wasn't trying to insult you--your last post read like slurred speech.
Seriously, now. One could just as easily claim Christensen is going to turn a corner and score at his end of the season pace as say Gui is going to score 25 goals again. 100x better? jesus. lets be reality here.
if EC couldn't turn the corner with Crosby there is no corner for him to turn.
If latendresse couldn't get over a concussion after that much time off then he'll never get over it. fun!
hardly, took crosby what over a year? EC has sucked everywhere he played. about the only area where EC is better is shootouts, and well we need to win in regulation more so there.
Lats got boarded twice, in my opinion he should have been eased back. i was shocked he came back and not at all surprised he got symptoms again.
so yeah not the same thing, EC is a bad hockey player
again i'm not saying sign lats over granlund, but he was on pace this year for 25g, you sign him and if he isn't healthy well Leipold payed 20% of his pay, if he is healthy he can pot 25+ goals, he's a perfect winger for granlund because he'll crash the net and be dangerous, hell granlund could probably turn Lats into a 40g guy with his cross ice passes. people he is a low risk (we can afford a contract slot and pay) high reward (he comes back healthy, and i know its iffy, but he can really be a good winger for granlund)
Last edited by forthewild: 04-07-2012 at 12:12 AM.
Say, the Wild sign Parise this offseason "speculation".
The Wild would then have these players locked for the top 6 then... Koivu, Parise, Granlund, Heatley, Setoguchi, Bouchard (you KNOW he can't play anywhere BUT the top 6, he's too one dimensional).
Latendresse would be the absolute odd man out of that top 6. You know he won't get near the ice-time or chances in the bottom 6 that he got in the top 6. That almost guarantees his production would drop even if it weren't pure speculation that he could repeat what he did 2 years ago IF he were to stay healthy.
In that scenario... I'm not a big enough fan of Lats defensive game to want him in the bottom 6 anyway. I see Larsson on the 3rd line with Cal and Brodziak... you really want to relegate Latendresse to the same 4th line role that he had in Montreal just prior to us trading for him?
Say, the Wild sign Parise this offseason "speculation".
The Wild would then have these players locked for the top 6 then... Koivu, Parise, Granlund, Heatley, Setoguchi, Bouchard (you KNOW he can't play anywhere BUT the top 6, he's too one dimensional).
Latendresse would be the absolute odd man out of that top 6. You know he won't get near the ice-time or chances in the bottom 6 that he got in the top 6. That almost guarantees his production would drop even if it weren't pure speculation that he could repeat what he did 2 years ago IF he were to stay healthy.
In that scenario... I'm not a big enough fan of Lats defensive game to want him in the bottom 6 anyway. I see Larsson on the 3rd line with Cal and Brodziak... you really want to relegate Latendresse to the same 4th line role that he had in Montreal just prior to us trading for him?
If one of the arguments is that we cant count on Lats because of health issues, what business do we have penciling in Bouchard to the top 6 at this point? I think Bouchard is pretty much done, personally. I will be genuinely surprised if he comes back and sees significant time next year, and if he does I think he will be reconcussed and retire.
If one of the arguments is that we cant count on Lats because of health issues, what business do we have penciling in Bouchard to the top 6 at this point? I think Bouchard is pretty much done, personally. I will be genuinely surprised if he comes back and sees significant time next year, and if he does I think he will be reconcussed and retire.
Unfortunately, I agree, you CAN'T count on Bouchard... but because he has a contract, a sizable one... you have to expect he will be there. He WILL take a roster spot if healthy, and we all know that. (That's why I'd like to keep EC as an extra forward in case Butch goes down)
You have to assume when building a roster, that all players with contracts will be healthy, if they are, they can't be thrown on ir when they aren't really injured.
Unfortunately, I agree, you CAN'T count on Bouchard... but because he has a contract, a sizable one... you have to expect he will be there. He WILL take a roster spot if healthy, and we all know that. (That's why I'd like to keep EC as an extra forward in case Butch goes down)
You have to assume when building a roster, that all players with contracts will be healthy, if they are, they can't be thrown on ir when they aren't really injured.
With Bouchard I really think the opposite is true. I don't think the Wild can look at him as being healthy to start the season. If anything we should be looking at him as a mid season addition, which is the same as I would say we should be looking at lats if we resign him.
Bouchard is just too concussion prone at this point. Not his fault, and I wish he could get healthy and I will do a backflip if he does, but it's not something you can count on. Hope for, sure... count on? No.
Ok... say they do plan for him to be a mid-season addition as you say. They build a roster expecting he won't be there, then BAM he gets medically cleared before the end of camp. What do you do then? You're SOL and have to dump a player.
That's why you can't make that assumption. You get organizational depth to take care of situations like his.
Ok... say they do plan for him to be a mid-season addition as you say. They build a roster expecting he won't be there, then BAM he gets medically cleared before the end of camp. What do you do then? You're SOL and have to dump a player.
That's why you can't make that assumption. You get organizational depth to take care of situations like his.
Even if we're forced to trade someone to clear a roster spot, and even if the return on that trade is still way smaller than that player's value because of our predicament...that's still a good problem to have. Stock the organization with as much talent and depth as possible.
Imagine how differently this season might be ending if we had also signed someone who could have filled Lats' spot, even though it didn't look like we'd have a place for him at the beginning of the season.
I really think that Fletcher is looking at this season as the worst case scenario for the organization and doesn't want to run into this problem in the near future. With that said, Minnesota has 31 contracts on book, have a few more players to sign and those could go quickly.
I think we'll see around 40-45 contracts at the end of the summer on book, and those extra 5-10 might end up being filled if we have injuries, mid-year.
I think Fletcher wants SOME flexibility going into next summer or even next spring, so he can maneuver some trades and some college FA signings. I feel like he was a bit...frustrated he couldn't bring in a free agent or two this spring into the organization.
Well at this point if Lats isn't brought back I don't think it's a "we wanna see what the rookies can do" or a "we're not taking a chance on him anymore" kind of thing. If Lats is indeed still suffering from some concussion symptoms within a couple weeks of July 1st, I don't think we have a choice but to let him go. No point in re-signing someone who may not even play a single game.
Say, the Wild sign Parise this offseason "speculation".
The Wild would then have these players locked for the top 6 then... Koivu, Parise, Granlund, Heatley, Setoguchi, Bouchard (you KNOW he can't play anywhere BUT the top 6, he's too one dimensional).
Latendresse would be the absolute odd man out of that top 6. You know he won't get near the ice-time or chances in the bottom 6 that he got in the top 6. That almost guarantees his production would drop even if it weren't pure speculation that he could repeat what he did 2 years ago IF he were to stay healthy.
In that scenario... I'm not a big enough fan of Lats defensive game to want him in the bottom 6 anyway. I see Larsson on the 3rd line with Cal and Brodziak... you really want to relegate Latendresse to the same 4th line role that he had in Montreal just prior to us trading for him?
First, signing Lats doesn't make any impact on Parise or not. We have the cap and roster space. If we sign him and Parise signs, great. If we DON'T sign Lats and Parise DOESN'T sign, we're screwed.
Second, Lats is MUCH better suited for a depth role than Christensen. He's not the best defensively, but he's a big body who can hold onto the puck deep in the zone and is not afraid to hit. With guys like Brodz and Clutter he'd help the forecheck. He's a lot more consistent too.
Bouchard actually DOESN'T take up a roster spot if he's on LTIR. If he comes back, yes. But I don't think any team ever complained about having too many top six players and not enough grinders/AHL'ers.
Hell, we could solve everyone's problems, re-sign Lats AND EC, then sign Parise, and we'd still be $10-15m under the Cap. It's just not an issue.
The real problem is, do we let Lats walk and risk NOT getting Parise or a healthy Bouchard, or do we keep him and go after the big fish anyway?
And another thing to keep in mind, if we get Lats and Butch healthy, and both are on the last year of their deals...we can certainly trade one or both to improve the defense, or for picks, or to do whatever. You can't trade the assets if you don't have the depth.
I think Fletcher wants SOME flexibility going into next summer or even next spring, so he can maneuver some trades and some college FA signings. I feel like he was a bit...frustrated he couldn't bring in a free agent or two this spring into the organization.
I don't think that at all.
First, he wouldn't have taken Veilleux and Foster in the Zidlicky deal if he wanted that flexibility with contracts. He wouldn't have taken Kampfer in the Zanon deal. He would have simply moved these players for picks to keep the flexibility.
Kampfer is probably as safe a bet as any college free agent signing anyway. Look at the guys we picked up...Wellman was intriguing but a bust, Prosser was a nice filler but hasn't been great, Palmer is an AHL'er who had a couple nice games and then out with the C-word all year.
Sure we could have gone after JT Brown, who would have been a nice upgrade over anyone on the fourth line and could grow into a nice 15 goal third liner...but we do have Bulmer and Larsson knocking on the door to fill that role.
We're in a different spot as an organization than we were two years ago. Granlund, Zucker, Larsson, Bulmer, Coyle, Brodin, Phillips, Lucia, and now Palmieri and Kampfer. There's a lot of players who can fill depth roles without having to sign college free agents.
If we sign all of Parise, Lats, and EC, do we consider going to 3 scoring lines and one checking?
Well EC was a depth guy on most teams he played on so he'd go back to that and/or be scratched. I'd guess guys get moved by the end of the summer though.
