Richdg

Ok combining several thoughts I started in other places. This is what I would do.... 1. Finish this season with what we have, while trying to move any of our UFA's for picks that we can. 2. The day our season is over I call Babs and Blashill into the office. I ask babcock if he wants to commit to a 5 year extension. Gives us 6 more years. if after a couple of weeks he chooses not to, I sign Blashill to be the next coach starting the 2015/16 season. 3. June 2014 draft. First 3 picks are: Tuch 6-4/225 RHed RW, Keagan Iverson 6-1/215 RHed C/RW, Ryan Mantha 6-5/225 RHed D/RW. All 3 fit positions of need, but all 3 need 3-5 years to develop. 4. My summer time roster: Forwards: Z-Datsyuk-Abby Jurco-Helm-tatar Nyquist-Weiss-Callahan Andersson-Sheahan-TooToo Miller-Glendening Buyout Franzen D: Eericsson-Kronwall Dekeyser-Smith Lashoff-Kindl Almqvist G: Howard McCollom Cap has 19-20 million left to spend. Let Mantha, Pulk, nastisauk, Frk, Oullett, Sproul, Merchencko, Jensen, and Mrasek stay on GR's roster. 5. Free agency. There are only 2 guys that I make a run at: Vanek and Greene. I offer Vanek a 5 year/45 million contract. See if he bits. I offer greene a 3 year/9 million contract. If, yes big IF they both sign, we still have 7-8 million left on the cap. Both of course fill major holes. vanek goes to the top line, with Abby moving down. Greene fills the RHed role on the 3rd pair. This frees up Andersson and Kindl for future moves. 6. If we have won the Vanek and Greene derby, now we have parts to move. My first call is to the Oilers. I offer them Andersson and Smith for Petry. if they agree, that gives us another good young Rhed Dman. pair him with Dekeyser. That gives us 2 pairs of Dmen that can play 45-50 mins per game. 7. Training camps over the summer. How good and ready is Mantha? Is he ready to play in the NHL now or does he need some time in GR? If he is ready-he is a LW, they only guy that he could replace is Nyquist. Z isn't going anywhere, nor is Jurco, and he isn't going to take Abby's checking role. If Mantha is ready, that now means we have Kindl and Nyquist that could be moved. Now I look to make a big move. 8. I take Nyquist, Kindl, and Helm, add Jensen if needed and go after a big fast skilled C. The perfect target in my mind is Hanzel. he would be a great fit between Jurco and tatar and brings size, speed, toughness and 25 goals or so. But he isn't the only one I would look at. Eller is another. 9. If we get to the point where all of this has happened, we now have a loaded, talented, young team, with about 8 million under the cap. 10. We play the 2014/15 season, then say good bye or welcome to babcock, then let TooToo walk. Whoever is most ready between Pulk, Frk, and nastisauk takes TooToo's roster spot. McCollom is moved to clear a spot for Mrasek. use our cap space to resign any RFA's that we have. 11. Our roster is mostly filled and developed for the 2015/16 season. This is good, as it is Datsyuk's second to last season. can we now make a Cup run? maybe. we have size, speed, skill, very few rookies. Would we have health? 12. In the summer of 2015 we don't need to chase any UFA's. We also have a full set of draft picks and no real must haves, just best available. Duringthe 2015/16 season we do have some questions to answer down on the farm. Oullett, Merchencko, and Sproul will all be at the point where we have to keep them on the roster or clear waivers. Which ones are ready? Now Almqvist can go, maybe Lashoff as well. 13. Now I will stop talking about specifc years. Just some replacement stuff. If Vanek signs for 5 years and Tuch is our pick, it works out well. The time Tuch is ready, Vanek is going to leave via UFA. Weiss has 4 years left as well. About the same time it takes Keagan to get ready. He is a better fit for 3rd C anyway. Sometime between now and the start of the 2016/17 sseason we have several good prospects that will be ready: Pulk, nastisauk, Frk, Oullett, Merchencko, and Sproul. All will need to be up by then or clear waivers, or be traded. 14. Come the 2017/18 season, we could have a roster like this: Forwards: Mantha-Z-Vanek Jurco-Hanzel-Frk Abby-Sheahan-Pulk McKee-Iverson-Nastisauk Callahan-Glendening D: Dekeyser-Petry Ericsson-Sproul Oullett-Merchenko Lashoff G: Mrasek Howard vanek would be heading into his last year and Tuch should be ready to replace him. At some point during the 2015, 2016, 2017 drafts we will need to find a C to replace Z. ok fingers hurt.......

If drafting today, kempe will most likely be gone in the second. Most are now seeing him as a late 1st early second guy. So to revise and this might be a better pick based on needs, I go Keagan Iverson in the second. he plays like Helm, just 3 inches taller and 35 pounds heavier. he loves to skate and hit. Prefect #3 C in 3-5 years.

We have what, 2 days until the "we have no cap room, pre-Olympic shutdown date" correct? Pass along, nothing to see here......... maybe on march 4th/5th.

How about the : "How dare anyone under 30 produce" line. Yes laughing at you Kenny........

Ok going to show my age on this one. They are: T-S-T, they're dynamite, they're T-S-T, they'll win the fight........

Yes only a couple of the prospects on the farm will work out. That is why you use them in trades. The hard part of course is guessing which ones to keep and which ones to move. BTW the idea of letting players walk is stupid. Trade them for picks if nothing else to keep the pipeline full and flowing.

Temporary. yes the 3 play great together, but Sheahan isn't a #2 C. A #3 maybe. He is Abby 2.0, which is fine btw. Just not good enough for the second line.

Yes +/- is a BS stat, but it also is a stat that can be useful. Dekeyser is a better Defenseman that Kronwall. he is bigger, faster, stronger, and plays much better position. Kronwall is a better offensive defenseman. he is a better passer and shooter. Kronwall is a top pair defenseman because the guys in front of him retired.

Flashy, we can't keep them all. For example, this year Oullett, Sproul, Merchenko, and Jensen all started the clock as Dmen. Come the summer of 2016 all 4 need to be on our roster or pass through waivers. With the guys signed long term ahead of them, at least 2 have no roster spot.

Both guys need a change and a chance to clear their heads. Both are very talented, just need time-which is often the case with Dmen. They do seem to take longer to be ready on average. Of course there is the whole-no cap space thing to deal with......

Yes Dekeyser is a better defensemen. kronwall has 5 times as many points, but their +/- is basically the same. Kronwall has spent most of his season playing with ericsson while Dekeyser has been blessed playing with defensive stalwarts like Kindl and Quincy.........

Good win tonight. Much needed after yesterday. IIRC that was the 4th game we won when scoring 2 or fewer goals this year.

Just some random spit balling here..... Smith was out tonight. Could he be on the move? There was some buzz about L Schenn maybe being moved from Philly? 1 for 1 would be a good deal for both teams. Gives Philly an offensive Dman. Gives use a big young talented RHed Dman. Perfect pair for Dekeyser. That would give us 2 very good pairs of D.

Not a draft thing, a undrafted college FA thing. remember this name: Trevor van Reimsdyk-james' younger brother. 6-2/185 RHed shot, very good Dman from UNH.

I do agree with needing a better #4. A RHed #4 to pair with dekeyser fixes the D. But the o needs at least 2 more stars to see the type of upgrades that we need.

Our O is 21 in goals scored this year. That is our problem and has been for several years. One game does not a good O make. We were playing the team that is 23rd in goals allowed-the Caps. we are 15th in goals allowed this year, which should be better I agree. But look at the numbers from 08 until now: Goals scored ranking per year: 08-3rd 09-1st 10-14th 11-2nd 12-7th 13-20th 14-21st Interesting, in 2 of the 3 years our O finished top 3 in scoring, we played for the Cup. Now let's look at the D: 08-1st 09-20th 10-7th 11-23rd 12-7th 13-5th 14-15th Interesting that in the 2 cup years we were 1st and 20th. Even with Nick the D was up and down and varied year to year.

Ever since the second ref was added, the overall product of reffing has gone down hill. Go back to one ref, let him be in complete control. Also will open up more ice for the players.

Focusing on the product on the ice, it is a fair question. 1970 was the last hurrah for the great 50's and 60's teams/players. It was the last time we made the PO's for many years. That team had 2 long time greats still playing and performing-Howe and Delvecchio. We had a long time great running the team as Coach/GM in Abel. It was the beginning of the era known as the "Dead Wing" era. Now could we be at the same point? 2 long time aging greats in Z and D, long time coach and GM in Babcock and Holland, and we are sliding. Of course we are not sure one way or the other right now. Time will tell. But there are some interesting parallels here......

Still, yes we need to do both. First we sell the old vets for whatecver we can get. Then use any extra picks and young prospects to add a couple of stars. Time for Holland to earn his paycheck. What have you done for me lately?

Everyone has their own opinions on each player which is fine. But I don't even see Kronwall as our best defensemen-Dekeyser is. Yes Kronwall is better offensively, but neither is one of the 30 best in the NHL. Close, yes. Both are top 50. They are on different roads though. Kronwall has peaked and might be heading downward, while Dekeyser is still heading upwards. But that really isn't the point. The point is/was we need more top end talent. We have some that can develop. Is it enough? No. That is my point in all of this.

Kip, lets assume you are correct on Jurco and Mantha. I agree on the later BTW. Our problem/issue is by the time they become supers, D and Z are done and gone. Meaning we didn't gain anything. We just replaced 2 supers with 2 others. Which has been the issue the last 5 years or so. Supers leaving and not being replaced. So we have to find 3-5 others that are or can become supers and do so soon if we hope to see the cup again.

I doubt that either of Nyquist or Tatar ever gets to 30 goals. The chances of that go down as Z and D get older/less productive. They are secondary players not guys other teams game plan for. if they become the focus they will not be as good IMHO. Now that doesn't mean they suck. many seem to think 20 goal scorers are everywhere, they are not. 30+ goal scorers are really hard to find. People talk about franzen like he is scoring machine, yet he has 1 30 goal season in his 9 year career. same with Callahan, another fan fav. His career best is and will remain 29 goals in a season. While tatar and Nyquist are better skaters and defenders (Nyquist) offensively they are Hudlers. 20ish goals per year with a little help to get there.

Sell. get extra picks. BTW those picks don't have to be for the 14 draft. We can ask for 15' picks. Might get better picks by waiting a extra year anyway.

Yes this is subjective, I understand that. But we shall have some fun anyway. IMHO a superstar player is a top 50 forward, top 30 defensemen, or a top 10 goalie. if that is the standard, we come up short. We have 2 top 50 forwards in Z and D, no top 30 dmen, and a top 10 G in Howard. Out of our group of prospects only Mantha look like a guy that could be a top 50 forward. Not sure if any of the D will get there and Mresak at G may got there. Of course the 2 top 50 forwards are down to the final few years. The question becomes how do we fix this? yes you can draft and develop, but that takes time. 3-5 years depending on what round a guy is taken. Even then there are no sure things. Miss on a 1st rounder over the next couple of years and we are really screwed. be it bad pick, injury whatever. We could go the UFA route, if any stars ever where to make it to UFA. Under the new NHL/CBA/Cap era, it is the star players that get signed first, and the secondary pieces/grinders that become UFA's. When 1 or 2 guys that are stars do make it, they then become very expensive. The last option is to trade. Something we haven't done lately. this is also expensive in terms of potential we are giving up. To get a star you have to give up 3, 4, maybe 5 prospects/picks to make it happen. Now, with all of that being said, we have to make some moves asap. we don't have time to sit around and wait 3-5 years for prospects to develop-if they ever do. Datsyuk is signed for 3 more years. Z is signed longer, but has a bad back. something that is not going to get better with age, only worse. Yes with those 2 around, we will stay in the very large group of teams fighting for the playoffs. But unless we find a few gems, there are no SC's in our near future. As great as Z and D have been for us, they deserve some help. They should not be asked to carry the team by themselves in the twilight of their careers.

I like vanek, but how do we get him-a rental, without giving up tatar and/or nyquist? Don't see it happening. Even signing him will be risky. Do we really want to sign a 30/31 year old for 7 years at 8 million per? That is what it will take.