Suter - we are deep in forwards and light on the Dside. Suter would slot in here and makes us a legit contender for the division. One signing on top would address the Top 6 need, but D is more important now that rundblad is not here.
Silfverberg and Zibanejad, maybe Hofgfman will push for spots next year and regin will likely be back. W are fine and can make a trade later in the season if we need something (or at the deadline).
Its not a great crop of D FAs so many will want Suter. The fact we are young and can win makes us a good shot.
I am even more doubtful now if Radulov is back they can keep everyone. Radulov has "negotiated" the end of his ELC and will want big bucks to stay in Nashville. No way they can sign him and keep the other three happy as well.
The after Suter/Parise wish list (I vote Parise, btw):
Defense:
1. Jackman
2. Carle
3. Hannan
Forwards:
1. Penner
2. Jones
3. Huselius
4. Wellwood
Ray Whitney would be awesome, but I doubt he leaves Phoenix.
I guess if we want to get fatter, slower and lazier we could sign one of those guys, but personally I would stay far away. As for Whitney, as much as I like him I think we should stay away from older players. Whitney would be here for 1 year or maybe 2 tops. If we are going to dip into the free agent pool, let's get someone who can be here for a while.
An intriguing possibility could be Brad Boyes. I know he only has 5 goals this year, but this is a guy who scored 43 just a few years ago. I don't know what the deal is with him though because I initially thought that maybe he had injury problems, but as you can see below, other than this season he has been healthy. I guess he is just crazy inconsistent. I believe he may have played with Spezza in junior, but i could be wrong on that. Anyways, certainly not my first choice, but we could probably get him cheaper than the $4 million he is making this year and try him on a line with Spezza and Michalek. Low risk, high reward?
Neither. I'm scared of the big money and term that it takes to sign UFAs.
Agreed. The top guys should be avoided like the plague. There can be bargains to be had with some mid-tier guys if we're patient though. Brett Clark and Raffi Torres two years ago are good examples of this.
However I've heard a few reports that Parise and Suter are going to do the Selanne and Kariya thing and try to play together next time around: I don't think we have a shot at landing either of them. Nashville is looking like a top dog team on paper so if they do well in the playoffs I'm fairly positive Weber will elect to stay there so he's off the market.
Jackman off the Blues is the player Murray needs to go after: a 30 year old defensive dman who is great at what he does. Unfortunately I don't think he's likely to leaved St Louis unless we overpay so I'm not holding my breath.
So that leaves us with a rather restricted pool of UFAs, of which Matt Carle is the best we may be able to get.
I say do nothing on July 1st. Wait for the prospects to come to camp, evaluate and make moves from there.
I imagine Doan will retire. He wants to be in Phoenix, not Quebec
I highly doubt Doan retires at 35 when he's still playing at a high level. I can't imagine him passing up one last opportunity at a Cup. ***disclaimer I'm not predicting a Sens Cup in 2013, just saying I see Doan leaving the dessert if the right opportunity was there.
As for some mid tier guys who might be better bargains, Id look at Brad Boyes, Jiri Hudler, Jason Garrison (although maybe he'll get a stupid contract given the limited D market), Rozsival and the Anti-Christ, Dustin Penner.
I believe we will sign 2 players, an O and a D. Here are my 2 options.
Parise and Carle
or
Suter and Parenteau.
Parise would be absolutely lethal to our forward group and make us contenders for a long time while Suter will solidify our defense and make Karlsson ten times more lethal.
I believe we will sign 2 players, an O and a D. Here are my 2 options.
Parise and Carle
or
Suter and Parenteau.
Parise would be absolutely lethal to our forward group and make us contenders for a long time while Suter will solidify our defense and make Karlsson ten times more lethal.
Need something better than a 5, 6 D man, that's why they trade for Gilroy.
I suppose I'd like either one, but not at the salary they are going to command in this UFA market before the CBA gets re-negotiated. I have a feeling both of those guys are going to get contracts that whoever signs them are going to regret. We're not one player away from a cup.
Guys I'd like the Sens to target:
D: Rozsival, Jackman
F: Hudler, Parenteau, ... maybe A.Kostitsyn...
We need a UFA defenceman, that's about it IMO. I'm ready to play Silfverberg and Zibanejad (if he's ready), I can be patient. We're not serious cup contenders next year regardless of who we add, and I'd rather wait on the top UFA's until our young core is ready to make the astronomical commitment it will take to get a Parise or a Suter here.
Agreed. The top guys should be avoided like the plague. There can be bargains to be had with some mid-tier guys if we're patient though. Brett Clark and Raffi Torres two years ago are good examples of this.
Brett Clark has played like a quadriplegic hamster on LSD this year, though. A total 180 from the year before...
While I think that Parise would be wicked on Spezza's left, Suter would make us a better team all around. We can fill out our forward core with the prospects we have. Our D not so much. Look at the stats, we give up way too many goals.
While I think that Parise would be wicked on Spezza's left, Suter would make us a better team all around. We can fill out our forward core with the prospects we have. Our D not so much. Look at the stats, we give up way too many goals.
1A- Matt Carle, just entering prime years, puck moving dman, usually good for 40 points, a very very solid 3-4 defenceman than can play in all zones on all teams (even strength, pp, pk), would even offer him a decent sized contract ~ 4 years 22 M (replaces Gonchar's contract after next year)
1B- Jason Garrison, unsure why he's gone unmentioned, 15 goals with Florida, gives us a good shot from the back end, plays well in his own zone, younger and probably more well rounded than Kuba at this point. 3 years 14 M
Karlsson-Garrison
Carle-Cowen
Gonchar-Phillips
then moving forward probably
Karlsson-Cowen
Carle-Garrison
Phillips-?????
adds just over 10M to the cap, so realistically it wouldn't work. the fact is that free agency is the wrong way to go with where the team is at now, just like the blue jays, draft and develop to become a contender, add pieces via free agency to remain a contender. i'd be happy with these contracts in a fantasy world or a world of non-guaranteed contracts. i think these guys are definitely worth a look and probably will be worth the money, but because they don't really put us over the top, i don't really think they, or any other big name UFAs, should be added.
