So...on that note let's dive in.
I am not going to rehash that turd
of a season....losing 30 1 goal games.....the inability of either goalie to stop the puck.....Huberdeau and Kadri not liking Daryll....the absolute almost brazen refusal to give kids chances over the likes of Lucic and Lewis.......its over now and ownership would be stupid not to see the opportunity of rebuilding around Huberdeau, Kadri and some kids with new guidance.
I don't expect to see Milan, Ritchie or Lewis back. That's about 6 Million off the books right there and pays for Huberdeau. Flames have the kids to plug those spots proper.
Stetcher needs to be brought back and so does Scotch Walker Duehr.....hell, send Hannafin packing this offseason for all I care.
So this offseason, besides the front office shit show, its pretty light...however....what's looming in 24-25 is nothing short of a GM nightmare. See below:
I'll give a quick take on that but I will use analytics later on over the summer to dive deeper. For now its a surface dive. MangePunani (tradeable) IMO has been disappointing....just say no to his 6 Million. Backlund (tradeable) is a nice 3rd line center.....if he will sign for close to the same great...if not...see ya (good trade value for a contender). Lindholm (keeper)...he's no gamebreaker but he's steady eddy and worth a raise to 6 Million. Toffoli (tradeable/keeper)....depends..he could be a captain...he has been a good deal for his salary and worth seeing where it goes. Will he want to stay when DS gets shown the door?
A lot of these RFA signings will depend on next year but for now. Dillon Dube (RFA) I think he's a keeper at 24. Pelletier...(RFA) from what I've seen he's a keeper but he may not want to. Adam Ruzicka (RFA) another guy DS got his hands on...I'd like to keep him.
Hannafin...(tradeable)...I think he's overrated for a 1/2 and he's going to want way too much. Tanev (Tradeable) but another potential captain...I'd like to see him with more youth next year. Zad-ORR-ov...(tradeable) had his best seasons in Calgary under Daryll...if he's looking for a huge raise...see ya...if not could hang around as a 4/5. Gilbert....(tradeable) yeah..and they let Vallimaki go. Kylington (tradeable/keeper) where the fuck is this guy? I hope he's ok. I'd like to see him back on the ice next year and see what he can do. Good luck to him with whatever he has going on.
Goalies.....neither goalie is up anytime soon....so they are stuck with a tandem that needs to improve GREATLY next year....that being said if they stumble out of the gate once more I would hope someone has the balls/tits to give Wolf a long look and send these two packing if possible.
So what would the VP of OPs harmfuljays do? For one I would get a younger player manager...not a coach. I would set the bar low next year and use it as a litmus test for the young guys and see how far I could push the rebuilding with my new GM. I would test the goaltending immediately and be ready with a large offer/package/dump with another team come TD 2024.
My 3 Stars of the season are as follows:
#1 Toffoli...effort when it was sorely lacking on the team. A fantastic year for him.
#2 Andersson.....he was great back there. No more scooters!
#3 Lindholm.....quiet, effective producer, and the guy had a shit ton going on in his life...BravoI am not going to waste cycles talking about an underperforming eliminated team during the playoffs any longer. I hope they enjoy their summer and I will see them next year!