Quote:
Originally Posted by jayswin
Disagree completely again. We picked up a likely top pairing D-man that was going to take some time to adjust to a new system. There absolutely was urgency to sign him before the season starts.
If he doesn't sign then he doesn't negotiate during the season and he goes to UFA. This was a great value signing for a premium position and he was most likely gone if we waited to see what we had in him, which was an even bigger threat than having to pay him more after the season ends.
The Weegar signing is fantastic was needed no matter what way you slice it.
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Well, to be a contrarian, I can slice it a few different ways.
1. Don't sign him in the off-season, run the risk of him playing well to a big UFA payday, and if the team record is fringe playoff contention then you consider recouping at least a 1st round pick at the trade deadline to only add to the asset haul from the original trade.
2. Don't sign him, he plays well, and is essentially a rental to help you take a run in the playoffs, deal with his contract in the off-season and live with the consequences. Cap room is still a massive asset.
3. Don't sign him, assess if his style suits the system we play and new conference, and if it takes some time for him to adjust and his production falls, you have more leverage to extend him OR you let him try his hand at UFA, freeing you up a bunch of salary to address other needs.
It's ok to question the cap management and the larger forces at play that influenced him being signed when he did. It's hard to ignore the optics of the two franchise players wanting out and that massively affecting Treliving and ownership's need to repair the damage by demonstrating to Calgary and the league as a whole that two desirable, pending UFAs would re-up here. I think we can all agree that played a major part in this.
Fresh off the signings, even factoring in their adjustment window, I believe an early learning would be more patience in such a franchise-altering move before commiting this level of term and $.