beekay414 Posted June 27, 2018 Author Share Posted June 27, 2018 1 hour ago, Forge said: It has been extremely quiet on our end so far. I haven't heard us tied to anybody, including our own free agents for the most part. The most I've heard is that we can't be ruled out to bring Maroon back, but it's really not sounding that promising, and Grabner is all but out the door. We're usually pretty quiet though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forge Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 I've heard Torey Krug tossed around in rumors, though Boston denies it. But supposedly, they are hard up against the cap starting the year after next, and he has a 5+ million hit. Boston is denying they are actively shopping him, but also put out the caveat that "i get calls on all our players and have private conversations with other Gms". If he's really available, I hope that we put in an offer on him. His contract is pretty perfect for the most part (2 years left, which takes us right up to when the big extensions are due), he's in his prime, and he's a lefty. Certainly wouldn't be cheap, but he's a 50 point defenseman and those are hard to find. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beekay414 Posted June 29, 2018 Author Share Posted June 29, 2018 (edited) All I know is this... We need to use our cap space for the next few years (before the extensions are needed/kick in), if we're not going to be players in free agency, to take on teams' bad contracts in order to gain assets. Don't care whether it's picks or prospects/players. No reason to sit on so much cap space every season if we're not going to actually use it. Now, don't light it on fire and sign guys to long term deals that aren't worth it but we have to use it to continue to build our foundation. There's no reason we can't take on Steve Mason's 1 year/$4.5 Million for an asset, even if it's just Winnipeg's 2019 2nd rounder. Hell, maybe we can get Dano's rights out of it (think he's a RFA)? He's not a world beater but he's something. Edited June 29, 2018 by bkobow05 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forge Posted June 29, 2018 Share Posted June 29, 2018 10 hours ago, bkobow05 said: All I know is this... We need to use our cap space for the next few years (before the extensions are needed/kick in), if we're not going to be players in free agency, to take on teams' bad contracts in order to gain assets. Don't care whether it's picks or prospects/players. No reason to sit on so much cap space every season if we're not going to actually use it. Now, don't light it on fire and sign guys to long term deals that aren't worth it but we have to use it to continue to build our foundation. There's no reason we can't take on Steve Mason's 1 year/$4.5 Million for an asset, even if it's just Winnipeg's 2019 2nd rounder. Hell, maybe we can get Dano's rights out of it (think he's a RFA)? He's not a world beater but he's something. Couldn't agree more. The cap space is one of our biggest assets right now, and it's not like we get bonus cap room in future years if we don't use it like we do in the NFL. Even if we feel uncomfortable taking on deal with 2 years rather than one (though I'd still grab Krug's in a heartbeat) because of the RFA of Butcher / Zacha / Mueller (though I can't imagine that the latter two are going to get anything big without a really good season this year) and Johansson being a UFA after this season (and I think that he will need to have a good season and stay healthy if we have eyes on bringing him back), we could still take on some clunky one year high cap hit deals from teams for picks. We also have Greene's 5 mil/ yr deal coming off the books when those four are up for deals, so that will help quite a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beekay414 Posted June 29, 2018 Author Share Posted June 29, 2018 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forge Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 We re-signed Eddie Lack to a one year contract. Guessing there is some fear that Cory isn't ready to start the season. Honestly, think I may have preferred qualifying Appleby and bringing him back and letting him serve as the back up in the early going. He's only 23 years old...Lack is 30. We have no back to backs until November I think, so whoever is backing up Kinkaid in the early going is unlikely to have to play significant time. I'd rather have gotten a game or two more of NHL experience for Appleby to see what he could do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forge Posted July 1, 2018 Share Posted July 1, 2018 Moore to the bruins. Got less than I thought on the aav, but 5 year deal is a bit excessive. 5/13.75 Grabber got 3.35 aav over 3 years. Meh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beekay414 Posted July 1, 2018 Author Share Posted July 1, 2018 Didn't want Moore back so I'm good with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renndawg37 Posted July 1, 2018 Share Posted July 1, 2018 Letting both of those guys walk was the right move for you guys IMO. Any potential targets you guys have been linked to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forge Posted July 1, 2018 Share Posted July 1, 2018 35 minutes ago, bkobow05 said: Didn't want Moore back so I'm good with it. I wouldn't have cared had we brought him back, but he's the very definition of meh. I just don't think that I could ever give an average third pairing defenseman a five year deal, even if the AAV is not awful. I just don't see how giving him a five year deal is beneficial in the least. That kind of production is just too easy to replace with a decent prospect. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forge Posted July 1, 2018 Share Posted July 1, 2018 1 hour ago, renndawg37 said: Letting both of those guys walk was the right move for you guys IMO. Any potential targets you guys have been linked to? Nope. About the only thing I have heard is that we are still talking to Maroon's camp, but I don't think anyone viewed us as a favorite to land him. I'm not surprised that we are very inactive in the free agent market. The thing is, Shero is extremely mindful of the extensions we have coming up. Vatanen has 2 years left and will likely be in line for a pay jump from his current cap hit of nearly 5 (especially if we are using him as a first pairing defenseman). Butcher will be an RFA after next year and that should be a big jump. Johansson is a free agent after this year (to soon to know how we feel about him to be honest. I could see us letting him walk, but it will greatly depend on his health. Last year was pretty much a complete bust because of the concussions). Hall can be extended as soon as after this upcoming season and at this point, we have to assume that he's going to nearly double his current cap hit and get somewhere between 11-13 AAV. Nico is due in 2 years as an RFA. In the meantime, the only "big" contract we will have expire in that time is Andy Greene, who is owed 10 mil over the next two seasons. Ben Lovejoy and Brian Boyle will expire as well, but both are under 3 mill, so I don't consider that a huge deal. So he seems very reticent to add money, particularly on a longer term deal (one of the reasons I was big on trying to sign a guy like Vanek, who could offer 25 goals for a season or two max). I've said for a while now that I thought if we added a "significant" piece to the roster, it was going to come through a trade, and I think that is still accurate, though we may not make any big moves, which I could see as well. I wouldn't be surprised if we added a piece like Duclair, who wasn't given a qualifying offer and will be cheap. If Nash decides he wants to play, I wouldn't be surprised if we made an offer to him on a one year deal, similar to what I would have liked to do with Vanek. De Haan is a guy that has felt like the type of player who would be a NJD signing, but I think even he may get priced out of what we want to spend. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forge Posted July 1, 2018 Share Posted July 1, 2018 Hayes signed with the penguins. Nice story last year, but offered little to no upside and was a healthy scratch more often than not. Had some nice games, but I had no real desire to bring him back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forge Posted July 1, 2018 Share Posted July 1, 2018 Action signings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forge Posted July 2, 2018 Share Posted July 2, 2018 I'm assuming that filling out the AHL roster really isn't all that we are going to do, so looking around at what is left, and assuming that we are going to continue to avoid anyone commanding big money or big terms, I think the guys I'd like to look at are: Luca Sbisa. Spent most of last season hurt, so he's probably willing to try and rebuild some value. Left handed shot. He could be a slightly cheaper, shorter term resolution for filling John Moore's spot. I think at worst that's nothing more than a lateral move, so I'd be good with that. Secondarily, Nick Holden would be another solid option there as would Toby Enstrom. Matt Calvert. He skates very well, so he fits in there. Kills penalties. He'd be cheap, but I don't know if he's basically too Blake Coleman-y and Brian Gibbons-y (though I suppose the latter is a free agent who may not be back, though I just assumed that we would re-sign him at some point...he's a very devil's like player) They all would serve pretty similar functions on the team. Anthony Duclair. He hasn't put it together and has had a rough stretch of it, but this would be a pure upside play that I could get behind. Besides, even though the offense has struggled some, his play isn't really all that horrendous. His possession metrics were still rather good at the very least, particularly against his teammates. Unfortunately, we don't appear to be in on him so far (last I heard, TB was), as he is probably the signing I would like the most out of these. At this point, we must be really leaning toward giving Yakovlev a really long look in camp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beekay414 Posted July 2, 2018 Author Share Posted July 2, 2018 Just sign Calvin de Haan and I'll be content with the rest of the off-season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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