Just looking at contracts-
Ranger: 1 year remaining (upcoming RFA), .933 mil cap hit
Krajicek: 1 year remaining (upcoming UFA), 1.475 mil cap hit
Thinking about who will be backup, the deciding factor is whether the Bay thinks Smith still needs tutoring or not. I'm inclined to say yes. I'd be jumping on Legace if he hadn't acted like a little ***** last season.
Figuring they still want him under guidance, then we can't discount Kolzig returning yet.
Martin Gerber is the guy that's interesting me right now. He has shown he can be a very capable, if unspectacular starter. He's not nearly as experienced as Kolzig, having won only one career NHL playoff game to Olie's 20. But it should create a rivalry where they end up pushing each other to perform.
Same deal with Niittymaki.
I was for getting Legace last year when he was put on waivers, but apparently the Lightning, (or anybody else for that matter), didn't think he was worth it and he went unclaimed.
1. If Smith is healthy and expected to start the bulk of games next season then I think they just need a lateral replacement for Ramo, as far as skills and cost. I don't see enough difference between FAs of this caliber that are left, it will be more about the teams effort as to the success any has in their limited appearances anyway. Brent Johnson, Curtis Sanford, maybe bringing Mckenna back, or just giving Helenius a fair shot would be alright solutions here.
2. If Smith is generally healthy, but there are still some doubts as to how much a load he can carry this year, then the need for finding someone more established who can play meaningful minutes is important. The riskiness of plucking any of the leftover veteran goaltenders is much greater, they all wear a few warts keeping them from being regular starters. The cost is higher on them though it might drop some as teams get closer to camp and they're still jobless. Biron, Niitymaki, Gerber, or Fernandez seem the more logical fits in this category. Trades for other vets might not cost great assets to bring in similarly talented options.
3. If Smith isn't as 100% as is being touted and/or they feel the need to take a longer term approach to the issue I think it makes too much sense to try to replace Ramo entirely with someone that has a similarly projected upside. NHL ready young goalie that isn't going to get a chance soon on current club. Harding or Lehtonen would be good examples if Minn and Atl are serious about moving either out. Rask, Schneider, or Pogge might be other similar targets in this vein. Dangle pick of the litter of movable Defensemen + Tokarski + ?
Rationalizing all the decisions vs. Smiths health is also a bit misleading as their are other concerns factoring in too. Are Ramo and Koshechkin gone for good? Is Helenius soon to follow? How long until Riku, Tokarski, or either of this years picks are going to be ready to contribute to the big club? Can we survive that gap with a series of one year rentals of questionable talent? Can we contend for the playoffs if someone other than Smith is playing big minutes the next few years? etc. etc.
I guess my hope is that they try to do something in the mold of #3 but expect them to wait out the cost on remaining FA's and trade targets and go with best available back-up at the end of summer, more like option #1. The best case scenario is Smith being healthy and his backup not being a critical element to next years success.
1. If Smith is healthy and expected to start the bulk of games next season then I think they just need a lateral replacement for Ramo, as far as skills and cost. I don't see enough difference between FAs of this caliber that are left, it will be more about the teams effort as to the success any has in their limited appearances anyway. Brent Johnson, Curtis Sanford, maybe bringing Mckenna back, or just giving Helenius a fair shot would be alright solutions here.
2. If Smith is generally healthy, but there are still some doubts as to how much a load he can carry this year, then the need for finding someone more established who can play meaningful minutes is important. The riskiness of plucking any of the leftover veteran goaltenders is much greater, they all wear a few warts keeping them from being regular starters. The cost is higher on them though it might drop some as teams get closer to camp and they're still jobless. Biron, Niitymaki, Gerber, or Fernandez seem the more logical fits in this category. Trades for other vets might not cost great assets to bring in similarly talented options.
3. If Smith isn't as 100% as is being touted and/or they feel the need to take a longer term approach to the issue I think it makes too much sense to try to replace Ramo entirely with someone that has a similarly projected upside. NHL ready young goalie that isn't going to get a chance soon on current club. Harding or Lehtonen would be good examples if Minn and Atl are serious about moving either out. Rask, Schneider, or Pogge might be other similar targets in this vein. Dangle pick of the litter of movable Defensemen + Tokarski + ?
Rationalizing all the decisions vs. Smiths health is also a bit misleading as their are other concerns factoring in too. Are Ramo and Koshechkin gone for good? Is Helenius soon to follow? How long until Riku, Tokarski, or either of this years picks are going to be ready to contribute to the big club? Can we survive that gap with a series of one year rentals of questionable talent? Can we contend for the playoffs if someone other than Smith is playing big minutes the next few years? etc. etc.
I guess my hope is that they try to do something in the mold of #3 but expect them to wait out the cost on remaining FA's and trade targets and go with best available back-up at the end of summer, more like option #1. The best case scenario is Smith being healthy and his backup not being a critical element to next years success.
1. Helenius isn't ready, that really isn't an option at this point.
2. I think Smith can carry more of the load than anyone thinks. Doesn't mean he doesn't need rest, though. You have to imagine his workload will actually be less, too, as i'd hope the defense is improved enough to where he isn't facing 45+ shots a night. It'll be a LOT better for him when hes only seeing 30ish shots a night, and he'll look a lot better for it.
Tokarski will not be moved. With Ramo gone, I would put money on the fact that Helenius is the one thing from existing ownership that they're going to give a fair shake to (sorry, Blair Jones and Vlad Mihalik), and if he slips Tokarski will move up on him. On top of this, Janus is right behind and looks very much like a Raedar project - all the tools are there, he needs polish.
Ideally, Helenius will be ready when Smiths contract is up. He won't get a fair shake at the backup role this year, but if he sets the world on fire in Norfolk, they won't think twice about making him back up in 10-11, and he could be ready for regular time in 11-12, with Tokarski possibly a year after that.
Thing is, they're going to hold out a while and try to snipe someone. At some points, some teams are going to run into some cap issues and that is where OK is looking to cash in. They're also looking to pull salary away from someone who doesn't want to pay anymore, which is why I feel the Nashville/Ellis rumors persist. Not that Nashville is bleeding cash and looking to dump salary - far from it - but Rinne seems to be the real deal. Why pay Ellis more to be a backup? What if we can move Lundin and a pick, or Lashoff and a pick for him? I'm alright with that.
I think they'll be in a holding pattern waiting to see what kind of trouble other teams get themselves into before going after someone.
As for Ramos future - i'd say hes done. He never found a groove and seemed incapable of controlling his rebounds properly. Now that hes losing development time overseas, I think we've seen the last of him in a bolts uni, even if we retain his rights. Kosechkin I don't think will ever come to NA to develop, and I don't think ownership is too interested in him as he was a trap goaltender who struggled as soon as he left Lada.
I wish Kosechkin was more in the future... how could you not like this kids size?
The boy takes up some net, thats for sure.... the advantages of being 6'5-6'6.
Moving Vrbata for a goalie or winger would be perfect right now, but his contract is going to be a problem...maybe throw in one of the D-men so it's enticing to dump V's contract..
Exactly. I haven't seen someone with such a turbulent background come here and look like he was neutered.
Tocchet has figured something out in that boy, and turns him into this focused ball of rage and talent.
his last suspension (in the AHL) appeared to be BS, but with his reputation pretty firmly established already, i hope he's not too heavily singled out by the refs if we're counting on him filling out the top 6. i agree though, that downie\karsums\vrbata should be the first place we look to fill out the top 6. we have playoff potential all of a sudden, but our goal in 2009 should still be getting ourselves sorted out for the long term. if that means a couple of guys need to audition for\develop into spots in our top 3 lines at the expense of some wins, that's acceptable this year.
i have a feeling (just a feeling, no evidence) prospal's done with his little streak though, and will muddle along at last year's pace or worse....and could be on the move come deadline day for whatever little we can get for him, hopefully because karsums and downie look like long term lightning wingers.
his last suspension (in the AHL) appeared to be BS, but with his reputation pretty firmly established already, i hope he's not too heavily singled out by the refs if we're counting on him filling out the top 6. i agree though, that downie\karsums\vrbata should be the first place we look to fill out the top 6. we have playoff potential all of a sudden, but our goal in 2009 should still be getting ourselves sorted out for the long term. if that means a couple of guys need to audition for\develop into spots in our top 3 lines at the expense of some wins, that's acceptable this year.
i have a feeling (just a feeling, no evidence) prospal's done with his little streak though, and will muddle along at last year's pace or worse....and could be on the move come deadline day for whatever little we can get for him, hopefully because karsums and downie look like long term lightning wingers.
Really? I mean Karsums? I think he is AHL fodder for now.
Really? I mean Karsums? I think he is AHL fodder for now.
i wasn't in the country to watch alot of the late season bolts games, but my understanding was he had a definite future as grinder with some untapped upside offensively...likely my mistake for not tuning in after the wave of optimism that surrounded the initial trade.
if he's not a future top 9 guy, then you can throw his name out, but I am still figuring that this year at least 1 of the 2 guys who supplement vinny\marty\malone\stamkos may not be worthy of the role they're asked to play, and a 3rd line or lesser player may end up having to play a top-6 role once again this year while we figure out what type of long-term pieces we really have and where their respective ceilings are.
i wasn't in the country to watch alot of the late season bolts games, but my understanding was he had a definite future as grinder with some untapped upside offensively...likely my mistake for not tuning in after the wave of optimism that surrounded the initial trade.
if he's not a future top 9 guy, then you can throw his name out, but I am still figuring that this year at least 1 of the 2 guys who supplement vinny\marty\malone\stamkos may not be worthy of the role they're asked to play, and a 3rd line or lesser player may end up having to play a top-6 role once again this year while we figure out what type of long-term pieces we really have and where their respective ceilings are.
I think he plays next year in the AHL, or if not he is bottom 6. I dont think he will EVER see a top 6 role. But he could turn into a decent bottom 6 player, a lot of grit for such a small player. But he cant skate for love nor money.
And yes I think we will have someone who is not yet top 6 playing in our top 6. Like Downie, who could become top 6 material, but isnt yet. We need to wait till all the signing trades fall into place before guessing to much though. And heck maybe someone suprises at camp like Ashton/Tyrell or someone else completely unexpected ala Lundin 2 years ago.
his last suspension (in the AHL) appeared to be BS, but with his reputation pretty firmly established already, i hope he's not too heavily singled out by the refs if we're counting on him filling out the top 6. i agree though, that downie\karsums\vrbata should be the first place we look to fill out the top 6. we have playoff potential all of a sudden, but our goal in 2009 should still be getting ourselves sorted out for the long term. if that means a couple of guys need to audition for\develop into spots in our top 3 lines at the expense of some wins, that's acceptable this year.
i have a feeling (just a feeling, no evidence) prospal's done with his little streak though, and will muddle along at last year's pace or worse....and could be on the move come deadline day for whatever little we can get for him, hopefully because karsums and downie look like long term lightning wingers.
Well, lets be honest, his suspension was deserved. He was still trying to 9-iron someones ankles off, but hit a ref. It was a stupid move.
Karsums has the ability to be an effective third liner, and possibly a 2nd liner. He's really strong on the puck, effective grinder, which we all know. However, he's also a very capable playmaker. I think he could be very interesting on a line with Stamkos in the future.
Anyone think Carter Ashton can impress a ton at camp and make the team? Really far outside shot I know, but having a big power forward like him would be awesome.
Anyone think Carter Ashton can impress a ton at camp and make the team? Really far outside shot I know, but having a big power forward like him would be awesome.
Maybe so, I like the idea but they won't wanna rush him. For now, Malone is great and Downie plays a similar role too. I envision Ashton getting phased in around 2011.
Other teams are starting to sign players for their AHL clubs. When are the Bolts going to address this issue. It's not like last year the team was among the elite in the AHL.
Other teams are starting to sign players for their AHL clubs. When are the Bolts going to address this issue. It's not like last year the team was among the elite in the AHL.
That's what sucks about being in the high minors. The parent club can easily see their affiliate just as a development team and not throw them a bone.
There are still AHL caliber guys available. They'll get picked up the closer to training camp gets. We're also due for a trade pretty soon, we might pick up some talent for Norfolk then.
As for the trade itself, we'll see what Tampa gives up, but I'm thinking that there's not a whole lot of downside to sending the players who don't make it, and are waiver exempt down. I don't see why we absolutely have to have Smaby or Lashoff in our top 6 for opening night. If things play out like I hope it will, Lawton has taken a page out of the Detroit development manual and will keep players in the AHL until they're good and ripe.
That's what sucks about being in the high minors. The parent club can easily see their affiliate just as a development team and not throw them a bone.
There are still AHL caliber guys available. They'll get picked up the closer to training camp gets. We're also due for a trade pretty soon, we might pick up some talent for Norfolk then.
As for the trade itself, we'll see what Tampa gives up, but I'm thinking that there's not a whole lot of downside to sending the players who don't make it, and are waiver exempt down. I don't see why we absolutely have to have Smaby or Lashoff in our top 6 for opening night. If things play out like I hope it will, Lawton has taken a page out of the Detroit development manual and will keep players in the AHL until they're good and ripe.
Good times may be ahead for the Admirals.
Both are waiver eligible, neither would make it through. What else can you do with them?
