2022-2023 NHL Catch-All

[Gorbachav55]

I feel like it was time to start a new thread now that we're in August.  I'll start it off with the news that Patrice Bergeron re-signed in Boston.  $2.5 million base salary with another $2.5 million in eligible bonuses.  A couple things on this:

1. This has to be the last gasp for the Bruins, right?  They finally stumbled a bit last year (although it was still a very good season), the division's getting better (I expect Ottawa and Detroit both to be 10 - 15 points better and those points have to come from somewhere), and the Bruins are getting so old.  They've got McAvoy, who's still somehow only 24, and Pastrnak at 26, but most of their prominent players are over 30.  Some of them are WELL over 30.  They're still good, but they could fall off a cliff fast.

2. Speaking of Pastrnak, it will be interesting to see what happens there.  He hasn't signed a new deal yet and he's a UFA after this season.  Do the Bruins trade him for a king's ransom at the deadline and start a rebuild?  Do they hang onto him and try to build the next good Bruins team around him?  If they do trade him, does the team trading for him look to sign him to an extension immediately?  Obviously it's a huge longshot, but I would love to see the Ducks get him for their top line RW.  He's so good.  I don't know if it's a good idea for the Ducks to try to trade for him, but I could see whoever gets him asking for the chance to negotiate an extension.

2b. I really want the Bruins to suck this year and start a rebuild.  I do feel a little bad for Hampus, but screw the Bruins.  I want Marchand playing for a last place team.

3. Has anyone gotten luckier with their contracts than the Bruins?  Pastrnak at $6.7, Marchand at $6.1, Bergeron at $6.8 until this season when he'll be at $5 (including bonus).  That's three Hart-level players for under $20 million.

4. Speaking of contracts, how does the bonus money work?  The Bruins are about $2.3 under the cap still needing to sign Zacha to a new contract as an RFA.  If Bergeron earns all of his bonus money, does that come out of next year's cap?  I forget how that works.

[dtsdlaw]

With Bergeron re-signing for such a low AAV, Krejci coming back on measly $1M contract, and the Bruins playing first 3 months with McAvoy and Marchand on LTIR, it sure makes it look like the Bruins are going ALL IN for one last shot at a Cup. I think they're going to load up with talent as much as they can, abuse the crap out of the LTIR rules, and go for broke this season.

[DucksFan_08]

1 hour ago, Gorbachav55 said:

I feel like it was time to start a new thread now that we're in August.  I'll start it off with the news that Patrice Bergeron re-signed in Boston.  $2.5 million base salary with another $2.5 million in eligible bonuses.  A couple things on this:

1. This has to be the last gasp for the Bruins, right?  They finally stumbled a bit last year (although it was still a very good season), the division's getting better (I expect Ottawa and Detroit both to be 10 - 15 points better and those points have to come from somewhere), and the Bruins are getting so old.  They've got McAvoy, who's still somehow only 24, and Pastrnak at 26, but most of their prominent players are over 30.  Some of them are WELL over 30.  They're still good, but they could fall off a cliff fast.

2. Speaking of Pastrnak, it will be interesting to see what happens there.  He hasn't signed a new deal yet and he's a UFA after this season.  Do the Bruins trade him for a king's ransom at the deadline and start a rebuild?  Do they hang onto him and try to build the next good Bruins team around him?  If they do trade him, does the team trading for him look to sign him to an extension immediately?  Obviously it's a huge longshot, but I would love to see the Ducks get him for their top line RW.  He's so good.  I don't know if it's a good idea for the Ducks to try to trade for him, but I could see whoever gets him asking for the chance to negotiate an extension.

2b. I really want the Bruins to suck this year and start a rebuild.  I do feel a little bad for Hampus, but screw the Bruins.  I want Marchand playing for a last place team.

3. Has anyone gotten luckier with their contracts than the Bruins?  Pastrnak at $6.7, Marchand at $6.1, Bergeron at $6.8 until this season when he'll be at $5 (including bonus).  That's three Hart-level players for under $20 million.

4. Speaking of contracts, how does the bonus money work?  The Bruins are about $2.3 under the cap still needing to sign Zacha to a new contract as an RFA.  If Bergeron earns all of his bonus money, does that come out of next year's cap?  I forget how that works.

I think the bonus carries over to next year.

I also think they´re too old but that core is definitely still good enough to make a run. If they stay healthy and Bergeron is still good (seems likely) they do have a talented bunch. McAvoy - Lindholm is nuts and so are Bergeron, Pastrnak and Marchant (in every sense of the word). The likes of Hall, Carlo & DeBrusk are no suckers either. 

I would be surprised if they don´t make the playoffs but suppose it happens I´m curious to see whether Bergeron would do his team one last favor by leaving. If they could move Bergeron and Krejci at the deadline it would be very good news for their farm system.

[Gorbachav55]

They're definitely good enough to make one more run.  Their defense is solid and their top three lines, when everyone is healthy, are:

• Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak
• Hall-Coyle-DeBrusk
• Zacha-Krejci-Foligno

That's absurd depth.  But that's when everyone is healthy.  As dts reminded me, Marchand is out for a while and they've got some d-men out as well.  Plus four of those guys are 34 or older and another two are 30.  Any one of them could end up injured or ineffective.  I don't see it happening because they're the Bruins and they have a deal with the devil, but you never know.  

Ultimately, I don't think Ottawa and Detroit make enough of a leap to overtake the Bruins this year, which means I don't see them trading anyone.  If it's even close at the deadline, they'll hang on to their guys and take another shot.  But they could be hurting soon and trading Pastrnak, Bergeron, and Krejci at the deadline could do a lot to help them speed up a potential rebuild.  

 

[dtsdlaw]

1 hour ago, Gorbachav55 said:

They're definitely good enough to make one more run.  Their defense is solid and their top three lines, when everyone is healthy, are:

• Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak
• Hall-Coyle-DeBrusk
• Zacha-Krejci-Foligno

That's absurd depth.  But that's when everyone is healthy.  As dts reminded me, Marchand is out for a while and they've got some d-men out as well.  Plus four of those guys are 34 or older and another two are 30.  Any one of them could end up injured or ineffective.  I don't see it happening because they're the Bruins and they have a deal with the devil, but you never know.  

Ultimately, I don't think Ottawa and Detroit make enough of a leap to overtake the Bruins this year, which means I don't see them trading anyone.  If it's even close at the deadline, they'll hang on to their guys and take another shot.  But they could be hurting soon and trading Pastrnak, Bergeron, and Krejci at the deadline could do a lot to help them speed up a potential rebuild.  

 

I don't think they're done adding either. Watch, they'll end up with Patrick Kane in exchange for DeBrusk and a 1st or something stupid like that.

[BombaysTripleDeke]

7 hours ago, Gorbachav55 said:

I feel like it was time to start a new thread now that we're in August.  I'll start it off with the news that Patrice Bergeron re-signed in Boston.  $2.5 million base salary with another $2.5 million in eligible bonuses.  A couple things on this:

1. This has to be the last gasp for the Bruins, right?  They finally stumbled a bit last year (although it was still a very good season), the division's getting better (I expect Ottawa and Detroit both to be 10 - 15 points better and those points have to come from somewhere), and the Bruins are getting so old.  They've got McAvoy, who's still somehow only 24, and Pastrnak at 26, but most of their prominent players are over 30.  Some of them are WELL over 30.  They're still good, but they could fall off a cliff fast.

2. Speaking of Pastrnak, it will be interesting to see what happens there.  He hasn't signed a new deal yet and he's a UFA after this season.  Do the Bruins trade him for a king's ransom at the deadline and start a rebuild?  Do they hang onto him and try to build the next good Bruins team around him?  If they do trade him, does the team trading for him look to sign him to an extension immediately?  Obviously it's a huge longshot, but I would love to see the Ducks get him for their top line RW.  He's so good.  I don't know if it's a good idea for the Ducks to try to trade for him, but I could see whoever gets him asking for the chance to negotiate an extension.

2b. I really want the Bruins to suck this year and start a rebuild.  I do feel a little bad for Hampus, but screw the Bruins.  I want Marchand playing for a last place team.

3. Has anyone gotten luckier with their contracts than the Bruins?  Pastrnak at $6.7, Marchand at $6.1, Bergeron at $6.8 until this season when he'll be at $5 (including bonus).  That's three Hart-level players for under $20 million.

4. Speaking of contracts, how does the bonus money work?  The Bruins are about $2.3 under the cap still needing to sign Zacha to a new contract as an RFA.  If Bergeron earns all of his bonus money, does that come out of next year's cap?  I forget how that works.

This is what Verbeek needs to nail and get fortunate with. Hitting a sweet spot and getting good value on the contracts of core players. It's also why I like him having so much cap flexibility and not spending more than he has to right now. Look at the Avs also, they had McKinnon on one of the most bargain long-term contracts in the league for the last seven years at 6.3 mil aav (imo, half of what is value is). If I were a Boston fan, I'd be grieving that they don't have another Cup (they got close in 2019) given how great their cap structure was.

[Fisix]

ug. i saw a facebook post that showed Kopitar going to Seattle, and i very much was questioning reality and the quality of my various news sources.

just some weird internet nonsense.    

[Sexlaf15]

On 8/8/2022 at 12:15 PM, Gorbachav55 said:

They're definitely good enough to make one more run.  Their defense is solid and their top three lines, when everyone is healthy, are:

• Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak
• Hall-Coyle-DeBrusk
• Zacha-Krejci-Foligno

That's absurd depth.  But that's when everyone is healthy.  As dts reminded me, Marchand is out for a while and they've got some d-men out as well.  Plus four of those guys are 34 or older and another two are 30.  Any one of them could end up injured or ineffective.  I don't see it happening because they're the Bruins and they have a deal with the devil, but you never know.  

Ultimately, I don't think Ottawa and Detroit make enough of a leap to overtake the Bruins this year, which means I don't see them trading anyone.  If it's even close at the deadline, they'll hang on to their guys and take another shot.  But they could be hurting soon and trading Pastrnak, Bergeron, and Krejci at the deadline could do a lot to help them speed up a potential rebuild.  

 

Ottawa could be close. Just one of those teams that’s one or two breakouts away from being elite. 
 

Boston is that team that you just keep wondering when the bubble will pop, they’ve been so good for so long. 

[Gorbachav55]

32 minutes ago, Sexlaf15 said:

 

Boston is that team that you just keep wondering when the bubble will pop, they’ve been so good for so long. 

Pittsburgh is even more that team.  They've had a terrible farm system for the last 15 years because they keep trading picks and prospects at the deadline for rentals.  Crosby and Malkin are both 48 years old at this point but are somehow still top 10 centers in the league when healthy, mostly because they take whatever random, low-priced wingers the Penguins find under a rock and turn them into 30-goal scorers.  They make the playoffs every year.  I don't understand it.

[Jasoaks]

On 8/24/2022 at 11:01 AM, Gorbachav55 said:

Pittsburgh is even more that team.  They've had a terrible farm system for the last 15 years because they keep trading picks and prospects at the deadline for rentals.  Crosby and Malkin are both 48 years old at this point but are somehow still top 10 centers in the league when healthy, mostly because they take whatever random, low-priced wingers the Penguins find under a rock and turn them into 30-goal scorers.  They make the playoffs every year.  I don't understand it.

Crosby is incredible...I mean...he was having a Conn Smyth performance in these last playoffs and then got injured and NYR pounced on that opportunity to take the series. I'm not even really a crosby "fan" but massive respect to him...seeing how almost night and day that team is with/without him...damn.

[BombaysTripleDeke]

Stutzle getting an 8x8.35 extension must make Terry’s agent pretty happy.

[BombaysTripleDeke]

Couturier might miss the season with a back injury. I think the flyers will be abysmal even with Torts now. 

[BlibberBluff]

EVERYONE IS RETIRING!!! Chara, Yandle, and Subban all announced retirement today.

[Aksun]

18 minutes ago, BlibberBluff said:

EVERYONE IS RETIRING!!! Chara, Yandle, and Subban all announced retirement today.

Well, FINALLY  Especially Chara-lios...

At least Getz had the dignity to do it before the season ended, not after he wasn't picked up for a PTO in September.

[BombaysTripleDeke]

MacKinnon signing for 12.6 mil per year. Hope the cap crunch is enough to start derailing them after next season but that core is still unbelievably good.

[BlibberBluff]

1 hour ago, Aksun said:

Well, FINALLY  Especially Chara-lios...

At least Getz had the dignity to do it before the season ended, not after he wasn't picked up for a PTO in September.

I was actually a little bit surprised that Getz didn't do an 82-game goodbye tour like Selanne did...but Im still very grateful for him at least announcing it with plenty of time beforehand.

[BlibberBluff]

18 minutes ago, BombaysTripleDeke said:

MacKinnon signing for 12.6 mil per year. Hope the cap crunch is enough to start derailing them after next season but that core is still unbelievably good.

the fact that it's just a slither above McDavid's is amazing haha I think they will be fine...the only next "big guy" they need to sign is Byram who probably won't be asking for too much unless he suddenly explodes. Cap will increase. They probably will lose some of their quality depth, but they are set for a good while. 

[Gorbachav55]

3 hours ago, BlibberBluff said:

I was actually a little bit surprised that Getz didn't do an 82-game goodbye tour like Selanne did...but Im still very grateful for him at least announcing it with plenty of time beforehand.

Respectfully, I was not surprised at all.  Not that Selanne is a self-aggrandizing braggart, but he's definitely a showman who doesn't mind the spotlight.  He wanted to show his appreciation for the fans around the league and didn't mind the the promotion and adulation that came with it.

Getzlaf is the exact opposite.  He probably expressed his appreciation behind the scenes, but he was not about to invite any pre-game ceremonies or mid-period video tributes to take attention for himself.  I think Getzlaf would have loathed a goodbye tour and all the extra interviews and self-promotion that would have come with it.

Edited September 20, 2022 by Gorbachav55

[BlibberBluff]

23 minutes ago, Gorbachav55 said:

Respectfully, I was not surprised at all.  Not that Selanne is a self-aggrandizing braggart, but he's definitely a showman who doesn't mind the spotlight.  He wanted to show his appreciation for the fans around the league and didn't mind the the promotion and adulation that came with it.

Getzlaf is the exact opposite.  He probably expressed his appreciation behind the scenes, but he was not about to invite any pre-game ceremonies or mid-period video tributes to take attention for himself.  I think Getzlaf would have loathed a goodbye tour and all the extra interviews and self-promotion that would have come with it.

That's a really good point, I hadn't even thought of that. That does make a lot of sense. 

[perry_mvp]

4 hours ago, BlibberBluff said:

I was actually a little bit surprised that Getz didn't do an 82-game goodbye tour like Selanne did...but Im still very grateful for him at least announcing it with plenty of time beforehand.

I don't think any fanbase including the Kings, really disliked Selanne. Also I would say Selanne is an NHL legend while Getz is a Ducks legend. Getz was admired by his peers but probably not so much from all the fanbases. As mentioned, Getz didn't like the spotlight or attention at least publicly. I think very few players will get a standing ovation especially from division rival fanbases like Teemu did. 

[BlibberBluff]

18 hours ago, perry_mvp said:

I don't think any fanbase including the Kings, really disliked Selanne. Also I would say Selanne is an NHL legend while Getz is a Ducks legend. Getz was admired by his peers but probably not so much from all the fanbases. As mentioned, Getz didn't like the spotlight or attention at least publicly. I think very few players will get a standing ovation especially from division rival fanbases like Teemu did. 

yeah also a really good point. Really shows just how Teemu transcended the barriers of fan bases in a way unlike many NHLers. 

[gotchabari]

18 hours ago, perry_mvp said:

I don't think any fanbase including the Kings, really disliked Selanne. Also I would say Selanne is an NHL legend while Getz is a Ducks legend. Getz was admired by his peers but probably not so much from all the fanbases. As mentioned, Getz didn't like the spotlight or attention at least publicly. I think very few players will get a standing ovation especially from division rival fanbases like Teemu did. 

If I recall, he did go to LA post-announcement and got a pretty good ovation from the Kings crowd, no?

[perry_mvp]

6 hours ago, gotchabari said:

If I recall, he did go to LA post-announcement and got a pretty good ovation from the Kings crowd, no?

Yeah I think he did or maybe most of the ovation was from Ducks fans brave enough to go to LA. 

[FanSince1993]

wow.... even NHL may be affected by politics. Exhibition game between San Jose and Nashville in Prague Czechia may be cancelled if local authorities won't give visas to the Russian-born players on both teams.

https://lenta.ru/news/2022/09/24/nhl/

[BlibberBluff]

Oh wow, I just saw that Fleury is only 32 wins away from passing Roy on the all-time wins list and being 2nd OA. That's insane! He could do it, too.

Unlikely he catches Marty

But man...those french canadian goalies...

[MooseDuck]

IMHO I feel we may see alt of surprises this Season/Year.....not gonna name the teams But I feel Columbus will be surprising alot in Hockey World.

DuckPride 4ever

MooseDuck

[gotchabari]

9 hours ago, MooseDuck said:

IMHO I feel we may see alt of surprises this Season/Year.....not gonna name the teams But I feel Columbus will be surprising alot in Hockey World.

I don't want to spoil it, but I think Columbus is, indeed, a team name. 

[BombaysTripleDeke]

Barzal getting an 8 x 9.15 banger from the islanders. Seems a little high for someone who isn’t a PPG player but he’s sure fun to watch.

[dtsdlaw]

11 minutes ago, BombaysTripleDeke said:

Barzal getting an 8 x 9.15 banger from the islanders. Seems a little high for someone who isn’t a PPG player but he’s sure fun to watch.

I wonder if this opens up the possibility of a bridge deal for Zegras.

Brayden Point went 3 x $6.75M coming off his ELC and then got 8 x $9.5M. Now Barzal goes 3 x $7M after his ELC and then 8 x $9.15M.

Maybe Zegras decides to go 3 x $7M+ next summer and then looks for something in the 8 x $10M range at age 25. The year-over-year cap increase should be normalizing by then, so it could make some sense for Zegras to wait on his max contract. And the Ducks could also lock him up until age 33, which would be awesome. 

Edited October 4, 2022 by dtsdlaw

[BombaysTripleDeke]

2 hours ago, dtsdlaw said:

I wonder if this opens up the possibility of a bridge deal for Zegras.

Brayden Point went 3 x $6.75M coming off his ELC and then got 8 x $9.5M. Now Barzal goes 3 x $7M after his ELC and then 8 x $9.15M.

Maybe Zegras decides to go 3 x $7M+ next summer and then looks for something in the 8 x $10M range at age 25. The year-over-year cap increase should be normalizing by then, so it could make some sense for Zegras to wait on his max contract. And the Ducks could also lock him up until age 33, which would be awesome. 

I’d be very happy with that. The only thing I do not want is a contract that takes him right to UFA status like Matthews.