Sometime tonight, I will write up my thoughts on the Justin Williams signing, the prospect camp scrimmage and whatever else turns up today.
But in the meantime, let’s open up the Coffee Shop for everyone else’s comments, joyous celebrations and opinions.
Justin Williams polls
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Discussion questions
1) What are your thoughts on the Justin Williams’ signing?
2) From the other deals that have been announced? Which Metro teams now scare you most? Which deals would you steal if given the chance? Any other general thoughts on the free agent frenzy today?
3) Does Francis have another deal in him? If so, what might it be?
4) I figure the prospect camp scrimmage comments can go in that post, but if anyone can’t hold it in until later, fire away.
Go Canes!
1) I’m happy with the signing, if it isn’t the only move we make to add a top 6 forward I’ll be even happier. I’m not sure Williams is the difference maker I think a lot of people are hoping we pick up this off season.
2) Haven’t been tracking the rest of the league much today but every team in the metro scares me. I’m becoming more convinced this isn’t our year to make the playoffs regardless of what we do this offseason short of trading pieces we have no business trading.
3) I don’t think RF makes another big move today, if he does I think it’s for a 1C. On that note, I answered “Other” to the second question about who becomes our 3rd center. Since it’s the off-season and predictions don’t have to make complete sense, I’m going to say we see Skinner centering our top line. He was drafted as a Center and has dramatically improved his defensive game, maybe this is the last step in him cementing himself as a truly elite player in this league.
I have a question about slotting in JW and JJ both RW. Do you put Williams on Stalls line movingLindholm to Center the 3rd or on Rask’s line and move TT to Center? Both are intriguing options. The wild card is still PDG who isn’t signed yet. It will be interesting to see how BP decides to line them up this season.
One of (many) positives about Williams is his versatility. He is not so much positionally flexible (like Jokinen and a few others); he is a right wing. But in terms of kind of line, he is a chameleon. Even at 35 years old he was capable in terms of pace, puck skills and finishing to complement some incredibly good offensive players in Washington. And the checking line skill set that made him one of the best Hurricanes forwards ever in terms of forechecking/backchecking is still intact to.
Especially, if Francis does not add another top 9 center, Williams would be a nice stabilizing/two-way veteran on a line centered by Teravainen or another young center. But Williams is also more than capable to play on Staal’s right side on that checking line.
Matt. Agree that Williams could slot a lot of places. My guess is that Wallmark might get a shot at 3C with Teravainen and Williams. That would make first line Aho/Staal/Lindholm and second line Skinner/Rask/Stempniak. And the fourth would be among McGinn, Nordstrom, Ryan, DiGuiseppe, and Jorris. If Wallmark doesn’t step up he can join what is going to be quite a collection in Charlotte and Ryan can rejoin Skinner and Stempniak since they had success the last month of this past season.
The one thing I think Williams does do is give the organization the entire year to see which prospects are ready.
1. We got an outstanding player and the top free agent forward out there. What’s not to like. He brings scoring, grit, and an all around game and really will be a great role model for all our young forwards. Brings a certain level of pride back to the franchise.
2. No one in the Metro blew the doors off. IMO the Canes have done more than any other metro team to improve their roster in the off-season.
3. Not sure why RF picked up Jooris, but he must have something in mind. My first thought is he doesn’t want to have our young prospect scoring type forwards coming up and playing 4th line roles. He wants them to continue to develop as scoring type forwards playing in top nine slots.
4. The only deal I see out there as a possibility is a trade to get Galchenyuk. I see this only if RF feels the team is ready to really vie for the Cup at this point. Otherwise, I don’t see anything earth shattering.
RedRyder. I think you are on target with 3. Also, Williams is a strong defender, but didn’t spend much time on PK with Washington and my guess is RF and BP don’t want him in that role in Raleigh. Jooris did spend decent time on PK and seems to be defensively sound from looking at available stats. It looks to me like RF had him as target for 4th line and PK role. Because like you, I think if a young center makes the team (most likely Wallmark, maybe Kuokkanen, or possibly Saarela if his health is staisfactory) that player will be given shot at 3rd line role.
Well, I’m very pleased I was dead wrong about Justin Williams coming to CAR. I’d lump him in the “incremental improvement” bucket instead of the “difference-maker” bucket but, given that we would probably have to give up a Core-4 (which I don’t think is a good idea) to get a difference-maker, we added arguably the best UFA “incremental improvement” option on offense, especially for this our team. Woo-hoo!!!
Not sure RF is done, but we’re a much deeper and better team since the end of the season, with a very talented prospect pool that will fill NHL roles quickly over the next 1-2 seasons. It would not surprise me to see a trade later this off-season to rebalance the present with the future.
1. I thought what we wanted and were going to get was 20G/60P signed for 5-ish for 2-3 years. JW pretty much fits the bill so it is a good signing and get BP what he wants – a forward who can play at the NHL level and not may be able to play.
2. I think Pittsburgh stepped back (my daughter, who is also a Pens fan, is convinced of it). I don’t think NYR improved. I think Philadelphia will be improved. I am not sure what CBJ did.
3. Any deals going forward will be minor – I think RF pretty much said that when he said if he finds someone who can help the team he will pursue it. He is not looking for anything major – probably a depth D-man.
As a sidenote, I am glad to see Murphy is getting a chance with the Wild.
A center would be nice…eh?!!
That’s where we need an upgrade most.
Does anyone think we have a prospect capable of moving up into that spot?
Will Wardo be adequate in a non-starter role?
We still have questions, do we have other backup plans?
I think the JW signing is great for this team. He was a fan favorite and a leader on & off the ice. The old fans & new fans will love him being back. He will bring a presence to the locker room & be a leader for the young guys. He will give us a consistent scoring winger & help open others on his line.
As far as a 1C goes, sounds like CBJ are close to a deal for Duchene. I think RF tried hard but COL wanted Hanifin & RF would not relent. Good for RF !! I’m glad we are keeping our Core-4 young D. They will be the Canes best asset for years to come. Also, now that MTL has signed Alzner, I think we could get Galchenyuk for maybe Fleury & a 2nd, maybe have to be a 1st or a forward prospect & a 1st & 2nd. Either way we keep our Core-4 D & grab what would be (hopefully) our 1C.
My 2 cents.
Go Canes !!
I found it slightly interesting that Justin Williams purchased a house in Cary in May. Was this a done deal all along?
The Justin Williams signing was pretty near storybook. My sense is he’ll slot in next to Jordan and Sebastian. Although Peters did say he liked how Aho/Staal/Lindholm looked at the end of the season (and they did look good). I think Skinner/Rask/Wiliams would be a fine line as well. Anyway, it is good to have options.
I think the Capitals still have some work to do. They’ve got to re-sign Burakovsky, Kuznetsov, and Grubauer. They probably have the cap to do so, but it will be tight, especially given that they’ve got to find at least one capable defenseman. So they might take a small step back. Pittsburgh is likely to be almost the same team offensively, but will have to have somebody step into Bonino’s role. Their big drop off is in net where they traded MAF for Niemi. That’s a clear downgrade. Interestingly enough, Columbus is looking very scary. They addes a little speed in Schroeder and, more importantly, Pierre-Luc Dubois is likely ready for primetime. The Rangers took a step back offensively and a step forward defensively. It will be interesting to see how they fill their 1C void.
For whatever reason, I think there might be some sort of 1 year deal for somebody. Maybe a 3C or maybe a scoring LW. There’s also the very real possibility of a trade to bring in one more Top 6 guy. I just don’t know who I’d trade at the moment.