I think he does, we have the money for it and it would be great if he does bounce back with an actual HC

I also think Zegras Terry and Drysdale both get less money as well here

Got to think no right

I feel hes on the list with

JP
White
Bellows

etc

No he won’t but it’s not all his fault. Seems like every time he has a solid to good game he’s moved down the line up the next game or completely out. Eakins has destroyed him. He’ll go somewhere and become a quality NHLer.

I'd say yes, he does, mainly because his role *should* change with a new coach. Given their cap space, non-tendering him and losing him for nothing seems like bad asset management.

I get guys like Poolparty, etc., where maybe the team is tight on cap space or something, but I don't see any reason why you simply let Comer walk. Maybe 1 more go?

They had the cap space easily for Milano last year though and didn't qualify him. I just dont see them willingly spending nearly 2.5M on a player who hasn't proven to be worth that much.

Zegras has nearly identical production to Stutzle, with the cap going up you are going to have a very tough time convincing him he is worth less. Terry's situation is very similar to Kyrou so I based it off that. And for Drysdale it's hard to say but I based it off the Dobson deal

Yeah that's kind of what I thought. I was making an ACGM for Tampa for next year and I thought with Killorn likely moving on that they probably look to add a rec project like player and so I was skimming through teams to see who might not get a QO and thought Comtois might be a good fit.

Also what's your thoughts on adding Myers? Not sure if Shatty stays in Anaheim but I think if not they probably want someone who has NHL experience and figured Perbix was probably going to walk anyways. (also any info on LaCombe? He's about to hit UFA as well and seems pretty promising).

I wonder how much Milano not coming is on the coach (who, I believe most folks around here agree is Pretty Bad), and how that might change if Eakins is presumably let go this summer - could see a new guy coming in, looking at Comtois, and thinking they can try and turn him around.

Sure but again it seems like a tough decision. 2.445M is a lot to pay a guy to try and "turn him around."

Maybe they do what Fischer did

Not qualify but extend him on a cheaper deal

It sounds like Shattenkirk has a good chance at returning. There has been contract talks already so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him stay.

Lacombe will report to the ducks after his NCAA season according to Verbeek.

Don't see this. I personally would at least think about it, however I believe TB management thinks more of him than either of us do. I know he's in the minors but, isn't that where you fix problems younger players are having. I believe they call that player development.

Someone probably already mentioned this, but Lacombe is supposedly signing when his season is done, heading straight to the big club.

Re: Milano-There were a lot of rumblings about him potentially being a bad locker room guy, or something along those lines. Eakins also "Eakins'd" him...just the worst lineup management in the history of hockey...You'd have a Milano-Zegras-Terry line one night, they'd pop 2-3 goals, and then the next night Milano would be on the 4th line, and Zegras would have Grant and Mayhew/Robinson with him. I absolutely get trying to spread things out, but if you're running a bunch of AHLers/fringy guys, that's the type of offence you're going to wind up with. With that though, the way Comtois has been treated, I guess I wouldn't be shocked to see him non-tendered?

I think that @aadoyle has actually hit on the most likely scenario -- Anaheim offers him a $2 million prove-it deal for one season and the new coach comes in and says, I'm going to give you the consistent chance that you haven't gotten in the last two seasons. So he stays.

Verbeek is a big fan of size, and I think he likes Comtois enough to give him one more try.

They're paying McGinn 2.75M to be basically the same player so as far as "going rate" goes Comtois' QO isn't horrible. It really comes down to whether or not they want to give him one last shot. If they do, then the money is something you can deal with.

Personally I'm hoping they can meet in a middle ground like a 3x1.5M deal. I like Comtois and I have no problem with him being a bottom 6 guy as long as that's how he's getting paid. You never know he might flash a little more upside with some goals as a bonus. Derek Grant is a nice bottom 6 guy that can (sort of) play up in the line up. Comtois isn't a failure if that's ultimately what his career ends up at.

And 7 million was a lot for a 4th round pick.

As was mentioned, Milano was rumored to have an attitude problem. All Eakins has ever spoken about with Comtois is how hard the guy works. It's frustrating though, he really needs a consistent role and I think constantly being bounced around the lineup is hurting his production as much as his spirit.

Zegras, however, has shown major discipline problems this season. He keeps taking bad penalties, and then digs the hole even deeper by yelling at the refs. I could see a bridge or him getting beat up on the AAV as a result.