krsmith17

Does anyone know why random SHL games have been and are continuing to be postponed? Is it due to Covid? The Rogle (Seider) vs Lulea game is postponed today...

Yeah, I'm hoping he develops into a very good 2C. We shall see. He's likely still 3-5 years away. Yeah, pretty much this. Also, Albert Johansson > Anton Johanneson.

Yeah, I was stoked about the Niederbach pick as well, but I think 1C may be a little out of reach for him. Maybe, but keep in mind, the J20 is considered a lower quality league than the CHL. 2 points per game is pretty f***ing impressive, but until he gets a shot, sticks, and produces in the SHL, I'd probably pump the breaks on 1C potential for now. Yeah, I mentioned this as a potential 2nd line in a few years. We could have a super deep top 9 pretty soon, which is pretty exciting.

I guess for the same reason helmets weren't mandatory back in the 60's and early 70's, and visors weren't mandatory back in the 90's and early 2000's... Men are too cool to wear the same protection they did as boys... Neck guards have been mandatory in minor hockey for as long as I can remember (30 years), but once you get to a certain age, when the speed and pace of play picks up, you don't have to wear them anymore. Makes a ton of sense...

I didn't see much of the Seider game, but did catch the clip of him nearly getting clipped... Close call for sure. I think it's only a matter of time before some sort of neck protection is made mandatory, the same way they did with visors a few years back.

I wasn't thinking anyone money actually. I wasn't even thinking about a particular number. I was just thinking that Mantha, being a significantly more valuable player than Bertuzzi, should and likely will get paid significantly more money and term.

I would say that an extra $1.5M per and an extra two years is "significantly more" in "Covid land times" though... Also, if Mantha signs a contract worth $5M, that is an absolute steal, and the longer the term, the better.

Nothing. Mantha should and likely will get significantly more money and term than Bertuzzi. He's a much more important player to the future of this team. Mantha is a legitimate top line winger, that can drive offense. Bertuzzi is a middle six complimentary winger, that needs help to produce offense.

1 year. RFA again next offseason.

Or Raymond. I'll probably be watching the Berggren vs Veleno game, but flicking back and forth between the three games. I really wish they would spread the times out a little...

Yeah, and I'm perfectly okay with taking a more cautious approach in these negotiations. It'll be interesting to see what Mantha eventually ends up signing for as well.

Bertuzzi will likely receive a one year contract, sub $4M, keeping him restricted next offseason.

Ok, I thought I read the opposite a while back, but fair enough. If that is the case, maybe that would be the ONLY reason to hang on to Nielsen an extra year... It is just a difference of the $666K. Like I said, no other buyout or other contract should have any bearing on potentially buying out Nielsen. If I were confident in him being waived or permanently scratched, I'd be fine with not buying him out. I just don't want him on the 23-man roster. $666K is not going to affect Yzerman from signing any big name free agents. No, we have never seen a team not be able to sign a big name free agent over $600-700K. If things are that tight, you make moves elsewhere, waive an Erne, or whatever. You never pass on a big free agent signing over peanuts. Also, like I said, cap space shouldn't be an issue in 3-4 years regardless of whether or not we buy out Nielsen. Most of our top players will be on ELC's or their first bridge contract. The only players that should be making "big money" in that 4th year, are Larkin, Mantha, maybe Hronek, and maybe a free agent or two. That $666K would NOT affect our ability to lure an free agents.

I suppose that could be the case, but if it is, I don't think that would be wise for Bertuzzi. I'm sure most players want to bank on themselves, but there's no guarantee that he will be on the top line with Larkin and Mantha all of next season, and if he's not, there's no guarantee he will be able to duplicate the same sort of production. I love Bertuzzi, but I do think his numbers are a little inflated. He'll never be a line drive. He's a good utility guy, the type of players you need to win, but he's far from a cornerstone of this team in my opinion.

The Abdelkader or Weiss buyouts should not have any bearing on whether or not Nielsen is bought out. Neither should the expansion draft. Pending UFA's are considered qualifying players and can be exposed in the expansion draft. Not all of Filppula, Ryan, Gagner, Helm, Erne, Glendening will be traded at the deadline, and those that aren't could be exposed to Seattle. Nielsen is not needed for the expansion draft. And we have enough protection spots for our promising, younger forwards with or without Nielsen. I would rather any player in the organization get ice time over Nielsen. He's been that bad. When you have a player that has performed that poorly, you buy him out. Yzerman did it with Abdelkader, and I think he should do it with Nielsen. We'll see... Yes, buying him out now keeps in on the books for four years, but buying him out next year keeps him on the books for three years. It's only a difference of one year, and about $600K in that final year. And that's not even factoring in the real money saved by buying him out a year earlier. Saving real dollars should matter any time, especially in the middle of a global pandemic... Definitely an issue with term. I'm assuming Yzerman wants to continue with the short-term contracts, and Bertuzzi wanted to be locked in long-term.

Yup. Kind of surprised it didn't get settled before arbitration, since they were so close on AAV. They must have been far apart on term?...

I know Wallinder hasn't played any SHL games yet, but he's worth mentioning. He's been playing mostly in the J20 (3GP - 1G - 3A - 4PTS) and Allsvenskan (6GP - 0G - 1A - 1PT) Niederbach has technically played two SHL games as the 13th forward, but only a combined *6 second* in those two games... However he's been dominating the J20 (15GP - 9G - 17A - 26PTS). He also has 1 goal and 3 assists through the first two periods in today's game. Also, just a note on Berggren's dominance. He currently sits 3rd in SHL scoring, the two ahead of him, are Marek Hrivik (2 points ahead, averaging 9 minutes per game more, 9 years older) and Carter Camper (1point ahead, 1 more game played, averaging 7 minutes per game more, 12 years older). The only other U25 player in the top 15, is Berggren's center, Andreas Wingerli (23). Berggren doing this as a 20 year old, averaging around 14 minutes per night (less than anyone else in the top 25) is pretty f***ing impressive...

Nielsen would not be dumb to buy out. The team would save cap space in each of the next two seasons, as well as real money over that time. The extra $600K that would remain on the books for the extra two seasons, is nothing. We shouldn't have any bad contracts on the books at that time, and a bunch of our top players will be on ELC's. We'll still have more than enough cap space to sign our RFA's, and go after big name UFA's. It would be dumb NOT to buy out Nielsen. He f***ing sucks...

I agree, and I've said as much in previous posts. The key part of that post that you missed is "thinks the game at an elite level". Although Shanahan and Hull were both smart offensive players, I wouldn't say either had elite hockey IQ. Neither were particularly great passers or skaters. Both were elite because of their scoring ability. Shanahan was an elite power-forward, and Hull had an elite shot. Both traits of an elite winger. Not so much a center. Lafreniere on the other hand, has all the key attributes of an elite center, but for whatever reason has played his entire career on the wing. Same goes for Hall and Rantanen and a few others. Unbelievable wingers, and if they had switched to center years ago, would be elite centers.

Three primary assists for Berggren so far in this one... Guy has looked unreal. Threat every time he's on the ice.

And another.

So you were serious... Maybe, just maybe, Lafreniere would rather play on the wing, and it has nothing to do with him "not being able" to play center... Lafreniere absolutely was the best player on his junior team since being drafted three years ago. Most (*not all*) top players choose to play center. Lafreniere (and Hall) obviously didn't. What does Zadina have to do with any of this? No I don't. I'm not saying all wingers could or should transition to center. Zadina probably wouldn't make a very good center. Lafreniere on the other hand, would without a doubt. You mean the thing that I always advocate to do? Take best player available, regardless of position? Teams should never do this. But again, I'm not saying all wingers would transition to center seamlessly. The elite one's with hockey IQ off the charts absolutely would though. Again, I would assume that Lafreniere would just prefer to play on the wing, because if he wanted to transition to center three years ago, he would have, with ease. Also, all three forward positions are way more fluid in today's game than they ever have before. Players are never locked in to certain positions on the ice like they once were. It's a lot more free wheeling and cycling in all three zones. This is all a huge reason I don't get too hung up on our center depth, and just want elite players regardless of position. Wingers can drive play just as well as centers, the way the game is played nowadays. If we have above average, but not elite centers, and elite, play driving wingers, we should be in good shape. Ideally your best players are centers, but they don't have to be to have success. The only one that really benefits from the "greater demand" is the player's agent though. Maybe Lafreniere's agent has recommended him switching to the middle, but maybe Lafreniere has no interest in it, and knows that as great as he is / will be, he will be in great demand regardless of position.