Official Best Offseason Ever Thread

[WaukeeBlues]

Speaking of unsigned guys, odds on Barbie going to the KHL? Come on Army, get him signed already! He has to be asking more than is cap feasible or it would have been done by now.

This "official best offseason ever" thread just couldn't go off w/o, at least, a little bit of a hitch, right?

We're oh so close to bringing back literally the entire squad minus ONE player (Maroon), and not having to add anyone. Huge accomplishment for a cup winner.

[StL Dan]

Speaking of unsigned guys, odds on Barbie going to the KHL? Come on Army, get him signed already! He has to be asking more than is cap feasible or it would have been done by now.

This "official best offseason ever" thread just couldn't go off w/o, at least, a little bit of a hitch, right?

We're oh so close to bringing back literally the entire squad minus ONE player (Maroon), and not having to add anyone. Huge accomplishment for a cup winner.

Pretty cool, huh?

Is it just me, or will it be more of a letdown - than say Maroon moving on - if Barbi isn't a Blue next season? I gotta believe the odds are heavy in favor of him returning, but there is obviously the possibility he won't.

[WaukeeBlues]

Is the KHL even paying their guys regularly? Is that still a thing? Feels like the top KHL players have been leaving en masse the last several years. Plus Barbie has been here a while, and you really only see guys bouncing to the K when they really have no other options at the NHL level (see, e.g. Lehtera now, Verabek, etc). So I'd be surprised.

P.S. Jusso Vallimaki tore his ACL and Calgary's GM is on record looking for a LD now to help this year.

Joel Edmundson anyone? It's a 1 year deal, but only problem I see is the cap since they still have Tkachuk to re-sign. Calgary probably looking for a cap hit less than half of what Edmundson is, but still. That'd be a fit in terms of term and talent.

[theohall]

I don't see Calgary wanting a 3M bottom 6 LD when they already have Hanifin and Giordano even with Giordano being 35.

[JCShutout]

Ruh roh...
https://twitter.com/jprutherford/status/1161985960218963968 I wonder if that's why Maroon hasn't signed. Knows if Barbie bolts then that spot (and $) is his.

[glen a richter]

I’ve been reading some stuff about Barbie, his moron agent who’s apparently been fired by a bunch of clients including Panarin, and what some people think will happen if Barbie leaves for the K. Many of them seem to think Kostin can step into his role. Please folks, put down the crack pipe. Kostin is a flake and nowhere near ready for the NHL. I’m real tired of hearing his name bounced around as a guy who can make the team out of camp. He can’t and he won’t.

[theohall]

You won't hear Kostin from me. A more likely player to step in would be MacEachern, and then the Blues would be looking at whomever the "extra" forward would be in case of injury. That extra guy, besides Fabbri, would more likely be Jordan Nolan, Nathan Walker, or Dakota Joshua. The outside name whose actually been groomed in juniors as a bottom 6, PK, potential 2nd PP unit guy would be Toropchenko.

Kostin is not projected as a bottom 6 forward and probably wouldn't do well in that role if asked to assume it.

[glen a richter]

Agree on MacEachern. I think Toropchenko needs at least a full AHL season. I’m curious to see if Poganski can make any strides this year.

[WaukeeBlues]

I tend to agree on Maroon. I'd bet a lot that Army has told him "Well right now we can't afford you but if you want to stick around and see how it plays out you're more than welcome to" and Maroon hasn't gotten any offers from anyone else that's knocked his socks off so he's willing to wait and see what happens.

Losing Barbashev to Russia would be a huge disappointment. I don't think he'll go just because the conditions out there are bad but you never know.

At some point maybe Barbie will have to interject with his agent and simply say "let's get this done" and cooler heads prevail. That's my hope.

I still have hope for Kostin but it's not looking so hot. He was a high risk high reward pick even when we made it so this isn't necessarily a surprise but perhaps disappointing is the best word for it. Bokk will get another year to develop and hopefully we don't move our first round pick this year so we'll get another good kid in the system.

[theohall]

If anyone sees more of the "trade Edmundson to Calgary" nonsense... this is why it likely won't happen

1) Cap Space: $7,756,625
2) Matthew Tkachuk - unsigned. Likely going to want more than 7M
3) Andrew Mangiapane unsigned - but not as relevant.
4) Their current defense - and I don't see their top 4 changing.


So what GM in their right mind would be adding 3M to their defense when they still haven't re-signed Tkachuk? Bringing this up, because this what I call nonsense idea keeps popping up multiple places. Just look at the cap situation and it makes zero sense for Calgary given their current defense. So what if a really young defenseman who plays bottom 6 minutes was injured given the Flames top 4?

Basically, someone would have to take one of their forwards off their hands whose salary is lower or similar which boils down to 32 year old Derek Ryan or 23 year old Sam Bennett. And if it were Bennett, it's a net negative in cap space available for the Flames - which, again, doesn't help them sign Tkachuk. Nothing about Edmundson going to the Flames makes any sense financially for either team.

[JCShutout]

Yeah, that's my bet with Maroon as well.

Losing Barbie would suck. I think he's an important player, but you just can't overpay guys. The Blues won with their depth. Bad contracts limit depth.

I'd rather have Barbie than Maroon, but some combo of Maroon, Fabbri and MacEachern should get the job done if cooler heads don't prevail.

And we won the cup, will likely have everyone but one player back, have plenty of youth and will be tight against the cap no matter what. I'd expect us to keep our first this year unless there was a "totally knocks your socks off, core-changing trade" type of thing. No need to waste a 1st to get Steen off the roster right now. At this point, his is the only "bad" contract on the books unless you also count Allen, which I don't because $9m for a Stanley Cup champion goalie and the league's best backup isn't the worst way to spend your money.

EDIT: And I doubt Edmundson goes anywhere this year. This is his make or break (with the Blues) year. He either proves he is a 2nd pairing dman, gets his $4m with some term, essentially taking JayBo's spot (and a little of his salary with the rest likely going to Dunn) or the Blues let him walk considering his contract demands.

This year he gives you key depth at an important position, and he fits in the cap, though barely. The Blues have a lot of money coming off the books in the next couple of years, and if they play it right, they should be able to afford to keep the right guys.

[WaukeeBlues]

Just a suggestion, don't kill me! haha.

According to NHL Network radio the word on the street is they're looking to move Frolik and keep Brodie (who they apparently had been shopping).

There was discussion about if they could bring in Jake Gardiner but that was quashed pretty quickly considering he's looking for a multi-year deal and realistically they just need a guy to fill in for one.

[JCShutout]

Frolik is a useful, if overpaid player. Are there teams out there looking to take on salary? I honestly don't know. My gut says it should be getting more difficult to find that, but you never know. I guess a rebuilding team with room might take him and a prospect/pick, play him and flip him at the deadline for another pick. (He's in the final year of his deal anyways) If I was GM of a rebuilding team I'd try to do that.

[theohall]

Teams still trying to sign RFAs aren't making deals unless it gains them space while most teams currently with the space those teams want seem content with their rosters.

[WaukeeBlues]

Frolik is a useful, if overpaid player. Are there teams out there looking to take on salary? I honestly don't know. My gut says it should be getting more difficult to find that, but you never know. I guess a rebuilding team with room might take him and a prospect/pick, play him and flip him at the deadline for another pick. (He's in the final year of his deal anyways) If I was GM of a rebuilding team I'd try to do that.

And according to capfriendly he has a 10 team no trade list so it'd also have to line up with his list. So that excludes Ottawa

There's a few teams that could take him on comfortably (LA Kings, Isles, Ducks, Wild, Blue Jackets, Devils, Flyers (assuming Konecny and Provorov don't suck up the remaining cap), Ottawa, Colorado will still have space) so there's quite a few. As with anything, it's about making it worth someone else's while. If the Flames want to clear him badly enough they can overpay another team to take him and they gladly will. Even if the other team doesn't want him if you do the ole "Sign and buy out" maneuver, that's an option too. Frolik is straight salary this year: $3 million on a $4.3 cap hit, so it'd be a cap hit of $2.3 this year and $1 next year. For a team not in immediate cap trouble, if you can get a pick or prospect in exchange for your cap space, that's worth it.

The Devils, Sens and 'Canes have all run a clinic on weaponizing cap space to improve your team. No reason that can't apply here.

[theohall]

One thing to look for in the next CBA is closing the loopholes on these ridiculous contracts that have players on LTIR for years which Arizona has taken advantage for years and Toronto is using this season to create the space to sign Marner. Saw a rumor the NHL is extremely unhappy with what Toronto is pulling this off-season, even though Arizona has used this same loophole for years to take on large contracts of players who couldn't even play.

There has to be a consequence for a team signing players to ridiculous AAV contracts when they are pretty dang sure the player won't play out that contract. Right now, LTIR is being abused in this regard.

[WaukeeBlues]

One thing to look for in the next CBA is closing the loopholes on these ridiculous contracts that have players on LTIR for years which Arizona has taken advantage for years and Toronto is using this season to create the space to sign Marner. Saw a rumor the NHL is extremely unhappy with what Toronto is pulling this off-season, even though Arizona has used this same loophole for years to take on large contracts of players who couldn't even play.

There has to be a consequence for a team signing players to ridiculous AAV contracts when they are pretty dang sure the player won't play out that contract. Right now, LTIR is being abused in this regard.

Oh yea, it's being used in ways never intended by the CBA. Same with the cap AAV calculations prior to the 12/13 lockout that shrank the length of contracts and also manipulation of AAV. It'll be a hot topic at the next negotiations for sure.

Word on the street is that the NHL wants to shorten the max length of player contracts even further. GM's just don't care. They're looking at the next 2-3 years and that's about it. Anything after that might as well be 25 years from now. There's no reason for them to care if the owner doesn't. Toronto being the perfect example: money is not an object. They'll gladly shell out $12 million+ in dead contracts every year and pay $12 more on players actually playing. Doesn't matter.

The million dollar question is how you fix it. I will admit ignorance and say I don't know exactly how a player gets to claim they are LTIR. I assume it's enough medical documentation sent in by the league to verify it. What if we did NHL certified physician team ONLY and THEY have to decide if a player is LTIR?

Other option is to get rid of it entirely. You can put a player on IR but they are a hard count against the cap, period. Or maybe do like a 50% thing where only half the cap hit counts, something like that. Or if you're the team that signed the player to the contract and they go LTIR you are forbidden from trading them. Then that punishes teams that didn't do "anything wrong" (player signs a reasonable 4 year deal, gets a freak injury 2 years in that nobody could've reasonably predicted and now the team is screwed). Or make it age affected. If you sign a guy that has contract years that extend to age 35 you are forbidden from putting him on LTIR for any time in the contract at or over age 35? There's room for creativity.

NHLPA isn't going to like ANY of the above and it'll be a fight, that's for sure.

[theohall]

Or if you're the team that signed the player to the contract and they go LTIR you are forbidden from trading them. Then that punishes teams that didn't do "anything wrong" (player signs a reasonable 4 year deal, gets a freak injury 2 years in that nobody could've reasonably predicted and now the team is screwed). Or make it age affected. If you sign a guy that has contract years that extend to age 35 you are forbidden from putting him on LTIR for any time in the contract at or over age 35? There's room for creativity.

Nathan Horton is a perfect example of this. When 27, signs a 7 year contract for a high AAV at the time. Plays 2 seasons and has a career ending injury. Put in some type of caveat for true career ending injuries. Something like if this happens, the contract can be voided, but that player isn't allowed to play again. Has to be a true career ending situation and an independent NHL physician is involved in some way, like you suggested. While it will help the team which may have signed the guy, it won't punish them for that type of injury and won't allow those contracts to be used by other teams as cap circumvention.

Another idea: If players are over a certain age and this "career ending" injury appears, the team is still on the hook for say at least half the contract, instead of a straight voiding of the deal which would be used for the true freak injury things.

And, no, the NHLPA won't like any of this, but something needs to be done to knock off this BS GMs are pulling way over-paying players for longer than they are physically capable of truly contributing. Like Armstrong says in a current Athletic article, you can't give guys "thank you" contracts any more, which is basically what Chicago did with Seabrook and Keith and their ridiculously long terms.

[WaukeeBlues]

Yup, that's exactly right. Teams are paying guys as a "thank you" (like you said) for services rendered instead of being the cold blooded calculus that you have to have on what a player is likely to do.

35 is the new 40. Pre-lockout an older player could stick around for longer and still produce a bit because you could clutch, grab and obstruct way more than you can now. Now, you gotta be able to skate with the best of them to still get a roster spot and only the freaks of nature (Jagr, Chara) are playing into their 40's anymore. It's just where we are.

For the players, it's now a premium for a team to buy any of their UFA years because of how valuable they are now. For today's 18 year olds getting drafted I don't know why on earth you would ever agree to take a contract that leaks into your UFA years unless you're like Matthews or Marner and going to be getting PAID for those years. Peak productivity is happening faster and ending sooner than ever before. You can even make the argument that by the time a guy gets to UFA that it's not even worth re-signing him because you've already got the best years out of him. Maybe not the top 1%

To bring this full circle to the Blues that's why Pietro and Schenn really concern me. They're going to want term and we just cannot do that. Pietro especially. He's going to be 30.5 years old next summer. Unless it's like a 3 year deal I would be very concerned. He'll likely want the full 8. Ugh. I guess we'll see. Armstrong is going to have some difficult decisions to make next summer. I do not envy him.

[StL Dan]

I’ve been reading some stuff about Barbie, his moron agent who’s apparently been fired by a bunch of clients including Panarin, and what some people think will happen if Barbie leaves for the K. Many of them seem to think Kostin can step into his role. Please folks, put down the crack pipe. Kostin is a flake and nowhere near ready for the NHL. I’m real tired of hearing his name bounced around as a guy who can make the team out of camp. He can’t and he won’t.

Maybe we should ask Jon Hamm what is going to happen. He seems to have a knack for calling Barbie's big scores.