• Have something to say? Register Now! and be posting in minutes!

offseason expectations

sjrules99

Active Member
2,315
6
38
Joined
Oct 27, 2010
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Well, the time has come for the annual offseason change discussion. What do you think will happen? what SHOULD happen?

Here are my thoughts:

1. Jumbo and patty both return. Both on TWO year deals. Both in the 4M range. I cannot imagine another 3 year deal. And given that both were 50 pts or less and expected to continue to decrease, I cannot imagine much more than 4M per. That said, both are still valuable NHLers and provide strong leadership. I thought aside from pickles and the job he did on Mcdavid, patty was arguably the best shark this series. You all know, I am no big fan, but he played really hard this series and looked great. Jumbo too.

2. If J+P cost 8M, the sharks will then have roughly 10-12M left to resign Karlsson, Donskoi, Tierney. Those three should combine no more than 5M max. As such, they'd have 2 goalies, 7 Dmen, and 12 forwards signed with possibly 5-7M left under the cap. They will also have lots of trade possiblities with sorenson, Lebanc, Meier, Oregan, Carpenter and possibly even chartier, Ryan, and maybe Heed (though he is a ufa) knocking on the door.

I would love to see dillon and boedker moved out and Dougie go for a little more pop. I thought Boedker would add a good punch offensively, but that experiment is not working, and I'd hate to pay another 4M season for 4th line production. I would love to take a stab at TJ Oshie. If not, reaquiring bonino is an option. On D, shattenkirk is always intriguing, but may be overpriced.

Overall, I expect dougie to basically go at with the same team and hope that all the young guys (donskoi, karlsson, tierney, hertl, meier, sorenson, lebanc, etc) can develop to pick up the slack from a lesser used PM+JT. It's a little risky, but it's what I expect.
 

sjrules99

Active Member
2,315
6
38
Joined
Oct 27, 2010
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
In terms of trade possibilities, I am not sure what to expect. Are there any top line Dmen out there? any top line C's to replace jumbo/patty?

Maybe shipping kopitar will be part of LA's turnover? Maybe Matt Duchesne's name gets thrown around again? Maybe tavares????

On D, maybe looking at big Buff? OEL out of Phoenix?

I dunno if dougie feels the need to go big this offseason given the sharks' success last year and how close they came this year (and how their losses could be blamed on injuries and fatigue rather than lack of personnel).

I, for one, would still love to see them add a top line C and a top pair D. They have the trade chips and they have the cap space coming up (doubly so if the big two will take 3M or less to go for it). With the success of the Cuda, and the overall success of the sharks, and the number of players knocking on the door, dougie is dealing from a position of strength.
 

Cbrower91

Donkey Bonker
4,756
37
48
Joined
Nov 22, 2010
Location
The Burbs
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Fav. Team #1
I can't believe Thornton played with a completely blown out knee thats insane. But yeah he and patty ned to come back on shorter terms and less money, maybe give them Jagr like deals heavy on bonus money. Off-season is going to be interesting I'd imagine Bodeker, Ward and maybe Martin are left unprotected
 

sjrules99

Active Member
2,315
6
38
Joined
Oct 27, 2010
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
I can't believe Thornton played with a completely blown out knee thats insane. But yeah he and patty ned to come back on shorter terms and less money, maybe give them Jagr like deals heavy on bonus money. Off-season is going to be interesting I'd imagine Bodeker, Ward and maybe Martin are left unprotected

They will go for the 7/3/1 option. Protect pavs, hertl, cooch, hansen, karlsson, Tierney and ONE of Ward/Boedker (hopefully ward). On D, they will protect pickles, braun and burns.

They then resign haley for one year at league minimum and expose him.

This gives the Knights the choice between: Boedker, Haley (two qualified forward), and martin, schlemko or Dillon, and Dell.

Looking at those options, the Knights will likely avoid martin, dell, or haley as they arent gunna go after a backup goalie, an old Dman with one year, or a goon. They will then choose between Schlemko, Dillon, and Boedker. if they take boedker or dillon, they are doing the sharks a favor, though they may well do that. Boedker especially must be intriguing for them as he is a potential top 6/9 forward signed at a reasonable deal in his prime and cap space isnt gunna be an issue for them. I would doubt they'd touch schlemko and if they grab dillon, it rids the sharks of a 3.3M bottom pairing Dman.

If dougie plays his cards well, he might in essence trade boedker for free and get 4M on the cap to go after Oshie or someone better. In fact, Dougie might just trade a pick to get the knights to grab boedker, something they might have done anyways, but that allows dougie to KNOW that he will get that space and can trade and strategize accordingly.
 

sjrules99

Active Member
2,315
6
38
Joined
Oct 27, 2010
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Do you think Rob Blake as LA GM might be interesting given his good history with Dougie as Doug tried to get him a cup in SJ? With the turnover in LA, I wonder if they won't consider trading with the sharks? Kopitar would sure be intriguing...
 

Cbrower91

Donkey Bonker
4,756
37
48
Joined
Nov 22, 2010
Location
The Burbs
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Fav. Team #1
Do you think Rob Blake as LA GM might be interesting given his good history with Dougie as Doug tried to get him a cup in SJ? With the turnover in LA, I wonder if they won't consider trading with the sharks? Kopitar would sure be intriguing...
Not at the salary he's at, Tofoli and Martinez only guys in that roster worth looking at
 

Cbrower91

Donkey Bonker
4,756
37
48
Joined
Nov 22, 2010
Location
The Burbs
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Fav. Team #1
They will go for the 7/3/1 option. Protect pavs, hertl, cooch, hansen, karlsson, Tierney and ONE of Ward/Boedker (hopefully ward). On D, they will protect pickles, braun and burns.

They then resign haley for one year at league minimum and expose him.

This gives the Knights the choice between: Boedker, Haley (two qualified forward), and martin, schlemko or Dillon, and Dell.

Looking at those options, the Knights will likely avoid martin, dell, or haley as they arent gunna go after a backup goalie, an old Dman with one year, or a goon. They will then choose between Schlemko, Dillon, and Boedker. if they take boedker or dillon, they are doing the sharks a favor, though they may well do that. Boedker especially must be intriguing for them as he is a potential top 6/9 forward signed at a reasonable deal in his prime and cap space isnt gunna be an issue for them. I would doubt they'd touch schlemko and if they grab dillon, it rids the sharks of a 3.3M bottom pairing Dman.

If dougie plays his cards well, he might in essence trade boedker for free and get 4M on the cap to go after Oshie or someone better. In fact, Dougie might just trade a pick to get the knights to grab boedker, something they might have done anyways, but that allows dougie to KNOW that he will get that space and can trade and strategize accordingly.
I can see Bodeker getting snatched up, I think the dougie will protect Schlemko, and maybe leave a few more forwards exposed, seeing how it's a pretty massive strength right now. I mean Demelo is probably ready for bottom pairing duties full time but I don't like his size, but then again he's a pretty smart player. I'd imagine there going to be plenty of quality forwards around but not Dmen, I personally like Dillion/Schlemko combo Martin is showing his age, and who's going to baby sit Burnzie?
 

MrFlyingV

Flying V God
2,396
227
63
Joined
Nov 22, 2010
Location
Tri-Valley
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
So will the Sharks really sign Thornton with a bum knee at 38? Marleau wants a multi-year deal. He thinks he can play 5 more years, and he may be right because he is in pretty good shape. Marleau always plays great in a contract year though.
 

Cbrower91

Donkey Bonker
4,756
37
48
Joined
Nov 22, 2010
Location
The Burbs
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Fav. Team #1
So will the Sharks really sign Thornton with a bum knee at 38? Marleau wants a multi-year deal. He thinks he can play 5 more years, and he may be right because he is in pretty good shape. Marleau always plays great in a contract year though.
Marleau might want a 3 year deal, but Dwil would be stupid to give it to him, he still has the speed to keep up, his numbers are still 1-2nd line production but age is a real life factor. Anything over 2 years 2-3mill per is on over payment. Thornton will be resigned I didn't risk his career without some kind of assurances that he'd get a deal, but also anything over 3 mil per over 2 years is to much
 

sjrules99

Active Member
2,315
6
38
Joined
Oct 27, 2010
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Marleau might want a 3 year deal, but Dwil would be stupid to give it to him, he still has the speed to keep up, his numbers are still 1-2nd line production but age is a real life factor. Anything over 2 years 2-3mill per is on over payment. Thornton will be resigned I didn't risk his career without some kind of assurances that he'd get a deal, but also anything over 3 mil per over 2 years is to much

I expect roughly 2 yrs, 6-8M for each of them. Max. neither will get more than 2 years. You just dont give 38yo's 3 year deals. No dobut they want to stay. No doubt dougie wants em back. a fair deal will get done. production in the 40-50 pt range and the experience and sentimental value warrants 4M for next year, and maybe 2-3M after that. Either way, they will both be back...

The big question is what happens with the expansion draft. If boedker, Dillon, or martin is plucked, it leaves a hole but also adds some cap space. Much depends on that...

Personally, I want to see them give a legit chance to the kids. I was to see lebanc, o-regan, sorenson, and meier on the starting roster next year. I also would be interested in giving Heed or Joakim ryan a look. One of the areas I thought that Deboer did VERY badly this year was in bringing up and supporting the kids. I thought carpenter looked fabulous but he got demoted. I thought lebanc struggled but deboer didnt do a great job with him. I thought sorenson was reasonable but I would have like to give oregan a real chance as I though he looked real good. I also thought meier should have stayed down as he was not tearing up the AHL and produced precious little at the NHL level. He needed 1st line minutes in the minors last year.

I hope next year that one of those guys takes a leap and that deboer does a better job getting all he can out of them.

One other note: I dont understand for the life of me why playing 82 games is considered good? I get the pride factor, but it kills your body. When you are struggling to make the PO's, then it makes sense as every point counts. But, imagine if all the big dogs got a game or two off every month. So, they play 70-75 games, dont get hurt, feel much more fresh. travel less (if its a one game roadie type thing), gives the kids a better shot, and means that you have a rested, strong, and capable veteran core come playoff time.

If there is one thing deboer and co fucked up the most, it was the overplaying of their vets. Why the hell is it good that jumbo plays 78 games in a row? Why is it good to have guys play 200 games (including PO's, Preseason, world cup, etc) in two years? The sharks could easily have afforded to rest burns or martin or pickles throughout the year. Why did donkey play with separated shoulders when lebanc, oregan, and carpenter were available. You want donkey healthy in april not in january. You want burnsy fresh for the playoffs not exhausted in early march.

Hopefully they learn for next year, kill the whole consecutive game streak ego trip, and all the 30+ guys play no more than 75 games, skipping long 1 game trips to places like dallas, skipping B2B at the end of long road trips, etc. if the depth is there, fucking use it!
 

Cbrower91

Donkey Bonker
4,756
37
48
Joined
Nov 22, 2010
Location
The Burbs
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Fav. Team #1
I'd love too see them swing a trade for Tavares but I don't think they have the assets to pull it off, atleast not ones under contract or ones that wouldn't gut the future
 

Cbrower91

Donkey Bonker
4,756
37
48
Joined
Nov 22, 2010
Location
The Burbs
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Fav. Team #1
Well to bad they didn't take ward or boedker, being that they are in the same division it was unlikely the knights were going to help the sharks. Demelo has been trending up so that's good, and I guess heed will get a look
 
Top