Dr Jan Itor
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The roster, as presented, could have as much as $8M in space, and would probably have a minimum of $4M in space.
No Zuccarello, Fleury, Greenway and Foligno.
Speculation: Trade and Free Agency Talk - 2022-23 Edition - Postseason Success can't be a Myth!
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No Zuccarello, Fleury, Greenway and Foligno.
Yet, once it was ludicrous as hell to think Brodin would come in and play top pair too. Faber might be able to do so as well. Time will tell though.
I personally don’t think Spurgeon or Brodin are the problem. It’s the other 4 dmen for me.
Dr Jan Itor
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Sort of, as best I can, those that would be eligible for them at that time.
Addison and Gustavsson's 2nd year of bridge deals. Khusnutdinov ELC, ELC defensemen, 4th liners making small amounts. Nobody else is really in question.
The 01-02 Canes were 40-1 to win the cup before the season. They were the 8th seed in the playoffs the previous year. They finished with the 7th most points in the Eastern Conference and had a goal differential of zero, but won a weak division. Their leading scorer was 38 year old Ron Francis, who was not drafted by them. Textbook example of a mushy middle team that got hot in the playoffs.
The 03-04 Flames were 100-1 to win the cup before the season. They were a last place team the previous year. Entered the playoffs as the 6th seed in the West. Had Iginla, Kiprusoff, neither of whom they drafted, and the rest of the team was a bunch of nobodies that never won any kind of accolade in the NHL. Got hot in the playoffs and got within one game of the cup.
The 05-06 Canes were 60-1 to win the cup before the season. Didn't make the playoffs the previous season. They were the 2nd seed in the East, so you could say they didn't come out of nowhere in that sense. But given the history of the franchise, nobody considered them a title contender. And their best player was Staal, who they drafted 2nd overall, but the team was mostly made up of aging veterans 32 and up like Stillman, Brindamour, Recchi, Weight, Hedican, and Wesley, who were not drafted by the team. Staal and Erik Cole were the only two players in the top 10 on the team in scoring who were drafted by the franchise. Cam Ward, who was drafted 25th and was a 21 year old rookie, got red-hot in the playoffs and won the Conn Smythe.
The 05-06 Oilers were 25-1 to win the cup before the season. Didn't make the playoffs the previous season. They traded ONE former top-5 pick for Pronger, not a bunch of them and Eric Brewer wasn't drafted by Edmonton. Based on their previous season, no reasonable GM would say "hey, we should trade futures for Chris Pronger. I think he will turn this scrub squad into a contender. He was by far their best player. The rest of the team was built through the draft. but they entered the playoffs as the 8th seed and were not in any way considered a contender. 36-year old Dwayne Roloson got hot and upset a juggernaut Red Wings team and carried the team to within one game of the cup.
The 10-11 Bruins were 16-1 to win the cup before the season. They were the 6th seed in the East the previous season and were the 3 seed entering the playoffs, but there was really no reason to expect a run from this team, as they didn't really have any star power. They were mostly built through the draft, but their best players like Bergeron, Krejci, Lucic and Marchand were all drafted in the 2nd or 3rd round. Chara was signed as a free agent, and Horton and Wheeler were both top 5 picks but were drafted by other teams 6 or 7 years earlier. Tim Thomas won the Vezina and the Conn Smythe as a 36 year old. He was not drafted by Boston and played a grand total of 4 NHL games before he turned 31. Seguin was 12th on the team in scoring in the regular season and 15th in the playoffs. Not much of a factor.
The 11-12 Devils were 28-1 to win the cup before the season. They missed the playoffs the previous year and were the 6th seed in the East. Their best player was Kovalchuk, who they traded for two seasons prior. Brodeur was 39 years old. If this was a team built by drafting, it was drafting Brodeur, Elias and Sykora almost two decades earlier. There was absolutely no reason to anticipate a run to the finals from this team.
The 15-16 Sharks were 37-1 to win the cup before the season. They missed the playoffs the previous year and the season before that were reverse swept by the LA Kings in the first round of the playoffs. This team was dead and buried as contenders. Entered the playoffs as the 6th seed. Led by Thornton, Pavelski, Burns and Marleau who were all over 30.
I'll stop there.
The point is that not every contender is built by going through the traditional rebuild process of bottoming out by selling off all of the pieces that aren't likely to be part of the future. Sure, Pittsburgh, Chicago, LA, Tampa Bay and Colorado have all built dynasties through high draft picks, but there are teams like Buffalo, Edmonton and Arizona who consistently draft in the top 5 and never end up getting there. Then there are teams like I listed above that go from not even making the playoffs the prior season, to getting in as a 6th, 7th or 8th seed and making a run to the finals with a roster that is made up of mid to late 1sts, 2nds, and 30+ year old past-their-prime journeymen. So to say that the Wild should trade away anyone over the age of 30 because we don't have a chance at making a playoff run isn't paying attention to the past 20 years of the NHL, because it's been done plenty of times.
The reason I am not opposed to taking a shot this year and maybe adding a guy like Toews or others
1. The West is down this year.
2. Cap issues pose bigger problem next 2 years may be issue making playoffs
3. Kaprizov has yet to be out of first round of Playoffs- a couple more years of first round exits or non playoff season will he want to bolt after contract is up?
I think the Kaprizov angle is the biggest one for me! This might be the best chance this year to advance if they do get into the playoffs.
Just my 2 cents. I also see why you can say not to spend assets this year casue many players have regressed from last year. Maybe adding a Towes or maybe O'Reilly ads a jolt to this team like the Dubnyk trade did
1. The West is down this year.
2. Cap issues pose bigger problem next 2 years may be issue making playoffs
3. Kaprizov has yet to be out of first round of Playoffs- a couple more years of first round exits or non playoff season will he want to bolt after contract is up?
I think the Kaprizov angle is the biggest one for me! This might be the best chance this year to advance if they do get into the playoffs.
Just my 2 cents. I also see why you can say not to spend assets this year casue many players have regressed from last year. Maybe adding a Towes or maybe O'Reilly ads a jolt to this team like the Dubnyk trade did
I take every playoff game that I can get with Kaprizov on the roster, the final year of the big buyouts is going to be extremely challenging with the contracts coming off the books, it will likely be the start of our younger transition and if we do end up getting a lottery pick, that is likely when it would happen.
I get people see prospects like Bedard and have major FOMO, but there are some other good drafts coming up after this one too, we might end up in the running for a guy like Misa much more organically than through scorched earth shenanigans.
I get people see prospects like Bedard and have major FOMO, but there are some other good drafts coming up after this one too, we might end up in the running for a guy like Misa much more organically than through scorched earth shenanigans.
You’re right on everything, but what is missing is that our team is also down this year. We are not what we were last year. And what’s with us taking all the damn penalties?
Gaudreau, Hartman, Dewar, Shaw, Walker and Duhaime all need new contracts by 24-25.
I hope maybe 2 of those return. These guys listed are all replaceable or available for cheap.
Should be noted that my lineup doesn’t have to include those players if they price themselves out. Ideally, I would want Dewar, Walker and Duhaime back for sure. None of those guys should take more than $1.5M at the moment. I can run the numbers when I get home from work.
most of the West is down this year also, though, a lot can change at Trade deadline for anyone in the West, Teams could add players that change landscape of conference. As of today Colorado is out of the playoffs ( I think they get in) But if the Wild added Toews or O'Reilly is there any team in the west that you would say would be a clear favorite over the Wild? Maybe Dallas?
Unless I am the only one worried about 97 wanting to get out of here in 2-3 years. I think you have to add within reason and not trade any high end prospects or a 1st this season, because as of today there is no dominant team in west. Colorado may get there if they can get healthy but even then I think they arent as good as last year. My thinking is based on making sure 97 is happy and losing in 1st round or not making playoffs isnt going to keep him happy
I have to think that Hartman on the 1st line is just to activate his shot and willingness to get to the dirty areas. I certainly like his chances out front of the net more so than Zuccarello.
Dr Jan Itor
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Dr Jan Itor
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Or bring Duhaime, Dewar, Shaw back at 4th liner salaries, like they deserve. Who knows with Walker, if he gets a legit shot next year. Gaudreau and Hartman, maybe, maybe not.
Every team let's players walk. There are free agents every summer. We aren't unique.
I can put together a reasonable 12 man roster with only 3 ELCs (Rossi, Faber and Wallstedt) for 2024-25 with no cap increase and have $20.7M in cap space to fill out the remaining 11 spots. 6 of those spots are 4th line/13th forward/7th defenseman spots that should total up less than $6M. That's $15M to fill 5 more spots, so $3M per player. If another 1-2 of those spots go to ELC guys (Khus/Ohgren/Yurov/Lambos/ROR) then that's more $'s available for the non-ELC remaining spots, maybe up to $4M per player.
12 man roster:
Kaprizov, Boldy, Eriksson Ek, Greenway (currently) and Rossi (ELC)
Spurgeon, Brodin, Middleton, Addison (2.5M) and Faber (ELC)
Gustavsson (2.5M) and Wallstedt (ELC).
If you want to take this whole thing back to adding Pettersson (which I think is where it started... can't really tell anymore) then yeah, something else might have to be maneuvered, but maybe not, depending on the ELC situation.
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MuckOG
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No reason to let Walker, Duhaime or Dewar walk. All three of them will be affordable and would need to be replaced anyways, if we let them walk.
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I don't think Walker has shown enough yet to be a lock to be re-signed.
He shows promise though.
It is kind of weird that he is being promoted because he is playing like crap, though
Plenty of time between now and then for that to clear up. If I had to bet? He shows more promise of value than the rest of that list.
Dickie Dunn
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Dr Jan Itor
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Right, but he also hasn't done too much to make re-signing him a money issue.
If he plays in the AHL next season, his re-signing is going to be less than $1 million. If he plays in the NHL and does well, that's only a good thing for us.
This is a list of 2 x 4th liners, 3 x fringe players, and a complete unknown. 3 of them, at most, should be in a competitive lineup for a healthy team. It's a $3m-$4m cap hit for a 4th line + press box FWD.
If they are more then replace them with someone cheaper. Use the cap on actual top-9 quality players. Not paying too much for 4th liners and playing them up in the lineup.
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