The Offseason

[gaijin]

More fuel for the Kovalchuk fire (rumor only):

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/rumors/post ... nhl,231540

[TSUCookieMonster]

I actually think that Brewer has been decent since Murray being gone.
Jackman though, wow he sucks.

Why is everyone hating Jackman so much?! It's not his fault his defensive partner was Al MacInnis and Al carried his ass the year he won rookie of the year.

[WaukeeBlues]

More fuel for the Kovalchuk fire (rumor only):

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/rumors/post ... nhl,231540

I just really, really have a hard time believing he honestly expects excess of $10 mill a year. That had to be because it was Atlanta and not money.

I'm actually not shocked. Some teams prefer to see how the playoffs pan out before attempting to re-sign trade deadline acquisitions.

[strocklen083]

How's this for an off-season plan:

Let go: Sydor (retirement), Tkachuk (retirement), Kariya, King and/or Janssen, Winchester
Re-Sign: Steen, Johnson, Perron, Weaver
Do your best to trade (or worse case scenario buyout): Brewer and/or Jackman

That opens up 6-8 roster spots: 1-2 on defense and 3-5 forwards and here is how you fill those spots.

Defense: No need to spend any extra money here. Work with what you have by filling those openings with a combination of Strachan, Junland or Cole. The first two guys are more than capable of holding down a roster spot. Strachan brings added toughness and Junland brings more offensive punch from the blue line, something we desperately need. I only throw Cole's name in there because of how well he's performed in the few games he's played in Peoria. He most likely needs at least a 1/2 season of conditioning down there. But if he comes into camp and tears it up, he might be hard to keep down.

Offense: Go out and sign a guy who can put the puck in the net NOT named Kovalchuk! We don't need to spend 10+ mil a year on a guy who's never been past the 1st round of the playoffs. Not saying we need to sign one of the older UFAs either. I just envision signing a guy to a 5 yr, 30-40 million dollar contract. High price with high return. Of course nothings a guarantee in this league, but with the need to win and the increase in ticket revenue next year, there's no excuse NOT to spend a few extra bucks.

Once you sing your UFA, bring up Eller. He doesn't need another season in the AHL. He's ready to play on the big club and a second year down there will slow his progress. Beyond Eller, maybe you pick up a another free agent guy who can contribute 10-15 goals a year, but also gives you a little toughness. Then use training to create competition for the remaining spot or two.

The only situation I throw my arms in the air about is goaltending. I have NO idea how they should approach this. We've got two goaltending prospects that don't look to be ready next year. But I also don't think it makes much sense to re-sign Mason to a contract beyond 1 year and I'm sure he'll be looking for something longer. I could stomach a 2 year deal, but not for any more than he's making now.

Either way the status quo has become stale and something needs to be done to freshen up the roster or this entire rebuild is going to stall more so than it already has.

[philco_3]

How's this for an off-season plan:

Let go: Sydor (retirement), Tkachuk (retirement), Kariya, King and/or Janssen, Winchester
Re-Sign: Steen, Johnson, Perron, Weaver
Do your best to trade (or worse case scenario buyout): Brewer and/or Jackman

That opens up 6-8 roster spots: 1-2 on defense and 3-5 forwards and here is how you fill those spots.

Defense: No need to spend any extra money here. Work with what you have by filling those openings with a combination of Strachan, Junland or Cole. The first two guys are more than capable of holding down a roster spot. Strachan brings added toughness and Junland brings more offensive punch from the blue line, something we desperately need. I only throw Cole's name in there because of how well he's performed in the few games he's played in Peoria. He most likely needs at least a 1/2 season of conditioning down there. But if he comes into camp and tears it up, he might be hard to keep down.

Offense: Go out and sign a guy who can put the puck in the net NOT named Kovalchuk! We don't need to spend 10+ mil a year on a guy who's never been past the 1st round of the playoffs. Not saying we need to sign one of the older UFAs either. I just envision signing a guy to a 5 yr, 30-40 million dollar contract. High price with high return. Of course nothings a guarantee in this league, but with the need to win and the increase in ticket revenue next year, there's no excuse NOT to spend a few extra bucks.

Once you sing your UFA, bring up Eller. He doesn't need another season in the AHL. He's ready to play on the big club and a second year down there will slow his progress. Beyond Eller, maybe you pick up a another free agent guy who can contribute 10-15 goals a year, but also gives you a little toughness. Then use training to create competition for the remaining spot or two.

The only situation I throw my arms in the air about is goaltending. I have NO idea how they should approach this. We've got two goaltending prospects that don't look to be ready next year. But I also don't think it makes much sense to re-sign Mason to a contract beyond 1 year and I'm sure he'll be looking for something longer. I could stomach a 2 year deal, but not for any more than he's making now.

Either way the status quo has become stale and something needs to be done to freshen up the roster or this entire rebuild is going to stall more so than it already has.

Why let King go? I would keep him on the team, but keep has a healthy scratch. King is a proven all around player than Cam will ever be. Cam is just useless out there, well not completely useless, he can rack up the penalty minutes.

And also to add to your re-sign list, I would keep Carlo too.

[stlbluz]

I agree with you strocklen083, though I think our goal scorer is going to be gained via trade as the free agent pool isn't too deep this off season.

[strocklen083]

Why let King go? I would keep him on the team, but keep has a healthy scratch. King is a proven all around player than Cam will ever be. Cam is just useless out there, well not completely useless, he can rack up the penalty minutes.

And also to add to your re-sign list, I would keep Carlo too.

I'd let King go because he's played 12 games over the last two years with only 33 PIM. He's an "energy" player no doubt and his puck handling skills are far superior to Janssen. But we've got a guy who can play every night AND still throw his weight around when need be: BJ Crombeen. The guy will pretty much fight with anyone, he stands up for his teammates AND he can put the puck in the net occasionally. He's like King and Janssen rolled into one, with skill. I realize we need guys to create a ruckus when necessary, but I feel that we've got those guys on the roster.

As for Coliacovo....I'd like to re-sign him. I really would. But I'm afraid he's going to be asking for a lot more than he's worth and we don't need to be spending any more on defense. That is, unless we can dump Jackman AND Brewer. Because Junland really needs to be on the roster next season and they need the flexibility to play Cole if he's ready. But with Jackman, Brewer, and Coliacovo taking up 3 roster spots and as much as 12 million in cap space, it's just not feasible.

[DaDitka]

Because Junland really needs to be on the roster next season

That's the only part I don't get

I haven't read one thing about him being ready to play up here.

The only things I've read have been about how much he's struggled in the second half of the season and his second half point production has been half of what his first half was.

I agree that we need to see some contribution from our draft picks, the problem is none of them are good enough/ready.

Eller will be here, but best case scenario he's merely replacing Walt's meager contribution.

[SamJunior]

The only situation I throw my arms in the air about is goaltending. I have NO idea how they should approach this. We've got two goaltending prospects that don't look to be ready next year. But I also don't think it makes much sense to re-sign Mason to a contract beyond 1 year and I'm sure he'll be looking for something longer. I could stomach a 2 year deal, but not for any more than he's making now.

What about Halak or Price? Both of them are RFA's, they have the potential to be a No. 1 goalie, and they have some experience. I really like to see the Blues make an offer sheet to one of them (personally I like Halak more).

[glen a richter]

Because Junland really needs to be on the roster next season

That's the only part I don't get

I haven't read one thing about him being ready to play up here.

The only things I've read have been about how much he's struggled in the second half of the season and his second half point production has been half of what his first half was.

I agree that we need to see some contribution from our draft picks, the problem is none of them are good enough/ready.

Eller will be here, but best case scenario he's merely replacing Walt's meager contribution.

Could be a function of his wanting to be in the NHL and frustration that he's getting, until recently, no chance from management. Sure enough, first game up, 2 points.

Management, don't play headgames with the kids. Either play them at the NHL or trade them. Don't give them a cup of coffee without the cream.

[DaDitka]

The only things I've read have been about how much he's struggled in the second half of the season and his second half point production has been half of what his first half was.

Could be a function of his wanting to be in the NHL and frustration that he's getting, until recently, no chance from management. Sure enough, first game up, 2 points.

Management, don't play headgames with the kids. Either play them at the NHL or trade them. Don't give them a cup of coffee without the cream.

No doubt, as I've mentioned before, I don't get to see the kid play, so it's solely based on what I've read from others.

He had some struggles these two games, but he sure didn't look worse then 4 or 5 has all year and he should get better.

My point is however, he only makes the team better if he replaces Jackman or Brewer, not if he's replacing Carlo.

[joosforjihad]

Priorities (no specific order):

Ditch Kariya if he wants more than 1 year/2 mil. With Kariya gone offer Frolov 2 years at around 3 mil. per

Ditch Mason

Ditch Janssen

Resign Johnson for 5 yrs/4 per

Resign King for under a mil.

Resign Steen for 3 or 4 years at around 2.5 per

Ditto Coliacovo

Trade Brewer or Jackman and a pick/mid level prospect to FLA for Vokoun. Hes a legit top 10 goalie (92.5 save %, 7 shutouts) who has been trapped in mediocre organizations. He should feel right at home here. Extend his contract 2 or 3 years at 4 or 5 mil. per

Trade the survivor of the trade above for picks, prospects, or a bag of pucks

Sign either Gonchar (2 yrs/4 mil. per) or Hamhuis (4 yrs/3 mil. per) or both

Hopefully at least one of Pietrangelo, Junland, Cole, or Eller are ready for the NHL.

If Kariya/Frolov, Mcdonald, Boyes, Oshie, Steen, Backes, and Perron can approach 25 goals our offense will be improved.

[dmiles2186]

JD says not to expect the Blues to sign a prolific goal scorer.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports ... enDocument

Now that the Blues have addressed their coaching situation, announcing Wednesday that Davis Payne will be back next season, fans staying the course after the club missed the playoffs for the fourth time in five years want a reason to come back.

The time to make improvements to the roster is a ways off, with the NHL draft, typically the trigger date for trades, not on the docket until late June, and the start of free agency not commencing until July 1. But following an underachieving regular season, a rise in season-ticket prices and a prediction from owner Dave Checketts that it would be an "ambitious" summer, the call for action sounds like a strong Midwestern thunderstorm building.

The expiration of several contracts, including Paul Kariya's deal worth $6 million, will give the Blues more flexibility under the salary cap than they've had in recent years. The team has 11 players under contract for next season at approximately $28 million, and if it re-signs its six restricted free agents, the payroll could grow to $42 million. That would leave the organization well under the NHL's salary cap, which is expected to grow by $900,000 next season to nearly $58 million.
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Yet, despite the team's failure to produce a 25-goal scorer this season, Blues President John Davidson said Wednesday that the club has no plans of entering the high-priced free-agent market for a scoring threat. As he embarks on his fifth summer with the club, Davidson said the Blues would remain fiscally responsible this offseason.


"We'd love to find that prolific goal scorer, but we're not in a position to spend $10 million a year ... we're not going to do it," Davidson said. "We may as well get that out right now ... we're not going to do that.

"A, it's just too expensive, and B, the growth pattern of our club is going in the right direction. I know we had a terrible first half, but our second half, it got us back on track. We have to continue to grow like that, to put us into a position of, 'When is the right time to try to add something that's really going to make us a better club?'"

Davidson held the same stance last season when the New York Rangers signed Marian Gaborik to a five-year, $37.5 million contract, and the Chicago Blackhawks inked Marian Hossa to a 12-year, $62.8 million contract. The cost can be plenty, but so can the results.

Gaborik scored 42 goals and had 86 points for New York, though the Rangers missed the playoffs this season. Hossa, despite missing the start of the season with a shoulder injury, managed 24 goals and 27 points in 57 games for the Blackhawks, who are a contender for the Stanley Cup this year.

This year's top gunslingers scheduled for free agency are New Jersey's Ilya Kovalchuk and San Jose's Patrick Marleau. Kovalchuk, who turns 27 today, had 41 goals and 85 points, including his points with Atlanta before his trade to the Devils. Marleau, 30, netted 43 goals and 83 points for the Sharks.

They are expected to cash in this summer.

"I can't go to our ownership and say ... 'This guy could come here and he may want $12 million up front and $8 million a year for the next seven years," Davidson said. "That's irresponsible to our franchise to do that at this point in time ... from my point of view."

The Blues instead are planning to get results from within. Although last year's goal-scoring leaders, Brad Boyes and David Backes, combined for 33 fewer goals this season, Davidson noted that as a team, the Blues picked up the pace in the second half. They raised their goal-scoring average to 2.95 goals per game in 42 games under Davis Payne, more than a half-goal better than the 2.4 goals per game in 40 games under Andy Murray.

In the end, the Blues ranked 17th in the NHL in goals per game with 2.66.

"If we had the same scoring in the first half as we had in the second half, we'd be sixth in the league in goals for," Davidson said.

Of the seven NHL players who scored 40-plus goals this season, five of the seven did it for the team that drafted them: Washington's Alexander Ovechkin, Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos, Washington's Alexander Semin and Marleau. That number would be six if Kovalchuk had remained with Atlanta.

Davidson still has hope that youngsters David Perron, T.J. Oshie and Patrik Berglund can be offensive threats. Of the three, Perron had the most goals this season with 20.

"The so-called 'kids,' it's time that label should be disappearing," Davidson said. "You'd like to have one of the young guys pop up and be that goal scorer. We haven't had that yet, but you don't know. They're still very young. It might just happen."

But for a fan base that turned in 33 sellouts this season, "might" is a difficult word to swallow. Season-ticket prices are increasing an average of 10 percent next season for most of the season-ticket base. The Blues say their prices will still be in the bottom third of the league.

The money generated by the increase will go to pay players already on the roster, Davidson said.

"We've got to re-sign Erik Johnson, we've got to re-sign David Perron ... if we keep (restricted free agent) Alex Steen, if we keep (unrestricted free agent) Chris Mason ... where does that come from?" Davidson said. "I know it's awfully hard for people to be patient. But I also look to where we started from and where we are now. We've become a pretty good hockey club, even though we missed the playoffs.

"We're on our game plan here; we're staying with it. If there's something that pops out and makes sense, we'll look at it and take it to ownership. But we're also not going to be irresponsible."

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[SteveO]

Smoke and mirrors.

They went hard after Gaborik last year. Posturing for the market. Make it seem like one less suitor in the Kovalchuk sweepstakes for gigantic money.

[Krigloch the Furious]

Perron and Berglund better wake up next year.
It's time for them to actually shoot the puck. Maybe WANT to be the go to guy.

[DaDitka]

"If we had the same scoring in the first half as we had in the second half, we'd be sixth in the league in goals for," Davidson said.

Id be real interested to see how many teams haled the same scoring rate in the first and second half of the season.

Scoring is streaky by nature.


You scored as many goals as you scored PERIOD.

That said, you would expect Boyes and Baskes to each score more next year and simply eliminating the poor outlet passes and turnovers by Jackman should boost scoring as well. That said, you figure Ellar could replace Walt's point production, but who's going to replace Paulie's? He may have been disappointing, but someone has to replace that production.

It doesn't have to be Kolvy, and I seriously doubt it will be, but they had better make some additions. We stood pat last offseason and got the same results (I know we didn't make the playoffs, but the point production was right in line with last season).

[Krigloch the Furious]

Like you said, getting rid of Jackman and Brewer should help the O big time.
Dmen start the rush, cant have them back there being worthless.

[DaDitka]

Like you said, getting rid of Jackman and Brewer should help the O big time.
Dmen start the rush, cant have them back there being worthless.

I know. Some people just don't get that.

The other night on a call in show, Wheeler (sp) kept bashing fans for wanting to replace Jackman and/or Brewer and kept sighting our lack of scoring. Well NO SH*T! It's hard to score when the puck is constantly in your end and your outlet passes keep going to the other team or at best, way off target.

[northwest dave]

Like you said, getting rid of Jackman and Brewer should help the O big time.
Dmen start the rush, cant have them back there being worthless.

I know. Some people just don't get that.

The other night on a call in show, Wheeler (sp) kept bashing fans for wanting to replace Jackman and/or Brewer and kept sighting our lack of scoring. Well NO SH*T! It's hard to score when the puck is constantly in your end and your outlet passes keep going to the other team or at best, way off target.

I throw a little caution out there. The defense was tops in PK this year. The offense from the dline sucked. The trick will be to add an offensive-minded dman, while maintaining the high level of defense. But if you start throwing out players that make the PK tops, that will be the next hole to fix.

It should be an interesting summer for JD and Armstrong.

[SteveO]

I think people are going to be VERY disappointed in the offseason.

They'll get the RFA contracts done (Perron, Steen, Johnson) but I think you'll see Brewer, Jackman, Mason, and Kariya all back as well.

I think we'll make one significant UFA signing and that'll be it. Rest will be supporting cast.