[Cali Panthers Fan]

"Dump" is reserved for awful players or upcoming free agents, so let's look at the free agents coming up this off season.

Forwards:
Mike Cammalleri: Dump. Obviously for the best return to our current rebuild.
Matt Stajan: Dump. We have better skilled centers coming through the pipeline.
Lee Stempniak: Dump. Just far too inconsistent despite putting the effort in every night.
T.J. Galiardi: Dump. I don't know what he brings to the team. The guy is really not talented.
Joe Colborne: Keep. Re-sign for a 2-3 year deal and see what he can do in that time. We'll know more about which centers to keep or trade by then.
Lance Bouma: Keep. Clearly will be a 4th liner/3rd liner for his whole career, but he's physical, skates well, and plays solid defense. Still very young too. Re-sign on a 3 year deal.

Defensemen:
Chris Butler: Dump. He is never going to be dependable enough to be top 4 or physical enough to be a bottom pairing defender.
Kris Russell: Keep. Re-sign on a 2-3 year deal. We need some capable defenders until our prospects or free agents arrive. He's been a revelation and can at least provide some stability and extra offense from the back end.
Derek Smith: Dump. He's been ok, but hasn't quite taken the next step in his development and only his NHL experience trumps anyone's talent on the farm.
Chris Breen: Dump. The experiment is over and Kanzig will take his spot on the farm next year. Worse than Adam Pardy…can you imagine?

Goalies:
Reto Berra: Keep. This was a tough choice for me, as I want there to be room for Gillies on the farm next year. Watching Ortio's progression leads me to believe that he is more than capable to play backup in the NHL, and Ramo is signed for next year already. Still, to me, Berra has more long term upside and is at least good in shootouts, where Ramo is not. If it's up to me I trade Ramo and give Ortio the chance to battle Berra for the starting job. Gillies is the starter on the farm next year and is backed up by Roy.

Now let's look at the non free agents left on the team

Forwards:
Jiri Hudler: Keep. He's been almost point per game this year and is one of our few offensive catalysts. Makes everyone around him better. He's small, but just needs a couple bigger line mates to be successful.
David Jones: Trade (if you can find anyone to take him). Listen, he tries hard but he's really not very good. I would keep him in a 4th line role but we have guys on the farm that can do that too.
Curtis Glencross: Keep. We have so few natural goal scorers that we simply cannot do without Glencross. His contract is good value despite the periods of lackluster play or bonehead moves.
Mikael Backlund: Trade. Like Stajan, we have higher talented centers coming through the pipe that need an opportunity. Backlund's had his chances to show he's a top 2 center, and he's not suited to a bottom 2 role IMO, so you trade him for something now.
Sean Monahan: Keep. Duh.
Sven Baertschi: Keep. DuhX2.
Brian McGrattan: Keep. He's a great 4th line enforcer who can skate a little, throw big hits, and pot the odd goal. He's a high character guy that everyone loves.

Defensemen:
Mark Giordano: Keep. He's our captain for a reason.
Dennis Wideman: Keep for now (talk to me in a year or two). We are still woefully thin on decent defensemen and he does bring something to the PP.
T. J. Brodie: Keep. Despite a bit of a rough first half of the year, Brodie still has good potential and keeps improving.
Ladislav Smid: Keep. He fills a valuable depth role.

Goalies:
Karri Ramo: Trade. As per the scenario I outlined above.

Then there are the farm players/prospects. I would also like to deal with them moving forward. First of all, here are the no-brainers to keep as they are valuable prospects or are still early in their development: Wotherspoon, Sieloff, Klimchuk, Poirier, Jankowski, Gaudreau, Gillies, Arnold, Agostino, Gordon, Culkin, Kulak, Kanzig, Gilmour, E. Roy, Rafikov

Forwards:
Markus Granlund: Promote. He looks like he's about ready for at least the chance to show what he can do in the NHL.
Corban Knight: Promote. Same as Granlund, a year in the AHL has proven that he deserves the chance in the NHL.
Paul Byron: Keep. Re-sign on a 2 year, 2-way deal. He plays a lot bigger than his size and has tons of speed. I don't know if he will be here long term with both Baertschi and Gaudreau likely to fill the smaller/skilled forward roles.
Ben Hanowski: Keep (Possibly promote). Re-sign on a longer term contract at low cap hit. He's got good size and soft hands. He's been one of the best players on the Heat this year. I wouldn't be shocked to see him in a 3rd line role next year.
Max Reinhart: Promote. He seems to be ready for the NHL as well, and could at least continue his development on the big club. Good energy guy that is tenacious around the net and plays a 200ft. game.
Greg Nemisz: Dump. He's pretty much a bust. Never going to be an NHLer. You might re-sign him to an AHL contract, but why bother.
Michael Ferland: Keep. He's back on track with his development, but still has a ways to go to be an NHLer. Still, with his size and skill combination you give him plenty of chances.
Ben Street: Keep. Re-sign to a 3 year 2-way contract. He's the perfect AHL call up center that can provide the organization depth while they are rebuilding.
Lane MacDermid: Keep. Re-sign to a 2 year 2-way deal. He's truculent.
Turner Elson: Keep. He's a solid depth energy forward that will probably be a good bottom 6 player some day.
David Eddy: Dump. The guy is pretty useless.

Defensemen:
Tyler Wotherspoon: Promote. I haven't seen much of Tyler, but the stats speak for themselves. He's not an offensive player, but has the best +/- among defensemen without putting up a lot of points as a ROOKIE. He will likely be ready to at least take on bottom pairing minutes next year.
Chad Billins: Keep. Re-sign to a 3 year 2-way deal. Similar to Street, he's the perfect call up for a team needing an offensive defenseman who can play some lesser minutes.
Mark Cundari: Dump. Despite a nice showing at the end of last year he's been a big disappointment.
John Ramage: Keep (possibly promote). He's been similar to Wotherspoon with solid defensive play. He might be ready for the #7 spot next year.
James Martin: Dump. He's not going to be an NHLer.

Goalies:
Joni Ortio: Keep (Possibly promote). Re-sign to a multi-year 2-way deal. If he can't hack the NHL he can always go back down to the farm and back up Gillies. He's doing exceptionally well in the AHL and looks to be much improved since coming back.
Olivier Roy: Keep. Re-sign to an AHL contract. He's a decent depth goaltending prospect who could still pan out long term.

So here's the team I could possibly see next year. I think we will have to wait and see what kind of return we get from trades this year as there could be higher end prospects coming back in those deals, but this is based solely on what we currently have and who could legitimately make the NHL roster next year. I feel we need one good top 6 free agent signing on the RW this off-season to help fill out the roster, preferably with size. It could also be filled through trading one of our current guys.

Curtis Glencross-Sean Monahan-Jiri Hudler
Sven Baertschi-Markus Granlund-UFA
Max Reinhart-Corban Knight-Ben Hanowski
Lance Bouma-Joe Colborne-Brian McGrattan
Extras: Paul Byron, Blair Jones

Mark Giordano-Ladislav Smid
Dennis Wideman-T.J. Brodie
Tyler Wotherspoon-Kris Russell
Extra: John Ramage

Reto Berra/Joni Ortio