galchenyuk/Bourque/Prust & Gionta - 47 GP, 33 PTS
2013-14: Galchenyuk/Bourque/Vanek & Gionta - 81 GP, 43 PTS
2014-15: Galchenyuk/Pacioretty/Moen/Prust & Weise/DSP/Sekac - 82 GP, 60 PTS

Outside of Kovalev and Cammalleri, what stellar offensive stalwarts has Plekanec been paired with? And as you can see playing with Pacioretty for a brief period last year (and on the PK) helped his stat line.

PO stats last two years:

2014: 17 GP, 9 PTS (playing with Vanek/Galchenyuk/Moen & Gionta)
2015: 12 GP, 4 PTS (playing with Galchenyuk/Prust & Gallagher/DSP/Weise)

So yeah, maybe we should all look at big picture before discussing things incorrectly...

Not only has he been unproductive in the playoffs in the last two seasons, and just historically, he always lost 3 or 4 consecutive defensive zone faceoffs against the Rangers in 2014 while protecting a 1-goal lead at the end of a game, who then tied it up.

And this year, he's been pretty much responsible for the game 6 loss the the Lightning with his stupid mistakes.

He's a choker and a loser. It's as simple as this. He's a fine player, but not someone you win with.

 

[hockeyfan2k11]

Something Nill should probably check into



You guys actually think this is a team in good shape? Yeah their offense is sexy and they'll score a ton of goals - just like they did last year. But unless they get a miracle year out of their goalies (and I hope they do, considering they're investing like $9m in them)...they're not going anywhere.

You mean...like the Habs?

Why is this so hard to understand that Dallas had holes everywhere? It wasn't like Montreal where everything was set and an upgrade needed to be made in the top 6. Nill came into this situation needing to improve scoring, D and goaltending. He got scoring done. D is clearly in progress and goalie should be next. Nill is aggressive so I know it will be addressed. Look at the top GMs in the league. They are aggressive and fill needs rather quickly. Bergie had one area to fix and he has failed countless times to do just that....while getting pass after pass by Price channeling the spirit of Jacques Plante every game.

 

[bipolarhabfan]

They'd be in deep cap trouble, that's where the Stars would be.

Has not stopped the Hawks. They have gotten rid of Ladd, Byfuglien, Niemi, Oduya, Bolland, Brouwer, Sharp, and Saad for cap reasons. Despite this fact they have won three cups and have maintained their competitiveness.

I do not buy the argument of the cap being a problem. Proactive GMs, and intelligent ones, know exactly what to do when it comes to improving their teams. They go out and do it instead of making excuses such as transition years or that there is no market out there.

BTW, we would have been in a much more favorable position if Timmins would have done better when it comes to drafting and Bergevin/Gainey/Gauthier with managing assets. If we had better prospects than we could have gotten good players in a trade. The only forwards worth mentioning that we have are McCarron and Sherbak. Timmins's last good draft was in 2007. Since then we have seen Leblanc, Tinordi, and Beaulieu taken in the first round.

Lastly, the addition of Odyua does stabilize the Star's D. Their forward group is scary, however. Seguin, Speza, Benn, Sharp, and Nichuskin are a formidable group.

 

[hockeyfan2k11]

Has not stopped the Hawks. They have gotten rid of Ladd, Byfuglien, Niemi, Oduya, Bolland, Brouwer, Sharp, and Saad for cap reasons. Despite this fact they have won three cups and have maintained their competitiveness.

I do not buy the argument of the cap being a problem. Proactive GMs, and intelligent ones, know exactly what to do when it comes to improving their teams. They go out and do it instead of making excuses such as transition years or that there is no market out there.

BTW, we would have been in a much more favorable position if Timmins would have done better when it comes to drafting and Bergevin/Gainey/Gauthier with managing assets. If we had better prospects than we could have gotten good players in a trade. The only forwards worth mentioning that we have are McCarron and Sherbak. Timmins's last good draft was in 2007. Since then we have seen Leblanc, Tinordi, and Beaulieu taken in the first round.

Lastly, the addition of Odyua does stabilize the Star's D. Their forward group is scary, however. Seguin, Speza, Benn, Sharp, and Nichuskin are a formidable group.

Can we not draft or can we not develop? Or is it both? It's absolutely strange how Habs struggle to develop homegrown top 6 players.

 

[Bergevillain]

Can we not draft or can we not develop? Or is it both? It's absolutely strange how Habs struggle to develop homegrown top 6 players.

What about Pacioretty, or Gallagher/Galchenyuk. All top 6 players, and we have not yet got a chance to see if any of MB's picks after Galchenyuk will pan out but everyone here is pretty high on Scherbak and McCarron.