Confirmed with Link: Weekesbomb: Palat to NJ for five-year deal

[NjDevsRR]

Me preparing to enter this thread again:

 

[The Wumpus]

Palat's stats aren't overly impressive, but the important thing here is how he plays the game. He's not a super-high-skill guy, but he plays very smart. Young players can learn from a guy like that. Think of him as sort of an on-ice coach. Having Palat around could help fine-tune the performance of our young talented guys. Someone needs to show them how it's done.

We've all watched a lot of Tampa in the playoffs recently, and Palat always stands out as being in the right place when he needs to be.

 

[severian]

The whole "he's only scored 20 goals once!" bullshit is the same disingenuous garbage people used to rag on Bratt and Hughes last year.

He had 18 goals this year in 76 games, 15 in 55 last year, and 17 in 69 last year. That's a couple bounces and a worldwide pandemic away from three straight 20 goal seasons.

The last three seasons he has 50 goals and 136 points in 202 games, that's 20 goals and 55 points per 82 games.

Some people are drooling over Andrew Copp, dude has passed 15 goals and 40 points once in his career, this past season.

He was the Lightning's Brylin. Can play up and down the lineup, kills penalties, does a bit of everything and he's clutch. I love this move. We have a super young core that sorely needs some veteran leadership. This guy was given nothing but the highest praise from Cooper and the Lightning as a whole. Is the AAV a year too long and is he making $1 mill too much? Absolutely. But that's how it goes with UFA.

 

[Blackjack]

Go back and read the tweet. EH projected Palat would get $6x5.


So above you don't want to squeeze our elite offensive players to put Palat on PP1. But now you want to put Bastian on pp1 over Palat. Doesn't add up.

Yeah because they’re literally projecting the stupidity of GMs

 

[JimEIV]

Here is my honest thought

People don't hate this because of the contract...People hate this because 1. He's a complementary player and 2. People aren't sure if the core is good enough to just add a complementary players...

Hence the cries for we need "we need elite players"....If your Bratt's, Jack's and Nico's need a Gaudreau to be successful we have a problem that nothing except for more fail-draft-repeat is going to solve.

 

[devilsblood]

Yeah because they’re literally projecting the stupidity of GMs

Says the guy who would have rather we extended Tatar.

Here is my honest thought

People don't hate this because of the contract...People hate this because 1. He's a complementary player and 2. People aren't sure if the core is good enough to just add a complementary players...

Hence the cries for we need "we need elite players"....If your Bratt's, Jack's and Nico's need a Gaudreau to be successful we have a problem that nothing except for more fail-draft-repeat is going to solve.

I agree, and I take the opposite tact.

I think we have the elite players in house. They just need to mature. And bringing in a guy with a ton of playoff success will help them mature.

I didn't want Gadreau.

 

[Blackjack]

Here is my honest thought

People don't hate this because of the contract...People hate this because 1. He's a complementary player and 2. People aren't sure if the core is good enough to just add a complementary players...

Hence the cries for we need "we need elite players"....If your Bratt's, Jack's and Nico's need a Gaudreau to be successful we have a problem that nothing except for more fail-draft-repeat is going to solve.

I hate it because of the contract

 

[devilsblood]

Palat's stats aren't overly impressive, but the important thing here is how he plays the game. He's not a super-high-skill guy, but he plays very smart. Young players can learn from a guy like that. Think of him as sort of an on-ice coach. Having Palat around could help fine-tune the performance of our young talented guys. Someone needs to show them how it's done.

We've all watched a lot of Tampa in the playoffs recently, and Palat always stands out as being in the right place when he needs to be.

But they are very good, that includes playoffs, and it's a long track record.

 

[guitarguyvic]

Here is my honest thought

People don't hate this because of the contract...People hate this because 1. He's a complementary player and 2. People aren't sure if the core is good enough to just add a complementary players...

Hence the cries for we need "we need elite players"....If your Bratt's, Jack's and Nico's need a Gaudreau to be successful we have a problem that nothing except for more fail-draft-repeat is going to solve.

Yeah pretty much. To me I just don’t trust anyone on this team currently to deliver the real goods…not management and not the players either. It’s just been too many years of failure. I can’t help but remain skeptical until I see all this “potential” actualized and tangible improvement in the win-loss column.

 

[JimEIV]

I agree, and I take the opposite tact.

I think we have the elite players in house. They just need to mature. And bringing in a guy with a ton of playoff success will help them mature.

I didn't want Gadreau.

I don't think its the opposite tact? I'm not saying we don't have them in-house, I am saying it's time to sink or swim...But with that, they need to be supported with these kind of players.

So I think we are pretty much in a agreement?

 

[devilsblood]

I don't think its the opposite tact? I'm not saying we don't have them in-house, I am saying it's time to sink or swim...But with that, they need to be supported with these kind of players.

So I think we are pretty much in a agreement?

I mean the opposite tact of those people that thought we needed Johnny G.

But yeah, with all the #1oa's, the top 5ers, the top10's, all the other draft picks, some of which have hit pretty big, why do we need to go sign UFA superstars? Palat is much more what we needed.

 

[Billdo]

Yes. How many effective NHLers, especially at forward, can you name that are older than 33? Almost none, and the ones that are were the best players in the league in their prime (Marchand, Crosby, Ovechkin, Pavelski, etc.).

It's gonna be a rough contract for probably the last 3 years.

Not that you're looking for one and it's not a person shot at you but the out here will be the word "effective".... but here's a list of "effective" players 33+ years of age who weren't the best players in their prime...

Andy Greene, Craig Anderson, Mike Smith, Mark Giordano, Jeff Carter, Halak, Jordan Staal, Cogliano, there's a lot more.

 

[devilsblood]

Lets say we get 3 good seasons out of Palat, but then he fades, but we make a playoff push next year and then make the playoffs in the final 4 years of his deal. Do we consider his deal a success?

 

[Unknown Caller]

The whole "he's only scored 20 goals once!" bullshit is the same disingenuous garbage people used to rag on Bratt and Hughes last year.

He had 18 goals this year in 76 games, 15 in 55 last year, and 17 in 69 last year. That's a couple bounces and a worldwide pandemic away from three straight 20 goal seasons.

The last three seasons he has 50 goals and 136 points in 202 games, that's 20 goals and 55 points per 82 games.

Some people are drooling over Andrew Copp, dude has passed 15 goals and 40 points once in his career, this past season.

Not even close to the same argument, but ok. Bratt and Hughes were developing prospects who had underlying numbers to support a much higher scoring rate in the future plus massive room for development. Palat is a fully developed veteran who played his entire career with one of the most dominant offensive dynasties we've seen.

What most people aren't grasping about the argument is that it has nothing to do with whether Palat is a valuable player right now. As of today, he's absolutely an effective second line winger who does the little things well, brings intangibles and has experience winning consistently. There's no question about that.

The argument is centered around how much money and term you give to a guy like that, especially given the fact that he's likely to decline in the near future. There's also a lot of people that are really overrating what he is and it's just going to result in frustration in the long run.

 

[bossram]

Lets say we get 3 good seasons out of Palat, but then he fades, but we make a playoff push next year and then make the playoffs in the final 4 years of his deal. Do we consider his deal a success?

They need to make the playoffs now for this contract to be a success. They need to make the playoffs for basically the entirety of his contract. It's just too much coin and too much term for a 31 year-old. Palat is a great player and he has a fantastic track record, but the decline is coming, perhaps sooner than later.

There's a reason Tampa, who always has the salary cap in mind long-term, decided to let him walk. They could've brought him back next season if they didn't sign Namestnikov and bought out Myers, but they decided to retain the longer-term flexibility.

This is a purely win-now move. Mega-shades of the summer of Eriksson/Ladd/Lucic/Nielsen contracts.

I'd rather have thrown a guy like Danton Heinen $2M.

 

[Rhodes 81]

Here is my honest thought

People don't hate this because of the contract...People hate this because 1. He's a complementary player and 2. People aren't sure if the core is good enough to just add a complementary players...

Hence the cries for we need "we need elite players"....If your Bratt's, Jack's and Nico's need a Gaudreau to be successful we have a problem that nothing except for more fail-draft-repeat is going to solve.

I agree with you, but I'll also say that I still believe you could take the same team from last year, roll it out again, and reasonably expect better results than what they got. I do think the core needs someone else to be a cup-contender, but that person is probably somewhere in between Palat and Gaudreau. Maybe Holtz can be that player (I would say it's 40/60), maybe they need to add that player to the organization still. Gaudreau certainly would have made this team a contender faster, but he is not the last chance they will have to add that player. The more complete the roster is whenever that does happen the better, and in the meantime you may just find out that it wasn't necessary.

 

[Oneiro]

It's naive to believe that you can address your roster's needs in a cost-efficient, age-optimized way at every spot.

And that you can always get by standing pat when you're running an organization full of humans, not fixed properties.

 

[devilsblood]

Not even close to the same argument, but ok. Bratt and Hughes were developing prospects who had underlying numbers to support a much higher scoring rate in the future plus massive room for development. Palat is a fully developed veteran who played his entire career with one of the most dominant offensive dynasties we've seen.

What most people aren't grasping about the argument is that it has nothing to do with whether Palat is a valuable player right now. As of today, he's absolutely an effective second line winger who does the little things well, brings intangibles and has experience winning consistently. There's no question about that.

The argument is centered around how much money and term you give to a guy like that, especially given the fact that he's likely to decline in the near future. There's also a lot of people that are really overrating what he is and it's just going to result in frustration in the long run.

He's 31 so I don't want to completely discredit the "decline" concerns. But he just scored the most goals in his career since 13-14, the most points since 16-17 and had his best playoffs to date.

He has yet to show any signs of a decline.

 

[devilsblood]

They need to make the playoffs now for this contract to be a success. They need to make the playoffs for basically the entirety of his contract. It's just too much coin and too much term for a 31 year-old. Palat is a great player and he has a fantastic track record, but the decline is coming, perhaps sooner than later.

There's a reason Tampa, who always has the salary cap in mind long-term, decided to let him walk. They could've brought him back next season if they didn't sign Namestnikov and bought out Myers, but they decided to retain the longer-term flexibility.

This is a purely win-now move. Mega-shades of the summer of Eriksson/Ladd/Lucic/Nielsen contracts.

I'd rather have thrown a guy like Danton Heinen $2M.

So if he has 3 good seasons, then fades, and we make the playoffs in 4 of those seasons, the contract is not a success in your eyes? That's a high bar. This team did stink last year.

 

[njdevil26]

Hey friends, how certain are we that this is done? Team hasn't announced it, no one's talking about it this morning, Capfriendly only has the cap number based on what was reported but not the actual contract...

 

[theoptimist]

It's naive to believe that you can address your roster's needs in a cost-efficient, age-optimized way at every spot.

Ironically, we're doing it right now. The Palat whiners are just broke.

I am interested however on what's next for this lineup? I'm not ready for the Have You Seen Sharangovich special or for Holtz to get demoted to AHL

 

[Unknown Caller]

It's naive to believe that you can address your roster's needs in a cost-efficient, age-optimized way at every spot.

Really? How did the Avalanche manage to put together one of the best teams in the cap era without handing out a single contract like this in the last 5+ years? They were somehow fine relying on value signings and developing their players internally in a cost effective and age-optimized way.

Spoiler. The reason they were one of the best teams in the cap era is largely because they didn't hand out contracts like this one.

 

[NJDevs26]

Hey friends, how certain are we that this is done? Team hasn't announced it, no one's talking about it this morning, Capfriendly only has the cap number based on what was reported but not the actual contract...

I mean pretty much everyone after Weekes confirmed the deal and the terms. Why the team hasn't officially announced it yet who knows, maybe they want to get the guy in the building to physically sign the contract and get the YT footage?

 

[Oneiro]

Really? How did the Avalanche manage to put together one of the best teams in the cap era without handing out a single contract like this in the last 5+ years? They were somehow fine relying on value signings and developing their players internally in a cost effective and age-optimized way.

Spoiler. The reason they were one of the best teams in the cap era is largely because they didn't hand out contracts like this one.

Erik Johnson at 6M at age 27, topping out at 25 pts and sub 50 CF% is cost-efficient?

Oh wait, you didn't notice it because it didn't matter.

I agree we can't do this again, though.

 

[SpeakingOfTheDevils]

They need to make the playoffs now for this contract to be a success. They need to make the playoffs for basically the entirety of his contract. It's just too much coin and too much term for a 31 year-old. Palat is a great player and he has a fantastic track record, but the decline is coming, perhaps sooner than later.

There's a reason Tampa, who always has the salary cap in mind long-term, decided to let him walk. They could've brought him back next season if they didn't sign Namestnikov and bought out Myers, but they decided to retain the longer-term flexibility.

This is a purely win-now move. Mega-shades of the summer of Eriksson/Ladd/Lucic/Nielsen contracts.

I'd rather have thrown a guy like Danton Heinen $2M.

That is just absurd.

The entire post is nervous handwringing over "perhaps perhaps perhaps," but to suggest Danton Heinen at whatever contract he gets is more viable to this team than Palat at the contract he just got... is plain absurd.