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If you go up to 1.4 offer sheet there’s zero compensation.... almost tempted to do it just to piss off dubas lmao

Hanas got some moves

I could see all of these guys (the ones on 1 year deals) staying here for a couple to a few years. Names and Greiss could very well re-sign after 2 as well. Staal will be dealt or not re-signed, but Merrill and Stecher are types of D that we haven't had for a bit. After we lose a player in the expansion draft, we can re-sign these guys to a longer deal(s.) Honestly, lets say we lose Staal and Biega (possibly Nemeth) after the season, honestly we could have a D that looks like: DD - Hronek Merrill - Seider Nemeth - Stecher Lindstrom(Cholowski) ...Not sure the actual order, I just lined them up Lefty and Righty. For a couple of season's after this one, that is not a bad D lineup while the kids grow more in GR or abroad. This is barring any trades (Cholowski) or possible expansion loss (DD.) I think is Ryan goes back to 25+ goals, if he isn't trade bait, he'll re-sign here for a couple more season's before he retires. I know a lot of folks like to talk about that all of our signing's are just to deal them away at the TDL, but I don't think Yzerman plays that way. I think he signs players that fit his vision of the team moving forward. Sure, Bobby Ryan might be a reclamation project, but he is a low cost, high reward type of player. He is an upgrade over Abby and others for sure.

Serious on 3. Remember how many of us thought last year might be a lot better the way the season before ended? I think a lot of the ugly last year had to do with Hamblaster Howard letting in 3-4 goals in the first 10 minutes more than a few times. Just about any night Howard started last year lead to this team being setup to lose early on and I think that will mentally wear on a team over time. I’m not wholly blaming Howard as that’s hardly the whole story, but having Greiss and Bernier heading into next season is a major, major upgrade over last year. Between the additions and hopefully more guys stepping up, they’ll be a much better team. They could actually be legit sneaky good if all goes well. They need to get used to winning some games again and I do think that will help elevate the whole.

In terms of immediate value and resale value, I'd probably rank the signings like this: 1. Stecher - one of the better under-the-radar D-men 5-on-5 in the western conference last year and is just coming into his own 2. Ryan - great character guy can hopefully score 20 and get rewarded for his hard work both on and off ice 3. Greiss - having a 1A/1B type that doesn't eat all the hotdogs will be huge 4. Merrill - Going to be one of the best 3rd pair D men this team has had in a long time and will get us a 2nd at the TDL 5. Namestnikov - versatile guy who could come close to a career high in points if he plays with Zadina

You can't have it both ways though... You can't go after the "quality" players if you're not willing to pay the "high dollar / long term"... Yzerman has done a fantastic job so far this offseason. He has signed some low-key good players to low cap, and more importantly low term contracts. He has acquired a ton of trade assets over the next couple years. There is currently ONE player on the roster that is under contract beyond the 2021-22 season. That player is future captain, Dylan Larkin. That is a fantastic spot to be in, as a rebuilding team. Right now, I give Yzerman an A, because he did exactly what he should have done, when I'm sure the urge may have been there to get in on some of the high profile names. That can easily be upgraded to an A+, if he's able to acquire another big asset by trading for another bad contract.

Still don't get how they are going to make this work. They got 1.6 million left and have RFA's Mikheyev and Dermott still to sign. Mikheyev scored 23 points in 39 games last year.

he looks real strong on his skates, good at keeping the puck in traffic while driving the net. If I´m not mistaken he was supposed to play in NA this season already and he is making a strong case for himself.

Lol. They're both CRL sock accounts. As a depth player, I would think an NHL team would still be interested in Thornton. A 1 year, low dollar contract would be worth it.

I'm fine with what we got considering the state of this team. Everything I fine on Stecher and Merrill is they are 2nd and 3rd pair Defensive Defencemen with limited Offensive ability. Should help cut down goals against. Griess is an upgrade to the goalies. Ryan should be able to provide some stability and on ice coaching to the younger guys. Namestnikov may be the sleeper pickup. Fabbri, Namestnikov and Zadina may give us a second line that can consistantly score some goals.

As it is now, it looks like there may be a bit of a logjam up front. If he were to add a Galchenyuk or Duclair, I suppose it wouldn't be the worst thing, but I'm fine going into next season with the current roster.

Yzerman gets an A from me. Such a boss.

This has been a great thread, and it's lasted a long time. The off-season is still among us and there is still tons to talk about, so please, let's not get this thread locked of deleted.

I think its actual pucks glued to his forehead.