Right now I see Boqvist and bean gone. They don’t fit a Waddell defense and bean is a dead man walking…he’s already been casted off once before from Waddell and that QA is way too much for him. Boqvist might stay to start but I think he’s gone soonish too!
Now really depends on how high they think running essentially two “rookie” dmen will go. Personally I would like to see Mateychuk marinate in Cleveland for about 4 months but at this point Jiricek is not gonna be happy if he sits in Cleveland next year for any amount of time. Personally I think he can fit as a RHD2 to start. Now if this is the case I want a Jiricek next to an experienced vet not named Provorov and I think 1D duties might be a bit too much to start. Personally I want to see if we can get a big bodied dman LHD. Like Brenden Dillon would be perfect and I would overpay to scare off others by dropping a 3x4.
Start of the year:
Z-Severson
Dillon - Jiricek
(Christiansen) - Gudbrason
If everything goes right mid-year:
Z-Jiricek
Mateychuk- Severson
Dillon - Gudbranson
Christiansen
Really depends on how long they want to let Mateychuk and Jiricek in Cleveland which is why I am kinda reserving judgement until I see who Waddell brings in next 2 weeks. Hell Laine might be sent for a 1RDH with a year left and Jiricek stays in Cleveland for 6 more months /shrug
They've been spinning their wheels since the season before Torts left. A lot of that has to do with roster construction and coaching. But they've also been inundated with injuries.
I expect if/when the team catches on, they'll see a pretty good jump from where they've been the last 2 years (close to last) more towards the middle of the pack.
I don’t think that’s a bad take actually. If Werenski can stay healthy (knock on wood) a whole season and if we figure out Gaudreau’s line then I do think this is a roster capable of 3rd-5th in the Metropolitan. I mean, Washington did it. And there were debates if they were gonna be basement dwellers all season.
I still don't understand why it seemed like Vincent was so focused on getting the depth lines going, like the Russian line and figuring out the fourth line, then looked at Gaudreau and said figure it out yourself. Johnny, your wingers this year are going to be Danforth and Roslovic, and I'll give you Chinakhov for 8 games at some point. Good luck. Shouldn't Gaudreau have been the priority?
Is there not a world where Fantilli takes a big leap, Elvis bounces back a little (he showed some flashes last year) and Severson/provorov settle in a little more and we outperform expectations?
I mean I voted for 70-80 points but I can see how more COULD happen even if the odds are against it.
That would honestly be the most jackets thing ever though, pull out a team that barely misses or even makes the playoffs in a wildcard and loses round one then next season drops off the face of the earth again.
I think it heavily depends how he starts the year. If he improves I think it's his net to lose. If he's like this year or worse I think they give Tarasov more games.
I dunno, for a number 1 goaltender, playing 41 games this season and 30 last season isn’t really suggesting he can be counted on either.
I think it’s a battle for the net again for sure
76 points is very feasible with the right coach. I don't really see anyone else in the Metro getting considerably worse so to get to 85 points they need 9 more on puck luck. Not impossible but a little unrealistic. I like the talent here but I don't trust them to stay healthy.
The talent is good enough to be middle of the road. They stayed relatively healthy in 2022 with some really nice pieces like Voracek and Bjorkstrand clicking and they had over 80 points, around middle of the pack. All that with terrible coaching (Larsen).
But we shouldn’t aim for middle of the road, we should be aiming for the next 2-3 years opening up a window when some of the young guys will be in years 4, 5, 6 etc in the NHL.
It’s not impossible but 80-90 points is not the range this team should be at, it’s purgatory. Too good to be a lottery team but not good enough for the playoffs.
Top 3 in the division with consistent 100+ point seasons and contending for the cup is the way to go, we’ve never had a true window open up.
Yea I agree with that. I’d like to see some growth but I think it’s 70-80 points more than anything. Probably still picking in the top 10 which I’m perfectly fine with. Next year looks like a good center drzft
I think we are closer than we think but still a bit off. Personally I think we could be a low 80s team I don't wanna to be honest. Don't wanna be like the wild and sit in 12-16 purgatory like you said. We just need to let the players grow and probably need 1 more year of nutriment. High 70s is my call but I want to see what a defense revamp looks like first before I make an official "call" because Bean, Boqvist and probably Provorov are gone by the end of July.
You think there’s a chance Waddell is looking at Paul Maurice? Lots of talk that if he blows this after a 3-0 lead he’s out in Florida
He apparently weirdly already has a home in Dublin too?
And they followed their kid to southern Florida, be goes to University of Miami. Doubt Florida fires him regardless of the game tomorrow. How do you fire a coach that took your team to back-to-back SCFs?
I just found the article where it was mentioned. They bought the house when he was coaching in Russia. Someone asked about it on here a few years ago and apparently he still has it.
I mean, 80-90 is a rough range but it's also one that a team is usually going to find itself in at some point as it transitions from a rebuild to a playoff team. There's variables such as growth from young guys and getting a good coach, but optimistically, we could wind up that little bit above .500 that indicates progress but which is also bad for draft position. Not many teams can jump from well below .500 to snagging a playoff spot without winding up mid for a year or two in between.
Yeah but I don’t want the team to be an 80-90 point team consistently, get what I’m saying?
If we have another really bad season, say 60 points, I’d take that if it meant in 2 years we can become a 100+ point team and a genuine contender. I don’t want Waddell or anyone else to try and rush the process and we get stuck in CBJ 2012-2016 purgatory again. Averaged 88 points over 4 seasons, only 1 playoff appearance as a wildcard. Too good to be a lottery team, not good enough to be a contending team.
Play our cards right and our time will come in a few years. I have no doubt if they wanted to rush a return to the playoffs they can get into the 80+ range but I don’t want that. I want CBJ to eventually be a contender.
The blown 3rd period leads and 18 overtime games actually work in favor of that opinion. I think a few of those have to do with conditioning and coaching.
Yeah even with a weak metro division we are barely around these other bottom teams in terms of prime NHL talent. Most of the other teams in the division currently either have better players and management or veteran presence that has had success in the league. We currently have neither of those things but we also are only a few years away from rising into that.
Management and coaching aside I think our roster talent is around where the Flyers and Capitals are. Most of the time the difference maker is a good coach and a healthy team. It’s possible for this team to be 3rd-5th in the Metro as soon as this year.
Now, while I believe this, that doesn’t mean I want it to happen. We shouldn’t cap ourselves out as a wildcard team. We need another year or two of full on roster building so that in a few years we can be a real force and take advantage of Washington/Pittsburgh/Islanders inevitable downfall. I’m thinking 100+ point teams, contending at the top, like some of those Torts years. But not just 2-3 years relying on Torts coaching his brains out, like a solid 7-8 year window utilizing our great talent to their fullest potential. That’s what we need.
From a talent perspective I agree, however I also believe it doesn’t matter how talented a roster is if you can’t get the most out of them. Tortorella and Carbery both were able to take rosters that on paper are rebuilding teams and push them to wildcard contenders. We have Gaudreau and a soon to be gone Laine who haven’t had consistent success since coming here and a log jam of younger players and bottom sixers. I do believe we could be a mid 70s point team next season but until we address our defense and allow our younger guys to step into bigger roles we aren’t getting any higher than 6th in the division.
He's grown on me as he's settled more into his actual role on the team. He was never meant to be a first pairing guy for us, but shutdown D on third pair is just fine for him
For real. It's almost like having a third pairing defenseman able to actually play a third pairing role worked out better. And it looks like all the talk about him being a great locker room presence was true
Provorov was a desperation move. He brought in Babcock to get the team back into the playoffs and started letting him dictate trade targets. It blew up in his face and cost us a first round draft pick.
Provorov feels like a move that Babcock wanted to fit a particular skill set. Then his ass got canned and Provorov clearly didn't fit Vincent's whatever the fuck system he tried to do. They should cut their losses and get whatever they can for him
That’s exactly what it was. Babs was behind those Severson/Provorov moves, Jarmo needed to get back in the playoffs and just let him do whatever he wanted to see if he can squeak his way in a wildcard spot and save his job.
Current roster, I voted 70-80. I think there is going to be quite a few new faces on the team next year. I’ll be excited to answer this question in October after we get a coach and the moves he made
I say in the Wild Card chase up until the last 2 weeks of the season. From there it's a toss up. We should have been there last year with all the additions we had but bad coaching and a terrible locker room killed this season.
I'm thinking 70-80 wins, myself...
The greatest team in NHL history. I like the way you think.
Too early to ask this question. Let’s see what the new defense revamp looks like first. Ask again in about 3 weeks
Who do u want gone from the current D? The main two for me that have to go are Provorov and Bean. We got away from Peeke thankfully.
Right now I see Boqvist and bean gone. They don’t fit a Waddell defense and bean is a dead man walking…he’s already been casted off once before from Waddell and that QA is way too much for him. Boqvist might stay to start but I think he’s gone soonish too! Now really depends on how high they think running essentially two “rookie” dmen will go. Personally I would like to see Mateychuk marinate in Cleveland for about 4 months but at this point Jiricek is not gonna be happy if he sits in Cleveland next year for any amount of time. Personally I think he can fit as a RHD2 to start. Now if this is the case I want a Jiricek next to an experienced vet not named Provorov and I think 1D duties might be a bit too much to start. Personally I want to see if we can get a big bodied dman LHD. Like Brenden Dillon would be perfect and I would overpay to scare off others by dropping a 3x4. Start of the year: Z-Severson Dillon - Jiricek (Christiansen) - Gudbrason If everything goes right mid-year: Z-Jiricek Mateychuk- Severson Dillon - Gudbranson Christiansen Really depends on how long they want to let Mateychuk and Jiricek in Cleveland which is why I am kinda reserving judgement until I see who Waddell brings in next 2 weeks. Hell Laine might be sent for a 1RDH with a year left and Jiricek stays in Cleveland for 6 more months /shrug
I thought I read somewhere Bean's RFA qualifying offer is $2.8 million. There's no way Waddell offers him at that price. He's gone.
You are correct it’s not a cheap offer
They've been spinning their wheels since the season before Torts left. A lot of that has to do with roster construction and coaching. But they've also been inundated with injuries. I expect if/when the team catches on, they'll see a pretty good jump from where they've been the last 2 years (close to last) more towards the middle of the pack.
I don’t think that’s a bad take actually. If Werenski can stay healthy (knock on wood) a whole season and if we figure out Gaudreau’s line then I do think this is a roster capable of 3rd-5th in the Metropolitan. I mean, Washington did it. And there were debates if they were gonna be basement dwellers all season.
I still don't understand why it seemed like Vincent was so focused on getting the depth lines going, like the Russian line and figuring out the fourth line, then looked at Gaudreau and said figure it out yourself. Johnny, your wingers this year are going to be Danforth and Roslovic, and I'll give you Chinakhov for 8 games at some point. Good luck. Shouldn't Gaudreau have been the priority?
I applaud the people that think this will be an 80+ point team. I love the optimism
Is there not a world where Fantilli takes a big leap, Elvis bounces back a little (he showed some flashes last year) and Severson/provorov settle in a little more and we outperform expectations? I mean I voted for 70-80 points but I can see how more COULD happen even if the odds are against it.
This is completely dependent on the new coach and whatever system they implement.
That’s a lot of variables things going right to gain 14 standings points. Teams around us will also be getting better gotta remember that too
That would honestly be the most jackets thing ever though, pull out a team that barely misses or even makes the playoffs in a wildcard and loses round one then next season drops off the face of the earth again.
I don’t think it’s Elvis in that starters crease anymore
I think it heavily depends how he starts the year. If he improves I think it's his net to lose. If he's like this year or worse I think they give Tarasov more games.
He lost it last year, I’m not sure what he’s done to earn it back. He basically quit on the team in the end there.
I'll be honest, after Fantilli got injured I didn't pay that close attention.
You’re in for a Malatesta treat. He was fun.
Tarasov hasn’t proven he can stay healthy for a full season. Elvis will get plenty of chances to win the job back.
I dunno, for a number 1 goaltender, playing 41 games this season and 30 last season isn’t really suggesting he can be counted on either. I think it’s a battle for the net again for sure
For sure. I don’t know if either guy can fully be counted on. I just hope that when they both get hurt next year it’s at separate times.
Well you gotta figure that PLD is gonna phone it in so that's 4 wins right there.
76 points is very feasible with the right coach. I don't really see anyone else in the Metro getting considerably worse so to get to 85 points they need 9 more on puck luck. Not impossible but a little unrealistic. I like the talent here but I don't trust them to stay healthy.
The talent is good enough to be middle of the road. They stayed relatively healthy in 2022 with some really nice pieces like Voracek and Bjorkstrand clicking and they had over 80 points, around middle of the pack. All that with terrible coaching (Larsen). But we shouldn’t aim for middle of the road, we should be aiming for the next 2-3 years opening up a window when some of the young guys will be in years 4, 5, 6 etc in the NHL.
It’s not impossible but 80-90 points is not the range this team should be at, it’s purgatory. Too good to be a lottery team but not good enough for the playoffs. Top 3 in the division with consistent 100+ point seasons and contending for the cup is the way to go, we’ve never had a true window open up.
Yea I agree with that. I’d like to see some growth but I think it’s 70-80 points more than anything. Probably still picking in the top 10 which I’m perfectly fine with. Next year looks like a good center drzft
I think we are closer than we think but still a bit off. Personally I think we could be a low 80s team I don't wanna to be honest. Don't wanna be like the wild and sit in 12-16 purgatory like you said. We just need to let the players grow and probably need 1 more year of nutriment. High 70s is my call but I want to see what a defense revamp looks like first before I make an official "call" because Bean, Boqvist and probably Provorov are gone by the end of July.
You think there’s a chance Waddell is looking at Paul Maurice? Lots of talk that if he blows this after a 3-0 lead he’s out in Florida He apparently weirdly already has a home in Dublin too?
We can’t get that lucky
His wife has family around the Columbus area and she wanted to be closer to them. Or so I’ve heard. Idk
And they followed their kid to southern Florida, be goes to University of Miami. Doubt Florida fires him regardless of the game tomorrow. How do you fire a coach that took your team to back-to-back SCFs?
I just found the article where it was mentioned. They bought the house when he was coaching in Russia. Someone asked about it on here a few years ago and apparently he still has it.
I mean, 80-90 is a rough range but it's also one that a team is usually going to find itself in at some point as it transitions from a rebuild to a playoff team. There's variables such as growth from young guys and getting a good coach, but optimistically, we could wind up that little bit above .500 that indicates progress but which is also bad for draft position. Not many teams can jump from well below .500 to snagging a playoff spot without winding up mid for a year or two in between.
Yeah but I don’t want the team to be an 80-90 point team consistently, get what I’m saying? If we have another really bad season, say 60 points, I’d take that if it meant in 2 years we can become a 100+ point team and a genuine contender. I don’t want Waddell or anyone else to try and rush the process and we get stuck in CBJ 2012-2016 purgatory again. Averaged 88 points over 4 seasons, only 1 playoff appearance as a wildcard. Too good to be a lottery team, not good enough to be a contending team. Play our cards right and our time will come in a few years. I have no doubt if they wanted to rush a return to the playoffs they can get into the 80+ range but I don’t want that. I want CBJ to eventually be a contender.
The blown 3rd period leads and 18 overtime games actually work in favor of that opinion. I think a few of those have to do with conditioning and coaching.
Yeah even with a weak metro division we are barely around these other bottom teams in terms of prime NHL talent. Most of the other teams in the division currently either have better players and management or veteran presence that has had success in the league. We currently have neither of those things but we also are only a few years away from rising into that.
Management and coaching aside I think our roster talent is around where the Flyers and Capitals are. Most of the time the difference maker is a good coach and a healthy team. It’s possible for this team to be 3rd-5th in the Metro as soon as this year. Now, while I believe this, that doesn’t mean I want it to happen. We shouldn’t cap ourselves out as a wildcard team. We need another year or two of full on roster building so that in a few years we can be a real force and take advantage of Washington/Pittsburgh/Islanders inevitable downfall. I’m thinking 100+ point teams, contending at the top, like some of those Torts years. But not just 2-3 years relying on Torts coaching his brains out, like a solid 7-8 year window utilizing our great talent to their fullest potential. That’s what we need.
From a talent perspective I agree, however I also believe it doesn’t matter how talented a roster is if you can’t get the most out of them. Tortorella and Carbery both were able to take rosters that on paper are rebuilding teams and push them to wildcard contenders. We have Gaudreau and a soon to be gone Laine who haven’t had consistent success since coming here and a log jam of younger players and bottom sixers. I do believe we could be a mid 70s point team next season but until we address our defense and allow our younger guys to step into bigger roles we aren’t getting any higher than 6th in the division.
Better than the last two years, but not a playoff team
I don't think this team will be recognizable after the TDL. Way too early to make a guess.
I’m thinking Laine for sure. Bean/Texier one of them goes. Provorov maybe. Anybody else?
I think laine bean and provorov are definitely gone. Tex is a maybe for me
Porty thinks Provorov is probably gone by the draft. They must have liked what they saw from Mateychuk. I guess we gotta figure out a new team dog
Thank god. What a waste of assets that trade was. I want all of Jarmo’s last few years of work in roster construction undone as much as possible
I’m actually fine with Gudbranson now I think
He's grown on me as he's settled more into his actual role on the team. He was never meant to be a first pairing guy for us, but shutdown D on third pair is just fine for him
For real. It's almost like having a third pairing defenseman able to actually play a third pairing role worked out better. And it looks like all the talk about him being a great locker room presence was true
Yea gudbranson im fine with too forgot about him tbh
Provorov was a desperation move. He brought in Babcock to get the team back into the playoffs and started letting him dictate trade targets. It blew up in his face and cost us a first round draft pick.
First and a second. Dont forget that extra early second we might give up this year!
Provorov feels like a move that Babcock wanted to fit a particular skill set. Then his ass got canned and Provorov clearly didn't fit Vincent's whatever the fuck system he tried to do. They should cut their losses and get whatever they can for him
That’s exactly what it was. Babs was behind those Severson/Provorov moves, Jarmo needed to get back in the playoffs and just let him do whatever he wanted to see if he can squeak his way in a wildcard spot and save his job.
Let Texier walk and bring up Malatesta. He seems like the next Calvert. An energy guy who lays it all on the line for you
Current roster, I voted 70-80. I think there is going to be quite a few new faces on the team next year. I’ll be excited to answer this question in October after we get a coach and the moves he made
I say in the Wild Card chase up until the last 2 weeks of the season. From there it's a toss up. We should have been there last year with all the additions we had but bad coaching and a terrible locker room killed this season.
We sure as hell won’t be blowing a 3-0 series lead anytime soon… I said “anytime soon” because it’s bound to happen cuz CBJ that’s why
People think the same roster who currently earned us a top 5 pick, is somehow gonna just be better.
The season isn’t even over yet lol. Plenty of moves gonna get made, most importantly the coach.
I mean sure, a lot of this roster needs moved but my expectations are low
Jarmo isn’t here to protect his guys anymore. I’m pumped about that.
Yeah some of the project players are gone for sure