[brooks] Fast Expected to Depart in Free Agency

I would rather sign Fast to a reasonable deal than Strome (for what I fear he’ll cost) and Lemieux.

AdA is a tough one because ideally I’d like to keep him, but it’s questionable whether they can afford to pay him and you have to seriously look at what he can bring back in a trade.

I disagree. He's mediocre offensively, offers little to nothing defensively, is abysmal in most advanced statistics, isn't a very good agitator. He's just an okay grinder. He's tough and provides some spunk but not nearly well enough to warrant keeping him. He was great when he debuted with the Rangers. He was awful most of last season. I don't think he has much use or future here.

He seemed pretty banged up this year. It appears like hes a locker room staple. I definitely take that guy back.

Why do you think he's not a good agitator?

He seemed pretty banged up this year. It appears like hes a locker room staple. I definitely take that guy back.

 

Why do you think he's not a good agitator?

He might draw penalties but he also takes some shit ones at bad times. Maybe he's just not good at reading the game yet to know when he should unleash his antics, but he's already lacking in too many respects for me.

Andersson can't fill in Fast's spot because as stands he's not remotely as good as Fast at what he does. Andersson's development has been a mess because, amongst other things, he hasn't developed into a player with any particular skillset. He's not a defensive specialist anymore because it hasn't even been a part of his game that he's focused on. In his most recent stint in Hartford he didn't even see time on the penalty kill. The regulars were Nieves, Fogarty, Jones, and Gettinger.

As I said. He would have to accept the role. I see no other future for him in this league. Have him adapt. He's not going to make it any other way, and I think his playing style could easily make him a fit for the role.

Then again I think Nieves should have been on the team this past season and in the playoffs. I absolutely see him playing in this league elsewhere. Not sure how Mckegg and Haley were seen as better options than him.

As I said. He would have to accept the role. I see no other future for him in this league. Have him adapt. He's not going to make it any other way, and I think his playing style could easily make him a fit for the role.

 

Then again I think Nieves should have been on the team this past season and in the playoffs. I absolutely see him playing in this league elsewhere. Not sure how Mckegg and Haley were seen as better options than him.

Nieves is the exact equivalent of Fogarty. Their impacts are the same. Nieves is just faster. Neither is more than a 13th forward.

We are going to have less than 15m in cap space and have Georgiev, ADA, Strome, Lemieux all RFAs and Fast UFA. If they aren?t buying out or finding miracles, how are they affording Fast of all people?

I would sign Fast, see what Strome will want in a multiyear deal, and if its too much, give him a 1 year deal and try to move him. ADA and Georgiev I would look to move at the draft, and I don't see Lemieux getting a big raise. He still has a lot to prove.

Article on Fast

Not sure the logic is really sound.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.foreverblueshirts.com/rangers-roundup-nhl-rumors-jesper-fasts-future-and-more-news/amp/

I would sign Fast, see what Strome will want in a multiyear deal, and if its too much, give him a 1 year deal and try to move him. ADA and Georgiev I would look to move at the draft, and I don't see Lemieux getting a big raise. He still has a lot to prove.

If they plan on keeping Strome and Ada they both likely would get 6m or so by arbitrationnor somewhere in that area. If it came down and both got around 6.5 then they literally have under 2m left for cap space for anything else. I just don’t see a spot where Fast stays here personally. It’s probably why they will keep Lemieux with his 1m or so cap hit over a guy like Fast. Technically McKegg and Digiuseppe also are ufa and rfa so their roster spots needs at the least attention too.

This flat cap screws a lot and they need help buy out wise.

If they plan on keeping Strome and Ada they both likely would get 6m or so by arbitrationnor somewhere in that area. If it came down and both got around 6.5 then they literally have under 2m left for cap space for anything else. I just don’t see a spot where Fast stays here personally. It’s probably why they will keep Lemieux with his 1m or so cap hit over a guy like Fast. Technically McKegg and Digiuseppe also are ufa and rfa so their roster spots needs at the least attention too.

 

This flat cap screws a lot and they need help buy out wise.

I don’t think they should do any buyouts this summer. For the space it’s going to take up after next season, it’s it worth it, especially with the chance of the cap staying the same over the next couple of seasons.

If they plan on keeping Strome and Ada they both likely would get 6m or so by arbitrationnor somewhere in that area. If it came down and both got around 6.5 then they literally have under 2m left for cap space for anything else. I just don’t see a spot where Fast stays here personally. It’s probably why they will keep Lemieux with his 1m or so cap hit over a guy like Fast. Technically McKegg and Digiuseppe also are ufa and rfa so their roster spots needs at the least attention too.

 

This flat cap screws a lot and they need help buy out wise.

Flat cap is not at all helping what was already going to be a tight squeeze as it was.

IDK, it just seems more like one of those guys had to be a casualty, or there’s buyouts coming.

If I had to lose one, I’m not sure which .

I don’t know. Strome had 59 points, one less that guys like Tavares and Toews, same amount as a Hoffman, Nylander, and one more than a Gaudreau. I can’t see him not getting 6m.

Fair

But what you’re currently making plus your entire record of performance is factored in.

He’s only making 3.1 per.

6 would be a 100% raise

Fair

 

But what you’re currently making plus your entire record of performance is factored in.

He’s only making 3.1 per.

6 would be a 100% raise

Possible, but I’m pretty sure ADA is in for a good 5.5-6.5m salary too and he’s currently Makonde under 1m.

Here’s a little something I found on the process. Some helps, some really hurts like not being able to bring up salary cap situations.

What Evidence Can Be Presented

The evidence that can be used in arbitration cases includes:

 

The player's "overall performance" including statistics in all previous seasons

Injuries, illnesses, and the number of games played

The player's length of service with the team and in the NHL

The player's "overall contribution" to the team's success or failure

The player's "special qualities of leadership or public appeal"

The performance and salary of any player believed to be comparable to the player in the dispute

 

Evidence that is not admissible includes:

 

The salary and performance of a comparable player who signed a contract as an unrestricted free agent

Testimonials, videos, and media reports

The financial state of the team

The salary cap and the state of the team's payroll

https://www.liveabout.com/nhl-salary-arbitration-explained-2778981

From a recent Athletic piece by Craig Custance that has some relevance here.

“I think you may see a lot more one-year contracts,” another GM said. “You’re going to see more good players looking for jobs as we get closer to training camp because teams are going to be forced to drop players.”

 

Those players getting squeezed the most, as is often the case, will end up being the middle class. One source called the $4 million player on the third line or even the second pair a luxury teams won’t be able to afford.

 

“It’s going to kill the $2-4 million players. I think those guys are out,” an executive said.

Link: https://theathletic.com/1984550/2020/08/10/as-more-nhl-teams-hit-the-offseason-get-ready-for-a-potentially-wild-one/

Flat cap is not at all helping what was already going to be a tight squeeze as it was.

 

IDK, it just seems more like one of those guys had to be a casualty, or there’s buyouts coming.

 

If I had to lose one, I’m not sure which .

Also from the Custance article.

This executive also predicts it’ll impact young players who aren’t absolute locks to be impact players. Teams might not be willing to take the chance on projecting as much for their good but not great young players. In assessing the young defenseman market, he used Tampa’s Mikhail Sergachev as an example. Sergachev is a restricted free agent on a team that’s going to have to make some tough decisions.

 

“You’re going to see some guys who have some name value, like a Sergachev, maybe he doesn’t get as much as he thinks he’s worth or maybe he signs a one-year deal. People will get creative,” he said. “The guys like Quinn Hughes or Cale Makar – don’t worry about it. The Sergachevs, ehhhh, does he really deserve it? They’re going to ask hard questions.”

Link: https://theathletic.com/1984550/2020/08/10/as-more-nhl-teams-hit-the-offseason-get-ready-for-a-potentially-wild-one/

A two-year deal to DeAngelo and a one-year deal to Strome wouldn't shock me at this point.

I sort of agree with a lot of guys are going to get squeezed because the money just isn’t there but I don’t really see how there is too much of a difference between ADA and Hughes/Makar offensive wise. ADA had more goals and points than either. He’s 4 years older but it’s not as if he’s currently in his prime or at the tail end of it. He also has arb rights. The old NHL mindset was that is where you get paid but the more recent trend is to pay a bit more now to lock up those years and hopefully have a slight discount.

I just don’t see how a Quinn or Makar are in that lock of “dudes gonna get paid” but a 24 year old ADA who already took a one year deal is in any different category. I know they are rfa after next year but I don’t expect the cap to go up much next year also.

I sort of agree with a lot of guys are going to get squeezed because the money just isn’t there but I don’t really see how there is too much of a difference between ADA and Hughes/Makar offensive wise. ADA had more goals and points than either. He’s 4 years older but it’s not as if he’s currently in his prime or at the tail end of it. He also has arb rights. The old NHL mindset was that is where you get paid but the more recent trend is to pay a bit more now to lock up those years and hopefully have a slight discount.

 

I just don’t see how a Quinn or Makar are in that lock of “dudes gonna get paid” but a 24 year old ADA who already took a one year deal is in any different category. I know they are rfa after next year but I don’t expect the cap to go up much next year also.

The cap isn't going up next year. That's already set in stone.

I think Makar and Quinn have that leg up on DeAngelo given that they've accomplished so far as rookies. Makar and Quinn have yet to show anything below the level they're at which already exceeds DeAngelo. DeAngelo had a breakout year when he was due for a new contract. I think he has the potential to consistently produce as well as he did, but do you go ahead and pay him when the cap won't be any higher than $82M through 2022-23? His play against Carolina also raised some questions for me. The whole team was bad but DeAngelo was especially terrible. Let's hope it was just an injury he couldn't play well enough through.

Right. I think the difference is ADA has arbitration rights himself so he has a bit more leverage. I’m not too worried about him from this playoffs just because everyone looked like dog poo.

Personally I think ADA is pretty important to our future. They just really really need to get rid of dead wood contracts somehow.

My worry is that it literally says the arbitrator isn’t even allowed to consider the cap in any way or team’s finances. If it’s third party then good chance it’s being done by someone that isn’t even familiar with the cap in the first place and instead is only considering comparable contracts from performance.

Anyway to round it back to Fast, it’s these other problems that really makes me see little way Fast stays on this team unless he isn’t expecting anything over 1.5m or so which is actually a tad less than he made.

My worry is that it literally says the arbitrator isn’t even allowed to consider the cap in any way or team’s finances. If it’s third party then good chance it’s being done by someone that isn’t even familiar with the cap in the first place and instead is only considering comparable contracts from performance.

 

Anyway to round it back to Fast, it’s these other problems that really makes me see little way Fast stays on this team unless he isn’t expecting anything over 1.5m or so which is actually a tad less than he made.

I'm going to assume that bit about salary cap might be more reflective of how much space the team has as opposed to the effect of flat cap on salaries. The line "The performance and salary of any player believed to be comparable to the player in the dispute" leas me to believe you can reflect how the flat cap affects DeAngelo's comparables. How Pulock, Sergachev, and Gavrikov end up getting paid will likely affect DeAngelo's negotiations.

And overpay shittier versions to replace. Stralman > Boyle.

No need to pay anyone to replace him.