Next years free agent targets (dmen only)

I think good teams like Detroit stay good because they don't have major personnel overhauls and the leadership is consistent (the youth have to wait to earn it over time, unlike our kids in Getzlaf/Perry). However, if we have to redo our rosters due to free agency, our GM should target the following players:

Dmen Only-
Boumeester - Hes worth 6 million, but will be offered probably 7+.

Komisarek - the Ducks never had a nasty Regher/Foote type of shutdown player. We play a defensive type/matchup style so he would be great (although he cant fight like a Souray). He will probably be overpaid (hes young but he reminds me of Derian Hatcher)... 5+ million a year... Id only go after him if we dont get Boumeester or if Scotty Nied doesnt resign.

Ohlund - He's a well rounded dman... has all the tools you look for in a dman. Only 32 yrs, but injury prone.

Oduya - Underrated...Has great speed and is tough (softees like Leopold would frustrate me)... plus I'd like to see the ducks first Black player. NJ will definitely try to resign him... he might be this year's Jeff Finger.

Beauchemin - Probably will leave to finally get his well deserved payday... some team like the Islanders would probably offer him 4-5 million a yr.

Aaron Johnson/Walker - If we dont resign Montador (should be illegal for him to fight) /Huskins (cant handle more than 17 minutes a game) / Hedican (should enjoy retirement with Yamaguchi).

Smid - Yes hes not a free agent, but he wants out of Edmonton and we drafted him. We should buy when his value is rock bottom.

How's this lineup:
Scotty (7.5) Whitney (3) (if we can trade Pronger this yr for him and Staal)
Boumester (7) Oduya (2.5)
Smid (700k) Mikkelson/Festerling (700k)

I think this lineup would be very well rounded. We wouldnt have an intimidator out there but you dont want a dman to be in the penalty box anyway.

Bouwmeester is the player I'd really like to see, for the right price.

I know Niedermayer could make 7.5, but I don't think he makes that much here. If he plays another season, I think it's more likely he makes just a bit over what he is currently making. I'd say $7, or the same as his current contract.

I'd pass on Smid, right now, especially with Mitera already in Anaheim's system.

There's no frigging way Scotty gets a raise. I'd ofeer him 5 for one year or 9 for two.

One of Derek Morris or Paul Mara would be a welcome addition on the defensive side.

Pronger-Scotty-Morris/Mara-Festerling-Montador/Huskins-Mikkelsson/FA would be awesome.

Scotty will still command about 7 million a year even if this an off year. If you compare the salaries of other defenders:
Lidstrom 7.5
Campell 7+
Boyle 6.66+

If he could be signed for 6.5 or less, that would be awesome. I think he had been underpaid a few years ago... but now with his age, its about right. But some contender might give him a 1 year deal like Hossa got from Detroit.


As for Smid...

It would be good for Mitera to develop one full year in the AHL since he needs to learn to play against faster/stronger people and learn to fight (remember Regher's first few yrs?). Its better for him to recover from his knee injury and play 20+ minutes versus 12-17 in the NHL.

Plus we have no one in our pipeline next year. Mikkelson is showing he needs another yr of development, Salcido has regressed... etc....

Smid has a ton of experience and I think if given an opportunity instead of playing forward on the Oilers, he might excel. Hes playing more physical and might be a good go-to shutdown guy. Hes got more upside than Festerling at least...

Komisarek would be a great fit, we need a shot blocking defensive dman.

Hell no to Whitney. Ugh.

Whatever you want to give Niedermayer, subtract 2 million for the 2 million dollar Vacation-irement he took last year. Also, he's regressed for like 3 years straight. He gets 5 from me (1 year) or 4.5 for 2 years. I'd prefer 1 year as he'll probably be pondering each season whether to play again or not.

As to other guys, I could go for lower types like Johnson. Maybe an Aucoin or a Morris. Here's a blast from the past, how about Havelid? Basically veteran types to help us ease in our own guys like Mikkelson/Festerling/Salcido.

And 1 of Komisarek/Bouw for the top pair?

Hell no to Whitney. Ugh.

Whatever you want to give Niedermayer, subtract 2 million for the 2 million dollar Vacation-irement he took last year. Also, he's regressed for like 3 years straight. He gets 5 from me (1 year) or 4.5 for 2 years. I'd prefer 1 year as he'll probably be pondering each season whether to play again or not.

As to other guys, I could go for lower types like Johnson. Maybe an Aucoin or a Morris. Here's a blast from the past, how about Havelid? Basically veteran types to help us ease in our own guys like Mikkelson/Festerling/Salcido.

And 1 of Komisarek/Bouw for the top pair?

Uh... $4.5 a year for two years for Niedermayer? That's a laughable amount. The only way he makes that small a number is if he takes a huge cut in pay. He could make $7 or more on any other team in the league.

Good Lord, what do you expect other defensemen to get paid?

Uh... $4.5 a year for two years for Niedermayer? That's a laughable amount. The only way he makes that small a number is if he takes a huge cut in pay. He could make $7 or more on any other team in the league.

Good Lord, what do you expect other defensemen to get paid?
A normal defenseman of his caliber gets 6.5-7 million.

But like I said, he gets 2 million lopped off for his "will I or won't I?" routine.

A normal defenseman of his caliber gets 6.5-7 million.

But like I said, he gets 2 million lopped off for his "will I or won't I?" routine.

You don't really think that will happen, do you? Come on. Does it really seem realistic to you that Murray would even attempt that as an argument for chopping $2 million off of his contract, especially if it's per year in a two-year contract?

You don't really think that will happen, do you? Come on. Does it really seem realistic to you that Murray would even attempt that as an argument for chopping $2 million off of his contract, especially if it's per year in a two-year contract?
Whoops. I forgot that it was 2 years, so I should divide the discount. So my 2 year number should really be 5.5 million. If you want to see the work it's 6.5 million for 2 years (multiyear gets less because of retirement risk coupled with 35+ contract rule), subtracting 1 mill per year for the staycation penalty.

I'm coming at it from the point of view that Niedermayer re-signing is not a necessity, so I'm not going to be aggressive in raising the bucks to keep him here. I'm discounting heavily because of perceived drops in both his play and his desire to fulfill a contract.

If it doesn't work out that way, I'm not particularly torn.

Whoops. I forgot that it was 2 years, so I should divide the discount. So my 2 year number should really be 5.5 million. If you want to see the work it's 6.5 million for 2 years (multiyear gets less because of retirement risk coupled with 35+ contract rule), subtracting 1 mill per year for the staycation penalty.

I'm coming at it from the point of view that Niedermayer re-signing is not a necessity, so I'm not going to be aggressive in raising the bucks to keep him here. I'm discounting heavily because of perceived drops in both his play and his desire to fulfill a contract.

If it doesn't work out that way, I'm not particularly torn.

Well, I know he's not very popular by some Ducks fans here right now, but I do know Anaheim considers signing him a necessity, unless he retires. They value him more highly than Pronger.

Realistically, he'll probably make about $6.5, unless he takes a hometown discount. He could certainly make more than that elsewhere. Even when you take into consideration the salary cap, and that it should be dropping in 2 seasons, there are too many teams out there who would pay at least that much for him, and many quite a bit more. Skating defensemen are just too valuable. Hell, look at Campbell's contract. $7+ million, and he doesn't play as much as him, nor in as many situations (Campbell doesn't kill penalties much at all).

A player like Bouwmeester is worth less than Niedermayer, but will probably make more because 1) Youth and continued development and 2) Cash is king. One of the best ways to get an UFA is to pay him lots and lots of money.

All roads lead to J-bouw! :handclap:

One thing to note. No matter what the cap does, we're likely to be spending at least 5-6 million less than this season. So don't just go out and fill Niedermayer's roster spot with a like salary.

We were supposed to have a 50 million budget this season, but they agreed to bust it because the team looked competitive. Next season they'll probably push it back to 50, if not lower it even further because it should be a rebuilding year. And don't forget owner and economy troubles.

There's no frigging way Scotty gets a raise. I'd ofeer him 5 for one year or 9 for two.

One of Derek Morris or Paul Mara would be a welcome addition on the defensive side.

Pronger-Scotty-Morris/Mara-Festerling-Montador/Huskins-Mikkelsson/FA would be awesome.

I agree, I would only re-up Scott if he's willing take a huge paycut as well as Rob(although I don't see him re-signing with us next year).

On the other hand, I'd go after a #3 or 4 stay-at-home type of defenseman like Mara, Witt, or Morris who can also give a veteran presence to the team like O'Donnell did. I would also do whatever it takes to re-up Montador, he's been one of the team's best d-man right now.

From there, I'd like to see:

Pronger/Beauchemin(short-term contract for ~$3.5 mil)
Morris/Witt/Mara-Festerling
Mikkelson/Montador

Salcido

Bouwmeester is the player I'd really like to see, for the right price.

I know Niedermayer could make 7.5, but I don't think he makes that much here. If he plays another season, I think it's more likely he makes just a bit over what he is currently making. I'd say $7, or the same as his current contract.

I'd pass on Smid, right now, especially with Mitera already in Anaheim's system.
Based on his play why on earth should he get 7 million with the cap coming down?

Bouwmeester is going to be way to expensive for us.

Based on his play why on earth should he get 7 million with the cap coming down?

Bouwmeester is going to be way to expensive for us.
One of the "NHLPA declines to reopen the CBA" articles mentioned that the cap is still expected to increase next season. Like 2%. It's the year AFTER where they expect it to go down. It was an official that said that (either NHL or NHLPA).

Pronger/Beauchemin(short-term contract for ~$3.5 mil)
Morris/Witt/Mara-Festerling
Mikkelson/Montador

Salcido

I would not count on Mikkelson being a regular next year based on his play this season. He looks like he needs another entire AHL season to me. Having him and Salcido on the roster mean zero call up depth as well.

A guy like McIver would be a better option. If Murray doesn't like McIver specifically there are plenty of UFA / waiver options that would be similar players.

The Ducks wont be a contender next season and therefor I could even consider bringing DiPenta back as a #6 or #7 d-man. Sure he can't skate, but he isn't that terrible defensively. The reason I'm mentioning him is because when he didn't get re-signed he stated that he would like to come back to Anaheim at some point.

Scott doesn't seem like a greedy guy to me, so if he wants to continue playing and wants Anaheim to remain competitive, he might take a discount to help them out signing other players to fill holes. So I could see him signing a 1-year, $5M deal. The fact other teams would pay him $7M isn't the issue here, it'd be Scott's choice (the team won't attempt to low-ball him).

That said, if we keep Pronger and Niedermayer, then don't hold out any hopes for Bouwmeester. If, however, one or both are gone, I'd really like them to go after him hard (though maximum $7M/season). Other teams might offer him more, but I'm hoping he'd see the core in Anaheim and the ability to take over as the future #1 guy soon as an incentive.

The Ducks wont be a contender next season

I don't see how that's a certainty; I think it will all come down to what free agents they sign and how fast they build new team chemistry (and how the coach adjusts if he can to a new system that will fit the new team's roster). It's really all going to come down to what they do on defense, as their offensive core and netminders are very solid:

Getzlaf
Ryan
Perry
Selanne
Kunitz
Carter

Giguere
Hiller