Quote:
Originally Posted by Flash Walken
Unfortunately you've got 2 departing bottom pairing dmen, 2 departing top 4 Dmen, a 37 year old guy making top pairing money but probably not giving you top pairing minutes reliably and already not enough skill in the top 6.
Also you need to sign your 33 year old goalie or hit the bricks to bring in an unknown free agent.
What on this roster is worth salvaging to try to be competitive in the short term? If we're really honest with ourselves, is it even possible?
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I don’t think the roster is in as bad shape as people think. There are pieces there for a 1-2 year re-tool. I look at the expansion draft list as the guidelines:
Forwards:
Move Forward Pieces: Tkachuk, Lindholm, Dube, Mangiapane, Bennett,
Trade Options: Gaudreau, Monahan, Backlund
Vets Unlikely to Move: Lucic, Ryan
UFA: Reider,
Prospects: Pelletier, Gawdin, Phillips, Zavgorodniy
Really that’s not that bad, they have 5/7 expansion spots filled, potentially 6 if Hall’s top choice is Calgary as rumoured. If you can get some strong, expansion exempt young pieces for Gaudreau and Monahan then you’re in good shape, and we already have some okay forward prospects on the way to fill the bottom of the lineup.
Defense:
Move Forward Pieces: Hanifin, Andersson, Valimaki, Kylington
Vets Unlikely to Move: Giordano
UFA: Brodie, Gustafson, Hamonic, Forbort, Stone
Prospects: Yelesin, Kinnvall
Honestly I don’t think the UFAs on defense are a bad thing here. Rebuild with 4 young guys we have and make some budget UFA signings like a Demelo as a stopgap.
Expansion draft punishes you for depth on defense here anyways, so no use to spend major cap /assets to add to that core this offseason unless the piece is expansion exempt.
Goalie:
Honestly a tandem of Talbot and Rittich isn’t that bad, and Talbots probably not going to demand too much of a raise.
Goaltending is weird and inconsistent season to season and the guys we have, have not hurt us. Don’t waste anymore major assets / cap space because you just never know what you’re going to get.
Look at last years cup winning Sweetheart, who has been benched in round 1 this year, and the $10M big name UFA was the worst starter in the league.
There is a path to a re-tool there. Use next year as a transition year, change the make up of the top 6 a bit, try to add more youth, and aim to make a push after the expansion draft.