What are your 4 “gaping holes” sir?
- jdfitz77

NEXT two years these are the holes I see and the possible players filling them


Goalie, (Ullmark)
First pair D
#3 D Guhle
top 6 wingers (2) (Nylander / Mittlestadt)
3rd line.. (This can be kids from Rochester)

Two right-wingers (they need MUCH better value than Okposo and Pominville won't be re-signed).
Two more top 4 defensemen.
Goaltender.

Actually, that's 5.
- buffalofan19

Reinhart could fit the bill as one of the RW, no?

I am more concerned with the true dead weight, i.e. Moulson and Bogo, but I get the point, and I would bet strongly that if Botterill got a reasonable offer for Okposo, he would take it.
- kingcong39

Moulson will have one year left after this year. As deadhead pointed out multiple times, he's also due a bonus. Some cap floor team will take him for a $5 million cap hit but only need to pay him about half that in salary.

Bogosian will have two years left. A guy with only two years left at sub-par production is much, much easier to move than a guy with five (Okposo).

[quote=kingcong39]

He could. It's far from a guarantee.

And if that's the case, and the center experiment is indeed over, then that's another hole to fill.

They're not in a dire cap situation, and won't lose anybody good as a casualty. The question is about how much they can add.

Moulson will have one year left after this year. As deadhead pointed out multiple times, he's also due a bonus. Some cap floor team will take him for a $5 million cap hit but only need to pay him about half that in salary.

Bogosian will have two years left. A guy with only two years left at sub-par production is much, much easier to move than a guy with five (Okposo).
- buffalofan19

Agreed on Moulson, but I have no idea who is going to take Bogo, who can barely stay healthy.

I think there's a greater chance somebody would take Okposo, assuming he gets back to his normal level of production the second half of the season.

He could. It's far from a guarantee.
- buffalofan19

I think at his likely next contract salary and his production so far, he'd be fine as a second line RW.

Sign Kane if you can... not 7 years, max I'm going is 4/5 if not trade him for d help.

If you can swing a trade using Sam and the value is there, fine... (if not I'm fine with him being a 20-25 goal scorer on Jacks line for the next 10 years) if not try to get some of this old dead weight off the team, start fresh next year with the kids from Rochester, build though the draft...your going to get a good pick again this year. sign Cheaper FA to fill temp holes. there are pieces here... just keep building.
- gordong

What kind of “d help” though?
Duchene couldn’t get a “top pair” defenseman, he got a good prospect +

That “good prospect” is more likely to be a top4 guy & not a top pair defenseman

I don’t think it makes sense to trade Kane for a top4 defenseman

We just got Scandella for much less


The rest makes sense to me for the most part

What kind of “d help” though?
Duchene couldn’t get a “top pair” defenseman, he got a good prospect +

That “good prospect” is more likely to be a top4 guy & not a top pair defenseman

I don’t think it makes sense to trade Kane for a top4 defenseman

We just got Scandella for much less


The rest makes sense to me for the most part
- jdfitz77

Was Colorado actively looking for a defenseman though?

The dream scenario would be to move Okposo and sign Kane to a four or five year deal.

Was Colorado actively looking for a defenseman though?
- buffalofan19

All the talk was that they were as their number one priority.

What kind of “d help” though?
Duchene couldn’t get a “top pair” defenseman, he got a good prospect +

That “good prospect” is more likely to be a top4 guy & not a top pair defenseman

I don’t think it makes sense to trade Kane for a top4 defenseman

We just got Scandella for much less


The rest makes sense to me for the most part
- jdfitz77

There is the problem, I don't think you are going to get what you need back, that is why if a deal can be worked out you do it... he's actually more valuable to us IMHO, if we trade him away we just opened a huge hole in our forward ranks.. and Id much rather have Kane than Okoposo.

NEXT two years these are the holes I see and the possible players filling them


Goalie, (Ullmark)
First pair D
#3 D Guhle
top 6 wingers (2) (Nylander / Mittlestadt)
3rd line.. (This can be kids from Rochester)
- gordong

This team desperately needs Dahlin

Two right-wingers (they need MUCH better value than Okposo and Pominville won't be re-signed).
Two more top 4 defensemen.
Goaltender.

Actually, that's 5.
- buffalofan19

Forwards- Nylander, Mittelstadt

Defense- Guhle, (_____)

Goalie- (_____)


So that cheaply fills 3 of your 5 “gaping holes”

Lehner should be able to be replaced for 2mil more than he’s making now (at most)
That can be fit pretty easily

Then we just have that 2nd spot on defense that we should be able to fill with the 5mil in Cap room from trading Moulson

I don’t think the Cap is our issue here sir

NEXT two years these are the holes I see and the possible players filling them


Goalie, (Ullmark)
First pair D
#3 D Guhle
top 6 wingers (2) (Nylander / Mittlestadt)
3rd line.. (This can be kids from Rochester)
- gordong

So really,
Starting goalie & first pair defenseman

Goalie
-trade for Grubauer? The Caps have Samsonov ready to come over from the KHL to back up Holtby
-we could eventually have an answer in Luukkonen as well, but that’s a few years out

First Pair Defense
-idk that we can trade for one?
-best hope is probably trying to sign Carlson, but who knows if that’s realistic

Forwards- Nylander, Mittelstadt

Defense- Guhle, (_____)

Goalie- (_____)


So that cheaply fills 3 of your 5 “gaping holes”

Lehner should be able to be replaced for 2mil more than he’s making now (at most)
That can be fit pretty easily

Then we just have that 2nd spot on defense that we should be able to fill with the 5mil in Cap room from trading Moulson

I don’t think the Cap is our issue here sir
- jdfitz77

Looking at just about every team's prospect history, you are assuming a 100% success rate here, which rarely ever happens. Law of averages says at least one of those three prospects will come up short of expectations. You still need to address these issues from the outside.

So really,
Starting goalie & first pair defenseman

Goalie
-trade for Grubauer? The Caps have Samsonov ready to come over from the KHL to back up Holtby
-we could eventually have an answer in Luukkonen as well, but that’s a few years out

First Pair Defense
-idk that we can trade for one?
-best hope is probably trying to sign Carlson, but who knows if that’s realistic
- jdfitz77

I disagree that it is that east. if it were that east the Sabres would not be in last place.

Carlson is going to command a massive overpay because it's Jan 1.

Win the draft lottery and Draft Dahlin.

Remember Bailey and Baptiste were thought to be sure fire top 6 prospects wingers and they are now struggling to crack the lineup.

Was Colorado actively looking for a defenseman though?

The dream scenario would be to move Okposo and sign Kane to a four or five year deal.
- buffalofan19

Supposedly the AVs wanted a young, NHL ready defenseman, top prospect, & a 1st

They got the prospect & picks
Didn’t get the defenseman

We can sign Kane even if we don’t move Okposo
The Cap isn’t an issue like ppl think it is
We aren’t in GREAT shape,
but we don’t have room to do some things

Looking at just about every team's prospect history, you are assuming a 100% success rate here, which rarely ever happens. Law of averages says at least one of those three prospects will come up short of expectations. You still need to address these issues from the outside.
- buffalofan19

Correct.

Fasching
Grigorenko
Zadorov
Adam
Gerbe
Armia
Pysyk
Myers
Brennan
Tropp

To a lesser extent still ???
Bailey
Baptiste
Girgensons


All of those guys were though of as top 4 or top 6 players. I assume I missed a few.

Looking at just about every team's prospect history, you are assuming a 100% success rate here, which rarely ever happens. Law of averages says at least one of those three prospects will come up short of expectations. You still need to address these issues from the outside.
- buffalofan19

Well if it’s Nylander or Mittelstadt that disappoints, then we need to hope one of the “B” prospects can produce above expectations
Bailey, Baptiste, Fasching, Rodrigues, Cj Smith, Asplund, Pu, Davidsson

If Guhle disappoints, we are screwed
That why u always hear me harping on how we blew the ‘14 & ‘15 drafts not taking defensemen in round2
Maybe Borgen could be a top4 guy for us,
but that’s years away still before we’d know

There is the problem, I don't think you are going to get what you need back, that is why if a deal can be worked out you do it... he's actually more valuable to us IMHO, if we trade him away we just opened a huge hole in our forward ranks.. and Id much rather have Kane than Okoposo.
- gordong

If Kane can’t get us a “top pair” defenseman...
then there is ZERO doubt in my mind that we should absolutely sign him

Instigators about to address "a bit of a mess" with "the Carey Price situation."

If Kane can’t get us a “top pair” defenseman...
then there is ZERO doubt in my mind that we should absolutely sign him
- jdfitz77

I dont doubt you can sign him and make tha cap work. my concern is then, you locked up your entire core, that has you sitting in 30th place.

Shouldnt you possibly wait and see if this core can pull out of this before signing any massive deals?

This team desperately needs Dahlin
- mattmoulson

That would be amazing
We could use a little luck for once

And if we could somehow pull off a Carlson UFA signing...

Scandella-CARLSON
DAHLEN-Ristolainen
Guhle/McCabe/Antipin/Beaulieu

Now that’s a defense that we could actually do pretty damn well with

But of course,
the guys in Caps are longshots

I dont doubt you can sign him and make tha cap work. my concern is then, you locked up your entire core, that has you sitting in 30th place.

Shouldnt you possibly wait and see if this core can pull out of this before signing any massive deals?
- ImThatGuy

Yes, you absolutely should.

Supposedly the AVs wanted a young, NHL ready defenseman, top prospect, & a 1st

They got the prospect & picks
Didn’t get the defenseman

We can sign Kane even if we don’t move Okposo
The Cap isn’t an issue like ppl think it is
We aren’t in GREAT shape,
but we don’t have room to do some things
- jdfitz77

Why would we want to lock up this 30th place team?

It’s beyond me why anyone would want to do that.

We should be purging contracts and getting assets again.

This team is terrible and needs another mini overhaul

I dont doubt you can sign him and make tha cap work. my concern is then, you locked up your entire core, that has you sitting in 30th place.

Shouldnt you possibly wait and see if this core can pull out of this before signing any massive deals?
- ImThatGuy

This. This. This