What to do with this bunch of Flakes?

[Bubba55]

I need to cut loose a few of these guys to get roster compliant both from a number's perspective and a CAP perspective. I'm open to keeping three of these guys but would much prefer to keep 2 plus my rookies and draft or re-draft another flake to fill that hole. The more CAP I can free up the better, but as a minimum 5 Mil has to go from the goalie contracts. I'll provide some of my thoughts on all of these guys, but I would certainly appreciate the forum jumping in and providing they're insight and wisdom.

The Farm:

Wolf: I sure like what I'm seeing with him. I'm hoping he becomes fantasy relevant next year but for now, he sits on the farm.

Tarasov: I'm also high on him and he could well be the backup this year in Columbus. For the time being however I will keep him on the farm.

The Regulars:

Swayman: I can't see not keeping him, but his next contract might be a deciding factor, although I doubt it. The Bruins only have a bit less than 5.5 Mil in available CAP to sign both Swayman and Trent Frederick, but we'll see what happens. At worse he is a very nice trade piece and at best we see a time share in Boston similar to last year for an affordable CAP hit.

Korpisalo: I have no idea what is going to happen here. Is the 4 Mil CAP hit turn out to be a good, bad or an ugly contract? Is he even to be considered a legit NHL starting goalie? Is he worthy of a keeper spot?

Freddie: I think Freddie's new contract is an affordable one understanding that he will put up decent numbers when he plays which will likely not exceed 40 games when the injuries happen as they always do. Again, is he worthy of a keeper spot.

Copley: A very nice CAP hit and he is potentially an intriguing own. Talbot will go down IMO, the question is, does Phoenix play like he did last year, or does he shit the bed and fade away? I have no idea.

Merzlikins: What the hell happened to this guy last year and can he climb out of that deep hole and become the legit quality NHL starting goalie that many of us though he would be? I get the injuries in CBJ last year, but honestly, I think I could have put up similar numbers by just standing in the net and letting pucks hit me!
The 5.4 Mil CAP hit is concerning and makes taking a chance on him a tough decision. Given his abysmal numbers last year, is he a solid re draft option? What do you guys think?

So, there it is, looking forward to seeing how the Forum see's things.

[tweetdrivr]

Don’t cut the farm guys. I’d drop Merz, Copley, Korpisalo

[Bubba55]

Don’t cut the farm guys. I’d drop Merz, Copley, Korpisalo

Absolutely agree on the farm, these guys aren't going anywhere. So, you like rolling with Freddie and Swayman and cutting loose the rest? A viable option for sure, thanks!

[stevegamer]

Your league starts 28 golaies nightly. So I am going to guess that is why you had 5 on the roster, and want volume.

For me, the farm guys, Swayman, Andersen, & Copley are keeps.

These 2 are obvious because they will get redrafted pretty early, I'd think:
Swayman because he's young, good, on a good team, and a potential #1 goalie.
Andersen is solid and pretty reasonably priced, and on a good team.

I view Korpisalo and Merzlikins as drops due to the high cap cost, and them not being very good last year. They won't be redrafted highly, if you decide you want them.

Copley is more complicated. I think the Kings screwed up not going back to Copley as a starter in the playoffs. I know he's just okay, but he did give them ability to right the ship and make the playoffs. I realize that's speculative. I think his cost is attractive as a risk/reward proposition. Note that Copley is also the most highly paid goalie in LA. Do I think he's going to be great? No. But he's got the inside track to be a starter on a good team at 1.5M, and I think he has to know this is his big shot, because he came through last year, when everybody had left him for dead as a relevant guy.

[Bubba55]

Thanks! Last year I decided to re tool so I could afford to play around with the goalies as it didn't really matter how good or how bad they were. Like many leagues in a start 2 goalies format these flakes are worth way more than they should be but that's the reality and you do need depth at that position either through the draft or on your protected list. I acquired both Wolf and Swayman in a trade, I had protected Freddie but all the rest were either FA or scooped off the wire. My intent was to have options going into this year and that's pretty much where I am at now. I agree with you and tweetdrivr, I think Swayman and Freddie are the most obvious keeps. Things get fuzzy when I consider protecting a 3rd goalie or not, but I also agree that the CAP strongly points toward Copley. Thanks again!

[Pengwin7]

Keep Copley & Swayman.
DO, look to re-draft Merzlikins - as I think CBJ is going to absolutely *pop* in 2024-onwards (I think they'll sign a big UFA next year and become the next great team).

[tweetdrivr]

CBJ hired Babcock my man. Impending tire fire in 3…2…1….

[Pengwin7]

Babcock has never been a bad coach.
He was just out of touch with the "kid gloves" that are NEEDED for today's players.
He's an intelligent guy - and with all the ears in and around organizations these days - he'll be squeeky clean.
I think it'll work the same way Torts in PHI seems to be working.
[Not every old man is "stubborn" - some people do have the ability to revisit their characters and adjust.]

[tweetdrivr]

Babcock’s cruelty went waaay beyond not understanding “kid gloves”. He’s an arrogant prick. His coaching style is no longer effective. Torts’ personalty is at its core a nice guy. But his Xs and Os game has a short shelf life and is outdated. Just because Philly didn’t turn into a complete tire fire is not reason enough to call last season anything resembling “working”. I see nothing for Babcock in Columbus but abject failure.

[Feenom]

I agree with the whole Babcock is a prick thing. Sure, he might be able to find that initial success, but his crap dries out pretty quick. So not a fan of keeping Elvis. Obviously keep the farm.

Copley is intriguing but if he starts to lag LA will not hesitate to replace him with a better full-time option. I don't see Talbot as that option. (CAUTION KEEP)

Swayman (STRONG KEEP)

Freddie is a good keep since he's the guy (if healthy) to get the majority of starts. But who knows, Kochetkov could supplant both and end up taking them into the playoffs. But it's a safe keep here anyways. (KEEP)

Korpisalo, I have no faith in him as being the clear cut #1 guy. He might come through and breakout, but I'm wait and see with him, so I'd cut him. (CUT)

Good luck.

[Axeman33]

Babcock's coaching philosophy of puck possession isn't really dated. It's still an effective style if the right type of players are there. CBJ made a lot of changes to their D this offseason that should improve and compliment that style, assuming they can stay healthy.

Hard to say if Babcock has learned from previous misconducts or not. If he has, CBJ could be in for a big turnaround.

To the OP, I agree with others as far as your farm goalies. I'd be looking at cutting free Korpisalo and Merzlikins.

[Bubba55]

Appreciate all the answers and the "Babcock The Prick" side bar discussion (:

It seems the consensus is to keep the farm intact and protect Freddie and Swayman. Copley being a viable 3rd option as well. I have to agree, pink slips heading both Korpisalo and Merzlikins way just makes the most sense. Thanks guys!!! I just hope Swayman signs a bridge deal and doesn't land a stupid huge contract which, I think, is more likely than not, however, clearing out almost 10 Mil in CAP makes signing Swayman a whole lot easier pill to swallow if it's necessary.

[tweetdrivr]

Seems like the RFA goalie trend is 3 years and $3-$4 mil these days (Oettinger, Vanecek, Georgiev) so it seems likely that’s the route they go.

[Bubba55]

If the Bruins are smart, they should do everything they can to lock Swayman into a 3 year 3 to 4 Mil contract. Maybe that's not Swaymans' plan however. If it actually goes to arbitration, then a contract similar to what Samsonov just got could happen. We'll see.

[lucafen4]

Korpisalo was 7-3-0-1 2.13 .921 with LA last year. vs. 11-11-3-0 3.17 .911

Ottawa needs help on D & then Korpisalo will be fine.
I expect him to outplay several starters with larger cap hits - bobrovsky, Binnington, Campbell, Hill
This is a G I would target mid-late rounds as a late 2nd/3rd G option that could return big value.

I think CBJ is another year from making any real noise in that division.
I'd try to move Merz.

Andersen - you keep.

Copley. Something has to give in LA. find it really hard to believe they'd make a deal for Korpisalo to sure up their net, let him walk, trade Petersen away
and think Talbot & Copley is better than what they had 3 months ago
I'm cutting Copley. I expect LA to make a trade for a goalie

Wolf, Tarasov, Swayman (could be traded himself) are no brainers to keep (but all 3 are currently #2-3 on depth charts)
Andersen - plays on a top 5 NHL team. he's a lock

Korpisalo is going to be a good value G in Ott. Nothing spectacular, but he's going to be steady and give solid return on his cap hit.
letting him go could be a mistake.
The kind of depth that makes a fantasy net rock solid