2020 Free Agency Megathread

[Nicomo]

Has he been going to Zajac’s barber? 

[MadDog2020]

1 minute ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

OK, now you just sound dumb, and you're basically being a d!ck for no reason.  You tried to lump losing Lehner and Greiss together.  All I did was point out that he allowed one guy "to walk" (and that guy did have some issues prior) so that he could sign someone else via UFA.  

In the case of Griess, I fvcking AGREED with you that I would've just kept him, instead of signing Cory, and that Cory is absolutely a downgrade.  So what is your friggin' problem man?!  Jesus.  

All you have to do is say Lou’s name at this point. It’s ridiculous.

[Crisis]

3 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

OK, now you just sound dumb, and you're basically being a d!ck for no reason.  You tried to lump losing Lehner and Greiss together.  All I did was point out that he allowed one guy "to walk" (and that guy did have some issues prior) so that he could sign someone else via UFA.  

In the case of Griess, I fvcking AGREED with you that I would've just kept him, instead of signing Cory, and that Cory is absolutely a downgrade.  So what is your friggin' problem man?!  Jesus.  

He's just projecting the fact that he has to trash Lou at every opportunity he gets

[NJDfan1711]

3 minutes ago, Crisis said:

Wow that was cringey.  I wonder if it was in his contract that he had to make this video.

Yeah, that was awkward. 

2 minutes ago, Nicomo said:

Has he been going to Zajac’s barber? 

Right?  I almost didn't recognize him at first if not for his overly large lips.

[SterioDesign]

11 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

OK, now you just sound dumb, and you're basically being a d!ck for no reason.  You tried to lump losing Lehner and Greiss together.  All I did was point out that he allowed one guy "to walk" (and that guy did have some issues prior) so that he could sign someone else via UFA.  

In the case of Griess, I fvcking AGREED with you that I would've just kept him, instead of signing Cory, and that Cory is absolutely a downgrade.  So what is your friggin' problem man?!  Jesus.  

How many time i just told you to just leave it alone if you don't agree with me about this subject. We'll never ever ever ever ever ever agree on that stuff. I honestly must have told you a million times to just let it be and ignore it. DM even told you to ignore it cause sure enough it's taking over full threads everytime we get into it and it NEVER led to anything in a decade. There's no point at this point. Yet you just HAVE to comment on anything i say about the subject, you cant help it. And most of the time you misunderstand what i even meant cause anything i say you take it as a jab even if it wasn't.

That's my problem

Edited October 12, 2020 by SterioDesign

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

2 minutes ago, MadDog2020 said:

All you have to do is say Lou’s name at this point. It’s ridiculous.

 

1 minute ago, Crisis said:

He's just projecting the fact that he has to trash Lou at every opportunity he gets

Yeah that reaction made no sense at all.  The first name needed some background/fleshing out as to what happened, and as for the second...yeah, I have no idea why Lou would take a chance on Cory when he had a pretty solid guy in Greiss...like I clearly implied in my post, that looks like a bad move.  The Islanders are a solid team that's taken some steps forward...the kind of team that should be messing around with Cory is one that doesn't have that much to lose.  Heaven forbid if Varlamov gets hurt.  I'd be much more comfortable with Greiss stepping in.

[mfitz804]

10 minutes ago, Nicomo said:

Has he been going to Zajac’s barber? 

Dude goes to Zajac’s barber and STILL he signs in Buffalo? Wth?

 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

14 minutes ago, SterioDesign said:

How many time i just told you to just leave it alone if you don't agree with me about this subject. We'll never ever ever ever ever ever agree on that stuff. I honestly must have told you a million times to just let it be and ignore it. Yet you just HAVE to comment on anything i say about the subject, you cant help it. And most of the time you misunderstand what i even meant cause anything i say you take it as a jab even if it wasn't.

That's my problem

Dude, you're so offbase on this one it's ridiculous.  YOU chose to lump this conversation into prior ones.  My response was purely conversational and not incendiary one bit...all I did was point out the mentality behind letting Lehner go (you left out the part where a goalie was brought in clearly to take Lehner's place), and how bad I think going with Cory is over re-signing Greiss.  For some reason you decided to have a non-sensical hissy fit over it and act like I attacked you somehow. 

Makes no sense.  

Edited October 12, 2020 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

13 minutes ago, Nicomo said:

Has he been going to Zajac’s barber? 

Looks like he's thinning upstairs big time.  

[MadDog2020]

14 minutes ago, Nicomo said:

Has he been going to Zajac’s barber? 

 

[Devil Dan 56]

1 hour ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Lehner was enough of a wild card that I could understand taking a one-year flyer on him, being happy that you got what you got out of him, then deciding to move on.  You're also leaving out that Lou signed Varlamov, which isn't really fair.  

But at this point, I'm definitely going with Greiss over Cory.  Based on the past four seasons, Cory looks like a pretty significant downgrade.  

I'm going to guess Sorokin will be taking Greiss' spot. I'm pretty sure he came over for an NHL job, I'd be surprised if he went to the AHL. I think Schneider might just be insurance 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

1 hour ago, NJDfan1711 said:

This is incredible. Lou doesn't even try to hide the fact that he consistently goes after retreads.  

Good for Cory for getting another deal, and maybe he'll be better with a better defense in front of him, but I doubt he's got much left, and I certainly don't thin he's gonna be durable enough to carry the load for very long.  Who knows how he'd do in any sort of deep playoff run.  One thing he's got going for him is the fact that the upcoming season is likely to be a shortened one. 

What's also odd about this is that Russian goalie Ilya Sorokin is already signed to a $2 million deal for 2020-21.  So the Isles already have $7 million in cap space allocated to goalies.  What kind of deal is Cory signing?  

Varlamov's the clear #1 for the Isles, so as long as he's healthy and playing well, fine, but yeah, I'd be terrified if Cory's the guy who may have to step and play #1 minutes...especially if my team is one looking to build off a nice playoff run.

If Lou somehow thinks he can strike gold twice, based off what he got out of Lehner...man, I don't think he's seen how bad Cory can be when he's REALLY bad.  

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Just now, Devil Dan 56 said:

I'm going to guess Sorokin will be taking Greiss' spot. I'm pretty sure he came over for an NHL job, I'd be surprised if he went to the AHL. I think Schneider might just be insurance 

Yeah I just mentioned that...saw Sorokin's cap hit.  Schneider on a two-way deal I guess?  

[Devil Dan 56]

1 minute ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

What's also odd about this is that Russian goalie Ilya Sorokin is already signed to a $2 million deal for 2020-21.  So the Isles already have $7 million in cap space allocated to goalies.  What kind of deal is Cory signing?  

Varlamov's the clear #1 for the Isles, so as long as he's healthy and playing well, fine, but yeah, I'd be terrified if Cory's the guy who may have to step and play #1 minutes...especially if my team is one looking to build off a nice playoff run.

If Lou somehow thinks he can strike gold twice, based off what he got out of Lehner...man, I don't think he's seen how bad Cory can be when he's REALLY bad.  

I'm going to assume Lou is betting on the ole change of scenery (and playing for a team that can play defense) to help out Cory. But I really do think Sorokin is penciled in at #2 to work with Varlamov. If I remember right, there was speculation as to that being the reason Varly was signed

1 minute ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Yeah I just mentioned that...saw Sorokin's cap hit.  Schneider on a two-way deal I guess?  

Woops, posted before I read your other post

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

1 hour ago, NJDfan1711 said:

Right?  I almost didn't recognize him at first if not for his overly large lips.

Looks like he was on the wrong end of a serious bar brawl.  

[NJDevils1214]

That was more affordable than I anticipated. 

[SterioDesign]

1 hour ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Dude, you're so offbase on this one it's ridiculous.  YOU chose to lump this conversation into prior ones.  My response was purely conversational and not incendiary one bit...all I did was point out the mentality behind letting Lehner go (you left out the part where a goalie was brought in clearly to take Lehner's place), and how bad I think going with Cory is over re-signing Greiss.  For some reason you decided to have a non-sensical hissy fit over it and act like I attacked you somehow. 

Makes no sense.  

Listen. He came in and had 2 goalies with a .930 and a .927 save%... let one walk for nothing so he can commit to Varlamorv and Greiss... I'd say "fine" to an extent if he would have committed to those 2, BUT no, he then let Greiss walk for nothing the next season. so back to back let 2 goalies doing the job walk. Now have to sign an absolute gamble to replace him (them). I do lump both together cause if he would have commited to one or protected his assets he would have only lost one for nothing at least. Or if you're really that committed to Varlamorv and feel he's the guy and know you're gonna let Greiss walk. Then sign him or trade him at the deadline and get another backup so you didnt lose 2 guys for nothing literally. That's just not good assets management. He just did his usual, all-in approach for the playoffs and we'll deal with it later. Well as usual the "deal with it later" ended up getting a worst goaltending tandem and lost all the value he could have got if i knew he was not going to continue with them. 

 

 

Edited October 12, 2020 by SterioDesign

[Devil Dan 56]

7 minutes ago, SterioDesign said:

Listen. He came in and had 2 goalies with a .930 and a .927 save%... let one walk for nothing so he can commit to Varlamorv and Greiss... I'd say "fine" to an extent if he would have committed to those 2, BUT no, he then let Greiss walk for nothing the next season. so back to back let 2 goalies doing the job walk. Now have to sign an absolute gamble to replace him (them). I do lump both together cause if he would have commited to one or protected his assets he would have only lost one for nothing at least. That's just not good assets management. Ended up with a worst goaltending tandem and lost all the value he could have got if i knew he was not going to continue with them. 

 

 

There has been speculation that Varlamov was signed to help with Sorokin since the Isles were trying to get him to sign. Sorokin also is most likely expected to take the #2 spot over Schneider. So replacing Greiss who has been very up and down with Sorokin probably isn't that risky if you're think you really have something in him. 

As for asset management... Trading your backup before the playoffs probably isn't the best asset management either. What were you gonna get? Maybe a 4th?

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

25 minutes ago, SterioDesign said:

Listen. He came in and had 2 goalies with a .930 and a .927 save%... let one walk for nothing so he can commit to Varlamorv and Greiss... I'd say "fine" to an extent if he would have committed to those 2, BUT no, he then let Greiss walk for nothing the next season. Now have to sign an absolute gamble to replace him (them). That's just not good assets management. Ended up with a worst goaltending tandem and lost all the value he could have got if i knew he was not going to continue with them.

Looks like Cory's just insurance...Ilya Sorokin appears to be the true replacement for Greiss.  Yes, that's a gamble, given that he's never played in the NHL before.  We'll see if it works out. 

With Lehner, it wasn't just about having a fine year for the Isles, due to his past...like I said, in his case, I could understand talking the one-year flier on him and getting what you can out of him (especially at just $1.5 million, which is what he got from the Islanders), then deciding investing in him long-term simply isn't the best way to go; you know that sometimes players are signed as temporary solutions...it paid off in this case, as he helped his team to an 103-point season.  Would I commit to him five years, like Vegas just did, given his history?  Not so sure...but hopefully he's doing OK now. 

BTW Varlamov's career save% is .915 and Lehner's is .918...Varlamov's has started over 50 games five times in his career, Lehner has done it twice...both now represent a $5 million cap hit.  It's debatable as to which one is the better buy, given their track records.  

Assuming Lou should've dealt Greiss, would the return have been anything overwhelming?  Was there someone to take his place internally?  And this is true of ALL GMs, so I'm not being a Lou apologist or defending his MO or anything like that...but GMs are not always looking to deal off almost every guy that they know that they might lose in the offseason, even if yes, they're going to lose some players for nothing.  This isn't letting a top player like John Tavares (playing out the string on a non-contender) trick his team into thinking he might actually want to stay, and then getting nothing for him (that falls on Snow).  Greiss is merely a pretty good backup/occasional starting goalie who we don't even know there was much demand for.  Even if a team decides to make a guy like Greiss available, doesn't mean that the return is enough to justify dealing him off.       

Edited October 12, 2020 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[SterioDesign]

1 minute ago, Devil Dan 56 said:

There has been speculation that Varlamov was signed to help with Sorokin since the Isles were trying to get him to sign. Sorokin also is most likely expected to take the #2 spot over Schneider. So replacing Greiss who has been very up and down with Sorokin probably isn't that risky if you're think you really have something in him. 

As for asset management... Trading your backup before the playoffs probably isn't the best asset management either. What were you gonna get? Maybe a 4th?

Well i'd tend to agree in a way but my whole point is not based on a thought out decision. If we'd be talking and analyzing "decisions" from any GM... you go and weight the pros and cons just like the GM would have done too.

The problem i'm pointing out is that Lou is simply not doing this and never has. He's always sticking to his typical ways and flawed script of patching his team for now without considering the long-term and costing the team future assets. Always. He did the same thing in Toronto signing Marleau to patch a hole with a vet to a bad contract then ultimately cost them a first round pick.

Obviously I agree with you that it might not be a big deal if you look at these moves and wasted assets in a vacuum, case by case. But these are not thought out decision, it's simply his pattern. And because of that, all those wasted assets are adding up quite a bit and that's hurting your future and flexibility to make moves. And we know too well what it's ending up looking like.

I mean, honestly, take that mentality and approach and run in into a simulator for years. It's going to give you an old team of over the hill vets and no assets. I've been saying this for years, way before it became really apparent and sure enough that's exactly what it led to, there's no way around it.

[SterioDesign]

16 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Looks like Cory's just insurance...Ilya Sorokin appears to be the true replacement for Greiss.  Yes, that's a gamble, given that he's never played in the NHL before.  We'll see if it works out. 

With Lehner, it wasn't just about having a fine year for the Isles, due to his past...like I said, in his case, I could understand talking the one-year flier on him and getting what you can out of him (especially at just $1.5 million, which is what he got from the Islanders), then deciding investing in him long-term simply isn't the best way to go; you know that sometimes players are signed as temporary solutions...it paid off in this case, as he helped his team to an 103-point season.  Would I commit to him five years, like Vegas just did, given his history?  Not so sure...but hopefully he's doing OK now. 

BTW Varlamov's career save% is .915 and Lehner's is .918...Varlamov's has started over 50 games five times in his career, Lehner has done it twice...both now represent a $5 million cap hit.  It's debatable as to which one is the better buy, given their track records.  

Assuming Lou should've dealt Greiss, would the return have been anything overwhelming?  Was there someone to take his place internally?  And this is true of ALL GMs, so I'm not being a Lou apologist or defending his MO or anything like that...but GMs are not always looking to deal off almost every guy that they know that they might lose in the offseason, even if yes, they're going to lose some players for nothing.  This isn't letting a top player like John Tavares (playing out the string on a non-contender) trick his team into thinking he might actually want to stay, and then getting nothing for him (that falls on Snow).  Greiss is merely a pretty good backup/occasional starting goalie who we don't even know there was much demand for.  Even if a team decides to make a guy like Greiss available, doesn't mean that the return is enough to justify dealing him off.       

Again i touched on this in my other post. You don't seem to understand that what im ALWAYS addressing is his pattern. Can you really deny that Lou has a really really really stiff script that he's following based on his all-in mentality? Being so stubborn and sticking to his script to a fault? No, i don't think anyone can do that. I can legit count on my fingers the amount of times he went off-script. For a guy who's been around for like 156 years, it's not showing a great deal of flexibility and critical thinking. And i certainly don't have enough fingers to count the amount of time i said it was a bad decision and that it didn't indeed cost his team. Again, that's fine when you have a winning team who can take the occasional lost of assets, but it's still a flawed approach. You don't see any big businesses setting things up in a way where they'd lose money constantly.

So this is our pattern. I point out how his moves are part of a strict pattern and how it can bite them in the ass and did. And you break down every single decisions to make sense of it like it was made based on some sort of logic. If there wasn't such a stiff pattern sure we could break down and discuss all of this, but it's just not the case. Lou is as predictable as it gets.

 

Edited October 12, 2020 by SterioDesign

[Devil Dan 56]

18 minutes ago, SterioDesign said:

Well i'd tend to agree in a way but my whole point is not based on a thought out decision. If we'd be talking and analyzing "decisions" from any GM... you go and weight the pros and cons just like the GM would have done too.

The problem i'm pointing out is that Lou is simply not doing this and never has. He's always sticking to his typical ways and flawed script of patching his team for now without considering the long-term and costing the team future assets. Always. He did the same thing in Toronto signing Marleau to patch a hole with a vet to a bad contract then ultimately cost them a first round pick.

Obviously I agree with you that it might not be a big deal if you look at these moves and wasted assets in a vacuum, case by case. But these are not thought out decision, it's simply his pattern. And because of that, all those wasted assets are adding up quite a bit and that's hurting your future and flexibility to make moves. And we know too well what it's ending up looking like.

I mean, honestly, take that mentality and approach and run in into a simulator for years. It's going to give you an old team of over the hill vets and no assets. I've been saying this for years, way before it became really apparent and sure enough that's exactly what it led to, there's no way around it.

Isn't Sorokin considering the long term? He's like 24 and much younger with more potential than Greiss. 

[Muevelos]

Lou traded Toews to Col for two, 2nd picks. Great trade there 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

3 hours ago, SterioDesign said:

Again i touched on this in my other post. You don't seem to understand that what im ALWAYS addressing is his pattern. Can you really deny that Lou has a really really really stiff script that he's following based on his all-in mentality? Being so stubborn and sticking to his script to a fault? No, i don't think anyone can do that. I can legit count on my fingers the amount of times he went off-script. For a guy who's been around for like 156 years, it's not showing a great deal of flexibility and critical thinking. Again, that's fine when you have a winning team who can take the occasional lost of assets, but it's still a flawed approach. You don't see any big businesses setting things up in a way where they'd lose money constantly.

So this is our pattern. I point out how his moves are part of a strict pattern and how it can bite them in the ass and did. And you break down every single decisions to make sense of it like it was made based on some sort of logic. If there wasn't such a stiff pattern sure we could break down and discuss all of this, but it's just not the case. Lou is as predictable as it gets.

 

Isn't that what he has right now though...a winning team that can take the occasional loss of assets?  With a number of his top players locked up for a while to boot?  

Is your beef that in this case Lou wasn't flexible enough to have moved Lehner in 2018-19, or Greiss in 2019-20?  In 2018-19 the team was having a hell of a bounceback year after missing the playoffs for a couple of years...should Lou have short-circuited that, just to get whatever he could for Lehner?  Even though there wasn't much goalie movement at the deadline, should Lou have tried to force something with Greiss, return be damned?  I'm only asking your opinion.  

Anyway...to wrap up, if Lou has a lot of bad drafts and then tries to prop up a declining, no-longer-capable-of-a-Cup-run core with a bunch of iffy prop-it-up moves...you got me, Lou would absolutely be repeating a pattern.  But gonna have to wait a while to see if he’ll actually tear down what needs tearing down when the time comes, as the Isles GM.

Edited October 13, 2020 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[MadDog2020]

18 minutes ago, Muevelos said:

Lou traded Toews to Col for two, 2nd picks. Great trade there 

Indeed: