Bylsma to BUFF

Post by **meecrofilm** » Mon Jun 01, 2015 10:32 am

thehockeyguru wrote:Very rarely is there an elite talent that allows for a blank check type deal and I don't think letang was that type of player. He is a very good passer and has exceptional closing speed. But he's under sized and isn't particularly good on the pp. He struggles in his end against big forwards. To me that doesn't warrant 7M plus a season.

The only reason right now Letang isn't / wouldn't be worth that contract is due to his injury issues. It has nothing to do with his recent on-ice play, IMO.

Post by **thehockeyguru** » Mon Jun 01, 2015 10:39 am

meecrofilm wrote:
thehockeyguru wrote:Very rarely is there an elite talent that allows for a blank check type deal and I don't think letang was that type of player. He is a very good passer and has exceptional closing speed. But he's under sized and isn't particularly good on the pp. He struggles in his end against big forwards. To me that doesn't warrant 7M plus a season.
The only reason right now Letang isn't / wouldn't be worth that contract is due to his injury issues. It has nothing to do with his recent on-ice play, IMO.

Injuries will certainly be his biggest hurdle going forward. For me its all about how you play in the playoffs and there is nothing to critique.

Post by **slappybrown** » Mon Jun 22, 2015 11:52 am

thehockeyguru wrote:
mikey wrote:So you would move him now...? Or soon?
If I'm TB I look to resign him. I'd pay Subban money for Hedman.

To be clear I thought the Pens should have resigned Letang, but I wouldn't have paid a cent over 6M for him. If Letang didn't take it I would have looked to trade him.

$6mm gets you Johnny Boychuk.

$5.75mm gets you Matt Niskanen.

$6mm for a top pairing guy on a legitimate Cup contender is not realistic. Letang signed his contract before the stroke, so I'm not sure what injury concerns you had with him that cap you at $6mm. The bad luck he's had with his health has primarily all come after he signed. Before he signed, he'd been relatively durable, missing meaningful chunks only one season. The rest he was playing 70 games plus and while he had some niggling issues the year of the lockout, he was a Norris Trophy finalist.

If he doesn't get concussed by Doan this year, which I don't think you can attribute to being "injury-prone" as opposed to "hockey is a really violent sport with borderline plays occurring every shift", he's a Norris finalist again. He's one of the top 6 or 7 best dmen or so in the league and 7.25 is perfectly reasonable. Keith, Subban, Weber, and Suter are the only 4 guys I take over Letang without much discussion.

Post by **Factorial** » Mon Jun 22, 2015 11:56 am

slappybrown wrote:
thehockeyguru wrote:
mikey wrote:So you would move him now...? Or soon?
If I'm TB I look to resign him. I'd pay Subban money for Hedman.

To be clear I thought the Pens should have resigned Letang, but I wouldn't have paid a cent over 6M for him. If Letang didn't take it I would have looked to trade him.
$6mm gets you Johnny Boychuk.

$5.75mm gets you Matt Niskanen.

$6mm for a top pairing guy on a legitimate Cup contender is not realistic. Letang signed his contract before the stroke, so I'm not sure what injury concerns you had with him that cap you at $6mm. The bad luck he's had with his health has primarily all come after he signed. Before he signed, he'd been relatively durable, missing meaningful chunks only one season. The rest he was playing 70 games plus and while he had some niggling issues the year of the lockout, he was a Norris Trophy finalist.

If he doesn't get concussed by Doan this year, which I don't think you can attribute to being "injury-prone" as opposed to "hockey is a really violent sport with borderline plays occurring every shift", he's a Norris finalist again. He's one of the top 6 or 7 best dmen or so in the league and 7.25 is perfectly reasonable. Keith, Subban, Weber, and Suter are the only 4 guys I take over Letang without much discussion.

Case closed.

Post by **Craig** » Mon Jun 22, 2015 12:24 pm

How much does the defensive anchor on the hawks cost their cap?

Pop

Post by **MalkinIsMyHomeboy** » Mon Jun 22, 2015 2:16 pm

Hell, 5.5 mill gets you Brooks Orpik...

Post by **Jim** » Mon Jun 22, 2015 2:43 pm

$2.9 Engelland

Post by **TheHammer24** » Sun Jun 28, 2015 5:53 pm

I think a lot of what you are seeing is 8.7 millions gets you Sidney Crosby, so $7.5 million is too much for Letang. That conclusion does not follow from that premise. As others have pointed out, $7.5 million is very reasonable for a top ten defenseman in the league.

Also, I have made this argument elsewhere but paying the extra million (from 6.5 to 7.5) to get an elite player helps your team more than paying, say, a $4.5 million guy the extra $1 million to get him instead of $3.5 million.

Post by **TheHammer24** » Sun Jun 28, 2015 5:53 pm

I think a lot of what you are seeing is 8.7 millions gets you Sidney Crosby, so $7.5 million is too much for Letang. That conclusion does not follow from that premise. As others have pointed out, $7.5 million is very reasonable for a top ten defenseman in the league.

Also, I have made this argument elsewhere but paying the extra million (from 6.5 to 7.5) to get an elite player helps your team more than paying, say, a $4.5 million guy the extra $1 million to get him instead of $3.5 million.