The Roster Thread, Summer 2024

[Chainshot]

Clifton and Jokiharju as a pair seems like a recipe for disaster. Joki has a hard enough time finding his positioning on his strong side. And we know Clifton did not do well with it at all.

 

[TheBarnIsElectric]

Clifton and Jokiharju as a pair seems like a recipe for disaster. Joki has a hard enough time finding his positioning on his strong side. And we know Clifton did not do well with it at all.

If it comes down to that as third pair, I'd rather sit Joki and go with Gilbert or Bryson with Clifton.

 

[Fjordy]

Clifton and Jokiharju as a pair seems like a recipe for disaster. Joki has a hard enough time finding his positioning on his strong side. And we know Clifton did not do well with it at all.

Yeah, that's what I meant. I think they just need to trade Jokiharju and add another RD who's more defensively.

 

[joshjull]

Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of, Sammy hasn't had a healthy season yet and has missed a lot of games.

Power - Dahlin
Byram - Clifton
Gilbert/Johnson - Joki

I think we definitely need a quality RD.

I don’t see Johnson in the picture at all to start the season. I’m also expecting Gilbert on the roster and probably in the lineup based on Adams comments.

I’m expecting Joker to get traded

 

[Chainshot]

If it comes down to that as third pair, I'd rather sit Joki and go with Gilbert or Bryson with Clifton.

Yeah, I was holding out that Jokiharju would have found a new home already too. It's just wonky mix at the moment.

 

[Fjordy]

I think Whitecloud and TVR look like the most interesting options for me on RD. Caps and Vegas are also hot cap-wise, and we can offer a pick/prospect or even retain Joki's salary and send him to Vegas or Washington. Or just trade him to, say, Anaheim.

Option 1:

Sammy - Dahlin
Power/Byram - Whitecloud/TVR
Power/Byram - Clifton

Option 2:

Power/Byram - Dahlin
Power/Byram - Whitecloud/TVR
Sammy - Clifton

 

[zenthusiast]

Very odd but sure.

I completely disagree. I think Byram had some injury issues but he's already proven he can be a stud in the playoffs in the NHL and he has a very bright future. Getting thrown into the mix for a month and a half on a Granato coached team isn't indicative of what he brings. He actually played the best the first couple of weeks when he was just playing by instincts.

I watched more than a bit of the avs over the past few years and while he’s an athletically gifted player when his brain isn’t scrambled he’s been very inconsistent in terms of quality (hence, of course, why they were willing to send him out at his age, another factor being other players passing him on the totem pole)

He’s no Risto or anything but I don’t have faith in the toolbox

 

[Jacob582]

I will:
1. Scratch my eyes out.
2. Play Dahlin - Metsa

.....before playing Jokiharju with Clifton.

 

[Ace]

The only D pairs that I can even begin to understand on a fundamental level are

Power-Dahlin
Byram-Samuelsson
Gilbert-Joker

Joker and Clifton can’t be together or in the top 4. So here we are. Joker should, theoretically, be able to move pucks out while Gilbert covers him. Never actually seen him do it to any degree of success…but at least it’s on the third pair.

You can sub in Bryson and Clifton when you want different types. I don’t care. All four are nothing to me. Develop quick Novikov, Johnson and Komarov.

Samuelsson and Dahlin stopped working a long time ago. So let him cover for Byram on the wrong side I guess. I hate Byram and Power together in their own end so here we are again. I don’t hate them as an idea in the offensive zone but the negatives in their own end would outweigh the positives there. My kingdom for that defensively responsible Power partner I asked for three f***ing years ago.

You might be able to talk me into an occasional look at Byram-Dahlin and Power-Samuelsson…but I don’t like it as much. Mainly because I don’t think Samuelsson fits with Power’s strengths. He’d be way better than Joker at finding where he’s supposed to be in his own end…but Power’s breakouts lose a key option since Samuelsson is where pucks go to die.

 

[NotABadPeriod]

I will:
1. Scratch my eyes out.
2. Play Dahlin - Metsa

.....before playing Jokiharju with Clifton.

Dahlin - Metsa would be cool...because that would mean we had signed Metsa to an NHL deal.

Adams, please sign Metsa to an NHL deal. Thank you.

 

[old kummelweck]

Everyone gets a clean slate. I expect a bounce back year from Clifton.

 

[Chainshot]

Everyone gets a clean slate. I expect a bounce back year from Clifton.

I liked him from mid-December on. With a bit more rumble up front, I expect him to have some more eye popping hits too.

 

[Zman5778]

Everyone gets a clean slate. I expect a bounce back year from Clifton.

And it's not like he had a poor 2nd half of the year. Once Meatballs put him back on his right side, he was a just fine 3rd pairing guy.

 

[MarkusKetterer]

Noooo not Mark Wahlberg. Anyone else. No barn cow either. At this point trade whoever you need to get a top 6 player. Cozens can shift to wing next to Zegras for the ultimate full circle draft when everyone wanted Zegras. So everyone is happy.

Get the idea of trading von Barnekow-Lofberg out of your harlot mouth!

 

[The Blunder Years]

My list of fat to trim is as short as it’s been since I started following this team. Krebs and Joker. We got an upgrade on Krebs in McLeod. We need to find the upgrade for Joker. I think Clifton is fine as a 6/7

 

[Dirty Dog]

Yea I’d rather have a defensive addition than a top 6 forward

 

[stokes84]

I forgot Clifton was on this team. Sigh…

 

[WhereAreTheCookies]

I liked him from mid-December on. With a bit more rumble up front, I expect him to have some more eye popping hits too.

His game seemed to improve after he basically called himself out.

 

[Reddawg]

I forgot Clifton was on this team. Sigh…

I kind of wonder if he’ll be more inclined to play physical hockey if he isn’t the only one anymore.

 

[Misko]

Thinking the team probably rolls this out:

Peterka - Thompson - Tuch
Zucker - Cozens - Quinn
Benson - McLeod - Greenway
Malenstyn - Lafferty - Aube-Kubel
Krebs

Dahlin - Samuelsson
Power - Byram
Clifton - Jokiharju

UPL
Levi/Reimer

Main points is that I think Benson likely starts on the 3rd line at the beginning of the season but I can't see him sticking there, I think he'll have a good 2nd season and should quickly rise to 2nd line and probably push Peterka or Zucker to the 3rd depending on how those two look to start the season too. I think Benson could double his pt total and could hit 60ish pts this season, a season of experience and hopefully better linemates and minutes should see him start to terrorize the league even more.

Think Thompson/Cozens are the 1-2 punch this season again and the team prays both have a bounceback year. Personally hate Greenway and think he should be stapled to the 4th line, he's a solid forechecker, PKer and is defensively responsible but I don't think he has very much offensive talent or IQ and see him ideally as a 4th liner even though I think he'll probably be a middle 6 player again. As someone who watches a lot of Vancouver, I am a fan of Lafferty and was open to him staying in Vancouver but now that he is here I do think he's a solid 4th liner.

Think Sammy returns to partner with Dahlin, it's been a good pair in the past and I think Power could benefit from playing with Byram more than Dahlin with Bytam. Idk if Clifton-Jokiharju is a good pairing but I think it'll be tried first over dropping Sammy to the 3rd pair or demoting one of Clifton-Joker to 7th D as I think both were pretty solid in the 2nd half of last season.

I think if both Thompson and Cozens area able to have bounceback years and play like they did in 22-23 or close it, if Quinn stays healthy the whole season and if Power can finally start scratching the surface of his potential, that alone could carry this team to a better standings than last season once you take into account the rest of the team around them. If players who had great seasons last year maintain their momentum like Peterka, Dahlin and UPL and if guys like Benson and Levi can have great sophomore seasons as well, then I think this team could potentially make the playoffs finally, but given the teams track record, it's hard to stay positive until I see it happen with my own two eyes.

 

[Fjordy]

Dahlin - Samuelsson
Power - Byram
Clifton - Jokiharju

Oh, I don't think this is the best combination of pairs.

 

[Jacob582]

Clifton - Jokiharju

My eyes are bleeding

 

[alehman42]

Oh, I don't think this is the best combination of pairs.

I posted something similar to this a few days ago in the Jokiharju contract thread, but reiterating:
There are two things we've learned the hard way about this D corps:
Clifton cannot play on his off-side.
Jokiharju cannot be paired with Power.

I also think pairing Power with Dahlin is less than ideal - that forces Dahlin to be the defensively responsible one, which limits his ability to be creative offensively.

Which means I'm advocating for (c'mon, embrace it with me):

A Power-Clifton pairing.

That leaves the top pairing as either Samuelsson-Dahlin or Byram-Dahlin, with the other of Samuelsson/Byram with Jokiharju on the other lower pairing.

Not textbook pairings, but as Chain said it's a wonky mix and I think the above is probably the best way to arrange the mis-matched pieces they have.

(I think the Gilbert signing was a Samuelsson injury hedge, but YMMV)

I also posted a TvR proposal thread on the trade board; Caps fans seem open to the idea, but responses have been minimal (probably because I asked for offers rather than posting my own dumb proposals for people to sh*t on )

 

[Sabre Dance]

Let’s say they’re finished. Possible goal outputs. 262 goals. Another 5-7 from players not listed. So I can see approximately 265-270 goals from this group. That puts us around the top 10. Maybe we’re good enough right now?

One thing I like about this roster is after our top 6 scoring forwards and Dahlin, there are 7 players that can easily score 8 or more goals.

Thompson 37
Peterka 29
Tuch 26
Quinn 24
Cozens 22
Dahlin 22
Benson 15
McLeod 14
Zucker 12
Lafferty 11
Byram 9
Krebs 8
Greenway 8
Power 7
NAK 5
Malenstyn 5
Clifton 3
Joki 3
Sammy 2

 

[Uberpecker]

So the Kraken (didn't realize Dan Bylsma was their head coach, wth?) seem to have one RHD too many after the Montour-signing. Any chance Borgen might shake loose?
Now looking at their roster he's probably the one I'd want to keep from their perspective, but who knows, I mean, they hired Dan f***ing Bylsma as their headcoach.
Joki, Krebs, + for Borgen and this d-corps looks quite a bit more balanced.