Aki Uusikartano, F - 2 years
Patrick Yetman, F - 1+1 years
Tapio Sammalkangas, D - 1 year
for the first two (solid good players)
for the third (cheap depth)
Really like those extenctions. Eventhough Yetman hasn't been nearly as productive as he was in Sweden, he's still managed to put up 11 goals, which pro-rated should be around 20 goals at the end of the season. I can't help but to dream about Ässät being able to catch some big fish to fill that second line center position, that way we could have two really effective scoring lines, but most likely they'll just sign either Kuparinen or Niemi to take the second line centering duties. Sillanpää is probably going to be the 3rd line center and some of the juniors take the 4th line (Ruisma perhaps?).
Uusikartano, Kuparinen/Niemi, Sillanpää, Ruisma/X while that is not that bad something like Uusikartano, "AHL-star aka Mauldin/Rosa", Kuparinen/Niemi, Sillanpää would look ridiculously lot better.
So apparently in a Ässät fan event it was said that there will be need for a goaltender for next season.
The possibilities for the next keeper, hopefully after some success this season for the team and because of our goalie-coach Kari Lehtonen (work with Jussi Rynnäs & Eero Kilpeläinen), will be quite good.
Huml, Sicak, Snopek, Tenkrat, Rosa, Milotinsky, Kreps, Hedström, St Pierre, Helbling....What a freak show. Money can't buy you success in a pro league...
Goaltender Eero Kilpeläinen will not continue with Porin Ässät (well everybody saw that coming) and Satakunnan Kansa is telling a rumor that he will be playing with Helsingin Jokerit next season.
Also according to Länsi-Suomi* goaltender Antti Raanta, 21, from Rauman Lukko is going to play with Ässät after this season.
Holy crap, probably the best possible choice at the moment. A young promising goaltender to Pori from Rauma. This would also likely give us more money to spend to keep Caldwell, with who negotiations are under way and in pretty good shape. With Tero Määttä gone/getting a huge paycut and probably Matti Kuparinen also going (well I'm just guessing he will be the center that Ässät will let go) and . Roster for next year looking pretty darn good at this point with a bunch of good guys staying. Hopefully the good decisions will continue...
Caldwell is an AWESOME signing! top 3 d-man next year in the SM-League for sure. I really like the coaching at Ässät except Kotkaniemi. I HATE what he's doing on the B-juniors this years (not just the standing, but the actual way he plays the kids). The Äassät roster is looking really good considering next year and I hope we could still sign Huhtala for next year. Anyway looks like a new rise for Porin Ässät. Loving it!
I can definately see a dynasty in the making. Hopefully the management has balls big enough to load some heavy cash on next years team, bit like JyP did a couple of seasons ago, basicly just take a top team -status by force. Bring Joensuu home (if he doesn't land a 1-way deal in the NHL) + sing a star calibre 1st line center who can feed Armia properly (nothing against AUK but he's more like a smart defensive centerman, I'd rather see him in the 2nd line).
Note that the current core of players is so good that with just two big signings this team would be - atleast on paper - one of the best teams in SM-Liiga. That is something we aren't too used to having back here in Pori.
Last edited by Ciccarelli: 02-22-2011 at 05:42 AM.
That does look pretty good. I think the need for a new no.1 centre is obvious and Ässät will address that need. Joensuu would be great piece and with two signings we could have two high scoring lines. I would like a to see a new D-man though as I'm starting to lose patience with Jyrkkiö and I don't think he's ready to play big minutes with Caldwell.
The Äassät roster is looking really good considering next year and I hope we could still sign Huhtala for next year. Anyway looks like a new rise for Porin Ässät. Loving it!
Yeah it looks like Huhtala won't be continuing his career with Ässät. A bit of a shame, since it would have been nice to look if he could have broke out here. Well he is replaceable so I won't cry about that loss.
Or maybe keep the first line together, make that the "second line" and then have a line of Zaborsky, "Andrew Ebbett" and Joensuu. Would be awesome to get Joensuu and a really good overall center, but I wouldn't kill myself if we would "have to" go with Uki as our first line center since we also would have Niemi (who should figure out how a professional athlete spends his summer by now) and Sillanpää, who easily could center the third line. Then a solid fourth center from somewhere. But I think the office now has learned from the mistakes from the season after the 05-06 season and I have a feeling that they will make good deals with good players like they have during this season already.
Well, we will know more after the season...
Quote:
Originally Posted by sarki87
I would like a to see a new D-man though as I'm starting to lose patience with Jyrkkiö and I don't think he's ready to play big minutes with Caldwell.
I on the other hand have full faith that Jesse will manage top-4 minutes next season. Would rather just use the money to get a couple of quality attackers.
Then some proper coaching, good goaltending and voilà.
...I think the office now has learned from the mistakes from the season after the 05-06 season and I have a feeling that they will make good deals with good players like they have during this season already.
Let's keep our thumbs up. It depends on how far the team goes in the play-offs, something in lines of advancing into the finals or atleast making the semi-finals would propably quarantee a nice financial outcome similar to the one in 05-06. This time, however, a big slice of those incomes could be transfered straight to the player budget and not just on paying the debts. In this scenario I could see them acquiring a couple of stars thus making Ässät a champion contender right from the start of 11-12. However if we get outed in the first round of the play-offs, I dont think the management will replace Kuparinen, Huhtala, Huhtanen and Salonen (?) with big names but rather with guys like Vainiola and Hokkanen, who are both in the rumours by the way. One must also take into account the fact that some of these guys have had a raise in salary when they re-signed. So even with Ässät slightly increasing the budget the team would still "only" be about as strong as the current team.
for the first two (solid good players)
for the third (cheap depth)
