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Maniaked

Member Since
Mar. 4, 2024
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Tampa Bay Lightning
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Forum: Fauteuil - DGJun. 5 at 6:08 p.m.
Thread: Kent Johnson
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>BoomerTheHero</b></div><div>I definitely disagree, Jiricek has shown he is ready for the NHL. We already had to deal with him having issues being sent down this past season, no way we are doing that again and risking alienating our most valuable prospect. Gudbranson also makes too much to be scratched. Scratching 4mil players is terrible cap management.</div></div>

I'd scratch a $4M Gudbranson to play Cernak in a heartbeat, cap be damned. I'd like a Cernak trade for the same reason I'd rather see us draft Silayev or Levshunov over Lindstrom: we have hardly any NHL-floor D-men in the system, and the NHL D-men we have can't shut down anyone.

<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Viqsi</b></div><div>I think the supposed issues with Jiricek are overblown, and I don't think he's shown he is ready. He's still making some of the same dumb mistakes; yes, he's outscored a few of them, but that's not enough at this level.

And as for cap management - part of why I'm so enthusiastic about Cernak in particular is because I think we badly need his skillset and that we're unlikely to get it without paying more than what he makes to folks who are even older and who would require term taking them to even later parts of their career. It's not a sweetheart deal, but it's a decent one. There are potentially better ways to cover that gap, but I don't think they're anywhere near as likely to succeed in doing so.</div></div>

I agree with you, but my concern is age. Making a move for Cernak is great if the rest of the team was a shutdown defenseman away from competing, but I think the core is just too young for that move to make enough of an impact now, and by the time the window is open, he's reached the end of his prime. Maybe he plays well until he's 38, but realistically he's only a contributing core piece for 4-5 years of a potential window, then we're looking at a replacement again. It's kind of the same argument we have over Marner, and it's not something I'd want to trade someone who could be a top-6 ppg winger for 10+ years for.

Would I be mad? No. Would Tampa need to add? Of course. Is it exactly the kind of win-now move and mentality that I think this organization chases constantly, and has caused us to be mired in mediocrity instead of ever building a legitimate contending team for 20+ years? Absolutely.
Forum: Armchair-GMJun. 4 at 7:07 p.m.