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2020 Offseason roundup


Neech

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How do we all feel about Bergy's moves this offseason?  I think we can all agree that the team improved on paper, and I'm hoping for the playoffs in the Canadian division (though it certainly won't be easy).  But on the whole, I don't feel very good about the contracts we handed out. 

 

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the Anderson deal - it has major disaster potential, especially with a cap that likely won't rise for a few seasons.  Bergevin clearly learned nothing from serendipitously striking out on Lucic and Clarkson and just needed to dump a pile of money on a guy who's 6'3 220.  This is in a pandemic marketplace where the only guys getting that kind of term were Krug and Pietrangelo, top-pairing defensemen.  So many quality players taking one year deals because money's tight and the teams hold all the leverage, but Bergy is out here handing out top dollar and term to everyone.  How much production can we reasonably expect from Anderson?  Many fans are bullish and expect a repeat of his career year, but 30-40 points is more in line with his career numbers. 

 

Edmundson is another guy that it seems like we overpaid, but Chiarot's strong performance last year suggest that Bergy could have an eye for these big second-third pairing types.  Again, the term seems a little long.

 

Allen is a strong acquisition, and I like the extension (especially if Seattle takes him over a quality forward or defenseman).

 

Toffoli seems like another solid acquisition, although positionally we'll see how well he fits in.  Lekhonen and Armia must be looking around and realizing that there isn't much money left for them on this squad.

 

The Petry and Gallagher extensions were fair, but we could have waited until after the year. Again, money is tight around the league and the teams have all the leverage, and those guys like it here.  Their contracts could easily look worse at the end of next season, just as the Byron and Plekanec extensions looked much worse at the time they kicked in than when they were signed.  There's a decent chance that we could be paying both those guys for past performances rather than current form relatively soon.  Add in the fact that that is probably already true for Price and Weber, and we could have a difficult-to-move aging core locked in for the long term.

 

You know who's better than any new player we signed? Danault. He's been perhaps our most or 2nd-most important forward over the last couple years and we're treating him like he's expendable.  There's no way he's worth less than the 5.5M Drouin or Anderson got.  If Kotkaniemi really breaks out then he'll have similar production to Danault.  It seems backwards that his contract is left for last.  I'd much rather have him locked in for 7x5.5 than a middle-6 winger.  And I wouldn't be surprised if Domi has more points than any of our new acquisitions, but that's a different matter altogether.

 

This squad is heavily dependant on a 1C Suzuki performance.  If he's deserving of being our best-paid forward, we'll have trouble fitting him under the cap in a couple years.

 

So, I'm skeptical of Bergy's moves, and they kind of reek of a guy who knows he won't be around to pick up the pieces if they don't work out.  But hopefully all my doubt is misplaced and we're a juggernaut in the North.  Happy Holidays everybody!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I’m pumped for this season and despite today’s signing (you say it’s low risk and I agree but there is no reward so it’s useless), I think we are going to destroy. 
 

Anderson does have a risky contract but if he scores like he can then his contract is great value. 
 

Im uncertain how Edmundson will be used so I don’t know how to evaluate him. I do like the idea that we have big defenders that can also skate. 
 

If Drouin plays smart and hard all season and the new guys pan out and our young centres play well then I truly believe we can challenge for the cup

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have zero faith in Drouin, so the L side is still a bit of a problem unless Toffoli gets put there and thrives, as I hope will be the case.

 

Anderson is a swing for the fences. Could be a huge, brilliant addition. Could be a 7-year cap millstone. If it doesn’t work, it will probably be the end of MB, but I do respect that he identified the guy he wanted, made the move, and went all-in. 

 

Allen, great addition after about six years of hapless floundering at the backup G position. 

 

Edmunson may or may not work out, but I don’t see it as crippling to the team if it doesn’t.

 

This was a tremendous off-season and, like many around here, I think that if KK plays somewhere near the level he did in the playoffs, this team is going to be one tough mofo to beat.

 

I agree that the window is indeed right now. Even Habs-disser Ray Ferraro (who is one of my favourite commentators despite his perennial Habs skepticism) likes the team. And I notice that in his presser MB said this team “can play any kind of game.” I remember when he first came along, he said that in order to win a Cup, you have to be able to win at every sort of game. 

 

He believes this team can contend.

 

I don’t know whether we have the offensive firepower for that, but it is certainly going to be a nightmare to play against.

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5 hours ago, Neech said:

I can get why this didn't get much traction, we're excited for the seasona and rightfully so!  The window is NOW.  Nevertheless, I'm still worried that our cap will be an absolute mess in 2-3 years.


Didn’t get much traction because of your negative attitude.

Anderson has already started making you look foolish and will continue to do so.

 

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MB has clearly gone all in and intends to win now. Cap space be damned , that can be figured out later. 
 

Like CC said, MB Identified what was needed and went out and made it happen. Good on him for finally joining the party. 
 

I wouldn’t doubt a trade deadline deal either. Perhaps an offensive Dman

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5 hours ago, hockeyrealist said:


Didn’t get much traction because of your negative attitude.

Anderson has already started making you look foolish and will continue to do so.

 

 

I think we should ease up on the “throbbing” excitement created by a training camp.

 

If, after 20-30 games, they guys we’re currently excited about continue to deliver, then we should really start to believe. Until then, I’ll just say, things look good - but nothing has been accomplished at all, yet.

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20 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

I think we should ease up on the “throbbing” excitement created by a training camp.

 

If, after 20-30 games, they guys we’re currently excited about continue to deliver, then we should really start to believe. Until then, I’ll just say, things look good - but nothing has been accomplished at all, yet.

 

If they are not delivering 30 games into the season, I expect that Bergevin will have a throbbing headache!

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26 minutes ago, tomh009 said:

If they are not delivering 30 games into the season, I expect that Bergevin will have a throbbing headache!

 

 ... and be calling Jarmo Kekäläinen with a generous offer for PLD ... hoping to either turn the season around or at very least return a prodigal son to the Bell Centre ... assuming he still has a Habs phone with which to make the call.

 

BTW ... make it 20-24 games so it precedes the trade deadline.

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5 hours ago, hockeyrealist said:


Didn’t get much traction because of your negative attitude.

Anderson has already started making you look foolish and will continue to do so.

 

 

Because Suzuki said he was fast?  

 

I hope Anderson does well, but that contract doesn't align with his career numbers at all.

 

 

10 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

 

Anderson is a swing for the fences. Could be a huge, brilliant addition. Could be a 7-year cap millstone. If it doesn’t work, it will probably be the end of MB, but I do respect that he identified the guy he wanted, made the move, and went all-in. 

 

 

I'm worried that if it doesn't work out, MB will be gone but we'll be left with 4 or 5 cap millstones, and a spendthrift NHL environment with nowhere to unload them.

 

10 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

 

 

I don’t know whether we have the offensive firepower for that, but it is certainly going to be a nightmare to play against.

 

I think our D is more worrisome than our forward group.   We're relying on 35-year-old Weber and 33-year-old Petry to not lose a step (Petry's reported weight gain has left me a tad uneasy).  We added depth pieces where we needed another top-4 stalwart.  Here's hoping Romanov and Edmundson hit the ground running.

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10 hours ago, hockeyrealist said:


Didn’t get much traction because of your negative attitude.

Anderson has already started making you look foolish and will continue to do so.

 

It isnt only Neech who has red flag up over Anderson deal, no matter how he looks in scrimmages and quotes from new teammates, who cant say anything else but what they have.

I not sure i like adding of big bodies like Anderson, Edmunston, Chiarot and now a washed up one in Perry.

(Will Anderson be just another Rene Bourque or a Krieder-type?)

 

We will soon see if Bergy is on right track or not.:spamafote:

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11 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

 

I think we should ease up on the “throbbing” excitement created by a training camp.

 

If, after 20-30 games, they guys we’re currently excited about continue to deliver, then we should really start to believe. Until then, I’ll just say, things look good - but nothing has been accomplished at all, yet.

 

I just dont see the cap apocalypse even if the team is mediocre.  The idea that they are screwed cap wise just isnt true.

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20 minutes ago, Commandant said:

 

I just dont see the cap apocalypse even if the team is mediocre.  The idea that they are screwed cap wise just isnt true.

 

Fair enough...I haven’t been projecting a capopalypse, though, so not sure why you quote me in that post!

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1 hour ago, Commandant said:

 

I just dont see the cap apocalypse even if the team is mediocre.  The idea that they are screwed cap wise just isnt true.

 

Anderson doesn't live up to his deal, Price, Petry, Gallagher and Weber all show signs of decline.  Boom there's the cap apocalypse.  Not saying it will happen, but it's certainly possible.

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10 hours ago, Neech said:

 

Anderson doesn't live up to his deal, Price, Petry, Gallagher and Weber all show signs of decline.  Boom there's the cap apocalypse.  Not saying it will happen, but it's certainly possible.

 

Think you may have left off an "IF" to start that post ... but ***if*** that all happens then there are certainly cap challenges to improving the team with Tartar, Danault, KK and Suzuki to re-sign/replace either this summer and next ... but I am not certain Weber will play beyond 21/22 (his real salary drops to $3 million for 22/23 and to $1 million for the last three seasons) ... and ***if*** this roster fails to perform there is a possibility that Carey ***might*** want to go to Seattle, his in-laws live 3 hrs SE down an interstate highway (NOT a prediction).

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3 hours ago, GHT120 said:

 

Think you may have left off an "IF" to start that post ... but ***if*** that all happens then there are certainly cap challenges to improving the team with Tartar, Danault, KK and Suzuki to re-sign/replace either this summer and next ... but I am not certain Weber will play beyond 21/22 (his real salary drops to $3 million for 22/23 and to $1 million for the last three seasons) ... and ***if*** this roster fails to perform there is a possibility that Carey ***might*** want to go to Seattle, his in-laws live 3 hrs SE down an interstate highway (NOT a prediction).

 

How big of a disaster would this season have to be for Price to be exposed in the expansion draft?  And even then, it's questionable that Seattle would want a goalie with that cap hit, even one with Carey's pedigree.

 

That's a good point about Weber probably retiring when his salary drops, although you never can say that about a guy with his last chance to earn seven figures playing a sport he loves.

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16 hours ago, Neech said:

 

Anderson doesn't live up to his deal, Price, Petry, Gallagher and Weber all show signs of decline.  Boom there's the cap apocalypse.  Not saying it will happen, but it's certainly possible.

 

If 4 of a team's best players all decline, then yes there will be cap trouble. 

 

There are 31 NHL teams we can make this statement about though. 

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22 minutes ago, Commandant said:

 

If 4 of a team's best players all decline, then yes there will be cap trouble. 

 

There are 31 NHL teams we can make this statement about though. 

 

Not unreasonable given their age and the hard miles that Gallagher has taken.

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1 hour ago, Neech said:

 

How big of a disaster would this season have to be for Price to be exposed in the expansion draft?  And even then, it's questionable that Seattle would want a goalie with that cap hit, even one with Carey's pedigree.

 

That's a good point about Weber probably retiring when his salary drops, although you never can say that about a guy with his last chance to earn seven figures playing a sport he loves.

 

While I linked it to the team's performance there is a CHANCE that regardless of how the team does Seattle might just be where he and Angela want to raise their kids, close to her family and their off-season home in Kelowna ... BTW, I don't really expect it but who knows ... and it would not need to be by exposing him ... could be in a post-draft trade that brings back assets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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If Price were left exposed, I'm pretty sure Seattle would take him. Expansion teams generally don't get the chance to add a big-name all-star with difference-making capability to their roster. And for good reason - teams generally aren't self-destructive enough to leave such players unprotected.

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38 minutes ago, Neech said:

 

Not unreasonable given their age and the hard miles that Gallagher has taken.

 

I keep hearing this about Gallagher.... there is no proof that a smaller player is more likely to decline than the bigger players who play that style.  In fact if we look at guys like Theoren Fleury vs guys like Andrew Ladd, we can see that the decline came a lot later in Fleury's case.   

Add to that, there is no reason to expect Price to decline any time soon.  Elite goalies usually do well late in their career, it took till damn near 40 for Roy, Luongo, Brodeur, Lundqvist to decline. 

 

Petry has been his absolute best in recent years. 

 

Weber hasn't shown much sign of decline.

 

Yes, they will all eventually decline, but it seems a faulty assumption to me that all four will decline in the near future or that all four will experience a decline simultaneously.   Seems a little bit of chicken little syndrome here.

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1 hour ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

If Price were left exposed, I'm pretty sure Seattle would take him. Expansion teams generally don't get the chance to add a big-name all-star with difference-making capability to their roster. And for good reason - teams generally aren't self-destructive enough to leave such players unprotected.

 

I don't expect Price will be exposed unless he asks/demands-politely to be ... and even then MB would hopefully leverage Seattle for something to do so

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1 hour ago, Commandant said:

 

I keep hearing this about Gallagher.... there is no proof that a smaller player is more likely to decline than the bigger players who play that style.  In fact if we look at guys like Theoren Fleury vs guys like Andrew Ladd, we can see that the decline came a lot later in Fleury's case.   

Add to that, there is no reason to expect Price to decline any time soon.  Elite goalies usually do well late in their career, it took till damn near 40 for Roy, Luongo, Brodeur, Lundqvist to decline. 

 

Petry has been his absolute best in recent years. 

 

Weber hasn't shown much sign of decline.

 

Yes, they will all eventually decline, but it seems a faulty assumption to me that all four will decline in the near future or that all four will experience a decline simultaneously.   Seems a little bit of chicken little syndrome here.

 

Never mentioned Gally's size, just that he's had some hard mileage and that might take its toll in a couple years. Keep in mind I'm talking about in 2-3 years, though I am a little worried at Petry's reported weight gain entering camp.

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." - Matthew 6:34.

 

We have the strongest team we've had on paper since 2014. None of our core pieces are over the hill, as far as we know. Given this, wringing our hands about possible cap trouble in 2-3 years seems quixotic. Yes, Weber can't have too many years left playing at this level (which is a notch below his prime years but still quite strong), and although Petry has aged like fine wine, he too can't have much more left. Price probably has 3-4 years before he craters.

 

Lots can happen in 2-3 years. The team today, finally, probably doesn't suck. MB has finally filled longstanding roster holes. That is way more important in the present than hypothetical cap problems at some indefinite future point.

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