* I think there’s a good chance Stephenson gets the most ice time of any center, so arguably he’d be the 1C at least to start the season and give Beniers some easier matchups. Getting Beniers’ offensive development back on track is a major priority for the coaching staff.
* Speaking of Beniers, I put in a $5M cap hit for him for him. The $500k of cap space shows just how little cap room the Kraken have to operate here. If Beniers comes in above $5.5M, I think they will have no choice but to trade Tanev.
* Many of the wingers can play either LW or RW so to some extent they are interchangeable based on chemisty other than McCann at 1LW.
* Burakovsky’s health and production is a big unknown heading into the season. Where he slots in the lineup and the ice time he gets will be very much in his control.
* I wonder if Bylsma will want to put Gourde on Wright’s wing to help him transition into the NHL. I cannot imagine Gourde would be happy getting 4th line minutes, which would mean one of the wingers would get bumped down to the 4th line and presumably Morrison or Hayden would be 4C.
* Speaking of Morrison and Hayden – they seem the most likely to be our 2 spare forwards. Hayden earned a new 1-way contract so I think the Kraken must see him as more of an NHL guy than AHL guy. Morrison also played well during the late-season callup last year and may have the inside track to make the roster. There will be a battle for these roster spots in training camp and the preseason.
* Dumoulin’s trade opens the door wide open for Evans to seize a full-time spot on the lineup each night. Mahura is not a bad player but I think the coaches will give Evans every opportunity to lock down that spot.
P.S. with CapFriendly’s impending shutdown any day now, PuckPedia’s new PuckGM tool is probably the best available roster simulation replacement https://puckgm.puckpedia.com/
jjbjeff22
That’s an expensive 4th line. I’d expect more changes to the roster.
figure32
That 5.9 hurts every time I see it
BayAreaKrakHead
Love the thought process through all of this.
I think Ebs and Schwartz are centered by Wright on the 3rd line. At least to start the season. They had some good chemistry.
I would go McCann-Stephenson-Burakovsky for the 1st line.
2nd line would be Tolvy-Beniers-Bjork
4th line Kartye-Hayden-Winterton. This would give us a nice scrappy line.
Unfortunately I think Tanev and Gourde are out. If not this Summer they will definitely be moved by trade deadline. One of them could be getting shipped now to free up more money for a longer term deal with Beniers matching what Slafkovsky got.
5 Comments
Notes and thoughts
* I think there’s a good chance Stephenson gets the most ice time of any center, so arguably he’d be the 1C at least to start the season and give Beniers some easier matchups. Getting Beniers’ offensive development back on track is a major priority for the coaching staff.
* Speaking of Beniers, I put in a $5M cap hit for him for him. The $500k of cap space shows just how little cap room the Kraken have to operate here. If Beniers comes in above $5.5M, I think they will have no choice but to trade Tanev.
* Many of the wingers can play either LW or RW so to some extent they are interchangeable based on chemisty other than McCann at 1LW.
* Burakovsky’s health and production is a big unknown heading into the season. Where he slots in the lineup and the ice time he gets will be very much in his control.
* I wonder if Bylsma will want to put Gourde on Wright’s wing to help him transition into the NHL. I cannot imagine Gourde would be happy getting 4th line minutes, which would mean one of the wingers would get bumped down to the 4th line and presumably Morrison or Hayden would be 4C.
* Speaking of Morrison and Hayden – they seem the most likely to be our 2 spare forwards. Hayden earned a new 1-way contract so I think the Kraken must see him as more of an NHL guy than AHL guy. Morrison also played well during the late-season callup last year and may have the inside track to make the roster. There will be a battle for these roster spots in training camp and the preseason.
* Dumoulin’s trade opens the door wide open for Evans to seize a full-time spot on the lineup each night. Mahura is not a bad player but I think the coaches will give Evans every opportunity to lock down that spot.
P.S. with CapFriendly’s impending shutdown any day now, PuckPedia’s new PuckGM tool is probably the best available roster simulation replacement https://puckgm.puckpedia.com/
That’s an expensive 4th line. I’d expect more changes to the roster.
That 5.9 hurts every time I see it
Love the thought process through all of this.
I think Ebs and Schwartz are centered by Wright on the 3rd line. At least to start the season. They had some good chemistry.
I would go McCann-Stephenson-Burakovsky for the 1st line.
2nd line would be Tolvy-Beniers-Bjork
4th line Kartye-Hayden-Winterton. This would give us a nice scrappy line.
Unfortunately I think Tanev and Gourde are out. If not this Summer they will definitely be moved by trade deadline. One of them could be getting shipped now to free up more money for a longer term deal with Beniers matching what Slafkovsky got.
Gourde on the 4th line?!