SinBin.vegas Podcast #272: Smith’s Back, What’s Next

dump patrick he showed nothing brisson should get a long look

Enjoyed the podcast and the ‘what if’s’ you guys discussed. With respect to your response to those claiming you are overly negative, here are some of my thoughts (being one of those who feels that your negativity can become grating and lessens my enjoyment of your product).

First, let me say that overall your product is positive, informative and entertaining. If I have issues it’s almost always with comments in your podcast or on Twitter. And I understand that in both those forums you are basically in a free flowing impromptu ‘conversation’ that for all practical purposes is not editable. That said, here are my thoughts on this subject:

1) While it’s understood that you are a VGK fan website and don’t focus on other teams, your comments often lack context of what’s happening in the NHL or with teams you mention. An example in this podcast: comparing next year’s Vegas to this season’s Avs. If you look at the Avs’ contract situation next season there’s no way they keep the roster together. Go to Cap Friendly and look at all the UFAs and RFAs. Many of the adds they made this season and at TD cannot be sustained, esp after the Landeskog and Makar deals, and the fact they need to prepare for a BIG payout to MacKinnon, who is only making $6.3M now. Four of their Top 6 are UFAs and 3 or 4 will get big paydays (Kadri, Nichushkin, Lekhonen, Burakovsky). Josh Manson isn’t coming back for cap reasons. Kuemper is a UFA. To put it more clearly: TEN of the players they are playing currently against TBL are UFAs or RFAs. Their $25M in cap space will be gone in a flash and they still have to plan for MacKinnon, Compher, Byram and Erik Johnson – who all have 1 year left. Yes, they’ll be a very good team, but nowhere near the juggernaut they are currently. The Avs pushed all-in this year and have to win. Saying that next year’s projected Vegas team can’t compete with COL doesn’t acknowledge what the Avs roster will look like next season, and is overly negative.

2) Your comments that Vegas gave up 6 pieces to get Eichel is an exaggeration and very negative. It also feeds into your theory that the FO is just flying by the seat of their pants chasing every shiny new toy on the market. They traded Tuch (who has had only one 20g season and on VGK would never likely make it into the Top 6 with Stone & Smith at RW), a good young prospect in Krebs, and a 1st that would have been in the mid-to-late 20’s if not for the injury riddled season. The salaries of Tuch & Krebs total ~$5.5M. Add Dadonov’s $5M contract and that totals $10.5M, more than Eichel’s $10M salary. That’s four assets, not five or six. Claiming 5 or 6 is incorrect and only negative and inflammatory. Any trades beyond the $10M of Eichel’s salary are due to other FO decisions.

3) You constantly say the FO has claimed they are a Stanley Cup winning team, or they are the best team in the league. I have NEVER heard them claim that. You’re taking what they said and exaggerating it so you can fit the narrative that the FO is a bunch of liars and ne’er do wells. They’ve said they believe the team can compete for a cup, and that it’s the best team THEY have ever put on the ice. NO TEAM would arrogantly claim their team will win the cup or is the best team in the league. You also impugn them saying they can’t be trusted with a verbal agreement. What about Stone, Patch, Lehner? All verbal agreements prior to signing of the contract. TFP reported the Lehner agreement in Feb and the deal wasn’t signed until June. You claim they’re ruthless and cutthroat, yet they asked Reaves, Hunt and Pirri where they would like to be traded, and sent them there. I do believe McK has an unhealthy view of his own ability to judge talent. But that it based on the number of ex-Brandon players he has signed. To me that smacks of arrogance, or at a minimum extreme overconfidence.

4) Around 17:00 in on this podcast you basically contradicted your own claim that the FO just looks to improve incremently without any plan in place. You said that you would create a plan and step by step how you would get there, citing (of all things) getting a #1 center as an example. Yet, that has been what the FO has tried to do since season 1. They tried to get Tavares, then had to settle for Stastny (a solid #2). They drafted Glass thinking he could eventually be that, but he was a bust. They threw in the towel on Glass and traded him, and tried to make a deal for Eichel in the off-season but BUF wanted too much. Finally they got to a deal midseason. You act like they pursued Eichel on a lark, when in fact they FINALLY got the #1 center they’ve been trying to get since the Expansion Draft and 2018. Building a contending team is a tacking process, like sailing. It’s not a straight line, and involves tacking right and left to stay on course (in this case trying to improve the team to bring home a cup). It involves changing the roster, and even coaching or management, as needed to find the right mix/chemistry AND circumstances.

5) “How are they better without Dadonov and Martinez”? You said this at the vey end of the PC. All while you claim “they were $9M over the cap” – when having so many players on LTIR made it impossible to play that roster, besides the fact it would not be allowed. The ‘over the cap’ benefit only would be realized if they were in the playoffs, when exceeding the cap is allowable (as TBL did last year). The other huge component you fail to include is the addition of Eichel. The reason for the Dadonov move was Eichel. They are losing the services of Dadonov (and actually Tuch+Krebs, not Martinez) but that is offset by adding Eichel. Considering the 5 year pursuit of an elite center I’d say they are better now. Would it be preferable to still have Tuch on the roster? Of course, but that was a cost of getting the #1 center they need.

6) The last thing I’ll mention here is your (mostly Jason’s) constant harping about salaries saying Vegas has too many high priced players. First, a team with no decent draft picks has only one path other than tanking to get a lottery pick – and that is to improve via free agency, which means not getting ‘cheap deals’. They have their top D at $8.8, their top winger at $9.5 and their top C at $10M. Patch, their top shooter is at $7M but only for 1 more year. That is NOT exorbitant. Other contenders are in the same pay range (Leafs are paying over $40M for their top 4 forwards) and for those that are lower generally it is because their best players are on older contracts that are nearing expiration (Pastrnak, Barkov, Huberdeaux, McKinnon).

As I said at the beginning of this novella, your work is valuable and appreciated. Keep up the good work. The fan base needs you. 🙂