Rejoint: juill. 2021
Messages: 1,052
Mentions "j'aime": 548
Stastny isn’t somebody I thought would be good for Carolina to sign, but I didn’t realize he’d just had a bounce-back season. If I had known that, I wouldn’t have expected him to be available for a 4th-liner’s salary, so this is a great signing. He’s experienced and versatile – he can play center or wing – and he can probably still play up and down the lineup.
He gives them some insurance in case something else doesn’t go according to plan. I assume they still have Kotkaniemi penciled in for the 2nd-line center spot, but he’s unproven in that role, so Stastny gives them a backup plan if Kotkaniemi can’t handle it. 4th-line center is another option. I expect them to give Jack Drury a chance to earn that spot, but he has only two games of NHL experience, so there are no guarantees there. The ideal spot for him would probably be replacing Niederreiter on the third line with Staal and Fast. I had Kase in that slot, so that would drop him down to the fourth line, which I think would look pretty good with him, Martinook, and Drury or Stepan.
They’ll need to free up some cap space if Pacioretty comes back for the playoffs, but Stastny really only adds no more than $750,000 to that, because somebody else (Pederson?) can be sent down to make room for him.