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UFA Day discussion thread


dlbalr

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Let's hope not, 'cause otherwise we missed the boat big time.

People like to have this perception that on the free agency market only dumb GMs overpay for players and the GM on the team you like can convince any player to come at any time, they just don't because they are dumb or something.

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Mikael Samuelsson to the Wings, don't know the terms yet but I think he's a good under-the-radar pickup.

Edit: $3 M per with a full NTC, not so under-the-radar now...

Also didn't see it mentioned but Nick Foligno was dealt for Marc Methot today, solid deal for the Sens to replace Kuba. Columbus needed to shed a bit of payroll off their blueline, Foligno is a decent pickup for them to help up front.

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Current lines (sans Gomez):

Patches - DD - Cole

Bourque - Plekanec - Gionta

Prust - Eller - Moen

White - Nokia - Armstrong

Palushaj - Leblanc

Gorges - Subban

Markov - Emelin

Kaberle - Diaz

Cube - Weber

Price

Auld

Clearly someone on D is not going to be there next season. We also need to dump Bourque.

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Current lines (sans Gomez):

Patches - DD - Cole

Bourque - Plekanec - Gionta

Prust - Eller - Moen

White - Nokia - Armstrong

Palushaj - Leblanc

Gorges - Subban

Markov - Emelin

Kaberle - Diaz

Cube - Weber

Price

Auld

Clearly someone on D is not going to be there next season. We also need to dump Bourque.

I'd think you'd see Nokia in the box and have Leblanc on the third line with Moen and Eller.

They had chemistry at least last season and Nokia hasn't proven nothing.

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Why does everyone want to dump Bourque? Give him a year and see what he can do.

He came into one of the worst teams in the league, a total mess from the GM to coaching to the players quitting.

Palushaj will not be Montreal, Leblanc has no bisiness sitting on the bench either, he'll be gettign top minutes in Hamilton.

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Current lines (sans Gomez):

Patches - DD - Cole

Bourque - Plekanec - Gionta

Gomez - Eller - Moen

Prust - Nokia - Armstrong

White - Palushaj - Leblanc

Gorges - Subban

Markov - Emelin

Kaberle - Diaz

Cube - Weber

Price

Auld

I know, I know... Gomez... But this is more realistic...

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I'd think you'd see Nokia in the box and have Leblanc on the third line with Moen and Eller.

They had chemistry at least last season and Nokia hasn't proven nothing.

With two bottom six signings I have a feeling they want Leblanc to have a season in the AHL. Eller on the wing means far too many bottom six wingers.

We need a trade to move bodies.

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I know, I know... Gomez... But this is more realistic...

I want Jagr to replace Bourque on that second line.. Bump him to third line duties. And with that we're back fighting for the seventh seed.
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Moen Eller Leblanc

Armstrong White Prust

Noke

This is where Bourque is trival to me. I dont feel he's a top 6 unless he's secondary to an elite level scorer. And in the current structure of the bottom 6, he's expendable considering the peices in place. And would be better suited to team needs if he was a right handed center who win's faceoffs. Halpern & Metropolit style.

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I think Eller is being wasted with likes of Moen, prust, Armstrong.

I'd think you'd see Nokia in the box and have Leblanc on the third line with Moen and Eller.

They had chemistry at least last season and Nokia hasn't proven nothing.

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Eller remains a mystery, at least to me. Could end up being a rangy, 70-point C. Could end up playing in Europe. Or anywhere between the two poles. Just a tough player to read IMHO.

Agreed. I think he's on his way to becoming an elite passer in the NHL and he knows how to use his body but the pieces are just not together yet. I'd rather see him on the third line and have a 40 point season before we consider attempting him in a top six situation.

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Current lines (sans Gomez):

Patches - DD - Cole

Bourque - Plekanec - Gionta

Prust - Eller - Moen

White - Nokia - Armstrong

Palushaj - Leblanc

Gorges - Subban

Markov - Emelin

Kaberle - Diaz

Cube - Weber

Price

Auld

Clearly someone on D is not going to be there next season. We also need to dump Bourque.

PETER BUDAJ!

But yeah that bottom six looks way more vicious!

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Eller remains a mystery, at least to me. Could end up being a rangy, 70-point C. Could end up playing in Europe. Or anywhere between the two poles. Just a tough player to read IMHO.

We're never going to find out unless he gets a real sustained chance to play with real players, rather then with scrubs.

I also think DD belongs on the wing. I think moving him to the wing, would give Eller a chance to show what he can do at centre. If we don't find out now, before Galy is given a shot to come in the picture, we are probably going to end up giving up on Eller and have him either be a bust or find success only after being traded to another team.

I'd go with the following lineup, assuming the addition of a guy like Jagr and Gally showing he deserves at least the 10 game tryout:

Maxpac-Eller-DD

Jagr-Pleks-Cole

Gionta-Gally-Bourque

Prust/Armstrong-Noki-White/Moen

Gorges - Subban

Markov - Emelin

Cube - Diaz

Kaberle - Weber

Ideally, other then Gomez, I'd also dump Kaberle and as soon as Bourque goes on his first hot streak, i dump him as well.

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We're never going to find out unless he gets a real sustained chance to play with real players, rather then with scrubs.

I also think DD belongs on the wing. I think moving him to the wing, would give Eller a chance to show what he can do at centre. If we don't find out now, before Galy is given a shot to come in the picture, we are probably going to end up giving up on Eller and have him either be a bust or find success only after being traded to another team.

I'd go with the following lineup, assuming the addition of a guy like Jagr and Gally showing he deserves at least the 10 game tryout:

Maxpac-Eller-DD

Jagr-Pleks-Cole

Gionta-Gally-Bourque

Prust/Armstrong-Noki-White/Moen

Gorges - Subban

Markov - Emelin

Cube - Diaz

Kaberle - Weber

Ideally, other then Gomez, I'd also dump Kaberle and as soon as Bourque goes on his first hot streak, i dump him as well.

I don't see Gionta on third line, nor Eller on the first. You are over rating him, imo. Also, until we get a better center, why break up the Pac, DD, Cole line.

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Here we go again! Different schools of thought on player development. One side says: throw 'em into the deep end, give them high-quality linemates, put them in key situations, that way they are 'in a position to succeed.' The other side says: let them learn the game on the bottom-6, then, once space opens up or they clearly start banging down the door, they're fully mature and ready for the challenge. That's what Detroit does, for instance.

I don't think either school is right necessarily; it partly depends on the player. We threw Pleks into a 2nd-line role and he was totally clueless for the first half of a season, then grew into it. But Pleks was (is) also a very committed player with a well-developed all-around game by that point. Is this true of Eller?

To my mind, Eller has simply not shown the offensive vision that would warrant putting him in the top-6. Machine says he's 'on his way' to 'becoming an elite passer' - but he had 12 (!) measly assists in 79 games. Come on.The only time he did look impressive on a more than sporadic basis was in that series against Boston a couple of years ago.

I remember when Koivu came up - they had him on the fourth line with Turner Stevenson, and suddenly Stevenson started getting all kinds of scoring chances :lol: and his line kept cycling the puck like crazy. Now there was a case of a guy who clearly didn't just knock, he banged the whole frigging door down. That may be an extreme case, but I do think it's reasonable to ask that a player like Eller show some sort of consistent offensive flair before graduating him. When his cement-handed linemates find themselves with a fair number of unexpected opportunities, when his line starts to tilt the ice in a noticeable way or even just when he starts impressing the coaches with his level of commitment and 'compete' night after night, instead of frustrating them with his lack of these - these are clues he's ready for more.

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Evaluating other teams moves:

Detroit: Terrible. It's like they signed Tootoo just to keep him from playing against them. He's slowing down, he isn't as feisty as he used to be and he takes too many penalties. Samuelsson returning is okay. Gustavsson!?

Pittsburgh: Pretty much built a new AHL team with their minor signings. Rumoured to be going all in on Parise.

Anaheim: Good moves on D except giving Souray three years. They'll hate that in the third year.

Colorado: Solid moves. $4M for Parenteau isn't bad at all. Quite fair.

Long Island: Not much they can do but $1M for Boyes is good and $1.5M for Carkner is... ugly.

Vancouver: I like the Garrison signing. People say it's too much for an unproven defenceman and he might have been a product of Brian Campbell passes but he's a local B.C. kid who took less to play for the Canucks than some other offers out there, provides good size and without the 16 goals would still be top four quality as a defender. Perfect fit for Vancouver after letting Salo and Allen go.

Funniest rumour floating around right now (key word float) is Alex Semin to Boston.

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Well every signing seems justifiable in some way...

I just don't want us to become a team of assholes. At any second I'm expecting a tweet from Sean Avery: "Luv the moves #Habs! Kep up the grate work!"

Therrien's an asshole. Not even his mother would argue that.

Armstrong's an asshole. Plus, willingly signing in Toronto and playing there for 2 seasons makes him more of an asshole just through osmosis.

Bourque's an asshole cause seriously ###### that guy.

Add in the other players with high "assholibility" like Prust and White, and this could spread like a plague.

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