455 replies to this topic

[Triumph]

They could declare Salvador fit to play and trade him to CGY. It just depends how badly CGY is feeling hampered by the big contract. If they want some relief, they could take Salvador's expiring contract to offset almost 4 mill. Maybe they could use the surplus to get somebody else.

Do I think any of this is likely, given that CGY already shipped out a D? No. But it's possible.

Salvador probably wasn't better than a 3rd pairing D before he got his concussion.

Calgary is going to send Hagman down to the minors, and after the season, they lose almost all of their bad contracts.

[StormJosh]

The problem with NJ trading for a big-time defenseman is that they don't have a minutes eater that can go back the other way. So they can't trade with anyone who's remotely interested in winning this year, and that severely limits their options.

Not that I want to trade him, but why the heck doesn't Volchenkov get an extra 2-5 minutes per game.

[Amberite]

Eh, I dunno I really don't want Bouwmeester for the cap hit he takes up. He really dropped off the past two seasons, and obviously there are some other reasons for that and he might play better for DeBoer, but he still doesn't come close to commanding the salary he gets. I'd like a puck moving dman, but he's not a good option in my opinion.

Edited by Amberite, 04 August 2011 - 11:29 AM.

[CarpathianForest]

Are there any UFA D Men available? I know Scott Hannan is one. He's not really worth it IMO. He got paid pretty well in CO and he's not really an improvement over White.

[bekim]

I don't recall any reasonable UFA choices from this year's remaining crop. It's a very thin herd. Right now, best we can hope is that Taormina has a solid season and maybe pots 30 points, and maybe Greene is a little better on that side of the puck. I don't think it's worth trading for a "PMD" who can't play D, but I am a fan of Bouwmeester. Guy's a horse. Still, it's true he's not worth 6.68 cap hit. I miss Paul Martin, sadly.

[bekim]

I don't recall any reasonable UFA choices from this year's remaining crop. It's a very thin herd. Right now, best we can hope is that Taormina has a solid season and maybe pots 30 points, and maybe Greene is a little better on that side of the puck. I don't think it's worth trading for a "PMD" who can't play D, but I am a fan of Bouwmeester. Guy's a horse. Still, it's true he's not worth 6.68 cap hit. I miss Paul Martin, sadly.

I guess Chris Campoli could be a project on some team. Guy's averaging 27.88 points per 82 games. Not terrible, I guess, and he's still young enough. I don't know much about his defensive prowess, however.

[Devilsfan118]

I miss Paul Martin, sadly.

I don't...I don't seem to recall too many brilliant breakout plays from Mr. Martin over the years. So overrated

[ghdi]

I don't...I don't seem to recall too many brilliant breakout plays from Mr. Martin over the years. So overrated

I dont either. fvck him frankly.

The only players we've lost that Ive truly missed are Nieds, Rafalski, Madden, and Gionta. Lemieux for a little bit too after he went to Colorado, but I disliked him quickly.

[DevsMan84]

I dont either. fvck him frankly.

The only players we've lost that Ive truly missed are Nieds, Rafalski, Madden, and Gionta. Lemieux for a little bit too after he went to Colorado, but I disliked him quickly.

I honestly do not miss Madden and Gio all that much. I liked them as players, but really just do not miss them.

[sundstrom]

Not that I want to trade him, but why the heck doesn't Volchenkov get an extra 2-5 minutes per game.

i think we'll see that go up. injuries certainly hampered him - he only played 57 games or something like that. and the games he came back from injury he was coddled a bit.

the fact that he did not play any PP time and was actually the 2nd PK pairing often (was usually white and greene and tallinder first) didn't help.

if you look at his early season numbers, he was getting 20 minutes. but he got hurt and tallinder-fayne became the defacto top pairing.

[Martyisth3b3st]

i think we'll see that go up. injuries certainly hampered him - he only played 57 games or something like that. and the games he came back from injury he was coddled a bit.

the fact that he did not play any PP time and was actually the 2nd PK pairing often (was usually white and greene and tallinder first) didn't help.

if you look at his early season numbers, he was getting 20 minutes. but he got hurt and tallinder-fayne became the defacto top pairing.

Has Volchenkov ever gotten PP time? It's not like he's got a Chara cannon back there. I have no doubt that he'll get much more ice time this year, with White's departure and hopefully a healthy start.

[Triumph]

Not that I want to trade him, but why the heck doesn't Volchenkov get an extra 2-5 minutes per game.

Lemaire went with some non-traditional pairings last year. He claimed, cryptically, that this was the only way he could organize the defense. I can't really say why someone like Salmela got more ice time than Volchenkov, but it did happen. The penalty kill just didn't have very much to do last year - 241 minor penalties, 18 of which were Volchenkov's.

I think Volchenkov will be closer to 20 minutes a year.

[CarpathianForest]

Volchenkov shouldn't get too much PP time. He's more of a stay at home defender.

[sundstrom]

Has Volchenkov ever gotten PP time? It's not like he's got a Chara cannon back there. I have no doubt that he'll get much more ice time this year, with White's departure and hopefully a healthy start.

Volchenkov shouldn't get too much PP time. He's more of a stay at home defender.

perhaps i was misinterpreted. i did not mean to say that he should be on the PP - he should not. i simply meant that his lower TOI was based on him really only being used at ES and getting pushed out of the top 3 for some unknown reason.

if he can stay healthy, i expect a consistent 19:30 or so from him per game - especially if this infusion of rookies/non-vets are going to have prominent roles on this year's defense.

a big thing to consider - and this can easily be lost when trying to remember last season - because of his style, he gets banged up a lot in game. while he doesn't come out, he absolutely misses a shift here and there because of it and that affect TOI. his self-proclaimed goal is to keep the puck out of the net and if that means getting in front of it himself, he'll do it every time.

[Triumph]

perhaps i was misinterpreted. i did not mean to say that he should be on the PP - he should not. i simply meant that his lower TOI was based on him really only being used at ES and getting pushed out of the top 3 for some unknown reason.

if he can stay healthy, i expect a consistent 19:30 or so from him per game - especially if this infusion of rookies/non-vets are going to have prominent roles on this year's defense.

a big thing to consider - and this can easily be lost when trying to remember last season - because of his style, he gets banged up a lot in game. while he doesn't come out, he absolutely misses a shift here and there because of it and that affect TOI. his self-proclaimed goal is to keep the puck out of the net and if that means getting in front of it himself, he'll do it every time.

missing a shift or two doesn't affect TOI that much, and plus that's been true his entire career. even if you throw out the three games where volchenkov was hurt and missed significant time, his TOI is still only around 18:30 - 24 seconds higher.

i don't know exactly what jacques was doing - he may have been saving those two for defensive zone starts and penalties that didn't come.

[sundstrom]

missing a shift or two doesn't affect TOI that much, and plus that's been true his entire career. even if you throw out the three games where volchenkov was hurt and missed significant time, his TOI is still only around 18:30 - 24 seconds higher.

i don't know exactly what jacques was doing - he may have been saving those two for defensive zone starts and penalties that didn't come.

defensive shifts are about 50 seconds to 1:20 for top 4 defenders usually. anecdotal speaking, i feel like volchenkov would miss a shift or two every other game he played in (confirmation bias to be sure - but also I pay attention at the games a bit more on certain players) so i could see that be a reason. and that can drop TOI for a guy that's at ES pretty much exclusivelyfrom 19+ to 16+ and that seems like what happened to AV as the season progressed. that's not to say that you're not correct as well - i think there is certainly something to JL trying to work dzone starts.