Ok, so Yzerman rather quickly adressed our goaltending situation. There's only one piece left to add to the puzzle: Another D-man. Most ideally it would be someone with great experience on a reasonable contract. Someone with the ability to calm things down in our own end.
Who would you guys like to add? Which teams seem out of the playoffs anyway and likely to give up a player like that? At what cost?
I'd also love a veteran gritty 3rd line winger for depth purposes.
I'd love a package deal of Curtis Glencross and Anton Babchuk from Calgary. Both are UFAs and shouldn't cost too much and Feaster should be looking to rebuild. Maybe we can use a player he drafted like Mihalik or Smaby in a package to entice him.
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Babchuk seems unlikely since the Flames just acquired him.
A question that needs to be asked in this case is, who gets cut?
Smaby would be next on the list, and so whoever we'd get would have to compensate for whatever we'd be missing from Smaby then being out of the lineup.
Bieska? We wouldn't be trading Smaby then, in all likelihood, but he could go to Norfolk.
Babchuk was acquired in a change of scenery swap for another UFA and I can't find anything to suggest they are negotiating. Calgary is a mess, if they can get a prospect and a pick for him they need to do it.
As for who gets cut Smaby and Ritola are the obvious choices. Smaby can be waived and help Norfolk for a few months if he clears and I would imagine Ritola clears with the uncertainty meinere's disease, that would give him a lot more minutes in the Ad's playoff race.
I don't have a name but perhaps we can flip Smith or Ellis for a defenseman with an equally bad contract.
Babchuk was acquired in a change of scenery swap for another UFA and I can't find anything to suggest they are negotiating. Calgary is a mess, if they can get a prospect and a pick for him they need to do it.
As for who gets cut Smaby and Ritola are the obvious choices. Smaby can be waived and help Norfolk for a few months if he clears and I would imagine Ritola clears with the uncertainty meinere's disease, that would give him a lot more minutes in the Ad's playoff race.
I don't have a name but perhaps we can flip Smith or Ellis for a defenseman with an equally bad contract.
believe me you DO NOT want Babchuk. he would not be able to play this system at all, he is a horrible skater.
someone like Gleason would be amazing, but CAR won't move him. He is on their untouchable list.
any deal we make would have be shipping 1way contracts, but other than the guys like Ritola that have no value. I don't want to trade anyone of solid value, unless its a very solid deal.
On pace for 81 games:
4-15-19, +11 with no powerplay points or time.
At home: -3
On road: +8
Average shift is :48 so that is in line with Bouchers timing. Eating around 21:00 a night. Mobile, dependable, and doesn't have a shot like a damp noodle like Lundin.
He would immediately slot in as our leading hitter with 62. His giveaway totals would put him second, between Hedman and Clark, and takeaways would put him third or fourth with a whopping 12.
Hes smart and efficient, and eats enough minutes to push Jones, Lundin, etc down a slot.
I think depending on who we get, we need 1 or 2 d-men. For instance, a Colaiocovo or Babchuk will not make us a contender. Regehr, Bieksa, Gleason, Phillips, Montador, Klein. I would be fine with any of those guys in various amounts, and I'm with the person who said we could use a gritty 3rd line winger. I think a deal involving Regehr and Glencross would be dandy, with Purcell, Ritola, Jones, Kubina, Mihalik, picks and possibly Smith and other prospects made available (not all would be dealt obviously).
Last edited by I Am Beat You: 01-02-2011 at 03:08 PM.
unless we are trading spares no one on our offensive should be moved. They are gelling and we don't want to make our strength weaker.
When Downie gets back and plays for a few games, it will end up pushing Malone down to the 3rd line with Moore and Purcell. Assuming we keep the Gagne/Vinny/Bergenheim line together, that means we have two guys on the 3rd line who really have 2nd line talent. However, with the season Malone is having and for what he brings us in terms of PP ability and playoff experience, he'll be sticking around.
Purcell however, has some value in that he's a younger player with 2nd line talent/ability, and he's still got room to improve. Having a player like him on the third line when the rest of our offense is already stacked isn't necessary for this team, in my opinion. Also considering the wingers we have in the system and a player like Tyrell who will be moving up the ladder, I think trading Purcell as a part of a package deal for help on D will do us more good than bad and not really hurt us in the long run.
When Downie gets back and plays for a few games, it will end up pushing Malone down to the 3rd line with Moore and Purcell. Assuming we keep the Gagne/Vinny/Bergenheim line together, that means we have two guys on the 3rd line who really have 2nd line talent. However, with the season Malone is having and for what he brings us in terms of PP ability and playoff experience, he'll be sticking around.
Purcell however, has some value in that he's a younger player with 2nd line talent/ability, and he's still got room to improve. Having a player like him on the third line when the rest of our offense is already stacked isn't necessary for this team, in my opinion. Also considering the wingers we have in the system and a player like Tyrell who will be moving up the ladder, I think trading Purcell as a part of a package deal for help on D will do us more good than bad and not really hurt us in the long run.
This. All of it. Would definitely sell high on Purcell if such an opportunity presents itself, especially with Ashton, Panik and Connolly looming on the horizon and, as you put, the natural progression of Dana Tyrell.
