jammer2 Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 http://www.thehockeynews.com/news/article/the-top-30-unrestricted-free-agents-of-2018 Geez, is the Hockey News ever slipping! Whos is this Matt Larkin dude? Do not agree with his rankings at all. Some of them are downright brutal. There is common ground on one front though, this crop is top heavy and very shallow depth wise after the top 5 or 6. Tavares is the obvious pot of Gold at the end of the rainbow. My gut says if he was planning on getting a deal done with the Islanders, it would have already happened, right? He will get crazy money and max years, so there is not much left to negotiate. The Islanders will have to pony up the exact same amount of money that Tavares would get on the open market. If Toronto was/is willing to pay JT 10 mill a year for 8 years, then the Islander's will feel the same money crunch. Let's face it, there will be no hometown discount for a 27 year old superstar with at least 3-4 years of his prime left. The emergence of Barzal as a young and elite talent *may* have given Johnny pause for thought. However, I think the real problem Tavares has with the Islanders is a lack of faith in Garth Snow to properly construct a championship roster. The lone bright spot for the Isles is Lou landing back in the front office. If anyone can lure Johnny back to the NYI, it's Lou. The only other TRUE star available is John Carlson. For my money, he might be more valuable than Tavares, just because of the complete and total lack of elite offensive defensemen available on the UFA market this year. When the offensive UFA D-man crop goes from Carlson and then DROPS off a cliff to Mike (friggin) Green.....well that just about says it all. \ Both Tavares (5.5 mill a year) and Carlson (just under 4 mill a year) were criminally underpaid for elite stars in their prime. That situation is about to be rectified, in spades. They could both come close to doubling last years income. First time I can remember that two young super stars are UFA like this. A few contenders can really push themselves over the top with these two.\ You would have to imagine that Toronto will push HARD for Carlson. He is exactly what they need to turn the championship corner. Eventually, Carlson and Lilligren could be the top pairing, enabling Morgan Riley to shift to the second pairing, which is exactly where he should be in the line-up. He is miscast as a top pairing d-man in my books. I have never been a big Gardiner fan, he is a one trick pony that is not smart and not physical. The Leafs need to trade him, he could have real value to the right team, as long as they can cover up the warts with the right defensive partner. Travis Dermott has WAY more upside than Jake the Flake. When your team is in a Game 7 and facing elimination, and you get no points and then put up a TRAGIC -5 like Gardiner did against Boston....WOW, that speaks volumes. Back to the UFA's. Most posters that have been around here a while know my feelings on JVR. He rarely plays with spunk or zest. He disappears for long periods of time....sometimes for months at a time, usually when his team needs him the most. I call him the "soul-sucker" for a reason. I agree with Larkins assessment of JVR, he has very nifty hands from in close, actually one of the best front of the net skill sets in the entire league. JVR is 29, still in his prime and could very well be for another 3 years or so. Because he is still relatively young, he will get a longer contract, but who ever signs him will be overpaying for 27-32 goals AND overpaying in years over the back half of his new contract. It will be the kinda deal that KILLS a salary cap for the last 3 years of his approx 6 year and 7.5 millish per year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted June 6, 2018 Author Share Posted June 6, 2018 er, um.....bump....this post hardly got any looks, but a nice read IMHO. Meant to go deeper, but it got to long with the top 4 UFAs as it was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted June 6, 2018 Share Posted June 6, 2018 I love speculating on who winds up where, not gonna do all 30 but here are some guesses... Carlson The Devils. A puck mover is exactly what they need. Tavares Resigning with the Isles. Kovalchuk The Rangers because they cannot help themselves. It is what they do. JVR The Sabres because they cannot help themselves either. Green The Capitals as a replacement for Carlson who was a replacement for Green. Nash Resigning with the Bruins Neal signing with the Jackets. Just a hunch. Vanek signing with the Wings Carter Hutton signing with the Islanders to replace Halak Bozak signing with the Hurricanes Overall a weak class once you get past the first few names. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hf101 Posted June 6, 2018 Share Posted June 6, 2018 Yeah, other than the top few there isn't a whole lot which makes a team better imo. I don't see Carlson leaving the Capitals especially if they win the cup. Look for him to get a long term deal near 8M though. Brandon Manning is rumored to go to Vancouver and play with former Flyer Michael Del Zotto. Tavares is definitely looking to be signing with the Islanders. I guess I'll add some more later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted June 7, 2018 Author Share Posted June 7, 2018 16 hours ago, yave1964 said: I love speculating on who winds up where, not gonna do all 30 but here are some guesses... Carlson The Devils. A puck mover is exactly what they need. Tavares Resigning with the Isles. Kovalchuk The Rangers because they cannot help themselves. It is what they do. JVR The Sabres because they cannot help themselves either. Green The Capitals as a replacement for Carlson who was a replacement for Green. Nash Resigning with the Bruins Neal signing with the Jackets. Just a hunch. Vanek signing with the Wings Carter Hutton signing with the Islanders to replace Halak Bozak signing with the Hurricanes Overall a weak class once you get past the first few names. I think the Islanders chances of keeping Tavares went up substantially when Lou fired Snow and Weight and took the reigns himself. Lou is an upgrade for sure, but to be honest, Lou was not making great moves for the Devils in his last few years, and in TO, let's face it....every move had to be approved by Shanny, he had little to no autonomy as Leafs GM, I don't care what they say. I'm not so convinced that present day Lou can build a championship team.....and I'm not sure Johnny T thinks so either. He might end up back there, but I think he tests the market and see if a team ready to challenge right now has cap space. Not sure how much cap space they have, but if anyone needed Kovy, it's the Wild, the Habs and the Canucks. They could all use a talented goal scoring infusion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J0e Th0rnton Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 The article is a bit silly and no research done. Saying "They had to overpay Thornton to get him to stay" Thornton took 8 million for a 1 year deal yes. It was 1.25 million more than he made the year before, short term, and he had just finished 4th overall in scoring and centered the top line to game 6 of the cup finals a year prior. He also offered to take 2 million less if they would pad Marleau's contract to keep him and Marleau seriously considered it, but chose the extra year Toronto was offering instead of the 2 year deal. That's the ONLY reason it took some time to get it signed. He was awaiting Marleau's decision and his contract was signed 1 minute after Patty chose to leave for Toronto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Math Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 On 6/6/2018 at 4:26 AM, yave1964 said: Tavares Resigning with the Isles. Agree. A deal will be found just before July 1st 12 hours ago, jammer2 said: Kovalchuk The Rangers because they cannot help themselves. It is what they do. My Guess is Florida. I think they have the cap space and they need some veterans. 12 hours ago, jammer2 said: Nash Resigning with the Bruins I think The Bruins won't keep him. I put a coin on going back to NYR. 12 hours ago, jammer2 said: Neal signing with the Jackets. Just a hunch. He'll re-sign with Vegas 12 hours ago, jammer2 said: Vanek signing with the Wings I see him with the Stars. They like to focus on individuals rather than the collective by getting one-dimensional overpaid veterans. Let's see who wins these bold predictions. If you do, you will have my endless recognition and gratitude Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 2 hours ago, Villette/Lavaux said: Agree. A deal will be found just before July 1st My Guess is Florida. I think they have the cap space and they need some veterans. I think The Bruins won't keep him. I put a coin on going back to NYR. He'll re-sign with Vegas I see him with the Stars. They like to focus on individuals rather than the collective by getting one-dimensional overpaid veterans. Let's see who wins these bold predictions. If you do, you will have my endless recognition and gratitude (shrugs) Vegas to me is another great landing spot for Kovalchuk. Even though it didn't work out for Shipychov, no taxes in Vegas...IMO, they have to be seen as a super attractive place to play now. Doesn't matter which UFA you are talking about...Vegas would be wise to keep a lot of their space but they still have plenty of room to get themselves the offensive defenseman that could be their x-factor. Karlsson in Vegas?!?! Yes please... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted June 7, 2018 Author Share Posted June 7, 2018 6 hours ago, CreaseAndAssist said: (shrugs) Vegas to me is another great landing spot for Kovalchuk. Even though it didn't work out for Shipychov, no taxes in Vegas...IMO, they have to be seen as a super attractive place to play now. Doesn't matter which UFA you are talking about...Vegas would be wise to keep a lot of their space but they still have plenty of room to get themselves the offensive defenseman that could be their x-factor. Karlsson in Vegas?!?! Yes please... I could only imagine trying to convince the wife that the family is moving to Vegas....LOL! "There is nothing I can do honey, they are willing to pay me the most money....." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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