Quote:
Originally Posted by Itse
I think the OP raises questions worth asking, and others have already made longer comments worth reading, so I'll just make a few quick notes here.
FORWARDS:
- Only forward we added this season is Versteeg, and that's such a sweetheart deal, you don't say 'no' to it just because you might have a prospect ready. It's also just 1 year.
- We didn't re-sign Chiasson, although I'm sure he could have been had for a reasonable price, and we bought out Bouma. That's clearly spots open on the roster.
- When Brouwer was signed we clearly needed someone on the RW. Same goes for Frolik. You usually have to give free agents some term to get them.
GOAL:
- In goal, we have 1 guy inked for 2 years and the other for 1 year, so there's no one blocking our prospects on that front.
DEFENSE:
- Here I think there's a valid question of where are the opportunities supposed to come from. There's just 1 spot open for the next 3 years. Unless our defensive prospects are going to be a major disappointment, or we'll see a trade or a serious injury, there's a logjam coming before the end of those years.
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Not necessarily, since defensemen usually need a longer development window than forwards. Our defense prospects will be the following ages in 3 years:
Kulak: 26 (likely to make the team this year)
Andersson: 23
Kylington: 23
Fox: 22
Valimaki: 21
Those are the ages where you let those guys play full time if they're ready. If they're ready sooner, you trade one of those veterans currently on a great deal (Hamonic, Brodie, even Stone).