Florida Panthers

Overall, yeah, he's left the team in good shape. Although Jake Allen isn't much of a trade piece at 4.35 M a year. But this team doesn't have 5 year millstone contracts like Brent Seabrook sitting there, and it isn't capped out due to paying a fourth line guy like Ryan Reaves nearly 3 M. But, jeez, they did do an amazing job dumping 3 terrible contracts (Berglund, Lehtera, and Sobotka) as a part of bringing in a Conn Smythe winner and their 4th best forward.

This team really could sign or trade for someone to be a second line F, and probably should do so. They are going to have cap space even after resigning all the RFAs, and, realistically, they'd be better off getting someone better than Maroon for like 5 M a year to improve the offense. It was pretty obvious in the finals that the Blais/Sanford spot could be improved next to ROR, and Schenn is walking in a year. Thomas can only fill one of those spots.

I dunno who this actually is in free agency, though, it almost feels like you'd be better off finding a trade from a team that wants a little cap space. But the Blues might only want a one year deal to leave room for Petro.

 

Jake Allen becomes a trade piece at the deadline if 1) Binnington is closer to Patrick Roy than Cam Ward and 2) Allen plays well in the backup role like he did after Binnington took over the starting job.

There is not nearly enough space to talk about how much shit Allen got last year for playing behind a terrible team from October to January. I did the math at one point and he would have had to have had a GAA of like 1.60 to win 50% of his games during that time. People remember he was giving up 5-6-7 goals in some games but the team was scoring 1 in those games. Even if his GAA was 2 during that time, they still would have lost like 75% of his starts during those months. They were that bad on offense.

 

Binnington has filed for arbitration after getting his qualifying offer (~$715k, per CapFriendly).

Fun negotiation:
"We can't pay you that --- you only have a half season of experience."
"Yeah, but look at that half season."

 

2.25 mil per year on a 2 year deal. Any more than that (term or money), and if he turns in to Cam Ward, you are kind of fucked.

 

He's a trade piece in the sense that you would send him out, but he has negative trade value with that contract. https://puckbase.com/stats/goalies?season=2&show_all=top&situation=ev the regular season stats were not good. Jake Allen is a below average goalie with a starting goalie's contract. His best years involve him charting out as a league avg ish goalie. Yeah, someone could take a flyer on him, but they are going to want you to either take a bad contract back or to eat part of his money.

It's true that we were bad at scoring goals, but he also posted a sub 91.5% save percentage at even strength last year when a league average starter is at over 92%.

 

It will be interesting to see what he asks for. If the Blues can get him for $2-$2.5 M, gosh, that gives you a lot of cap space to spend on another player.

Given the space the blues have for 2019-2020, if you have to overpay him, you might rather do so on a one year deal vs. a 2 year deal, as 2020-2021 has slightly more cap crunch potential. Come 2021, you have Steen/Allen/Bozak up.

 

Which, none of those three will be back after that season. The Blues are in really good shape moving forward with no big money committed to anyone on what I would call a terrible contract past the next couple years.

I would love to see Schenn back but I suspect after this off-season that he will be priced out off of the team.

I saw enough during the playoffs from Binnington to say they should not commit to him for 4-5 years. He is 26 and was their 4th goalie in the organization all year. Had Husso not been hurt most of the year, there is a good chance Binnington never even gets called up.

 

I mean...how do you make a 5 year commitment to a goalie like JB when you can go year to year with him for now? I dunno when he would be a UFA.

 

I'm no capologist or CBA expert, but I think the '27 or 7' rule applies to UFAs: Age 27 or 7 years of service upon expiration of contract.

Given his [relatively] advanced age, a 5 year commitment might be a way to buy some of those potential UFA years more affordably.

 

This has been a most interesting thread. Looks like we have several NHL followers here. Thanks for the great responses. It's good to talk NHL rather than the shit for birds basketball.

 

Binnington also had a clause in his contract that if he didn't play a certain amount of games this season in the NHL he would have been a UFA. So when they called him up, the local writers and bloggers started doing the math and noticed he would get to that magic number before the end of the season with a few games off in there. The call up obviously worked but there was NO ONE in the organization that thought it would end up like this and if they say they did they are lying. The team, as a whole, had their metrics trending the right way from early December on and it was just a matter of them turning that corner.

Also, what in the hell is Chicago doing with that trade yesterday? That Brent Seabrook contract is the gift that keeps on giving to the rest of the Central Division.

 

I agree to a certain extent. Early in the season Allen was hung out to dry a LOT. The team defense was terrible and they gave up a ton of odd man rushes. They were also not good on the PK early on and took a lot of penalties which is a really bod combo when have a shaky goalie. I would love to see his 5-v-5 save % because I think it would be higher than the overall save %.

 

I think that's just the Class VI UFA rules, not something specific to JB

 

It's a risky play...it could also be a disaster if he falls flat on his face. Team has to evaluate the risk/reward trade-off.

FWIW, goalies tend to not do quite as well in FA as F or D (Bob being an exception, and I dunno what Lou is doing with Varlamov's horrible deal), which probably lessens the value of this a bit.

 

If I was a GM I would NEVER give a FA goalie more than 2 years.

 

He's Alain Vigneault's boy from the Rangers.

 

It's one of the long time problems in a lot of sports, GMs/coaches who prefer certain players and end up over paying for them based on 'intangibles' and 'knowing the system' when the play on the ice doesn't warrant the contract. I watched Mike Keenan bring in a ton of old Blackhawks when he was the coach for STL and most were overrated or past their prime.

 

Vigneault is a decent hire, usually gives an instant upgrade. I kind of wonder about those assistant coaches though. They tend to be coaches that players like. Michel Therrien and Mike Yeo are not those kinds of people. How does Mike Yeo keep getting jobs? Minnesota went badly, then he had the Blues in last place.

 

Mike Yeo is a hockey cockroach.