With plenty of questions submitted, we’re going to split the mailbag into three this time with the bonus edition running during the holiday break in the NHL calendar. Topics in this edition include who New Jersey should try to target for a goalie upgrade, Vancouver’s surprisingly strong first couple of months, and more.
gowings2008: The Red Wings clearly need to address their goaltending and could probably use another solid d-man or two. What are some options that Yzerman could reasonably explore to address those issues? It looks like Jonatan Berggren is available for trade, he could maybe be a key piece heading in the other direction in a trade.
I’m going to answer these out of order. Let’s talk about Berggren first. He’s a decent young player but if he’s the key piece of a trade proposal, they’re probably not getting a needle-moving veteran in return. That’s not to say he doesn’t have value but I’m not sure he’d be more valuable in an offer than a first-round pick. He’d get Detroit a decent veteran but it’d be more of a secondary addition, maybe a fourth or fifth defender using your wish list. Personally, I think they’d be better off playing him in the NHL and seeing if there’s another level he can get to.
As for the goaltending, I agree that it can be upgraded on but I don’t know how many assets they want to spend doing so. I’m going to touch on this in another question in a bit more detail but the goalie market isn’t the strongest right now. Yzerman could make a move for one of the few options out there but there’s no guarantee that player will come in from a different system and be materially better. A few points on a save percentage compared to Ville Husso is definitely doable but is that the big difference-maker in the playoffs if they can get there?
To that end, the idea of making the blueline better makes a lot of sense in theory; a better back end could fix some of Husso’s struggles between the pipes. But here’s the problem. Beyond Shayne Gostisbehere (who they’re probably not moving), the rest of their veteran blueliners are all signed beyond this season. That probably takes the Red Wings out of the rental market for defensemen as a lot of sellers won’t want to take a contract with term back for an expiring; they’d rather have the cap space. Jeff Petry might have a bit of value somewhere being below $2.4MM but Detroit can’t pay down that deal any further. Maybe flip him and then go for a rental? But even then, there’s trade protection that could complicate that idea.
But since you’re asking for some specific players, let’s look at other blueliners with term where Detroit could try to send a veteran back as a salary offset and then a key future asset or two. San Jose’s Mario Ferraro comes to mind as someone who could be an upgrade while his salary is around what some of the veterans they would need to move make. If Pittsburgh wants to shake up their secondary core, Marcus Pettersson could be a target as well. Bigger scale, I could see them sniffing around the idea of a sign-and-trade with Noah Hanifin although the acquisition cost would be a lot higher obviously. With Simon Edvinsson now up, it wouldn’t shock me if he gets a look to see if he can help stabilize things.
Black Ace57: What do the Flyers do? Even with their success this year should they be buyers considering they are still trying to rebuild? Do they stand pat? Even with their winning do they trade off pieces?
For the next month or two, they should stand pat. I don’t think this is a team that’s going to hold onto a playoff spot for too long so spending assets to try to cling to a postseason position doesn’t make much sense. At the same time, you don’t want to sell early either as there’s a lot of value in getting their younger players experience playing in a meaningful (for now, at least) playoff push.
Closer to the trade deadline in March, I’d deal from their defensive depth. We know Sean Walker and Nick Seeler are getting plenty of interest already and Marc Staal played a regular role for Florida through their playoff run last season so there might be a market for him. Clearing them off the roster will open up some more consistent playing time for the likes of Yegor Zamula and Ronnie Attard, among others. If they’re willing to pay down a decent chunk of Cam Atkinson’s deal, I could see there being a bit of interest in him as well. There’s nothing wrong with stockpiling some extra picks at this point in the process.
They’re also going to need to decide what to do with Morgan Frost. Right now, I think he still has some real trade value as young centers are always going to pique the interest of rebuilding teams. A player-for-player swap, getting someone who is a similar age with multiple years of team control, would make sense. But the longer he’s in and out of the lineup, the more his value decreases. I still think he can be a capable secondary contributor so I’m not saying move him now but they would be wise to make a decision on him regarding if he’s expendable or part of the plan sooner rather than later.
SpeakOfTheDevils: Who is the answer in net for the Devils???
Salary cap aside, I’d say John Gibson. I think playing behind a much better team with win-now expectations will get him back to being at least a little above average for the next couple of seasons. With New Jersey in a win-now window, that fits. Of course, the salary cap does play a big factor here and the fact he’s signed through 2026-27 at $6.4MM per season can’t be overlooked. With over $67MM in commitments for next season already per CapFriendly, adding another big ticket on their books will certainly complicate things. Of course, some of that can be offset in the short term by sending Vitek Vanecek and his $3.4MM AAV through 2024-25 the other way.
The problem here for New Jersey is one I alluded to earlier. In a season where good goaltending is hard to find, those who have it aren’t going to want to move it. Accordingly, the goalie market simply isn’t that deep in terms of who’s available. Jake Allen is a perfectly serviceable veteran. Is a perfectly serviceable veteran what they need right now? Probably not; I think they need more of an impact piece.
But who is that impact piece? Most of the netminders speculated to be available are of the depth variety. Daniel Vladar probably isn’t a difference-maker. If Detroit moved one of their three, James Reimer isn’t the solution. Spencer Martin could be had but he’s no better than what they have now. Maybe Karel Vejmelka moves the needle enough but the asking price is going to be rather high as someone with an above-average save percentage and a pretty good contract, one that carries a $2.725MM through the end of next season. Barring a huge return, the Coyotes have minimal incentive to move him, especially since they’re in a playoff spot at the moment.
Plan A for New Jersey is that Vanecek turns things around and Akira Schmid goes back to his 2022-23 form and that’s the answer in net, one that doesn’t require doing much. But if they want an impact netminder that could make a difference, I think Gibson is who they have to go after. It’ll take a salary offset (Vanecek) going the other way. It might even require compensating Anaheim for three-plus years of some level of retention so it won’t be easy. But if that’s what they need, it’s a move they need to find a way to make.
blues1967: Is Vancouver for real? I’m not a Canucks fan, but I’ve been impressed with their play. They are overdue for some success, as is Buffalo.
I don’t quite know what to make of the Canucks. They weren’t as bad a team as they were from last season so some improvement was reasonable to expect. But to be among the top teams in the league more than two months into the season? I’m not sure that was expected and I’m not sold that it’s entirely sustainable.
Brock Boeser is scoring at a torrid clip, one that’s entirely unsustainable at around 25%. They have two other forwards over 20% in a league where the average is generally around 8%. J.T. Miller is nearly at 20%, well above his career average. This is a good offense but not the best attack in the league. I keep expecting them to slip a bit in that regard and suspect it will happen at some point.
One element that does give me some confidence with regards to staying power is their goaltending. Thatcher Demko is back to being a high-level netminder and he has the ability to stay at that level or at least close to it. I’m not sure Casey DeSmith can maintain a .920 SV% but he’s an above-average backup who gives Vancouver a chance to win pretty much every game.
I’m ready to call them a playoff team but are they a contender? I wouldn’t go that far just yet as I think their offense is due to take a step or two back at some point in the second half of the season.
Sensfan96: Would Jay Woodcroft to the Senators be a possibility? Sounds like they aren’t going to hire a head coach until the off-season and have their eyes on John Gruden of the Marlies. I just don’t see hiring a guy who’s never coached an NHL game after the “DJ” experiment as an option with this team.
I’m sure Woodcroft would be under some consideration. President and interim GM Steve Staios would certainly have some familiarity with him during their time in Edmonton and it’s not as if Woodcroft did a poor job with the Oilers. That said, my concern is that part of what ailed Edmonton during Woodcroft’s time there is what ails the Senators and that’s defensive structure. If having a more well-rounded group is the point of emphasis, bringing in someone who was let go in part for not having a well-rounded approach might be somewhat counter-intuitive.
The idea of hiring a first-time head coach shouldn’t be necessarily a negative for the Sens. This is a different regime; the struggles under D.J. Smith were largely before their time. If they decide that the best option for their head coach is a rookie, they shouldn’t hesitate to do so. Yes, Gruden definitely seems to be a candidate and as far as first-time options go, he has some experience with five years as an assistant plus now some time as an AHL bench boss.
@scrappybooogle: Do you think Jacques Martin is training Alfredsson to be the next coach?
I don’t think that’s the case. Daniel Alfredsson’s professional coaching experience is limited to two games behind the bench as an assistant. Even if he stays for the rest of the season, we’re talking about 56 total games of experience. Is that enough to be an NHL head coach? Most of the time, probably not. He does have some time coaching the bantam and midget levels in local junior hockey but aside from Montreal’s Martin St. Louis, that’s not the track record of an NHL coach-to-be.
I suspect this is more of a chance for Alfredsson to evaluate if this is the type of role he wants to have on a day-to-day basis. Originally, he returned as more of a development coach which is a lot different than traveling day-to-day with the team. Alfredsson may stay on as an assistant beyond this season but I don’t see him being a viable contender to take over from Martin who is clearly not a long-term option behind the bench.
@barnostormer: How does Pascal Vincent’s reaction to the Capitals’ OT win over the Blue Jackets (where he singles out Merzlikins as why they lost) affect the locker room going forward? Can’t do that IMO…
Vincent is in an interesting spot this season. Expectations were that the Blue Jackets would be better than last year but they have a lot of players underachieving and Vincent himself wound up getting the job pretty late in the offseason. Meanwhile, it feels like the organization is trying to root out a feeling of complacency among some of their key veterans which has resulted in some prominent benchings and the calling out of certain players, Merzlikins being the most recent.
Is this a strategy that is going to sit well with the players? Probably not but that’s not what Vincent is concerned with. He’s trying to weed out what he perceives as lazy or selfish play and he feels Merzlikins’ tussle with Wilson falls in the latter category. It won’t be a popular one but I can respect what he’s trying to do.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Assuming Anaheim eats some Gibsons salary, what kind of return could they expect?