Quoting: dragonlocks
I hear what you're saying, but here's my thought. JFK, Senyshyn, Zboril, Lauzon, may be ready next year, but they're not ready now. O'Gara is ready, but he has proven that he can't put up big minutes and the minutes he can play he is a defensive defenseman at best and even then he is not solid in his own end, lots of mistakes. The only thing he has going for him is he is a big body who can play against the toughest power forwards in the league (which is something you can't teach).
How has he proven that he can't put up big minutes? The guys played 11 NHL games. Danton Heinen through his first 8 games in the NHL played just over 13 minutes a night....now he's one of the top scoring rookies in the NHL. Lets not start closing the scouting report on a guy after a sip of NHL experience.
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With Bjork, Acciari, and Vatrano injured and the aforementioned not ready to go yet, that leaves us really thin on replacements if there are anymore injuries.
And none of those injuries are considered major. Guys get hurt, its the nature of the game, but the guys you're talking about are small contributors to the success of this team (if any). Really only Acciari is a main stay on this team right now and he only plays 12 minutes a night. If we can't replace a 4th line RW, then we're screwed with someone in the system, then our system sucks.
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Obviously I don't want to mess with what we have going right now; we're winning, but if another RW goes down we're looking at Senyshyn as the next man up (or moving Nash to RW, Czarnik to 3C, and JFK to 4C) either way I don't think they're ready for the Stanley Cup Playoffs (let alone the Finals, if we make it that far) If a LHD goes down O'Gara is the next man up, and I don't think he's ready either.
Senyshyn wouldn't be the next man up. If anything the order is probably....
Cehlarik
Szwarz
Fitzgerald
Senyshyn
Hickman
If these guys are replacing say Pasta then ya were in trouble, but I don't see a guy like Wagner being a saving grace in that spot either. As far as defense goes, when healthy two of Miller, McQuaid and Postma are not dressing and two of those guys can play their off-side if need be. After them, yes O'Gara is the next man up, but he's going to play a 3rd pairing role. The guy isn't going to come in and replace Chara or Krug, nor would the kid from Chicago be able to.
[/quote]I'm looking at this as making a run this year and then those spots being open next year. They are very cheap, low impact, rentals that won't break the pocket book.[/quote]
Low impact rentals? If no one gets hurt they are no impact rentals. You're basically buying an insurance policy for your bottom pairing and a 4th line, why?
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Now, I see you're point of view, but I just don't think we should go all in on a RW/LHD and screw with the synergy of our lines. I think a durable 4th line/bottom pairing rental of the same positions (because obviously I see the same holes you do) is the way to go. It leaves our team exactly the way it is now, and if we have anymore injuries it allows us to seamlessly fill those holes without having to rely on those kids that aren't ready yet, and at the same time allows us to not be tied into a contract and to re-open those holes next season for those kids who are developing as we speak.
The two guys you're replacing in my scenario are Spooner and Grz. Spooner is finally have a good year, but this team isn't going to fall apart if he's not the #2RW, nor does this team crumble if Grz isn't the 3rd pairing d-man. If anything acquire a top 4 LHD makes us stronger. Krug now slot down to a position he can take advantage of and Carlo gets a more stable defensive partner to help me "on the job" and take over for Chara when he calls it a career.
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Those kids might be ready, they might not, but the playoffs is not the venue to find out. Each game is the most important game of the season in the playoffs. 1) you don't want to put that pressure on them 2) you don't know how they're going to bounce back if they screw up 3) if they do screw up, one game could mean series (whether that be changing the tide of momentum, or literally screwing up in a game 7 type scenario)
I would imagine that B's management knows which kids can handle it and which can't. Obviously McAvoy is a rare case, but he seemed to handle it find last year, as did Kuraly and a slew of other guys who've never been in the playoffs before. Here's the thing, with what's in place these "kids" wont be ask to fill premium role and if they have too, we screwed anyways and the two guys you're acquiring here aren't going to keep our hopes alive.
These moves don't change your Stanley Cup odds. A guy like McDonagh or Stone....those guy change cup odds and that's (if anything) what we need. We have depth, we don't need more of it in the off chance a bottom forward or d-man gets hurt. If we do, then Sweeney and Co should be fire for not having in an house option till a 10-13 minute a night role.