Second line center

[N4ZZY]

On 1/7/2024 at 6:45 PM, BigTramFan said:

Yeah this is a key point. There will be some major work and decisions to make in the off season such as:

- Resigning EP and Hronek

- Is Lekkerimaki ready to play in the NHL?

- Who is on our 2nd D pairing? Do we resign Zad? And who is 2RD? Do we resign Cole for $3m for that? Can Tocc accept a lefty playing there?

- Is Silovs ready to be an NHL backup or do we need to re-up DeSmith?

- Can we afford to resign Blueger, Joshua, Lafferty? Or do we need Suter, Aman, Podz, Karlsson, Bains to step in as cheaper options?

 

All of the above will impact on how much we have available to sort out our top 6. And realistically, maybe the top 6 and D corps needs to be sorted first and then you cut your cloth on what you can afford for the bottom 6 (e.g. as good as they have been maybe Blueger, Joshua are too expensive to resign, maybe Garland needs to be traded...)

1. Resigning EP40 and Hronek is a given. Both are RFA's. 

2. Lekkerimaki most likely needs to start in Abby, unless he impresses at training camp. 

3. Zadorov I think is resigned for medium term (4-5 years), at probably an increase of what he's making now (3.75/4M). Might need to trade for a 2RHD honestly, unless Zadorov can play there. 

4. I'm not convinced that Silovs is ready for the NHL, but again, will see if he's ready at training camp next season. 

5. I think we can afford Blueger, Lafferty. I'm not sure Joshua resigns with the team. Maybe Arshdeep might be able to take his place next year. Podkolzin might need to marinate another season in Abby. He was trending in the right direction before his concussion and injury this season. So if he can remain healthy, I think he gets called up next season after starting in Abby, and remains here. 

6. Karlsson could be resigned for cheap. He seems like a good depth piece that could be shuffled between Vancouver and Abbotsford without being claimed. 

 

 

 

Edited January 9 by N4ZZY

[BigTramFan]

12 hours ago, N4ZZY said:

1. Resigning EP40 and Hronek is a given. Both are RFA's. 

2. Lekkerimaki most likely needs to start in Abby, unless he impresses at training camp. 

3. Zadorov I think is resigned for medium term (4-5 years), at probably an increase of what he's making now (3.75/4M). Might need to trade for a 2RHD honestly, unless Zadorov can play there. 

4. I'm not convinced that Silovs is ready for the NHL, but again, will see if he's ready at training camp next season. 

5. I think we can afford Blueger, Lafferty. I'm not sure Joshua resigns with the team. Maybe Arshdeep might be able to take his place next year. Podkolzin might need to marinate another season in Abby. He was trending in the right direction before his concussion and injury this season. So if he can remain healthy, I think he gets called up next season after starting in Abby, and remains here. 

6. Karlsson could be resigned for cheap. He seems like a good depth piece that could be shuffled between Vancouver and Abbotsford without being claimed. 

 

1. Resigning EP40 and Hronek is a given. Both are RFA's. - agreed but likely a combined $19-20m AAV ($11.5-12.5m EP, $7-8m Hronek) for these two

2. Lekkerimaki most likely needs to start in Abby, unless he impresses at training camp. - agreed so there needs to be a legit option in our top 6 that can move down to bottom 6 if Lekkerimaki shows he is ready. That player will need to be in place BEFORE training camp.  

3. Zadorov I think is resigned for medium term (4-5 years), at probably an increase of what he's making now (3.75/4M)- agree $4m x 5 years seems about right. Might need to trade for a 2RHD honestly, unless Zadorov can play there. - agree, as even if Zadorov plays 2RD then we have an opening at 2LD. I wonder about the possibility of re-upping Cole (even if it's $3m x 2) and using Zad, Cole, Soucy, Juulsen as your bottom 4 Dmen. Not sure we can afford anything more than $3m 

4. I'm not convinced that Silovs is ready for the NHL, but again, will see if he's ready at training camp next season. - again, training camp is too late, so would need to make this decision in off season and try and resign DeSmith if Silovs not ready. Hopefully DeSmith is still around $1.8m, might need 2 years to get him to sign.

5. I think we can afford Blueger, Lafferty. Blueger will cost about $2.75m x 3 imo, this is workable for a 3C, but if we want to focus our cap on D and top 6, then maybe not resign Blueger and run with Suter at 3C. Lafferty also will be looking for a raise, as 4th liner I don't know if we can afford that when we have cheaper ELC guys.

I'm not sure Joshua resigns with the team. Maybe Arshdeep might be able to take his place next year. Don't think Bains ready for a 3rd line role. But agree Joshua might be too expensive to resign. If we can get him for say $2m x 3 then I'd do it.

Podkolzin might need to marinate another season in Abby. He was trending in the right direction before his concussion and injury this season. So if he can remain healthy, I think he gets called up next season after starting in Abby, and remains here. - Podz will not be waivers exempt for 2024-25 and no doubt someone claims him if we try to waive him to AHL, so must factor him onto the NHL roster for next season. Guessing he will get the Hogs contract of $1.1m x 2

6. Karlsson could be resigned for cheap. He seems like a good depth piece that could be shuffled between Vancouver and Abbotsford without being claimed. - agree

 

 

In addition to the above, I think we need to move out either Kuzmenko or Garland prior to next season due to cap limitations. Given the performances right now, pretty sure it will be Kuz moving on.

 

So where does that leave us with an expected cap limit of $87.7m next season? Here's what I reckon it looks like:

 

Mikeheyev Pettersson (12.0) Top 6 RW?

Hoglander Miller Boeser

Joshua (2.0) Blueger (2.75) Garland

Aman Suter Podkolzin (1.1)

Karlsson (0.775)

 

Hughes Hronek (7.5)

Zadorov (4.0) Cole (3.0)

Soucy (3.25) Juulsen (0.775)

Wolanin (0.775) Freidman (0.775)

 

Demko

DeSmith (1.8)

 

Would like to have a better 2RD than Cole, but don't know if we can get one for $3m and can't afford to spend any more than that.

Factoring in OEL buyout and Kuzmenko traded, that only leaves us with $4.1m to spend on a Top 6 RW. And again, don't think we can hope Lekkerimaki is ready to fill that role because if he's not ready then we have a gaping hole in our top 6.

 

If the above scenario is where we are at, here's who I am thinking we could target in that spot: Matt Duchene. The man will be a 33 year old free agent coming off a $3m contract that he is outperforming by currently scoring at a pt per game from Dallas. VAN offers him $4.0m x 2 years and the chance to play with EP. Duchene can also fill in as a top 6 center if needed. I feel like Duchene still has enough in the tank to contribute over 2 years and after that things will be wide open for our young guys to take top 6 spots with Duchene, Boeser, Mikheyev, Garland contracts all expiring by then. 

 

Run with this roster to start next season and let Lekkerimaki marinate: 

 

Mikeheyev Pettersson (12.0) Duchene (4.0)

Hoglander Miller Boeser

Joshua (2.0) Blueger (2.75) Garland

Aman Suter Podkolzin (1.1)

Karlsson (0.775)

 

Hughes Hronek (7.5)

Zadorov (4.0) Cole (3.0)

Soucy (3.25) Juulsen (0.775)

Wolanin (0.775) Freidman (0.775)

 

Demko

DeSmith (1.8)

 

[Conscience]

Jenner, monahan, lindolm? Who else is out there that could be available