Article: Can Justin Brazeau Become the Player He Was Earlier This Season?

[M_Nels]

20 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

Would you want to be the guy who let Byfield go?

Well no but everyone throws out even more unrealistic players to target all the time. Don’t watch many King’s games but kid is a monster. 

[M_Nels]

18 hours ago, mnhockeyfan03 said:

I think we have to keep Zeev.  He has huge offensive potential.  The more I watch Faber the more he has to go.  That contract is not going to age well.  For 8.5mm you have to be elite and bring it offensively and he doesn’t bring offense and can’t clear front of net of D.  The amount if time he monkeys around with his loose helmet is crazy.  Just tighten it up and stop trying to look cool and hit someone. Spurgeon also has to go. I would do anything to get Tage Thompson from Buffalo.  Every time he was one the ice today stuff happened. He is a game changer and will change our PP.   I would give up Faber, Rossi and another pic or prospect for him.  Tuch had a tough game today. We need 2-3 top end forwards not including Yurov. Our D is solid so we can afford loose a few to upgrade forwards which we need badly.   I am not a big fan of paying over 5-6mm for D.  There are to many good guys out there in that range.  

Faber ain’t going anywhere, period. Don’t know why several people are throwing his name out to go. What’s your master plan to get a #1 or #2 RHD immediately if we let him go? Nobody in IA fits that bill right now, Spurge is aging, Jiri likely not top pair, Bogo likely 7th next year. 
 

How is $8.5m not going to age well? At worst he’s a 2nd pair RHD. With the cap going up that’s a good value. He’s only 22yrs old, many owners would love to have a kid that young that can play in all situations like he does. 

[Pewterschmidt]

28 minutes ago, M_Nels said:

Faber ain’t going anywhere, period. Don’t know why several people are throwing his name out to go. What’s your master plan to get a #1 or #2 RHD immediately if we let him go? Nobody in IA fits that bill right now, Spurge is aging, Jiri likely not top pair, Bogo likely 7th next year. 
 

How is $8.5m not going to age well? At worst he’s a 2nd pair RHD. With the cap going up that’s a good value. He’s only 22yrs old, many owners would love to have a kid that young that can play in all situations like he does. 

Yah if faber jumping into the lineup and delivering from day one to him being a beast at 4 nations isn’t enough for you to want to keep him around, I don’t know what you’re looking for.  On top of that he’s a solid person, squeaky clean with zero drama. 

[mnhockeyfan03]

Just trying to build a Cup winning team and it’s not happening with him making 8.5mm on this team

[M_Nels]

2 minutes ago, mnhockeyfan03 said:

Just trying to build a Cup winning team and it’s not happening with him making 8.5mm on this team

Well no shit we’re trying to build a cup winning team but defense does matter ya know? What’s your master plan at RHD moving forward then?

With the cap going up $8.5m for a franchise RHD that is only 22 years old is a good value. He’s not blocking some cheap star on a ELC either. 

[mnhockeyfan03]

Just now, M_Nels said:

Well no shit we’re trying to build a cup winning team but defense does matter ya know? What’s your master plan at RHD moving forward then?

With the cap going up $8.5m for a franchise RHD that is only 22 years old is a good value. He’s not blocking some cheap star on a ELC either. 

We need  high powered forwards to get better and nothing worth a dang is out in free agency.  We have to look at trades and he and Rossi are our best trade chips.  Trading him and Rossi for Tage we will have 5-6mm left to sign a RHD.  We can do that easily.  Faber is not a shut down and powerful offensive D for 8.5mm.  He is worth 5mm and Billy jumped the gun on his contract.  We need forwards, forwards, forwards, forwards……

[M_Nels]

3 minutes ago, mnhockeyfan03 said:

We need  high powered forwards to get better and nothing worth a dang is out in free agency.  We have to look at trades and he and Rossi are our best trade chips.  Trading him and Rossi for Tage we will have 5-6mm left to sign a RHD.  We can do that easily.  Faber is not a shut down and powerful offensive D for 8.5mm.  He is worth 5mm and Billy jumped the gun on his contract.  We need forwards, forwards, forwards, forwards……

Easily?? Name a #1 or #2 dman out there for $5-6m. FA is always the easy, convenient answer but who are you going to get that’s not a journeyman. You get 2 maybe 3yrs and then start over again. 

[OldDutchChip]

1 hour ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Yah if faber jumping into the lineup and delivering from day one to him being a beast at 4 nations isn’t enough for you to want to keep him around, I don’t know what you’re looking for.  On top of that he’s a solid person, squeaky clean with zero drama. 

i was the one suggesting faber trade and i stand by that move. 

sometimes you need to sacrifice someone you like to address a bigger need. And that's what Faber can be. 

We need toughness in our top 6. So what do we do?

Faber's stock is at the all time high (after four nations and minute munching love affair from the media), should he be dangled for Tkachuk - that may be enough to make the deal go through. I think that's a fairly even trade for both teams actually.

You can pair Tkachuk and Kaprizov together and get a bit more "deterrence" for our all-world player and you can see what a Tkachuk team can do when he is motivated (FL and US team).

You can also dangle Faber to TOR after their inevitable collapse in the 1st round and target Nylander. TOR will likely re-adjust their all-offensive approach and may bite. You do the same and pair Nylander and Kap together. 

To be a contender, you have to be a player and take risks. Otherwise we will be playing Nyquist of the world and trying out failed projects from other teams. 

Edited March 23 by OldDutchChip

[RedLake]

Why the Hell was Crotty recalled? 

[mnhockeyfan03]

1 hour ago, M_Nels said:

Easily?? Name a #1 or #2 dman out there for $5-6m. FA is always the easy, convenient answer but who are you going to get that’s not a journeyman. You get 2 maybe 3yrs and then start over again. 

The guy who carried Faber at the 4 nations Jacob Slavin.  Signed for 6mm.  

[Pewterschmidt]

1 hour ago, OldDutchChip said:

Faber's stock is at the all time high (after four nations and minute munching love affair from the media), should he be dangled for Tkachuk - that may be enough to make the deal

I would love this deal.  I do not think Ottawa would make this trade though

[M_Nels]

12 minutes ago, mnhockeyfan03 said:

The guy who carried Faber at the 4 nations Jacob Slavin.  Signed for 6mm.  

I wouldn’t say he carried him, they were a good tandem. You put Merrill with him and you get nowhere near the same result. Slavin’s contract is a hell of a deal, I applaud Cane’s management for pulling that off. 

But…Slavin is also 31, signed through age 39. Does he make it that long at this level? How far does he fall off? Do injuries catch up with him. Faber is a full 9yrs younger and can play 1st pair. I’m keeping him. 

AND he’s already signed long term. Where’s your FA’s that can play 1st or 2nd pair that aren’t journeymen  

 

[mnhockeyfan03]

1 minute ago, M_Nels said:

I wouldn’t say he carried him, they were a good tandem. You put Merrill with him and you get nowhere near the same result. Slavin’s contract is a hell of a deal, I applaud Cane’s management for pulling that off. 

But…Slavin is also 31, signed through age 39. Does he make it that long at this level? How far does he fall off? Do injuries catch up with him. Faber is a full 9yrs younger and can play 1st pair. I’m keeping him. 

AND he’s already signed long term. Where’s your FA’s that can play 1st or 2nd pair that aren’t journeymen  

 

I understand your opinion and I have mine.  We need high powered forwards and MN is not a free agent destination so we have to acquire them through trades.  Faber is our best trade chip to acquire that player and we need that player more than we need Faber.  

[OldDutchChip]

10 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

I would love this deal.  I do not think Ottawa would make this trade though

that's fair. but should Brady become a bit grumpy and miss his homeland - billy should be ready. but knowing billy - that is very unlikely. 

[M_Nels]

2 hours ago, M_Nels said:

Easily?? Name a #1 or #2 dman out there for $5-6m. FA is always the easy, convenient answer but who are you going to get that’s not a journeyman. You get 2 maybe 3yrs and then start over again. 

Going to clarify..I meant in free agency not a current, signed roster player. 

[mnhockeyfan03]

3 minutes ago, M_Nels said:

Going to clarify..I meant in free agency not a current, signed roster player. 

A very similar player to Faber that is very up and coming is available this offseason and could get him for $4-5mm.  He was finlands best player at the 4 nations and been really coming on.  Henri Jokiharju

[M_Nels]

1 hour ago, RedLake said:

Why the Hell was Crotty recalled? 

Hopefully my gut isn’t right but something tells me Brodin is going to be out again. 

[M_Nels]

6 minutes ago, mnhockeyfan03 said:

A very similar player to Faber that is very up and coming is available this offseason and could get him for $4-5mm.  He was finlands best player at the 4 nations and been really coming on.  Henri Jokiharju

Good call, I’d say you’re right on the money and could very well work out. Former 1st round pick only fetching a 4th for trade is a little curious.  His highest point total in his career is only 20 but he could be a Brodin type. Not sure cause I don’t watch the B’s. 

[RedLake]

 Blues 4 points from catching us. Flames 5 points away. This isn't gonna end well.

[Sam]

57 minutes ago, RedLake said:

 Blues 4 points from catching us. Flames 5 points away. This isn't gonna end well.

But we have 2 games in hand over the Blews and Flamers are 8 points back with 1 game in hand over us. We have a very difficult stretch coming up, hopefully we KK back sooner than later..

[mnfaninnc]

18 hours ago, mnhockeyfan03 said:

We need forwards, forwards, forwards, forwards……

This is actually true, as is MHF's previous statement that Faber is worth $5m. Let me break this down a bit:

• Faber could have had a bridge deal of a couple of years at the $4.5m mark after last season
• Faber's 1st couple of years on this contract are probably overpriced, the next 2 are probably reasonably priced, the last 4 are value
• Faber is going through the sophomore slump which many players go through
• This includes hitting the wall of exhaustion
• I completely disagree with the defensive part of the equation, I believe he is a shutdown defender
• Points aren't the only thing to look at. Faber is very balanced. He's already exceeded, in both years, what most expected from him offensively
• This kid is getting better!!!

But, MHF is also correct that we need the forwards. Based upon drafting, it appears that Guerin preferred to take a goalie forward approach to this rebuild which is a proven strategy. He got his goalie and some defenders. The right defenders? Maybe not, they all looked like the same player. But, the issue here is that goalies take the longest to develop, then the defenders and lastly the forwards.

Boldy Guerin gets no credit for drafting, Rossi I believe was purely a Judd selection, but the building and focus came the following year with the defenders. And, he just picked up Jiricek to double down on the defenders. Everyone sees the holes in the forwards, emphasized with a giant hole that is a missing Kaprizov. Does he have guys to step into the top 6? I count 1 in Yurov. I think OgZ is a middle 6, and I don't see much else coming soon. 

Other teams are on different timelines, and they may part with a mid-20s guy who wants to win now, if they are in rebuild mode. But this will require some of our prospects to do it. I think we've got a lot of potential prospects who are tradeable and can move our timeline up a little. I'd concentrate on size and the '20-22 drafted players. 

MHF is right about there being very little in UFA. So, likely this will not be the way to go. Further decimating our hopes is a salary cap shooting up, meaning, teams that might need some cap relief from us, just got it from the league. So, the remedy might be finding a disgruntled guy who wants to win, is in our window, and purchasing him. Not that he's currently available, but the noise that was heard (a faint noise) about B. Tkachuk being sick of losing last offseason was something that needed exploring and hoping he was quietly available. As things have turned out, it appears he isn't (though the booing of the anthem has raised more noise from his direction). 

Having the #2 rated prospect pool means we have several solid prospects that could be traded and play NHL minutes. Simply put, we keep the ones we want and expect to make an NHL impact, and we hope some others have impressed enough where other teams think they can make an impact. Who could that be? 

For me, Yurov, The Wall, Jiricek and Buium are pretty much untouchable. I would take OgZ out of the prospect mix into NHLer. There are a lot of other good looking kids who need opportunity. I'd say Lambos has improved and would be sorry to see him go. I think Spacek is our future 3rd pairing RD. We also have a very cheap Chisholm who is ready for a top 4 role elsewhere. 

Some teams starting the rebuilding process may need volume more than quality since their prospect cupboards are empty. These would be the teams to target which could include more draft picks also. 

I also think it's important to consider how Guerin wants this team to play. He wants offense but is unwilling to sacrifice 200' games. He's got many players on this team with 200' games and wants to keep that going. This may take out some of the huge point getters, for solid 2-way players in his view. A quick look at the Hurricanes/Rantanen debacle explains this shift. Rantanen could wheel and deal in Colorado, but placed into a structured environment like Carolina, even with his best friend there, didn't match up with his game or preferred style. Some will look at this as Carolina making a huge blunder, but in reality, Carolina probably saved an 8 x $14m salary by finding this out early. 

[mnfaninnc]

17 hours ago, mnhockeyfan03 said:

The guy who carried Faber at the 4 nations Jacob Slavin.  Signed for 6mm.

Slavin is not the offensive guy that Faber is, he's more like a Brodin. He allows his partner to be able to take risks. He'll chip in offensively but takes care of the back end. He's like a Middleton would be to Spurgeon when they first paired up. Yes, he's a top pairing, but not the guy who carries the full load.

Slavin signed this contract last July 1st. I'd also like to remind people that the weather is fairly nice in Carolina and with a 4.25% flat state tax, his money goes a little further. This was a fair, hometown discount deal done with Carolina where he has a full NMC until his last season. It also has a $1m base salary with the rest bonus which gets him past any type of lockout. 

[mnfaninnc]

19 hours ago, OldDutchChip said:

i was the one suggesting faber trade and i stand by that move. 

sometimes you need to sacrifice someone you like to address a bigger need. And that's what Faber can be. 

We need toughness in our top 6. So what do we do?

Faber's stock is at the all time high (after four nations and minute munching love affair from the media), should he be dangled for Tkachuk - that may be enough to make the deal go through. I think that's a fairly even trade for both teams actually.

You can pair Tkachuk and Kaprizov together and get a bit more "deterrence" for our all-world player and you can see what a Tkachuk team can do when he is motivated (FL and US team).

I wouldn't do Nylander, but if B. Tkachuk could be had for pretty much Faber alone, I'd do that. It's not just B. Tkachuk's stats either, it's his intangibles and I believe with him in the lineup everyone will play better. To me, Faber would be a tough ask, but he'd also be the right sacrifice and we have a Jiricek/Buium/Spacek right side for the future. 

[mnfaninnc]

17 hours ago, M_Nels said:

Going to clarify..I meant in free agency not a current, signed roster player. 

Then note Brady Skjei's contract signed last season. That's the number you're looking for. $7m x 7.

[OldDutchChip]

4 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

I wouldn't do Nylander, but if B. Tkachuk could be had for pretty much Faber alone, I'd do that. It's not just B. Tkachuk's stats either, it's his intangibles and I believe with him in the lineup everyone will play better. To me, Faber would be a tough ask, but he'd also be the right sacrifice and we have a Jiricek/Buium/Spacek right side for the future. 

EXACTLY! 🍻