2021-2022 NHL Thread

[Frank E]

Still some interesting depth options for teams, mostly at forward positions...

https://www.tsn.ca/yost-sorting-through-the-skaters-left-in-nhl-free-agency-1.1689272

I'm a little surprised that some of these guys haven't signed yet.

Chara?  Galchenyuk!

 

[Heroic Shrimp]

https://twitter.com/russohockey/status/1433564996773072896

If unvaccinated and you get sick, you don?t get paid. Giddy up.

 

[bustaheims]

Still some interesting depth options for teams, mostly at forward positions...

https://www.tsn.ca/yost-sorting-through-the-skaters-left-in-nhl-free-agency-1.1689272

I'm a little surprised that some of these guys haven't signed yet.

Chara?  Galchenyuk!

A number of them will end up with PTOs, but with most of those names being 35+ and declining, I?m not super surprised they?re still available in a flat cap league.

 

[herman]

https://twitter.com/SaraCivian/status/1434157867830063104
Deadline Day, for which I dearly hope some Montreal front office staff had to cut vacations short to address.

EDIT: 5:30 pm EDT

 

[L K]

This really does seem like a cut a dry let them sign him.  6.1 is just a bad contract for Kotkaniemi.

 

[herman]

https://twitter.com/canes/status/1434264952689278982
I?m also very pleased that Bob is okay from his recent health scare.

https://twitter.com/canes/status/1434273579177332736
This is a Mortal Kombat fatality move as far as I?m concerned

 

[herman]

https://twitter.com/friedgehnic/status/1434278267830382597

Edit: done deal for 1st (higher one) + 2nd

 

[Joe S.]

This whole situation is so weird. I know we all laughed at the canes trolling of the canadiens. But this was a really stupid move for Carolina. They way overpaid for an ok player and lost a first and second round draft pick.

That?s a lot to pay for a revenge joke.

 

[herman]

You could see it as a 4M contract and some overhead for poaching a very young top-10 pick. Headhunting in any other industry involved a bit of overpay to get the talent into your org. The Hurricanes can re-sign him thereafter to an extension with more term and a more commensurate cap hit (4.5x6 for example). Anyway the point of going that high was to pressure Montreal into letting Kotkaniemi go, not necessarily because he?s worth 6M.

Contrast the Aho offer sheet, which was the right price for the talent but too easy to match.

 

[Joe S.]

Sorry I?m not following. How can you look at it as a 4m contract?

And also isn?t he an RFA after this contract? Aren?t they bound by an offer that can?t be less than his last contract? I think the only way he makes less than 6mil is if he?s not qualified and then becomes a UFA and then Carolina can?t sign him.

Unless I?m misunderstanding how that works.

 

[bustaheims]

They have to qualify him at $6.1M to retain his rights. They can agree to a contract at whatever amount.

Also, I?m not sure they can?t sign him if they don?t qualify him. I think that only applies to buy outs and walking away from an arbitration result.

 

[herman]

Sorry I?m not following. How can you look at it as a 4m contract?

And also isn?t he an RFA after this contract? Aren?t they bound by an offer that can?t be less than his last contract? I think the only way he makes less than 6mil is if he?s not qualified and then becomes a UFA and then Carolina can?t sign him.

Unless I?m misunderstanding how that works.

All I?m saying is the 6.1M is understood to not be his performance value. Whatever number you think he should be (it?s closer to 2M) for his performance last season, the difference is the cost to force Montreal?s hand.

The QO number is something Kotkaniemi could force from whoever controlled his rights hereafter, but it?d be contentious short term/arbitrator situations until UFA if they go that route (Trouba). He is also eligible to sign an extension Jan 1 for whatever number they agree to. Friedman is already ?speculating? out loud that they?ll return him to a more normal number over longer term. 

 

[herman]

The bigger overpay is Dvorak for a first + second. Not that Montreal would?ve done anything of note with those picks anyway.

 

[herman]

Deadline Day, for which I dearly hope some Montreal front office staff had to cut vacations short to address.

https://twitter.com/arponbasu/status/1434930532698050564
Yessss

 

[Joe S.]

Where is he going on vacation where he can?t make the 2 phone calls and couple of emails it would take to complete this? The moon?

 

[CarltonTheBear]

https://twitter.com/scottcwheeler/status/1436389072881262597

I still can't get over how bad their goaltending is going to be. Aaron Dell and Craig Anderson. These two played a combined 11 games last season. Has there been a worse goaltending duo in the cap era?

 

[bustaheims]

Buffalo is gearing up to challenge the 74-75 Capitals' record. Or, at the very least, the 92-93 Sens and Sharks.

 

[herman]

Buffalo vs Arizona games are going to be must-watch

 

[herman]

https://twitter.com/Aportzline/status/1437442782151446539
https://twitter.com/Aportzline/status/1437446416872484879
This is a very narrow labour market to self-select out of.

 

[Zee]

What's a team going to do if one of their high paid stars refuses the vaccine?  There has to be some dumb asses out there in the NHLPA...I know the Leafs already said everyone will be vaxxed, I want to see someone on another team refuse just to see the fall out.