Richdg

Petry just got 5.5 million per to resign. Hamilton is a much better player and younger than Petry. One is a 25 point per year RHed D and the other is a 40+ point per year RHed D. 6 years difference in age as well. No one is worth it, but that is the market. That is correct. Holland has 25 days to work out a deal with NJ to get our 2016 pick back. That is all it would take. A Tvrdon for the pick type of deal should make it happen. But lets dream for a minute..... dekeyser-hamilton Kronwall-Ericsson Oullett-marchenko Lashoff That is a very good BL corp and we would still have more BL prospects coming and all of our best F prospects. Not to mention about 10 million more in cap space after trading KFQ.

Compensation When a player accepts an offer sheet and his team declines to match the value of the contract, his former team is entitled to draft pick compensation in the next upcoming draft or drafts based on the averaged yearly salary of the contract. This averaged annual salary is determined by dividing the total compensation by the lesser of the number of years of the Offer Sheet or five years (the latter clause has potentially come into play with one offer sheet---offered to Shea Weber in the 2012 offseason). These values were originally set for the 2005 offseason to coincide with the new NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement, with percentage increases annually equal to the same percentage increase in the average salaries of all NHL players. The 2005 and 2015 offseason values are as follows:[1] 2005 Averaged Salary 2015-16 Averaged Salary Draft Pick Compensation $660,000 and below $1,205,377 and below No compensation $660,001 to $1,000,000 $1,205,377 to $1,826,328 Third-round pick $1,000,001 to $2,000,000 $1,826,328 to $3,652,659 Second-round pick $2,000,001 to $3,000,000 $3,652,659 to $5,478,986 First- and third-round pick $3,000,001 to $4,000,000 $5,478,986 to $7,305,316 First-, second-, and third-round pick $4,000,001 to $5,000,000 $7,305,316 to $9,131,645 Two first-round picks and a second- and third-round pick $5,000,001 and above $9,131,645 and above Four first-round picks A team may not have two different players sign offer sheets at the same time if the value of the offered contracts would involve any of the same draft picks as compensation. For example, if a restricted free agent accepts a contract with a yearly salary of at least $8,410,977, the team can only offer to other restricted free agents contracts less than $3,364,392 per year, since those would not require any first round pick as compensation. In addition, if a team does not have a pick in the next upcoming draft available for compensation, they may not make a contract offer in the certain range where that pick is needed for compensation. Teams may not use draft picks acquired in trades with other teams, but extra acquired draft picks can influence a team's decision to submit an offer sheet. Ok my math was off. Needs to be a 7.3 million per year cap hit. Then it is a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round pick. Even if we went higher and it cost us 2 1st, not a biggie. Now and this is the more important part. It is a tactical move. As of today Boston has just under 4.9 million in cap space and only 16 players signed. That is only 700,000 left per roster spot to fill in their roster. In other words: rookies only. For them to resign hamilton they would be forced to trade/cut 2 other players. For example trade lucic and cut Chara. That would barely give them enough cap space to to resign hamilton. if they match-the most likely result, they would have to move 2 other key members of their team-thus making them a weaker team. Which of course is better for us. But their cap hell doesn't end this year. They have another round next year and no money again! LOL If we signed him to a contract with a 7.3 million cap hit, we owe a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. that is it, see the above post. as for what we give up, you do realize you are talking about guys that are 18/19 and never have played a NHL game vs a 21 year old that is already becoming a star? I love mantha and larkin, but if I had the chance today to trade 1 of them, bert, and Turgeon for hamilton I would do it in a heartbeat! no questions asked. To get you have to give.

Keep this in mind as well. Jurco was not some superstar goal scorer in the minors. In 2012/2013 his one full season with GR, he scored 14 goals. Had a great PO run that season were he added 8 more goals in 24 games. In 2013/14 he scored 21 goals combined between GR and Detroit. He added 5 more goals in 8 PO games with the Griffs. He never had more than 31 in Juniors. So he is not a great scorer to date.

Jurco had a bad second year. That is called the "sophmore slump". happens to many players in many sports. I think he will be fine. But it really comes down to waht we expect as fans. if we are expecting him to be a top 6 forward that scores 25+ goals, then we will be disappointed. He looks to be a classic 3rd line guy that skates well, hits, and can score 15-20 goals per year. That is fine. In the day and age of caps, no team can afford 3 lines of big time scorers. The trick is figuring out which guy is which and then sign them to the correct contracts. BTW a 3rd line of Jurco-Sheahan-Pulks will be pretty good.

I wish franzen the person all the best in the world. I hope to never see franzen the player on the ice again.

Going from a 35-40 game college schedule to a 75-80 game pro schedule is a huge step. Going from amatuer hockey to pro hockey is another huge step-something that AA and Mantha just reminded us. Both tore up junior last year and neither even scored 20 goals this year for GR. It takes time for guys to develop. The question is, how much? Could all 3 make it to detroit next year? yes. But I am not going to hold my breath. All should get there but all have things to do before they make it. Larkin needs to add 20 pounds of muscle. That is hard to do in one summer. Come 2016 he should be ready. Also, there is no need to rush him. We have a ton of C already: Datsyuk, Z, Sheahan, Helm, Glendening, Abby, Andersson, etc... are all natural C men. Even if Weiss is moved/cut we still have 6 on the team.

He is one of the best ever. If his health holds, plays another 10 years, doesn't go back to Russia etc.... he should end up top 3 somewhere. He is the best of this generation without a doubt. Just think, there have actually been many debates on this forum by people that wouldn't want him on the RW's......

Since none of us know what Stamkos wants, all anyone can do is speculate, which is what everyone is doing. It will continue until he signs and extention or is traded, very simple. To say player X will not be moved, is nothing more than an opinion. If Gretzky can be moved, anyone can be. Once TB is out of the PO's, things will get serious.

None of us know what is going to happen. But what would you do if he doesn't want to resign? keep him 1 more year and have him walk for nothing, or move him for more assets? never an easy choice. Then there is the cap side. Yes he is great, but what does 10+ million do to your roster?

Today on Spector is a post about Stamkos wanting 10.5 million per year and that rumors are he might get moved.......

Maybe. If Stamkos doesn't want to resign, he will not. Ditto for everyone else. Don't be surprised if Malkin is moved this summer.

I guarantee some of the big names get moved. Some could be 1 or 2 or 3, but some will be moved. Once they do the chances are we all be be surprised at how little it costs, just like the Nash trade from a couple of years ago. Ryan trade same thing, kesler and so on... Now your point about Holland is valid. He has lost his guts-if he ever had any.

We don't know who is going to get moved, that is the point. There are several teams with major cap issues. There are several teams that have the cap room and cheap young prospects to trade. But all 30 teams are not going to be involved. The number of "sellers" is going to be fairly close to the number of "buyers". That COULD create a buyers market as we get closer to the date of cap compliance. This is what could make this off season very interesting. The UFA market sucks big time, so trades are the way to go this year.

Depends how much Tarasenko makes. There is beleif by the hockey writers in STL that he will be a 8+ million cap hit starting next year. Add in their other RFA's and they are out of cash with less than a 23 man roster. But this all has to pay out and will.

Glad he is begining his pro hockey career. Give him a nice taste of what it is like. But let's not go overboard. The step from amatuer hocey to pro hockey is huge. Mantha reminded us of that agian this year. Let him develop on his pace, not ours as fans. If he goes to GR and dominates, GREAT! If it takes him a season or 2 to develop, no problem.

Of course those teams will want to resign their stars. But they don't have the cap space to do it. That is the point. Some teams will make moves and get it done. Others will strike out and some of these guys will become UFA's. Others will trade. It happens all the time. Now which is which? No idea. But this is a starting point. Lets take LA as an example. Kopitar is a UFA next year. His current cap hit is 6.8 IIRC. For his next contract that will be 8 million or so. Maybe more. They are cap tight now and have to resign RFA Toffoli-another very good young C. They also have carter who was their leading scorer and is signed to a big money contract. That is 3 good C's all are or will be making big money. There is an opportunity here for a GM with some insight and guts. I would take anyone of those 3 guys. All would be a major upgrade to our team. Same is true with the Hawks. They have several guys to resign, no cap room, and a couple big time stars hitting UFA soon. They want to move Sharpe and his contract. Not sure they can without "paying" someone to do it. If they can't move him, they will not be able to keep Seabrook. Again a window of opportunity is open here. This is where kenny needs to be on the phone and make some offers. Make these teams tell us no multiple times.

Ok, some of the teams with cap issues as of today: Blackhawks, Blues, Rangers, Habs, Caps, Philly, Kings.... Here are some players that are UFA;s in 2016. Guys that these teams are going to struggle to be able to keep: Dmen: Seabrook, Yandle, Schenn, Gunnarsson, I would add E Johnson of the Avs as well.. Forwards: E Staal, Stamkos, Kopitar, O'Reilly, Lucic, Kesler, Gagner, Backus, Ladd, Eriksson, Voracek, Perron, Okposo This is a pretty good group to target. We have the cap space, lots of good young prospects/cheap players and need some stars. I would love to see (but not holding my breath) us get a couple of these guys.

Yes it is a 99% chance that Blashill is next. That could be good or bad. Never been a NHL head coach. The only other guy of interest would be Dan Bylsma-another Michigan guy with a career winning % of .628 which is better than Babcock (.620)! Both guys are in their early 40's. Now I do have a question for those that question what Babs meant to this team. How many guys were under acheiving? Very few. Most of our players were play at or above their talent levels. Yes Franzen, Smith, and Jurco can and should be doing more, but that is it. Now keep in mind we had to win our last 1 or 2 games each of the last few years to even make the playoffs. That was due to Babs. he got us there. Can the next coach-whomever it ends up being, keep doing that?

ummm not sure if that is correct. If I understand correctly, the team that signs him owes us 1 3rd round pick sometime over the next 3 drafts-their choice. Could be wrong on this. But I don't think anyone is giving us picks just to talk to him.

Never said I have seen any of these guys. I read and watch what is out there. The guys we have in GR I see far more often. Just because a guy is a defensive Dman does not make him a top 1 or 2 guy. Is Seabrook a top pair guy? yes. He is the one that makes Keith good. So if Marchenko ends up as a defensive Dman on a top pair, that isn't a problem. Defense wins championships. Our defense needs to be better overall. As for guys playing in pro leagues in europe, so? Means nothing. Those leagues and games don't translate to the NA game. year after year we see guys that were good over there fail here. Jarnkrok, Janmark, Brunner, Ritola, mursak, etc etc etc. Same with guys coming out of juniors/college. Really doesn't say much. Once we see them play in the AHL and then the NHL now we have a good idea of what they can do.

Buff is not a bad job or hockey town. Yes they have had issues that past couple of years. But over the long haul it is pretty good. As for the deaf ears thought, yes it happens. But I do wonder what set of ears we should be talking about.... the players or the GM's. No they don't hate each other over it, but there are differences between the 2. I still think he is gone and it really comes down to a new challenge. Nothing more.

Smith, I do enjoy a good debate, so please keep it up! You have changed your tune over the past couple of months. If you look at to when I started this thread there are several posts by you about how Sproul was/is a future top 4 Dman. At that time I mentioned that no we have 3 guys that could be top 4 Dmen: Marchenko, Oullett, and Sproul. I also pointed out that Oullett and marchenko were already ahead of Sproul on the depth chart and playing in the NHL, etc.... If you think back to when we were in the playoffs-yes it was a long time ago now...... The first couple of games the RW's had Marchenko in for Smith. What pair was he on? The second with Dekeyser. Now some disagree with me on this, but I see Dekeyser as our best Dman now and have since last year. If he is our best and Marchenko was paired with him, that could be our top pair soon. My point is, we have high end talent on the BL that is very close. More than we have spots for. Now as stated before, if we go D in the first I am ok with it. That is a good spot to be in again. We don't have to draft a specific postion anymore. First time in several that was true. I will leave you with this. Value. In the 1st round the Dmen I like best at 19 is Meloche. He would be a very good pick at that spot. Good size, good mobility, nasty when he has to be, good passer and shooter. Now go compare his scouting report with Spencer, who is a mid second round pick. They are same player. Both about 6-2/200, both RHed D, both good skaters, passer, and shooters, and both are known to be tough as needed. If we can trade down and get a second with a late round 1st, and then draft Greenway then Spencer we would be much better off than taking just Meloche or just Greenway. We are also better off going F then D (if we pick up a new second) than going D then F. The value is better IMHO. If we are comparing just Greenway vs meloche, I still believe we are better with Greenway. The floor between these guys is very close, maybe Meloche is slightly better in that regard, but I still believe Greenway has the much higher ceiling.

Smith it is funny you mention just about every F that the RW's have under control but didn't do it on the D. Where is McNulty, Wheaton, DeHaas, etc.... But lets look at this a bit more closely. Right now today, 3 of the "Top 4" Dmen spots are filled by guys that are here long term. Dekeyser, Kronwall, and Ericsson are not going anywhere, right or wrong. That is 75% of our top 4 for the next 5 seasons. Rumors have been floating and most of us fans have been begging for Kenny to go out and get a top pair Dman. If he does, then the top 4 is full. Anyone we draft this year in the 1st round would hit waivers before we have a top 4 opening, baring injury of course. This of course does not include our 4 young D prospects that are or nearly ready. We have spent a lot of draft picks on Dmen the last few years. They are now about ready to play. At forward we are not set. The top 6 needs to be rebuilt. Yes we have some nice players on the team. But there are only 2 in the system under 34 that anyone could consider to be potential game breakers/future super stars: Larkin and Mantha. The rest are guys that are the secondary players on a line. Guys that do one or 2 things really well, but are not all around studs that we need. Tatar and Pulk are shooters. Very good shooters, but neither is a great defender, neither has great speed, neither is a great play maker etc..... Both need others to set them up and open up the ice. Now that is not a slam on anyone, just how I see the guys we have in the system. yes we have numbers, but top flight guys are few and far between. In a perfect world we have 5 realistic top 6 type forwards: larkin a 2c, mantha a 1 or 2 LW, Nyquist is a 2LW, tatar is a 2 LW or RW, and Pulk is a 2 RW. Everyone else to date projects as a 3/4 line guy. Some are career AHLers or 13/14 forwards at best. Now this last point is true for all of our prospects. They are just prospects. At some point they have to go from prospect to player. Until a guy gets to the NHL and produces, we have nothing. I would love to see us have the "problem" of to many players at the same position. Wouldn't that be fun!?!? but we don't.

That is why we should be trying to trade for some of these guys. Like I said, many play for teams without any cap space.

Some of the 2016 UFA's: E Staal, Stamkos, Kopitar, O'Reilly, Lucic, Seabrook, Yandle, Byfuglien, Kesler, Backus, Ladd, L. Eriksson, Voracek, Perron, E Johnson, L Schenn, B Sutter, Anisimov, Okposo, and several others. If only half of these guys get resigned it is still a great UFA class. try to get 1-2 Dmen and 1 big time forward.