TBL Free Agency and Trade Talk

[timothy]

Originally Posted by timothy

I think the RFA list is:

Brendan Mikkelson
Brian Lee
Evan Oberg
J.T. Wyman
Jaroslav Janus
Jon Kalinski
Keith Aulie
Scott Jackson
Sebastien Piche

If this RFA list is accurate (and I'm working on getting a confirmation on it), then I don't see Kalinski or Piche getting qualifying offers. Piche performed admirably for Everblades after being acquired in the Quincey flip to DET, but he wasn't recalled and invited to be a black ace and hang with the Ads during the Cup run (unlike Hutchings and Landry). That usually indicates the organization doesn't have any interest in re-signing you. Hutchings didn't even play the ECHL playoffs. Landry got to hoist the Kelly Cup and then was recalled to Norfolk for the rest of the Calder playoffs.

I think Scott Jackson gets another contract just because he was such a rock on the blueline and organization continues to have a depth issue at defense, but it will be his last contract before UFA eligibility.

The rest are shoe-ins for qualifying offers. The real enigma IMO is Aulie. Didn't show a whole lot for the cost to acquire him in either Tampa or Norfolk. Has great size and potential, but IMO is still a real project and needs to great coaching. I'm concerned with the NHL coaching staff of the defense, and have much more confidence in how the defense is being coached in Norfolk. IMO Aulie needs to spend a year with Cooper & Staff, but Auilie is waiver eligible, so you'd have to hope you can slip him through waivers at end of training camp and hope he makes when everyone is trimming rosters to get to 23. Pretty much means he'd get Lundin'd and have to spend a year there -- which is fine by me.

But, it's hard to gauge how much the organization really likes Aulie. On the surface, they gave up a great prospect for him, so you think somebody in the org is in love with him. However, at the time of the trade, Bolts were desperate for defensive depth with all the injuries and perhaps it was an overpay to take a chance on a kid with potential who needed a change of scenery. And maybe the org isn't so in love with him after he couldn't crack the Top 6 in Norfolk, save for a slapper to the head of Jackson. Hard to read the tea leaves on that one.

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if any of the following three things happened to Aulie: (1) makes the Bolts out of camp in Sept, (2) assigned to Syracuse or lost to waivers in Sept, or (3) traded at the draft or over the summer.

[timothy]

Originally Posted by uf1910

I'm probably just a bit impatient when it comes to this stuff (strange b/c my favorite pastime is fishing but I digress).

There's also the not-so-secret announcement that the affiliation will be moving to Syracuse next year. That definitely won't come before the Norfolk celebration parade on Wednesday, and honestly probably next week at the earliest. Although I could easily see that announcement not happening until mid-July.

If there was any doubt about the Syracuse move, in was removed from my mind when the Syracuse Crunch team retweeted Pete's article about how the championship team was built in 8 seasons. The Norfolk team didn't even retweet that, much less any other AHL team! #deadgiveaway

[ChaseSpace]

If Tampa does land Brunner then I don't think they would really need to chase any forward UFA's. You'd have Brunner, Brown, Conacher, Killorn, Connolly, Labrie, and possibly Johnson fighting for about 3 spots.

On defense I see Lee, Aulie, Mikkelson getting re-signed. Gudas and Barberio may be able to make the team but they'd have to have a great camp.

Biggest question mark is in net.

[Bolts_26]

Originally Posted by timothy

I think JT Wyman is an RFA and that list doesn't have any of the other RFAs

Originally Posted by timothy

I think the RFA list is:

Brendan Mikkelson
Brian Lee
Evan Oberg
J.T. Wyman
Jaroslav Janus
Jon Kalinski
Keith Aulie
Scott Jackson
Sebastien Piche

Thanks. I added it to my list.

[the_narrow_way]

Originally Posted by timothy

Speaking of which, isn't Yzerman spending the Weekend at Bernier's?

Ba-zing! Good one.

[Sotnos]

With "big news" or signings & such for the Bolts, please make a separate thread.

Rationale being: If you don't, someone else will.

[Coldrice]

Originally Posted by timothy

If there was any doubt about the Syracuse move, in was removed from my mind when the Syracuse Crunch team retweeted Pete's article about how the championship team was built in 8 seasons. The Norfolk team didn't even retweet that, much less any other AHL team! #deadgiveaway

Agreed. Up till this I was holding on to the slimmest, almost delusional, of hopes they weren't heading to Syracuse. For the exact reason I quoted you in this post... those hopes went and got buried in the backyard.

[Coldrice]

Originally Posted by timothy

Speaking of which, isn't Yzerman spending the Weekend at Bernier's?

Originally Posted by the_narrow_way

Ba-zing! Good one.

Photoshop opportunity awaits. I'm on the road... therefore cannot.

[jaydeedub]

I just love how it wasn't until Coldrice's pic that I caught it.

My dream was Schneider...

Dream crushed?

Nope, the way Yzerman sees it, with offer sheets, "you're just screwing up your own pay structure."

"The only way a team doesn't match the offer is if you grossly overpay the player," he said. "That's why I don't like it. If you do a contract for the right value of a player, chances are the other team is just going to match it."

It is an interesting discussion given chatter last week that teams might go the offer-sheet route with Canucks goalie Cory Schneider. A report in Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper even singled out the Lightning as a possibility.

Schneider, 26, who can be a restricted free agent July 1 and is considered a franchise player, certainly is an attractive target. And Tampa Bay is in desperate need of a goalie and likes Schneider.

But offer sheets, if accepted, come with a price beyond what a team is willing to pay in salary. The team losing the player also must be compensated. The higher the offer sheet, the more draft picks, including first-rounders, go the other way.

[ChaseSpace]

I don't get it, a good amount of people on this forum seem to like Mikkleson(from what I can gather) but most Tampa fans on HFB hate Mikk.

I thought he played great and was a steal after the deal was made