At that AAV you can certainly get more term on Mercer.

Sure. Doesn't really matter because I'm not doing any crazy cap gymnastics here.

True. Wonder if Pitt would have interest in moving off Jarry. I like him a lot

Too much cap and meh for Markstrom. Gee you don't even have Hanifan in the lineip and it's cap disaster.

this is next year. Hanifin would not stick around. It's only a cap disaster because I threw in 3.5m of dead cap, that number probably ends up smaller

You think so? I was under the impression you thought Mercer was someone you’d want to lock by in long term rather than trying a bridge contract. I thought he’d be worth more than this contract.

He has been awful this year. Played himself out of a lucrative deal

We have 4 years of RFA control which drastically lowers his price on a short term deal.
2.5x1
3x2
3.5x3
4x4
4.5x5
5x6
5.5x7
6x8

Is approximately my estimation, although I'd like to get him at 5.5x8 if possible.

And yes I would like him long term.

If he was a UFA he'd probably get like 7.5millx7 by a rebuilder like Chicago or Anaheim or San Jose looking to secure a long term top 6 C.

All i want for Christmas is average goaltending

Mrazek stopgap

nooo thank you he is not good

Hence why he'll be dirt cheap (4th tops) without retention (gotta put the 1 year LTIR money on something). Certainly better than what Vanacek has been providing.

I'd also go after a more upside option like Knight or Gustafsson.

Knight and Gus I don't see as options. Smart GMs will have learned from Boston that 2 elite goalies is better than 1. I think by far the most realistic options are Gibson and Markstrom, which sucks given their contracts

Don't want anything to do with them without significant retention.

In order of preference:
1. Swayman (offer Mercer+Vitek)
2. Gus (offer 1st 2nd 3rd Vanacek)
3. Knight (offer 1st+3rd+Vanacek)
4. Jarry (offer 2nd, ideally in combo with Pettersson and I'd up the offer for any retention given)
5. Mrazek (offer 4th)
6. Allen 50% retained (offer 3rd)
7. Gibson retained to 4 mill (offer 1st+Vanacek+Prospect)
8. Markstrom 50% retained (offer 1st+Prospect)
9. Depth option like Stolarz or Ned

1. Not likely, he is too good
2. Not likely, Wallstedt isn't ready and he's on a good deal
3. Not likely, Bob is getting old
4. Not likely, in-division and competing for playoff spots
5. Bad
6. Acceptable but not ideal
7. Acceptable but high risk
8. Acceptable but high risk, and he's not worth that much
9. Ned is not a depth option, he has been better than Jarry this year. Stolarz sure if they call up Knight, but if not it's unlikely.

Otherwise I'd rather just go with Schmid and Daws and try again this summer.

A lot of those guys might not necessarily be available today, but certainly could be in the offseason at the right price. Which is why I'm open to a stopgap for this year like mrazek, and hit the market harder in the offseason. I'd still be sending out offers and feelers now to see if there's any interest in selling tho.

Overpaying for a guy like Markstrom or Gibson, especially without massive retention, is something that could ruin our entire window tho

Sure, I wouldn't break the bank for either of those guys. Allen is simply the better goalie than Mrazek in my eyes

If we trade for Hanifin….I would lean towards keeping him if we can. Markstrom at $6m would likely nix that.

I would guess that 1, 2, 4, 8 won’t be moved. 5,6,9 may not be improvements unless we have an injury.

3. Knight - he would be great, but imagine we’d have to part with Siegenthaler or Marino…as they have some hole on blueline to feel and lots of mouths to feed.

7. Gibson - he is the only other goalie there worth acquiring imo.

Most available goalies aren’t likely to improve things much. Especially when our biggest issue is puck control out of d-zone. But guys like Knight, Gibson would good enough to make a difference. They have term, have rarely ever been bad year. Sign me for both around $4m to $4.5m.

I would only keep Hanifin if we traded Siegenthaler

If we could fit both, keep both.

I mean of course but a goalie comes first

I would prioritize the dman. Sure, our goaltending has been subpar, but the biggest difference between this year and last year has been puck control coming out of d-zone. Without Sevo, Graves and Hamilton, we are not a playoff team.

Improve d-zone exit efficiency…and quality of chances improve for us, and number of quality chances against go down.

If we stick a better goaltender back there…and passes out of own zone continue hitting forwards in the skates (or missing then altogether), it will be mostly the same as we have seen this year.

I completely disagree. By any metric, our defense has gotten slightly worse and our goaltending is the worst in the league

We struggle at getting anything going 5v5. And that all starts from the back. Last year, we were atop the league in d-zone exit efficiency. This year, we are near the bottom.

It’s the defense’s poor puck control that is hurting us the most. Smith couldn’t hit the side of barn door. Bahl has put more passes on the skates than on the tape. Even Marino struggled early on. And the stretch pass is completely absent from our game.

Our entire system is built upon possession through the zones, moving from d-zone, to n-zone to o-zone quickly and efficiently. We need to get that mojo back.

As a unit, our goaltending biggest decline has been in high-danger chances….stopping 81% last year, only 75% this year. (Medium and low danger figures are identical to last year). We are giving up too many high-quality chances against. This is a result of turning the puck over early in the possession. I think it’s plain and simple….we need better puck protection, better passing out of back. Our forwards are actually turning the puck over less than last year…party because they have the puck on their stick less.

Besides, goalies are unpredictable. Their track record isn’t always as transferable from one team to another as we would like it to be.