2020 Offseason

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

21 minutes ago, krsmith17 said:

If Rasmussen is our 4C we're either in big trouble (terrible pick) or in great shape (best center depth in the league)... I doubt either will be the case. Rasmussen should be a middle six center / winger. Glendening and Filppula can absolutely play 4C, but Turgeon wouldn't have the leapfrog them if they're playing above him (3rd / 4th line center)...

I have no problem with Rasmussen playing 4th line again. He's starting next season at 21. If he was 24 like Turgeon yeah it would look a lot worse.

I'm fairly confident Filppula will not be the 2C next year. It will be another incredibly rough season if he is. I think another player like Rasmussen/Gagner/UFA absolutley needs to be inserted there. Meaning Turgeon will have to outplay a combination of Rasmussen/Nielsen/Ehn/Glendening/Filppula for a job in the bottom 6. I don't think he's capable of beating even one of those players.

21 minutes ago, krsmith17 said:

It's amazing how often you misconstrue what I'm saying. This was never about Turgeon. Like I said, if we move on from him (don't sign him), I won't lose any sleep. I don't care about having Turgeon in the lineup. I care about not having scrubs in the lineup. Maybe Turgeon isn't any better than Ehn. I don't know, and I don't care. What I do know and care about, is that there are better players in the organization that will eventually (hopefully sooner than later) replace Ehn.

  It would be great to be in a situation where a player like Ehn is replaceable, but we're far from that, and Turgeon is even scrubbier than Ehn.

21 minutes ago, krsmith17 said:

The last thing I'll say regarding Turgeon is, if you haven't seen how good his defensive game has been *at the AHL level* we're clearly watching very different games.

His defensive game is so great that he didn't get one look in the NHL this year. So great that he's losing PK time to a 19/20 year old offensive forward in Veleno. So great that a younger version of himself in Pearson looks poised to take his roster spot. So great that Ehn is on an NHL roster and not him.

Kids done.

Edited March 9, 2020 by ChristopherReevesLegs

[krsmith17 7,191]

4 minutes ago, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

I have no problem with Rasmussen playing 4th line again. He's starting next season at 21. If he was 24 like Turgeon yeah it would look a lot worse.

I'm fairly confident Filppula will not be the 2C next year. It will be another incredibly rough season if he is. I think another player like Rasmussen/Gagner/UFA absolutley needs to be inserted there. Meaning Turgeon will have to outplay a combination of Rasmussen/Nielsen/Ehn/Glendening/Filppula for a job in the bottom 6. I don't think he's capable of beating even one of those players.

  It would be great to be in a situation where a player like Ehn is replaceable, but we're far from that, and Turgeon is even scrubbier than Ehn.

His defensive game is so great that he didn't get one look in the NHL this year. So great that he's losing PK time to a 19/20 year old offensive forward in Veleno. So great that a younger version of himself in Pearson looks poised to take his roster spot. So great that Ehn is on an NHL roster and not him.

Kids done.

This. Is. Not. About. Turgeon. "Kids done"? That doesn't bother me in the least.

Ideally Gagner will be re-signed and switch back to center. That would leave our center depth as Larkin - Gagner - Filppula - Glendening. I'd be okay with that for another season in which we're expected to be bad.

We are absolutely in a position in which Ehn should be replaceable. He should not be in the top 12 going into next season. If we re-sign him, it should be purely for depth (extra forward).

That's the first I've heard anyone describe Veleno as an "offensive center"... He's more of a "two-way center", but very strong defensively. Of course a center with a 4th line ceiling lost minutes to him. Ehn would have as well.

Anyone that believes Ehn is an upgrade over any of Perlini, Smith, Turgeon, Pearson, Svechnikov, Timashov, etc. is delusional. Kid is the definition of a 4th line scrub.

[Neomaxizoomdweebie 3,083]

6 hours ago, krsmith17 said:

It's not quite the offseason yet, but we're getting close, with a dozen games remaining.

Alex Biega was re-signed today, 1 year, $875K.
Good depth signing, but I hope we're in a position next season where he slots in as the 7th defenseman...

It'll be interesting to see what happens with the rest of the UFA's / RFA's this spring / summer...

UFA's - Gagner, Ericsson, Daley, Goloubef, Howard, *Franzen, *Brodziak
RFA's - Mantha, Bertuzzi, Fabbri, Perlini, Erne, Hirose, Svechnikov, Timashov, Ehn, Turgeon, Bowey

Of all the UFA's the only one that I'd re-sign is Gagner. Something around $2.5-3.5M for 1-2 years.
It would be great if Yzerman could somehow pull off a Nielsen trade...

Mantha, Bertuzzi and Fabbri will all be re-signed. I'd try to lock Mantha up long-term, 7-8 years at around $6-7M, Bertuzzi, 5-6 years at $4-5M, and Fabbri, similar to Bert, maybe slightly lower AAV.

I'd also re-sign Perlini, Hirose, Svechnikov, Timashov, Turgeon and Bowey for around $1M for 1-2 years each. Erne and Ehn I can take our leave, but I'd be okay with either / both on a similar deal as well, for depth.

Other than that, I'd sign a goaltender in free agency and stand pat at forward / defense.

Re-sign Gagner, Mantha, Bert, Fabbri, Hirose, Svech, Timo, Ehn, Bowey, Howey

Buyout Filppula. Take the cap hit for the next 2 years. Would rather give that roster spot to Gagner.

Forwards: Larkin, Mantha, Bert, Zadina, Fabbri, Gagner, Nielsen, Helm, Glendening, Abby, Ehn, Rass, Svech (14)

Unless it's Lafreniere, 2020 first rounder doesn't make the final roster.

Defense: Hronek, Seider, DeKeyser, Nemeth, Cholowski, Bowey, Biega (7)

Goal: Bernier, Howard

3 hours ago, marcaractac said:

Ehn is the ideal extra forward. Good enough to fill in during injuries and not be useless and prevent the youth we want to build around from being bench warmers. Not to mention he could still turn out to become a very good fourth line center at some point. I see nothing that shows Turgeon would be any better offensively than Ehn. No chance Turgeon scores 15 points playing with Abby. Ehn put up 9 points in 60 last season when the team was all around far less terrible. Ehn is younger and proved he can play at the NHL level. I'd take Ehn over Turgeon 100% of the time. Do not understand the Ehn hate what so ever.  

He also solidified an NHL roster spot before either Rasmussen or Svechnikov

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

47 minutes ago, krsmith17 said:

Ideally Gagner will be re-signed and switch back to center. That would leave our center depth as Larkin - Gagner - Filppula - Glendening. I'd be okay with that for another season in which we're expected to be bad.

Agreed. If not Gagner, then some other UFA.

But I'm not certain Yzerman will be buy out Nielsen. If that's the case that he's staying for now, then I see Glendening playing up the lineup and it going Larkin - Gagner/UFA - Filppula - Nielsen/Ehn. And if Nielsen or Ehn play awful or get hurt then Glendening moves to C and either takes the 3rd or 4th line. I just don't see many scenarios where Turgeon at 4C makes sense over what what we already have there.

1 hour ago, krsmith17 said:

We are absolutely in a position in which Ehn should be replaceable. He should not be in the top 12 going into next season. If we re-sign him, it should be purely for depth (extra forward).

Depends on what we add to the roster via FA and prospects. As it currently stands I'd say Ehn is hovering somewhere around our 10th forward, depending on how awful you think Erne/Abby/Perlini/etc are. He's also just breached 100 NHL games at 23 years old, so I still see potential for growth there as a bottom line PKer entering his prime.

If enough prospects come up and we sign UFA's I have no problem with him being the 13th forward.

2 hours ago, krsmith17 said:

That's the first I've heard anyone describe Veleno as an "offensive center"... He's more of a "two-way center", but very strong defensively. Of course a center with a 4th line ceiling lost minutes to him. Ehn would have as well.

Cleary and Horcoff described Veleno as exactly that. An offensive forward who needs to build out his defensive game. Don't know how you missed it. I've quoted it before in our back n forths about Veleno with no objections from you.

2 hours ago, krsmith17 said:

Anyone that believes Ehn is an upgrade over any of Perlini, Smith, Turgeon, Pearson, Svechnikov, Timashov, etc. is delusional. Kid is the definition of a 4th line scrub.

I think he's certainly more serviceable right now than any of the players you just listed. I don't have much of an opinion on Timashov yet though, so I'd consider that N/A.

[derblaueClaus 1,668]

We need many things to be back into serious business again. For not being as bad as we are we need to anchor our defense. If Danny DeKeyser is your best defenseman you're in big trouble. It's hard to predict who will still be available for us, but we have the capspace and we should make use of it.

Second thing we need is a goaltender. I think Howard is done. Maybe he gets back to his old self, but at 36 years that is more unlikely than anything else. I'm still a big proponent of signing Lehner on a 3-4 year deal. Again, we have the capspace and with 29 years he is still in his prime most of the contract. Geogiev is also an option I'd like to see here.

[kipwinger 8,521]

This offseason is mostly going to be addition via subtraction since we're horrible and there's no way we're signing any good free agents unless we MASSIVELY overspend, which isn't a good idea.

I'd look to sign a 35 year old goalie to a 1-2 year deal, I've mentioned Greiss, Halak, and Crawford in the past.  Maybe I'd look to sign a veteran defenseman, thought I expect Cholowski and Seider will both be up next year to start the season. If that's the case you have: Seider, Cholo, Hronek, Nemeth, DK, Biega, and one of Bowey or Lindstrom.  So maybe there no room for a veteran add. 

I also don't think that we add a center because I suspect Ras will be with the big club next year as a 3C and Filppula will be the 2C in a year where we're expected to be bad again anyway.  I don't see us signing Gagner for that reason.  I'd also only expect one of Erne/Perlini/Timashov signed  and Svech and Smith to make the big club. I fully expect Franz Nielsen to retire as well.  Just a hunch.

Fabbri-Larkin-Mantha

Bert-Flip-Zadina

Helm-Rasmussen-Svech

Erne/Timashov/Perlini-Glendening-Smith

Ehn

Abby

 

DK-Hronek

Nemeth-Seider

Cholo-Lindstrom/Bowey

Biega

Edited March 9, 2020 by kipwinger

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

1 hour ago, derblaueClaus said:

We need many things to be back into serious business again. For not being as bad as we are we need to anchor our defense. If Danny DeKeyser is your best defenseman you're in big trouble. It's hard to predict who will still be available for us, but we have the capspace and we should make use of it.

Second thing we need is a goaltender. I think Howard is done. Maybe he gets back to his old self, but at 36 years that is more unlikely than anything else. I'm still a big proponent of signing Lehner on a 3-4 year deal. Again, we have the capspace and with 29 years he is still in his prime most of the contract. Geogiev is also an option I'd like to see here.

IMO the big needs that should be addressed are: Another top4 capable Dman (doesn't have to be a Krug, just someone who can do the job), a 2C (Filppula is not cut out for that role), and a starting goalie.

Off the cuff, something like:

Namestiknov ($4.5 x 3), Anton Khudobin ($3 x 2), and Joel Edmundson ($4 x 3)

Not one of those guys moves the needle really, but they all seem to be capable NHLers who can fill gaps.

Namestnikov is young enough and has history with Yzerman, and can probably immediately be our 2C behind Larkin, despite maybe being more suited for a 3rd line or 2nd line wing (He can shift once Veleno/Rasmussen/2020 1st rounder come online)

Khudobin can probably capabley share the net with Bernier for 2 seasons.

Edmundson is basically another Danny D and decently young still.

In total a $12 million investment for 2-3 seasons if my guesses at salary aren't wildly off or something. There's a couple different players you could substitute in here as well.

Bertuzzi - Larkin - Mantha
Fabbri - Namestnikov - Zadina
Timashov - Filppula - Rasmussen
Helm - Ehn - Glendening
Nielsen/Abdelkader/Erne

Dekeyser - Hronek
Edmundson - Seider
Nemeth - Bowey
Biega/Lindstrom/Cholowski

Bernier
Khudobin

Looking at that lineup it might be the right time to buyout Nielsen and/or Abby...

Important to keep in mind as well that injuries will stack up, and guys like Helm/Glendening/Filppula/Nemeth/Biega/Bernier might get traded out next year. So that lineup won't look so jumbled relatively quickly I'd think.

Bertuzzi - Larkin - Mantha
Fabbri - Namestnikov - Zadina
Timashov - Rasmussen - Erne
Ehn - Nielsen - Abdelkader

Dekeyser - Hronek
Edmundson - Seider
Cholowski - Bowey
Lindstrom

Khudobin
Larsson

1 hour ago, kipwinger said:

This offseason is mostly going to be addition via subtraction since we're horrible and there's no way we're signing any good free agents unless we MASSIVELY overspend, which isn't a good idea.

I'd look to sign a 35 year old goalie to a 1-2 year deal, I've mentioned Greiss, Halak, and Crawford in the past.  Maybe I'd look to sign a veteran defenseman, thought I expect Cholowski and Seider will both be up next year to start the season. If that's the case you have: Seider, Cholo, Hronek, Nemeth, DK, Biega, and one of Bowey or Lindstrom.  So maybe there no room for a veteran add. 

I also don't think that we add a center because I suspect Ras will be with the big club next year as a 3C and Filppula will be the 2C in a year where we're expected to be bad again anyway.  I don't see us signing Gagner for that reason.  I also fully expect Franz Nielsen to retire.  Just a hunch.

Nielsen retiring would be a god send, or do we get hit with a crazy recapture penalty for that contrract? IDK

Still I'd like to put someone on top of Fil. Fil can play 4th line in Nielsen's old spot behind Rasmussen for all I care. He's just not effective enough to be a 2C anymore. 3 or 4th line is where he belongs IMO.

Edited March 9, 2020 by ChristopherReevesLegs

[Neomaxizoomdweebie 3,083]

Abby would be a 6 year cap hit id bought out. Nielsen is a little more palatable at 4 years, but if we need to free up roster space, Flip would be a better option for buyout this summer. Then buyout Nielsen the following year.

[kipwinger 8,521]

4 hours ago, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

IMO the big needs that should be addressed are: Another top4 capable Dman (doesn't have to be a Krug, just someone who can do the job), a 2C (Filppula is not cut out for that role), and a starting goalie.

Off the cuff, something like:

Namestiknov ($4.5 x 3), Anton Khudobin ($3 x 2), and Joel Edmundson ($4 x 3)

Not one of those guys moves the needle really, but they all seem to be capable NHLers who can fill gaps.

Namestnikov is young enough and has history with Yzerman, and can probably immediately be our 2C behind Larkin, despite maybe being more suited for a 3rd line or 2nd line wing (He can shift once Veleno/Rasmussen/2020 1st rounder come online)

Khudobin can probably capabley share the net with Bernier for 2 seasons.

Edmundson is basically another Danny D and decently young still.

In total a $12 million investment for 2-3 seasons if my guesses at salary aren't wildly off or something. There's a couple different players you could substitute in here as well.

Bertuzzi - Larkin - Mantha
Fabbri - Namestnikov - Zadina
Timashov - Filppula - Rasmussen
Helm - Ehn - Glendening
Nielsen/Abdelkader/Erne

Dekeyser - Hronek
Edmundson - Seider
Nemeth - Bowey
Biega/Lindstrom/Cholowski

Bernier
Khudobin

Looking at that lineup it might be the right time to buyout Nielsen and/or Abby...

Important to keep in mind as well that injuries will stack up, and guys like Helm/Glendening/Filppula/Nemeth/Biega/Bernier might get traded out next year. So that lineup won't look so jumbled relatively quickly I'd think.

Bertuzzi - Larkin - Mantha
Fabbri - Namestnikov - Zadina
Timashov - Rasmussen - Erne
Ehn - Nielsen - Abdelkader

Dekeyser - Hronek
Edmundson - Seider
Cholowski - Bowey
Lindstrom

Khudobin
Larsson

Nielsen retiring would be a god send, or do we get hit with a crazy recapture penalty for that contrract? IDK

Still I'd like to put someone on top of Fil. Fil can play 4th line in Nielsen's old spot behind Rasmussen for all I care. He's just not effective enough to be a 2C anymore. 3 or 4th line is where he belongs IMO.

Don't get me wrong, I think Filppula sucks and he's probably not even better than Glendening at this point.  If we could sign a Namestnikov type I'd be thrilled.  I just don't really know why any UFA would want to sign with us if they could sign elsewhere.  I think at this point in our lifecycle we're basically destined to sign guys like Filppula, or else nothing at all. 

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

3 minutes ago, kipwinger said:

Don't get me wrong, I think Filppula sucks and he's probably not even better than Glendening at this point.  If we could sign a Namestnikov type I'd be thrilled.  I just don't really know why any UFA would want to sign with us if they could sign elsewhere.  I think at this point in our lifecycle we're basically destined to sign guys like Filppula, or else nothing at all. 

Sure, and that's fine with me if we HAVE to go that option. Maybe a Carl Soderberg if he's available? Or just stick with Sam Gagner at that point?

Worst case scenario they're just like Filppula and useless to us on the 2nd line. But we gotta try. Just keep the deals short so we retain flexibility.

With Namestnikov there's some links to Detroit through spending parts of his childhood there, and cause Yzerman drafted him. That's a heavy portion of why I list him specifically. But yeah I won't be surprised if he gets out of Ottawa and wants no part of us

Here's the thing though. Like a weaker college football program that can sell starting time to recruits, we can do the same. Whoever we chase we can probably easily promise 2nd line minutes. There's bound to be a decent C out there who's getting 3rd line minutes and thinks he deserves top6 minutes. That's who I want. That's what we can offer. A full season chance to prove it.

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

1 hour ago, Neomaxizoomdweebie said:

Abby would be a 6 year cap hit id bought out. Nielsen is a little more palatable at 4 years, but if we need to free up roster space, Flip would be a better option for buyout this summer. Then buyout Nielsen the following year.

You're right obviously. Those Abby and Nielsen buyouts look rough.

Thing is Fill, as bad as he is, is still much better than Nielsen and Abby.

If Yzerman did but out Abby or Nielsen, it would almost indicate that he's planning to tank for 4-6 years. That would be hard for me to stomach. Another half-decade of completely retarded hockey in Detroit? All of us have been beyond patient with this team already considering we're still here, but IDK that I can be that patient...

[mackel 679]

2 hours ago, Neomaxizoomdweebie said:

Abby would be a 6 year cap hit id bought out. Nielsen is a little more palatable at 4 years, but if we need to free up roster space, Flip would be a better option for buyout this summer. Then buyout Nielsen the following year.

You don't buy out Neilson and/or Abby... we've got cap to burn... send them to the AHL to "mentor" their cap hit doesn't get extended and like I said their cap hit along with the players replacing them won't eat up all our cap, not even close.

[krsmith17 7,191]

15 hours ago, derblaueClaus said:

It's hard to predict who will still be available for us, but we have the capspace and we should make use of it.

I agree that we should make use of our cap space, but I don't think we should be signing any big name free agents. I'd still like to see us take on a bad contract to gain assets with all that cap space.

There are a lot of bad contracts out there...

Johnny Boychuk - 2 years, $6M
Loui Eriksson - 2 years, $6M
Bobby Ryan - 2 year, $7.25M
Milan Lucic - 3 years, $5.25M
Andrew Ladd - 3 years, $5.5M
Kyle Okposo - 3 years, $6M
Brent Burns - 4 years, $6.875

I'd take any of the first three (2 year deals) on that list, if we could get a 1st round pick, plus... especially if we're buying out a player like Nielsen...

15 hours ago, Neomaxizoomdweebie said:

Buyout Filppula. Take the cap hit for the next 2 years. Would rather give that roster spot to Gagner.

10 hours ago, Neomaxizoomdweebie said:

Abby would be a 6 year cap hit id bought out. Nielsen is a little more palatable at 4 years, but if we need to free up roster space, Flip would be a better option for buyout this summer. Then buyout Nielsen the following year.

If we're buying out a player, it needs to be Nielsen, not Filppula. Filppula is the one player on the team that makes zero sense to buyout, as it does nothing for us cap wise. He's on a "35 plus contract", and therefore, if he were bought out, the entire $3M would remain on the books for next season regardless.

Filppula is also a much better player at this point, and he's also a player Yzerman signed less than a year ago. It's much easier to buyout a player that your predecessor signed, rather than the one you just signed...

9 hours ago, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

You're right obviously. Those Abby and Nielsen buyouts look rough.

I wouldn't buyout Abdelkader at this point, but a Nielsen buyout really wouldn't be that bad. While it would be on the books for 4 years, it would be minimal in years 3 and 4...

2020-21 - $3,416,667
2021-22 - $4,416,667
2022-23 - $666,667
2023-24 - $666,667

Also, the Ouellet $216,667 buyout falls off next season, and the Weiss $1,666,667 buyout falls off the following season...

9 hours ago, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

If Yzerman did but out Abby or Nielsen, it would almost indicate that he's planning to tank for 4-6 years. That would be hard for me to stomach. Another half-decade of completely retarded hockey in Detroit? All of us have been beyond patient with this team already considering we're still here, but IDK that I can be that patient...

Not necessarily. If anything, buying out a player like Nielsen would indicate to me that he wants to jumpstart the rebuild, and get better, younger players playing quicker...

I think Veleno might need another half season or so in Grand Rapids, but there's not a question in my mind that if given the opportunity, he could fill that 3C roll next season, and be an upgrade over Nielsen / Filppula. Same goes for Rasmussen.

15 hours ago, kipwinger said:

I fully expect Franz Nielsen to retire as well.  Just a hunch.

This would be even better than a buyout, but I don't see Nielsen leaving that much money on the table...

[marcaractac 3,962]

9 hours ago, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

You're right obviously. Those Abby and Nielsen buyouts look rough.

Thing is Fill, as bad as he is, is still much better than Nielsen and Abby.

If Yzerman did but out Abby or Nielsen, it would almost indicate that he's planning to tank for 4-6 years. That would be hard for me to stomach. Another half-decade of completely retarded hockey in Detroit? All of us have been beyond patient with this team already considering we're still here, but IDK that I can be that patient...

Luckily there is no need to buy out either, as they can simply be waived for their roster spot. Though buying out Nielsen next summer looks a lot better than doing it this summer. 

[krsmith17 7,191]

3 minutes ago, marcaractac said:

Luckily there is no need to buy out either, as they can simply be waived for their roster spot. Though buying out Nielsen next summer looks a lot better than doing it this summer. 

I've seen this floated around quite a bit, but I don't see it happening. There's a reason players are bought out every season, and not just buried in the minors, especially with multiple years remaining on their contract. First off, in most cases, it gives the team (slightly) more cap relief, and secondly, it gives the player an opportunity to play elsewhere.

Burying Nielsen in the minors would give us $1.075M in cap relief the next two seasons ($4.175M on the books). Buying out Nielsen would give us $1,833,333 and $833,333 in cap relief the next two seasons, and only an extra $666,667 on the books in each of the following two seasons. That's nothing, especially when you consider much of our team will be on entry level contracts at that time.

I think if he were waived and sent to Grand Rapids, he would retire rather than bussing around city to city in the AHL... And if he were bought out he would be forced to retire, since no other team would be offering him a contract... I just think in this situation a buyout is the better option for team and player... A buyout probably won't happen, but I think it's more likely than waiving him.

[marcaractac 3,962]

41 minutes ago, krsmith17 said:

I've seen this floated around quite a bit, but I don't see it happening. There's a reason players are bought out every season, and not just buried in the minors, especially with multiple years remaining on their contract. First off, in most cases, it gives the team (slightly) more cap relief, and secondly, it gives the player an opportunity to play elsewhere.

Burying Nielsen in the minors would give us $1.075M in cap relief the next two seasons ($4.175M on the books). Buying out Nielsen would give us $1,833,333 and $833,333 in cap relief the next two seasons, and only an extra $666,667 on the books in each of the following two seasons. That's nothing, especially when you consider much of our team will be on entry level contracts at that time.

I think if he were waived and sent to Grand Rapids, he would retire rather than bussing around city to city in the AHL... And if he were bought out he would be forced to retire, since no other team would be offering him a contract... I just think in this situation a buyout is the better option for team and player... A buyout probably won't happen, but I think it's more likely than waiving him.

Jonathan Ericsson says hello.

[krsmith17 7,191]

4 minutes ago, marcaractac said:

Jonathan Ericsson says hello.

Not the same situation. Ericsson is a pending UFA. Big difference in my opinion. In two years, if Nielsen is still around (I doubt he will be), I'm sure Yzerman would have no problem demoting him. With two years remaining though, I don't see it...

[LeftWinger 4,951]

Well, this is what I hope:

RFA:

Obvious signing's are obvious, Bert, Mantha, Fabbri, Timashov (all 4 of which will need a protect from Seattle. Along with Larkin, Rasmussen and for me disney.com)  (of the D, the only 100% I am protecting is Hronek and Lindstrom, we will see who will earn that last protect on D, then of course I am protecting Bernier if we plan to or already have re-signed him by the expansion draft.)

When it comes to Erne, Perlini, Ehn, I could let any of them go or qualify them all and see what happens in camp. I'd sign Bowey to be #6/7 along with Biega. Plus if we give him 2 years, he can be one of the exposed players on D to Seattle.

UFA:

I sign Gagner quickly! He can be that #2C that we had hoped Nielsen then Flip were gonna be. I think we keep this guy until he cannot play anymore or retires. He could be very valuable when we are contending as that 35+ veteran C in the bottom 6 as long as his play does not decline rapidly (or gets selected by Seattle.)  I also re-sign Goloubef. Cannot rely on Dekeyser staying healthy, he's been kind of an injury risk the last couple of season's. One of the "kids" can compete for a spot (Seider, Cholowski, McIssac) besides, honestly, I don't see Yzerman wasting a protect on Cholowski if he doesn't make better strides this season coming up, so he and Bowey being exposed could protect players like Gagner, Smith, Svech, Helm, Ehn from being taken.

I extend Bernier as quick as possible in the off-season. No matter who we get to be the other G next season, Bernier has more than earned another contract here.  Of course he may want to test the UFA after next season, but honestly, his value is about as high as it's been in the last couple of season's right now, so he might  take advantage of that sooner rather than later.

Here is what I have with our guys: (I don't know which UFA's would benefit us now, so the only one I signed was Ryan Miller to back up Bernier (and to end his career in his home state.) Ignore the salaries, because I just threw numbers there to get them signed, besides, salary cap will not be an issue next season, so the numbers could be higher or in some cases lower)

 

of course with having a ton of cap this off season,Yzerman might make a splash or two instead of qualifying all the RFA's...

Edited January 7, 2021 by LeftWinger

[kipwinger 8,521]

You gotta figure that Yzerman is going to be pressured to make some improvement from the owners. Everyone realizes we aren't going to be good next year, but I don't think Chris Illitch is going to be ok with us being THIS bad again.  It's costing him a TON of money whenever the arena is empty.  So I can't imagine Steve-o trotting out mostly the same lineup.  But again, we're not well positioned to be buyers in UFA.  So I'm guessing addition by subtraction.  None of the current UFAs will be back.  Instead, I think you'll see most, or all, of Seider, Rasmussen, Smith, Svech, Lindstrom, Cholo on the big club to start the season. The main RFAs will get signed and I think you'll see one of Ehn/Erne/Timashov get a contract.  Perlini is toast (and good riddance!).  Bowey is the only one I'm not really sure about.

[krsmith17 7,191]

RFA's:
Anthony Mantha - 6 years, $6.5M
Tyler Bertuzzi - 5 years, $5M
Robby Fabbri - 4 years $4.5M
Brendan Perlini - 2 years, $1M
Madison Bowey - 2 years, $1.5M
Taro Hirose - 2 years, $950K
Dominic Turgeon - 2 years, $800K

UFA's:
Sam Gagner - 2 years, $3M
Cam Talbot - 2 years, $3M

Buyout:
Frans Nielsen

Offer Sheet:
Mikhail Sergachev - 4 years, $4.225M

Trade:
To CAR - Evgeny Svechnikov, 2021 3rd round pick
To DET - Dominik Bokk

Lafreniere - Larkin - Mantha
Bertuzzi - Gagner - Fabbri
Rasmussen - Filppula - Zadina
Helm - Glendening - Perlini
Hirose / Abdelkader

Nemeth- Hronek
Sergachev - Seider
DeKeyser - Bowey
Biega

Bernier
Talbot

Grand Rapids:
Veleno, Bokk, Smith, Turgeon, Pearson, Cholowski, Lindstrom, McIsaac

2021 Trade Deadline:

Trade Filppula, Helm, Nemeth
Call up Veleno, Smith, Cholowski

[The 91 of Ryans 3,014]

8 minutes ago, krsmith17 said:

 

Lafreniere - Larkin - Mantha
Bertuzzi - Gagner - Fabbri
Rasmussen - Filppula - Zadina
Helm - Glendening - Perlini
Hirose / Abdelkader

Nemeth- Hronek
Sergachev - Seider
DeKeyser - Bowey
Biega

Bernier
Talbot

 

1. screw Perlini

2. Lindstrom ( > Bowey) is here to stay

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

Ehn is going to be the one selected by Seattle

[krsmith17 7,191]

13 minutes ago, The 91 of Ryans said:

1. screw Perlini

2. Lindstrom ( > Bowey) is here to stay

12th forward and 6th defenseman... Not exactly a contentious issue...

I still think there's more there with Perlini, but he's probably not going to get much more of an opportunity going forward, so there may not be much point in re-signing him... I'd still prefer him over Ehn or Erne.

I'd be okay with Lindstrom in over Bowey, and I probably would have had him there, if it weren't for the Biega signing...

[LeftWinger 4,951]

I didn't even want to take into consideration who we might draft or sign as UFA (except a backup G) or if they'll be any trades.  The expansion draft isn't util 2021 off season, so I was just spitballing who may or may not still be on our roster by then.

Edited March 10, 2020 by LeftWinger

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

Perlini is a Darren Ferris player. Ditch him.