Reports are that Miller will sign in ANA on the cheap, but with a number of bonuses. I assume these will become active if Miller starts a certain number of games i.e. Gibson gets injured. This makes a lot of sense for ANA. Ideally, Gibson will remain healthy. In which case, we get to play the better GT for most of the season. However, if Gibson does go down with an injury, Miller is a more than capable netminder who can step right in and take over for long stints. For Miller, signing in ANA allows him to move closer to LA with his wife who is an actress.
The Marleau signing is less certain, but certainly seems realistic. Marleau has spent his entire career in SJ and with SJ seemingly uninterested in re-signing him and Thornton, Marleau needs to look elsewhere. Thornton is reportedly headed to LA and I wouldn't be surprised to see Marleau not stray too far away from SJ too. With that said, I'd like to see BM leverage the fact that Marleau probably doesn't want to uproot his family and/or move too far away from SJ to get him on a relatively cheap contract. Anything below 4M would be good in my book. I'd also like to see BM mitigate some of the risk of signing an aging player by keeping the term short, preferably just a 1 yr deal. Such a deal may actually benefit Marleau as he may not want to commit to a situation that he's not sure he'll be happy with in the long-term. If he's unhappy with being a 1hr flight away from SJ than he can cut ties/retire after next season is over. His motivation for this coming season would then be "this is my last attempt to win a cup".
If both these deals go through, I think we're a really strong contender heading into next season. The netminding situations looks great, the D is one of the best groups in the NHL, and the forward depth is very, very strong. Obviously we'd still need our top guys to perform i.e. Getzlaf, Kesler, Perry, but the group looks very strong on paper. In addition, with 3M in cap space, we could also add another piece at the TDL to really push for that cup.
I think you're underpaying Marleau if you want him to sign for one year. Also, your third D-Line should have Bieksa, since he's better than Holzer.
Maybe. IMO, if Marleau wants to stay in Cali, BM will force out the discount. However, I take your point. Maybe 4M is more reasonable.
Bieksa is terrible. HK is better IMO. He's also a lefty. Would rather just bring up Larsson, but I'm not convinced the kid will be in the line-up night 1.
I think you're underpaying Marleau if you want him to sign for one year. Also, your third D-Line should have Bieksa, since he's better than Holzer.
Maybe. IMO, if Marleau wants to stay in Cali, BM will force out the discount. However, I take your point. Maybe 4M is more reasonable.
Bieksa is terrible. HK is better IMO. He's also a lefty. Would rather just bring up Larsson, but I'm not convinced the kid will be in the line-up night 1.
With Vats out injured and likely Lindholm to miss at least some time Larsson is almost guaranteed to start in the NHL next year. Megna may even as well. Also im pretty certain that Holzer shoots right not left.
That being said I could live with the roster assuming Marleau can still play center. There is a good bit of added depth here.
Maybe. IMO, if Marleau wants to stay in Cali, BM will force out the discount. However, I take your point. Maybe 4M is more reasonable.
Bieksa is terrible. HK is better IMO. He's also a lefty. Would rather just bring up Larsson, but I'm not convinced the kid will be in the line-up night 1.
With Vats out injured and likely Lindholm to miss at least some time Larsson is almost guaranteed to start in the NHL next year. Megna may even as well. Also im pretty certain that Holzer shoots right not left.
That being said I could live with the roster assuming Marleau can still play center. There is a good bit of added depth here.
Based on the recent contract Megna signed, it would appear he's near enough a cert to start next season. Having Larsson up would be great, even if it's only for a short while before Lindholm returns.
Yes, I'm an idiot, Holzer is a righty and should be on the right side. Thanks for informing me. Appreciate it.
I think Marleau makes a lot of sense, but Thornton would also be a good option if BM can snipe that deal from LA at the last minute. Either way I'm not going to argue with BM ditching his usual "bargain Bob" strategy and signing some solid talent via FA. It makes for a refreshing change actually.
McDavid, Connor
250 000 $)
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