Playing GM for the 2009-2010 Season

[cane-addict-1]

What's the consensus on what other activities JR may be looking at for the upcoming season?

I see Babs being moved for prospects/picks.

Obviously there are a few here who believe we may still be in the market for another winger if the price is right. Is that a free agent statement or a trading statement or both?

I think our lines are pretty solid going into camp, but Brindy's position puts a lot of question marks into the equation. If he regains form, then I see him centering the 3rd line between Jokinen and Samsonov. If he can only manage 4th line centering, then I think that opens up some interesting questions. #1, is Sutter ready to center the 3rd line between Jokinen/Sammy or #2: is Boychuk ready to jump to the NHL and play 3rd line winger with Sammy and centered by Jokinen?

I think the answers to those questions help determine whether we pull the trigger on anything else. I believe we're pretty close to our self-imposed spending at this point, so I'm not sure we try to pick up a Kobasew or a Prospal (mentioned here) or anyone else for that matter without looking at who we might need to move out of the equation to manage our own budget.

Barring injury, I think a Babs trade may be the last move we make until we see how camp goes.

According to Bubba on CanesCountry.com, we are $300K over our self imposed cap.

[cane-addict-1]

TB just bought Prospal out...he could be a solid addition to our forward corp...lots of talent

The management there really has no idea what they are doing. Every month they do something ridiculous.

[caniac-97]

The management there really has no idea what they are doing. Every month they do something ridiculous.

It is the only area where they are consistent!! :lol:

[remkin]

I expect our powerplay to have a different setup this upcoming season. Near the end of last year, our PP essentially consisted of "Find Babchuk/Corvo and let them fire away", which worked out great before other teams caught on. Once they realized all they had to do was cover the pointmen and Staal would spend all 2 minutes trying a wraparound, our PP% dropped like a rock.

The only problem I can see at the moment is, no matter what strategy we use on the PP, we'll likely have to play a forward on the point on one of our powerplay units, likely Cullen.

Three quick notes on the powerplay.

1. Put Cullen on the point but let him take that first draw in the offensive zone. It is not helping to start so many powerplays with a Staal faceoff loss and a clear.

2. A first line winger. (Can't help myself).

3. Losing Babchuk can't be good for the pp.

[remkin]

Glad you agree with JR just getting on with it. I wish you also agreed that 99% of us are tired of reading the bickering about it too.

Not to keep this Babchuk thing going, but...

I do trust JR, but the Babchuk thing will be interesting. JR is playing chicken with him in a way. It is clearly way beyond just posturing, as he has basically filled up the defense and really has no spot for Babs. But it is likely going to be difficult to get value for him now. Getting a draft pick would be serious under value unless it was a top pick, which is hard to guarantee. A prospect would need to be a very good prospect who is a year or two from the NHL and is still risky. If we end up trading him for a prospect or picks we won't be able to judge the trade for a couple of years.

I don't get why JR didn't just keep his serious dissatisfaction with Babchuk private and quietly work a trade. JR is one of the best in the business, but on this one it looks like personal got in the way of business. We shall see.

[ColossalCaniac]

I expect our powerplay to have a different setup this upcoming season. Near the end of last year, our PP essentially consisted of "Find Babchuk/Corvo and let them fire away", which worked out great before other teams caught on. Once they realized all they had to do was cover the pointmen and Staal would spend all 2 minutes trying a wraparound, our PP% dropped like a rock.

Lol that is a perfect analysis of our powerplay

[happycamper]

I expect our powerplay to have a different setup this upcoming season. Near the end of last year, our PP essentially consisted of "Find Babchuk/Corvo and let them fire away", which worked out great before other teams caught on. Once they realized all they had to do was cover the pointmen and Staal would spend all 2 minutes trying a wraparound, our PP% dropped like a rock.

The only problem I can see at the moment is, no matter what strategy we use on the PP, we'll likely have to play a forward on the point on one of our powerplay units, likely Cullen.

Put in Staal at the point. T guy still hasnt gotten much better at faceoffs so if Jokinen can take the draw, Staal can play point. Why not, his wrap arunds only work about 25% of the time(just a guess, not a cold hard stat).

[djharley]

djharley is doing his happy dance!!

YEP,,your right 97,,, just not where anyone can see me!! ...

WHITE +IRISH + NO RHYTHM = CAN'T DANCE

[caniac247]

Three quick notes on the powerplay.

1. Put Cullen on the point but let him take that first draw in the offensive zone. It is not helping to start so many powerplays with a Staal faceoff loss and a clear.

2. A first line winger. (Can't help myself).

3. Losing Babchuk can't be good for the pp.

Once teams figured him out, he never got the shot off again, so him on the PP still wasn't doing us any good.

And in case no one knew: Babchuk's QO is now expired. Since he never signed it, it expired on July 15th.

[happycamper]

Once teams figured him out, he never got the shot off again, so him on the PP still wasn't doing us any good.

And in case no one knew: Babchuk's QO is now expired. Since he never signed it, it expired on July 15th.

That was done 2 weeks ago, cant understand why he hasnt taken one of those many offers rumored by a few to the table for him. I wonder...

[djharley]

I also think alot of the Babs not being resigned comes from MO as well. He had no problem whatsoever pulling him in a heartbeat in the playoffs last year. So if JR and MO don't care for his style of play one would think that he would be moved. Sieds seems to be in the same spot as Babs is. Getting pulled and replaced by Kabs is not a good sign! And we see where Frank ended up already!

[happycamper]

I also think alot of the Babs not being resigned comes from MO as well. He had no problem whatsoever pulling him in a heartbeat in the playoffs last year. So if JR and MO don't care for his style of play one would think that he would be moved. Sieds seems to be in the same spot as Babs is. Getting pulled and replaced by Kabs is not a good sign! And we see where Frank ended up already!

Mo had no problem pulling him cause he was getting run over and coughing up the puck at very turn. Seids will land on his feet but he'll have to take a 1 yr deal and earn a new contract all over again, he just got forced out here cause of $ and no other underlying issues. Babs seems to be standing all alone on a mountain of underlying issues.

Kabs was odd man out long before the playoffs. He's gone and hasnt ever been the same player since 06, do you really hate the personally or something?

[IceFrog999]

Once teams figured him out, he never got the shot off again, so him on the PP still wasn't doing us any good.

And in case no one knew: Babchuk's QO is now expired. Since he never signed it, it expired on July 15th.

Babs had the misfortune of playing a team he had burned really recently in the first round. The two previous games against the Devils, he scored 4 goals. Obviously, they weren't going to let that happen in the playoffs. So they made sure he couldn't burn them again. Guarantee you, if he hadn't been successful against the Devils so recently, he would have been overlooked in favor of Corvo, like he was in the last 40 or so games of the regular season.

[happycamper]

But he wasnt, and he became a turnover machine. Hard to defend on "what might have been" with guess work vs "what really happened" with cold hard facts. I got a feeling some would still defend Babs if the truth about what really went on with him and Jr came out and it was shown that Babs demanded his way out of here like a spoiled kid. Just guessing, no facts here.

[caniac-97]

YEP,,your right 97,,, just not where anyone can see me!! ...

WHITE +IRISH + NO RHYTHM = CAN'T DANCE

that is a scary combination.

[caniac-97]

Once teams figured him out, he never got the shot off again, so him on the PP still wasn't doing us any good.

And in case no one knew: Babchuk's QO is now expired. Since he never signed it, it expired on July 15th.

with the QO expired what is the next step?? Another QO or just trade rights or what??

[IceFrog999]

But he wasnt, and he became a turnover machine. Hard to defend on "what might have been" with guess work vs "what really happened" with cold hard facts. I got a feeling some would still defend Babs if the truth about what really went on with him and Jr came out and it was shown that Babs demanded his way out of here like a spoiled kid. Just guessing, no facts here.

Babs did demand his way out. He asked to be traded once it became obvious Rutherford wasn't going to budge from his lowball offer.

And I wouldn't put down guess work and "what might have happened" when all I see is "Babs has a bad attitude" and "No one in the organization liked him" with zero evidence to back it up.

[happycamper]

Babs did demand his way out. He asked to be traded once it became obvious Rutherford wasn't going to budge from his lowball offer.

thats all we really know I'll bet theres more. Perhaps Babs was voted off the island by several more than just jr? just guessing.

And I wouldn't put down guess work and "what might have happened" when all I see is "Babs has a bad attitude" and "No one in the organization liked him" with zero evidence to back it up.

At least you admit your what might have happened was just a guess with zero evidence from your side too. Nice work there.

We're making progress. I'd have to guess that the fact that Babs has been thrown over the coals in the media and has been squeezed off the roster would somewhat suggest that he wasnt a favorite in the front office. Weve seen how every other player has been treated and this was enough to a least suggest he wasnt well thought of.

If I were JR, I'd be done and wait to see how the chips fall with other teams. There's always low risk scraps to be had but I like what we have right now. Id rather see what the kids can do and give them a chance before committing any more salary or disrupting the locker room with another shake up jsut yet.

[remkin]

Once teams figured him out, he never got the shot off again, so him on the PP still wasn't doing us any good.

I would think if Babs really drew that much attention it should have opened things up down low. It's 5 on 4, someone is open. Anyway, doesn't much matter now. Just hope we get something decent in return for him.

[happycamper]

I would think if Babs really drew that much attention it should have opened things up down low. It's 5 on 4, someone is open. Anyway, doesn't much matter now. Just hope we get something decent in return for him.

B-I-N-G-O. Lets get some prospects to replenish the coupe that may find their way to the NHL this year. There has to be some other team that thinks Babs is worth the risk right? A change of scenery has done wonders for many.

[IceFrog999]

thats all we really know I'll bet theres more. Perhaps Babs was voted off the island by several more than just jr? just guessing.

So wait, you can guess at that and it's fine, but I guess that his performance against the Devils might have been different if he hadn't burned them recently, and you decide to make a case out of it?

At least you admit your what might have happened was just a guess with zero evidence from your side too. Nice work there.

Of course it's a guess. It's a hypothetical situation, there's nothing to do but guess. Did I say anything to the contrary? And the evidence I have from my side, as I stated, was the 40 games where he WAS overlooked and burned multiple teams 16 times over.

I'd have to guess that the fact that Babs has been thrown over the coals in the media and has been squeezed off the roster would somewhat suggest that he wasnt a favorite in the front office. Weve seen how every other player has been treated and this was enough to a least suggest he wasnt well thought of.

And I'd have to say that the only one publicly badmouthing Babchuk is JR, the one who ultimately decides who stays on the roster. There's no evidence that anyone else in the organization dislikes him. In fact, I can go as far as finding quotes that say the exact opposite. Praising his skills, etc.

[TSA]

Take the arguments to PM. Like I said, we've all had enough of this argument.

[caniac247]

Babs had the misfortune of playing a team he had burned really recently in the first round. The two previous games against the Devils, he scored 4 goals. Obviously, they weren't going to let that happen in the playoffs. So they made sure he couldn't burn them again. Guarantee you, if he hadn't been successful against the Devils so recently, he would have been overlooked in favor of Corvo, like he was in the last 40 or so games of the regular season.

To play along with your what ifs. What if we signed him to a 3 year $2M cap hit contract. He starts out good, but now teams are on to him. On the PP, they put a man on him and he can't get his shot off. During ES they pressure him and he coughs up the puck. With him NOT being able to contribute on the PP, he gets pulled. He coughs the puck up and his confidence takes a low. We all know what happens when Babchuk has no confidence. No confidence Babchuk = benched for a game or two or more.

Here's the thing though. Babs wasn't just terrible in the Devils series. So him burning them at the end of the season really had nothing to do with him being terribel.

[dangermouse-ch1]

Put in Staal at the point. T guy still hasnt gotten much better at faceoffs so if Jokinen can take the draw, Staal can play point. Why not, his wrap arunds only work about 25% of the time(just a guess, not a cold hard stat).

We need to do this or create some passing plays low in the zone between the 3 forwards to get the goalie moving around. Staal's wraparound was a running joke for everyone in our section the whole year, I swear it's more like a 1% success rate. When he finally got one in Game 4 against the Pens everyone went nuts... "He finally got one!". Staal's got some mean accuracy on his slap-shot, I think he could take Bab's place on the point and play it with more skill. We could use Whitney/Ruutu/Cole swarming around the net trying to pick up some trash goals too.

If you have the whole other team worried about your defender on the power-play then that should be almost instant success every time. We were passing to our D because it was working, we had the second highest scoring defense in the league. We need Francis to make some big changes and probably need set power-play forward lines so they can get some chemistry and know where each other will be. More cross crease passes and set-up skilled plays instead of frantically running around trying to throw it back to our Defenders.

[Guest]

WHITE +IRISH + NO RHYTHM = CAN'T DANCE

THE CURE

Trip to Eire + Pub & Pint + Traditional Irish music = Foot Tapping in RHYTHM

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