You're the GM

[HamiltonsDropped]

1. Power forward under 30 with some nads that can play with Staal
2. Some defense that doesn't resemble a giant sieve to stop hanging Ward out to dry 20 times/game
3. Sutter and LaRose to have the breakout years they are primed for and not fizzle out

 

[ELYEAH82]

(Keep in mind there is a reason I am not an NHL GM)

Kunitz - Crosby - Versteeg (3)
Malkin - Staal - Kennedy
Dupuis - Jeffrey/Letestu (.5) - Tangradi
Rupp - Adams - Talbot
Godard

Orpik - Letang
Goligoski - Michalek (4)
Leopold (2.25) - Eaton (2)
Lovejoy (.75)

Fleury
Johnson

Trade picks + prospects for Versteeg. They need the salary dump so maybe they'd not need an NHL contract in return. Michalek would be a good defenseman for this team, while Leopold and Eaton are both solid. Total would be $12.5 million added, leaving a little wiggle room.

Conner looked pretty good and was the guy they used in the playoffs, I assume he has an inside shot at a roster spot as a winger.

 

[Eddie_Shack]

As usual, there's not too much you can do with the Wings. The retain guys like crazy, slowly let young blood seep into the bottom lines, and occasionally plug holes with free agents. This is what I would do, although I know it's not what Kenny Holland has in mind.

Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Cleary
Hudler-Filpulla-Franzen
Miller-Helm-Eaves
Draper-Abdelkador-Holmstrom

Ritola as the 13th guy

Lidstrom-Rafalski
Stuart-Kronwall

Now it gets tricky... Meech I think has plenty of potential, but needs some damn ice time. Ericsson I just don't have faith in right now, he might have a monster break out season or he might continue turning over pucks like it's his job. I would dangle Ericsson as trade bait and try to land a good, safe, experienced shut down D plus a draft pick and make Meech/Old guy my third pairing. I don't understand what they are trying to do right now, supposedly Holland wants to either bring back Lilja or sign another veteran, plus bring up Kindl. That's Ericsson, Kindl, Meech, and some guy competing for two spots. That means three youngsters are going to get inadequate ice time instead of developing. I'd rather play the youth during the season and see how they progress, and if need be "waste" a pick at the deadline to bring in an experienced vet, rather than sign one now and stunt the growth of some young defensemen. Rafalski and Lidstrom are going to be gone sooner rather than later, it's time to start giving some guys ice time. We don't want a bunch of Kyle Quinceys on our (rather, some other team's) hands.

Then of course Howard and Osgood in net.

 

[flyersfan4706]

Canucks -

Add a shutdown-type d-man, be it re-signing Mitchell, or adding someone like Dan Hamhuis.

Re-sign Mason Raymond

Cory Schnieder needs to be the #2 goalie

That's all I have for now. Puck, jstew and mooger can add to this or correct me

No, he is mine.

 

[Slimpikins]

No, he is mine.

No, he's mine.

 

[The Q stache]

Trade Versteeg to someone like pittsburgh, then trade Sharp to Toronto for a 2nd round pick as long as they take either Campbell or Huet as well

 

[flyersfan4706]

No, he's mine.

No, he's mine.

 

[TOX1]

No, he's mine.

(I got your back 4706!)

He's OURS Dave!!!

 

[GagneFire12]

The Flyers are in an interesting predicament. After their Cup run, and how well he played along the way, it would be crazy to move Danny Briere back to the wing. Especially considering the chemistry he created with Big Ville Style and Chewbacca.

Richards is a natural center. Giroux has uncanny playmaking abilities - that are only accentuated playing in the middle. So where does that leave Carter? Carter is arguably the Flyers most gifted player. You can move him to the wing, but based on his performance in the Finals, that's a risky move. Giroux had a lot of success at wing playing with Gatineau. So if it comes down to moving a player to the wing, it has to be Claude. Either way, with Betts as the 4th-line center, the Flyers are looking like one of the deepest teams at that position.

Obviously, the 3rd pair has to be upgraded - as well as the goaltending position, in my opinion. So you either: 1) Dangle Carter around as trade-bait, seeing if a team on the brink (LA for example) will overpay - in return for solidifying a player they feel can take them deep into the playoffs. 2) Go the UFA route, signing a guy like Ellis or Turco, for cheap.

The only goalies I think are worth a Jeff Carter are Jonathan Bernier and Jaro Halak. But even then, more would have to be offered. Maybe Halak and a D (possibly a pick as well). There is a 5% chance LA gives Bernier away, but if they ask, you have to take it seriously.

Boychuk or Hamhuis are options for a 3rd pair upgrade.

Let Ash walk, and sign Carcillo for 1.3. Resign Coburn for 3-3.2 (he won't sign for less than Seidenberg).

 

[flyersfan4706]

(I got your back 4706!)

He's OURS Dave!!!

For the right price Mason is ours, too. :p

 

[ritari330]

Vote to fire bettman

 

[puckhead]

I'll just copy/paste this from the earlier free agency thread
------------------------
Canucks:

needs: Something to get beyond round 2. A playoff warrior that will help move the regular season success into the postseason. The team went from awesome to horrible at home when the heat got turned up.
Our defense was way too thin in the playoffs, which ironic considering we had about 13 d-men under contract.
Luongo wasn't good enough

UFAs:
Willie Mitchell: His career may be over due to that dirty hit from Malkin in January. Mitchell was sorely missed down the stretch and in the playoffs. 5 on 5 and especially the PK suffered because of it. IF he is healty, will he jump for a paycheck? probably.

Pavol Demitra: buh-bye. Frustrating to see him become the best player in the world for two weeks, in Vancouver no less, and then return to the team as a slug.

Kyle Wellwood: buh-bye. may come back if cheap enough, but Cody Hodgson should take his job next year.

Ryan Johnson: warrior, and a great shotblocker. too good, really He broke his feet what.. three times this season? indifferent as to whether he returns.

Andrew Raycroft: buh-bye. He was decent, and I hope he was good enough to find a job elsewhere. He will be replaced by Corey Schneider, who I how gets 20 games or more. the issue is, there are 17 UFA goalies this summer, so it is a weak market to sell a prospect goalie into. Give him games, show him off, and trade him at the deadline or next summer.

RFAs

Mason Raymond: made $750k, scored 25 goals. his game took a big step last season, his head caught up to his feet. Should get bumped to near $3m, hopefully 4 years or so.

Jannick Hansen: league min last year, should get up to $750 or $800. He's a plumber, but you need a few of them.

Tanner Glass: honestly, I'm not sure I'd even qualify him. he was completely invisible after about November.

Shane O'Brien: made $1.6m. I want to keep him, certainly no raise (was suspended by team in the middle of the season for being too drunk and fat). Has underrated puck-moving skills, is a decent fighter, got in far less trouble on the ice this year.

Aaron Rome: $525k. A warm body. To his credit, i hated him less as the season wore on.


so where do we go?
Our offense is fine. We have some young forwards that should step in - hodgson, grabner, maybe schroeder?

We need steady defensemen. Volchenkov and Hamhuis are going to be in high demand, and possible very overpaid. Kevin Connauton maybe can step in straight from junior, he was a monster in the WHL this year. other than that our cupboard is bare.

I don't know what to do to get Luongo to play better more consistently. A lighter workload should help.

We also need to be tougher. Rypien is a giant killer, but disappears for weeks on end. Hordi's been a disappointment. we don't just need guys who can fight, we need guys who WILL hit, and hit hard. In the playoffs, SOB led the team in hits with 31, and next up was Samuelsson. Yes. Swedish Samuelsson with 30 hits.
In the regular season we only had 4 guys with more than 100 hits. For context, Clutterbuck had 318, and 177 players in the league had over 100 hits. having four players in that group is simply NOT good enough.

that's all I got for now.

 

[naslundfan19]

Hey puck, is Hodgson finally healthy?

 

[puckhead]

Hey puck, is Hodgson finally healthy?

yeah, he missed most of the last season with the bad back (and then broken toe), but when he came back to Brampton at the end of the year he got 20 points in 13 games, then 10 points in 11 playoff games.
He should be fine for camp - and should be a shoe-in for Wellwood's job. His best asset is an incredible head for the game. If he can at all keep up physically, he'll be a really solid player.

 

[naslundfan19]

yeah, he missed most of the last season with the bad back (and then broken toe), but when he came back to Brampton at the end of the year he got 20 points in 13 games, then 10 points in 11 playoff games.
He should be fine for camp - and should be a shoe-in for Wellwood's job. His best asset is an incredible head for the game. If he can at all keep up physically, he'll be a really solid player.

Sweet! Thanks for the info!

 

[I cAnT wAtCh]

That all depends. Am I supposed to improve my team long-term, or improve my team for next year? The latter would be much more difficult to do. I highly doubt Tallon can make this a playoff team next year, regardless of what he does. I'm looking forward to Amerks hockey more than I am Panthers hockey next year, to be honest.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

The Islanders need help just about everywhere. Fortunately they are over 10 million below the cap floor. So Garth has some money he MUST spend.

1.DEFENSE. Hamhuis & Michalek are my top choices. I think Volchenkov will go to the Caps.

2.TOP 6 FORWARD. This isn't a great crop of UFA forwards. There is no chance in hell Kovalchuk is coming to L.I. Garth likes sleeper UFA's. Like MOULSON it's Canadian for Goal by the way. Just ask that reporter in Vancouver who couldn't spell his name.
My choices would be:
Marek Svatos
Matt Lombardi
Maxim Afinogenov
Colby Armstrong

I'd like to add some toughness so I want the Boogy man Derek Boogard.

Ricky may never be healthy so Patrick Lalime is needed as Rolosons' backup.

I'd like to see Garth take a chance on Evgeny Artyukhin. He 6'5 & he can skate.

The draft will be fun. The prospect pool is getting better.

 

[awaz]

Flyers

1. Goaltending
This is the flyers we're talking about. every year goaltending is the number one question in the offseason. leighton had a great year, but the whole time i said it was just because the team was terrified of having him back there and played much better in front of him. as a fan i never quite got comfortable with him in net, i held my breath everytime the other team got a shot. i dont think that relationship will continue. i say sign a FA goaltender for around 3 years, supposedly joacim ericsson is supposed to be the real deal but its too early to tell. i'd sign chris mason to a 3 year deal. boosh is signed through next year to be the backup.

however moving carter is an option too. i'd only move him for bernier, halak, possibly schnieder, but i dont think halak or schnieder are going to be available. i would not move him for carey price, i don't think carey price is going to be the goalie everyone thought he was (haven't since the first game i saw him), and his gloveside is atrocious.

2. d-men*
Make coburn an offer around 2.5, 3 tops. his regular season had very few positive things going for it, but he showed what he can be in the playoffs. him getting an offersheet might not be such a bad thing. we'd probably get 1st and 3rd round picks (compensation for 2.6-3.9) for a team that sorely needs draft picks. parent should be real cheap to re-sign cause he has shown very little with all his injuries, i'd resign him if we can get him on a 2-way contract again. krajicek is gone, shame too, he looked real good when he first got here then kind of fell apart.

3. forwards
i would consider moving carter as mentioned above. the flyers have 5 guys that are significantly better at center than at wing so i think one has to go. carter is the obvious choice there IMO. you don't trade your captain, briere is an animal in the playoffs, giroux is a budding star, and betts is a perfect 4th line center. i think carcillo has to be considered expendable, especially since he hardly played in the playoffs, so i dont resign him. i resign asham though because he's cheaper (900k-ish) and a very similar player. i think nodl showed he can be a 3rd/4th line guy during the playoffs. i also think i let powe go, maybe low-ball him and see if anyone offer-sheets him (same with carcillo)

UFA's id look at
1. dan hamhuis (probably the best value d-men IMO)

2. chris mason (decent guy that can make the saves he's supposed to make, i think/hope)

3. scott niedermeyer (he's probably retiring, and would prob cost too much, but him and pronger are tight?)

4. aaron ward (decent 3rd pair guy, brings more physical presence which the flyers sorely lacked on the back end, especially on that third pair)

5. alex tanguay (if and only if, carter gets traded)

6. dan ellis (another decent goalie)

 

[awaz]

*

my footnote.. you guys are more intelligent than most of the my previous discussion guys.. but a qualifying offer, the one you have to make to RFA's.. can that be any amount? or does the NHL set a limit on the RFA? maybe he has to make at least what he made the previous year?

 

[kenyg54]

So, Eddie, I seriously haven't been keeping track of any Wing's announcements on who's not coming back. Based on your good analysis, that leaves Maltby, Williams and Bert out. On D, I kinda liked Janik when he was up, you give him a chance as that fourth other guy? Eventually we gotta put our eggs in Howards basket, let Ozzie go, and have someone like Larsson as the back-up goalie.