My goals here were to improve the team and bring in some real leadership.
I could see a few moves similar to this happening this offseason.
Forwards:
- Henrique - bringing in a 2-way, veteran leader, top 6 forward is a near necessity for this team, amazing for our elite FW youth
- Pageau - another veteran who will also be a leader, will be fine in the 3c position in SJ
Defense:
- Walker - Rumored that SJ is interested in him; good top 4 2-way add and will make our d-core better
- Liljegren - Could be on the way out of Toronto, still young and developing, and would be a good add to the powerplay
- Schmidt - Cap Dump - Insurance if one of the youth isn't ready
- Move on from our log jam of 5th/6th/7th Dmen
Lines:
- Eklund - Granlund - Smith
If Eklund and Granlund continue their play toward the end of last year, this line will be fine, but they will need to because I imagine Smith will be able to score but will be a liability in the defensive zone. Playing with these 2 guys should help Smith develop, but Granlund and Eklund will have to continue their hot streak offensively and their solid play in the defensive zone. Solid line, with lots of talent
- Henrique - Celebrini - Zetterlund
With another veteran on his wing, I think Celebrini would have a much better transition to the NHL rather than being thrown on a line with 2 young wingers. Celebrini is NHL-ready and should be able to take this role with these kinds of players on his wing. Having Zetterlund on this line as well should really create a well-balanced line. He really found his place in San Jose last year, I am excited to see how he can keep improving
- Bordeleau - Pageau - Kostin
Not a ton to say about this line, but it should be well-balanced with skill, size, and experience; solid 3rd line
- Gushchin - Sturm - Kunin
Same with this line: don't love Gushchin in the 4th line role, but will get powerplay minutes, and as a rookie, that's OK
D-Core:
- Ferraro - Walker
Not a first-pairing quality pair, but it's a significant improvement over any pairing we had last year. It will be interesting to see how a more developed Ferraro will do paired with a real top 4 defenseman. Maybe this can turn into a shutdown pairing that is relied on for pure Defense, that is deployed against other teams' top players, to solely limit scoring
- Thrun - Liljegren
At times, it looks like Liljegren can become a really good top-four defenseman; if San Jose can get him for a cheap price, I say pull the trigger and let him play a full season with this kind of minutes. Thrun is also a solid player, and their games should complement them well. It should be a solid 2-way pairing. Let Liljegren run one of the powerplay units
- Mukhamadullin - Emberson
Let Shak play with a defensive defenseman (Emberson). Playing him on the 3rd pair is probably the best for his development, so we don't rush him into a role he is not quite ready for. Let him run one of the powerplay units. It is also worth noting that Emberson was easily our 2nd best defenseman before he got hurt last year, can he come back the same though?
Season:
- This season should be just about developing our youth the correct way, and surrounding them with veterans who are actually skilled is the right way to go about it, in my opinion. This will be a healthier environment for guys to develop under. While this team won't be making playoffs by any means, there should be less of the 10-14 game losing streaks and the looking completely lost disease they had last season.
- Don't oversell at the deadline, just keep the same pace we have been on, and continue to climb up year after year.
I don't see WPG spending any significant assets to dump Schmidt. Schmidt also has a 10-team M-NTC, which I assume is a mix of Cdn teams and league-bottom teams.
The thing about getting both of Henrique for 2 years as well as Pageau for the remaining 2 years of his deal is that it unnecessarily limits SJ's pursuit to grab either Draisaitl Marner or even slightly lesser guys like Verhaeghe who'll command big deals next season. I've been on the Henrique to SJ idea-train for a while, but I think Grier needs to max him on a 1 year deal. Even if it'll cost something silly like 8mil for 1 season, why not. And if we're taking an Isles cap dump, I'd go after Anders Lee even if he's not a dump and we'd have to pay slightly to get him. He actually would fit in very well, and if we already have Henrique signed, we already have our backup center in him if Couture's out so no need for JGP, who's not a good player anymore and wouldn't help out our young guns. Plus I don't think he'd waive for SJ anyways.
Like the idea of jettisoning both Rutta and Benning but we can keep Burroughs for a veteran insurance. 1 of those 3 guys should be kept.
The thing about getting both of Henrique for 2 years as well as Pageau for the remaining 2 years of his deal is that it unnecessarily limits SJ's pursuit to grab either Draisaitl Marner or even slightly lesser guys like Verhaeghe who'll command big deals next season. I've been on the Henrique to SJ idea-train for a while, but I think Grier needs to max him on a 1 year deal. Even if it'll cost something silly like 8mil for 1 season, why not. And if we're taking an Isles cap dump, I'd go after Anders Lee even if he's not a dump and we'd have to pay slightly to get him. He actually would fit in very well, and if we already have Henrique signed, we already have our backup center in him if Couture's out so no need for JGP, who's not a good player anymore and wouldn't help out our young guns. Plus I don't think he'd waive for SJ anyways.
Like the idea of jettisoning both Rutta and Benning but we can keep Burroughs for a veteran insurance. 1 of those 3 guys should be kept.
Yeah I think liljegren is a great idea, I personally wouldn't want to spend money on draisaitl, so I am fine with the 2 year deals, but to each their own