alright. didnt want to write all this out for another 2 weeks, but somebody has to win and somebody has to lose.
hell of a season blues. i wish you coulda played down to the last game of the nhl season, but it is what it is. heres what id like to see in the offseason:
1. hitchcock re-signed for another 1 year deal. i know ive ragged on him in the past, but this year was different. he adapted to the type of players he had and built a hybrid system, instead of using just his outdated grind it out philosophy. i dont think theres another coach available who is any better than him, so as long as he wants back, another short term deal would be perfect.
2. sign jaden schwartz. hes one of the most valuable players on the team and its time we sign him long term.
3. if possible, move bouwmeester. we dont need any actual return, just as long as hes gone. he isnt worth the money or the role anymore. hes a halfway decent defensive defenseman, without any semblance of offensive ability. he cant shoot, he cant pass, he cant clear the crease, and he constantly puts himself in terrible defensive positions by being overly aggressive. hes just not what he used to be, plain and simple. if the contract can be moved, then move it. hes barely a #4 anymore, and if were relying on him to be on our top pairing next year and play 24-28mins a night again, were in big trouble.
4. consider moving shattenkirk. if we cant move bouwmeester, he has to be moved. if hes asking too much on his next contract or simply wont resign here, he has to be moved. we could use a solid winger or an improvement at our 2C position, or even a better shutdown defenseman if were stuck with bouwmeester. there are plenty of needs if were stuck trading him. ideally though, we move bouwmeester and shattenkirk can be resigned. if we move both, then we can resign brouwer.
5. backes/brouwer. im curious to see the desired contracts from these guys, but im assuming we resign backes and let brouwer walk. backes is a more than ideal 3C and showed hes a hell of a captain and leader this year. hes the heart and soul of this team. i cant imagine him in another uniform. i also love brouwer and his style of play. i would want nothing more than to have him back on the team. if it comes down to keeping him or shattenkirk, im torn. if theyre both gone, then we at least have some money to throw around at another solid top 6 winger.
6. improve at the 2C position. whether its lehtera just getting better or the blues moving him out for an upgrade, this would certainly help the team better. stastny is a fine 1b, being a faceoff machine who can defend against the best of em. backes is also playing a shutdown defensive position, so it would be nice to have a more offensively gifted center in that other C role. i hope lehtera takes the next step, but if not, we could certainly look at improving here.
im gonna miss this team. waiting til october is gonna be rough. at least its a shorter wait this year. next year is the 50th in our history, we get the winter classic vs our arch rival blackhawks, and we can certainly improve upon this season and represent the west in the stanley cup finals. ill bleed blue til the day i die.
LGB