I've been lurking around ACGM for a long time, mostly using it to fiddle around with things on my own. Figured for my first official post I'd try to do something realistic with the Panthers (my favorite team, if my username wasn't obvious enough lol).
So, here's what I figured:
1. I love Hornqvist, but I think dumping his contract is the most realistic way to get under the cap. We could gamble a lot on someone getting hurt and just use Duclair's LTIR money to keep him and ice a 20-man lineup, but that seems VERY unrealistic. I don't know what teams would be interested in him, but my guess is either Anaheim or Arizona. He might not waive for either of them, in which case I would posit that Seattle probably isn't on his no trade list and they were interested in him. What do y'all think?
2. I signed Rodriges to replace Hornqvist. The deal is a one-year "prove it" contract, with a considerable raise set for next season if he can earn it. I don't actually know if Florida has any interest in E-Rod, but I personally like him a lot. He'd do well with Lundell, IMO, or with Barkov on the top line while Duclair is injured. There are plenty of other options, though (such as Sprong: why tf hasn't anyone signed him?).
3. We really need a defenseman, but even without Hornqvist, we're pretty tight against the cap. My immediate thought, however, was to grab Justin Holl from whatever team Toronto trades him to for cap space. At 50% retention, he fits in perfectly (albeit, we'd be VERY snug against the cap). Again, we could do more using Duclair's LTIR money, but that's a very risky move. This seemed semi-realistic, and I honestly don't mind Holl as a defenseman. He's not ideal, but he's a solid replacement for the time being, and his underlying numbers aren't horrible. I kinda wonder if he could play LD with Ekblad?
4. A very minor note, but I could definitely see Lundell taking over the 2C role at some point this season (perhaps even to start the year). I'm not a huge fan of 3C Bennett, but it could work, and if it doesn't, that could make him expendable (4m off the books would help a TON this year). Just something to think about.
Lineup when Duclair is healthy:
Verhaeghe - Barkov - Tkachuk
Duclair - Bennett - Reinhart
Balcers - Lundell - Rodrigues
Cousins - Luostarinen - White
Forsling - Ekblad
Carlsson - Gudas
Montour - Holl
NOTE: I wonder if we wouldn't even need to sign a Hornqvist replacement if we just bring up someone like Levtchi. Might be easier, and it would save us some money. I also wonder what would happen if we paired Carlsson with Ekblad? Forsling - Gudas would become our second pairing, like in years past, and Montour - Holl would stay the same.
Edit - Second Note: Probably move the 2023 2nd and use that to dump Hornqvist. Seems to be the agreed-upon value. Holl apparently has no value so maybe just the 5th to get him?
Probably future considerations.
I thought about trying to get Lundestrom back as a serviceable replacement (and a good penalty killer to play with Luosty), but I don't know what value he carries.
What might it cost to move him, realistically? I've seen some ACGMs of other teams that get him for very little (such as a Coyotes trade that gave Florida 50% retained Gostisbehere for Hornqvist and a 2nd), so I honestly don't know.
Lundestrom has a good bit of value, 2018 first rounder developing as expected for a 3C spot, no real reason for ANA to trade him for less than a late first
Lundestrom has a good bit of value, 2018 first rounder developing as expected for a 3C spot, no real reason for ANA to trade him for less than a late first
That's kinda what I thought, and the main reason I didn't trade for him. I also thought a 2nd rounder would be what it takes to move Hornqvist.
Hornqvist dump will likely cost a 2023 2nd round pick. We can send a warm body back over such as Grant (would retain on him because why not, its 750k) or Carrick, but we wouldn't send anyone young or good unless we get market rate for them on top of the dump, and it would be a steep price because he is fitting into our rebuild time/plan perfectly.
The Panthers could also become cap compliant by moving Montour for a cheaper defenseman. I'm thinking Carson Soucy.
I'd say Soucy and Montour are on par with each other. Montour has a year more on his contract so Seattle would get more contract clarity by acquiring him.
However, that would only make the Panthers cap compliant until Duclair comes back
Zito need to find the right LHD who could fit with FLO
Hornqvist will cost a lot to dump IMO
Teams knows he is overpaid and FLO HAS to move him to be cap compliant
Like Grigorenko type of asset
Why are Panthers fans so high on Anton Levtchi ?
Personally I'd like to have a LD to pair with Ekblad so Forsling can play with Gudas, but at this rate I'll take any warm body that's actually half decent, position be damned. Since Montour can play LD, I thought Holl could work since he'd probably be cheap to acquire.
I agree that Hornqvist will be costly to move, but to the right team I think a 2023 2nd could work (as several other people have mentioned). I think it's possible to run a 20-man roster with Duclair on LTIR, so we have time to work out the best possible deal for moving him. Either way, I imagine he'll be gone, but I'm not Bill Zito so who knows at this point?
I'm not super high on Levtchi, but he was the leading scorer in Finland's top league, so there's potential (I also heard that Barkov personally scouted him?). He could easily have good chemistry with either Lundell or Barkov, so I chucked him in there to fill in a roster spot while Duclair is injured.
Hornqvist dump will likely cost a 2023 2nd round pick. We can send a warm body back over such as Grant (would retain on him because why not, its 750k) or Carrick, but we wouldn't send anyone young or good unless we get market rate for them on top of the dump, and it would be a steep price because he is fitting into our rebuild time/plan perfectly.
I was thinking a 2nd as well. Don't necessarily need a player back, though. At least not the way I've worked things out.
The Panthers could also become cap compliant by moving Montour for a cheaper defenseman. I'm thinking Carson Soucy.
I'd say Soucy and Montour are on par with each other. Montour has a year more on his contract so Seattle would get more contract clarity by acquiring him.
However, that would only make the Panthers cap compliant until Duclair comes back
That's very true, and I wish they'd done that before free-agency began. But Zito had other plans. Since he's stuck around this long, I feel like Zito wants to keep him. Personally, I think his offense was really solid and his underlying numbers aren't terrible, so I would love to move him because I think we could potentially get a much better return than just Soucy. But again, I have a gut feeling that Zito wants to stick with his early acquisitions (Monty, Swaggy, Duke, etc).
Personally I'd like to have a LD to pair with Ekblad so Forsling can play with Gudas, but at this rate I'll take any warm body that's actually half decent, position be damned. Since Montour can play LD, I thought Holl could work since he'd probably be cheap to acquire.
I agree that Hornqvist will be costly to move, but to the right team I think a 2023 2nd could work (as several other people have mentioned). I think it's possible to run a 20-man roster with Duclair on LTIR, so we have time to work out the best possible deal for moving him. Either way, I imagine he'll be gone, but I'm not Bill Zito so who knows at this point?
I'm not super high on Levtchi, but he was the leading scorer in Finland's top league, so there's potential (I also heard that Barkov personally scouted him?). He could easily have good chemistry with either Lundell or Barkov, so I chucked him in there to fill in a roster spot while Duclair is injured.
Pacioretty + a young RHD for nothing
Nemeth costed two 2nd round picks to dump and he was making 2.5M (for 2 years tho)
Petry traded for nothing and we had to take Matheson contract
A 2nd seems like a weak return for taking Hornqvist cap hit
Lundestrom has a good bit of value, 2018 first rounder developing as expected for a 3C spot, no real reason for ANA to trade him for less than a late first
I’d honestly say more like a mid-1st. He’s panning out perfectly to what the hope/expectation was as a late 1st. So he’s basically a late 1st round pick with none of the risk that he doesn’t pan out. That’s worth more for sure
Pacioretty + a young RHD for nothing
Nemeth costed two 2nd round picks to dump and he was making 2.5M (for 2 years tho)
Petry traded for nothing and we had to take Matheson contract
A 2nd seems like a weak return for taking Hornqvist cap hit
I wouldn't necessarily use Pacioretty as a basis for trades, since Vegas has notoriously been bad at asset management.
Nemeth is a good point, but he's also really bad. Hornqvist is actually a good player; so good, in fact, that I do honestly wish we could keep him. He's a good leader, a great net-front presence, solid defensive guy, and he can play up and down the lineup.
And the Petry - Matheson trade wasn't a cap dump, nor did you "take on" Matheson's contract. He's a good player, as is Petry.
Maybe a 2nd seems cheap, but like I said: for the right team I could see it happening. Worst case, Panthers add a prospect. But Hornqvist has solid value; if we're only asking for FC back, we could definitely move him for a lot cheaper than someone as bad as Nemeth.