I'm not sure why the team didn't buy out Frans earlier in the offseason, instead waiting for the post-arbitration window (opened by Adam Erne's filing), but he is now gone. The team needed Frans to meet the expansion draft exposure requirements at forward, but he still could have been bought out after Seattle disappointed the hockey world with their selections.
While the move saves the team roughly $1M in cap space, this move was never about the math, and all about opening a roster spot for youngsters to take. The team is not giving this spot to a youngster, but with so many young guys (Veleno, Berggren, Raymond, Smith) vying for a roster spot (Smith is out of waiver options), the team is showing them the spots they can take. In the unlikely scenario where Veleno, Berggren, and Raymond all show they aren't ready, Taro Hirose, Chase Pearson, or Luke Witkowski could be called upon to take that spot.
Personally, I was still surprised when the team didn't buy out Frans in the first window. There has been no real change in the projection of the organization that likely would have altered their decision making. I mean, what changed for the organization between the first and second window? They lost Luke Glendening, their best faceoff man, and Valtteri Filppula, another veteran center. Unless they were unsure of the center position, with those two and Sam Gagner all being free agents, and this prior to Mitchell Stephens' signing, then I understand the thought process.
At the end of the day, that leaves only one bad holdover contract from the Holland era, that of Danny DeKeyser. Danny got off to a slow start this past season, which was to be expected. By the end of the year, he was starting to look like his old self, so it's good to see him get another chance. His injury history is concerning, and I tend to look at him as the defensive version of Darren Helm. He was solid in his younger days when he stayed healthy, but will the toll of injuries cause him to change his game to the point where he is ineffective? Time will tell.
Yzerman now has a roster that is entirely of his own making. It is far from perfect, but very managable year to year. It is up to each player to compete for a roster spot, and actually earn a long-term contract. Something that was regularly handed out during the Holland era, like free samples at Costco. Those days are done, accountability is being created, and whomever earns their spots will get them. More are available than there have been in a long time, and we finally have some intriguing prospects competing for them.
No comments:
Post a Comment