My 25-26 Forward Lines

[kimzey59]

First I want to put the caveat that I am fully on board with a "do nothing" offseason. We've already got the players we need for next year.

Having said that, looking forward you have some issues on the horizon and you know Army isn't going to want to just sit on 14.5 mil in Cap space.

1- Suter will be 41 mid-way through next season.
In an ideal world you'd like him to hold on long enough for Lindstein to "replace" him, but you might need an insurance plan.

2- Next year is the last season under contract for Leddy and Fowler. I think we can all agree that we want Fowler back for a few more years, but that still leaves Leddy to address.

3- Faulk goes the year after that and there isn't an in-house option to replace him just yet(Jiricek is no where close to ready).


- I think the defense is definitely an area we could stand to look at if Army just "has" to do something. I think the ideal move would be to trade a package around Leddy for a fairly similar RHD.

4- Sunny is under control for next year, and I don't think he'd be even remotely difficult to re-sign; but he'll be 33 at the end of his contract and I'm not sure how much he has left in the tank. He's going to have to be replaced eventually.
5- I'm not opposed to giving Dean a chance to rebound. But this has been a lost year for him.

- 4th line centers aren't exactly hard to find so I'm not overly worried about this, but it wouldn't be terrible to start looking at increasing our options for a succession plan. There's really nothing viable in the system beyond Dean, so this is probably something that will require a FA signing(as I said, 4th line centers aren't exactly difficult to replace).

6- Toro and Dingo also go UFA after next year, but in this area we might have some in house options(Stenberg, Peterson, Robertsson, Kaskimaki, Pekarcik, Stancl).
- And it's not like it would take all that much to hang on to Toro and/or Dingo.

7- Schenn still has 3 years left, but if we plan on developing an in-house replacement we really need to Draft that guy either this year or next year.

But like I said to start all of this; I am perfectly fine going with no moves this summer. We already have the players we need for next year.

Buch-Thomas-Snuggles(Monty has already put this line together)
Holloway-Schenn-Kyrou(why in God's name would you split them up?)
Neighbours-Dvorsky-Bolduc(Dvorsky need to break in someplace, this is as good an option as any)
Toro-Sunny-Dingo(we lose some defense, but gain some physicality)
Joseph/Texier

Fowler-Parayko
Broberg-Faulk
Suter-Leddy
Tucker

[Harry S Deals]

Good points i agree i just dont think Army is going to shake the tree too much when this roster has gelled and he already has good kids who can step in assuming ASAP as we are seeing.
Unless Army and Monty are set on giving Kessel a full time D spot which i dont think is the case i thing they bring back Suter for cheap, Fowler will be extending at some point, but after next season there will be more decisions, maybe a kid emerges who knows. But i think next years team is basically set

[Harry York 37]

Alexandrov has no place on our 4th line.

Sunny will be our 4th line center.

Some people’s fascination with Alexandrov is in itself fascinating. Dude is clearly not an NHL player. He had ample time to prove himself, on a team that was desperate for talent and he still couldn’t crack the lineup over the Walkers and Toros of the world. Penciling him in on the forward lines next year is just totally avoiding the reality of the situation.

He’s played around 50 games. How many times did Walker yo-yo between the AHL and NHL. Alexandrov has played very well in Springfield this year.

He has played well at Springfield, but he has not played center. I don't think the organization views him as a center.

He’s listed as a C on the team’s website.

Finding out where NA is playing at a Forward position ain’t easy.
It looks like he did his most damage at even strength on a line with Luff and Peca, next most was with Dvorsky and Mac Mac.

https://frozenpool.dobbersports.com/fro ... tuation=EV

[Harry York 37]

Good points i agree i just dont think Army is going to shake the tree too much when this roster has gelled and he already has good kids who can step in assuming ASAP as we are seeing.
Unless Army and Monty are set on giving Kessel a full time D spot which i dont think is the case i thing they bring back Suter for cheap, Fowler will be extending at some point, but after next season there will be more decisions, maybe a kid emerges who knows. But i think next years team is basically set

You and Kimzry lay it damned straight as I see it.

Suter is one of my favorite Blues this year. My GF calls Suter, Walker, and Sunny her favorites. They are all Masters of the Covert Treachery that wins close games.

Suter has a couple of pretty young children, and his wife has been saying "enough" for a while. He said that this might be his last year if he can't have them in the same city where he plays his home games. Few NHL players earned more career money than he has, and he is still earning it..
Especially, a hard way to end a consecutive game streak.
That would be a hell of a career to walk away from.

I would love to see him in a Blue Note next year.
If that is not to be... I will enjoy the bejeezus out of watching Suter in the Playoffs.
Lord knows what he might still be holdin' back.

[Harry S Deals]

Good points i agree i just dont think Army is going to shake the tree too much when this roster has gelled and he already has good kids who can step in assuming ASAP as we are seeing.
Unless Army and Monty are set on giving Kessel a full time D spot which i dont think is the case i thing they bring back Suter for cheap, Fowler will be extending at some point, but after next season there will be more decisions, maybe a kid emerges who knows. But i think next years team is basically set

You and Kimzry lay it damned straight as I see it.

Suter is one of my favorite Blues this year. My GF calls Suter, Walker, and Sunny her favorites. They are all Masters of the Covert Treachery that wins close games.

Suter has a couple of pretty young children, and his wife has been saying "enough" for a while. He said that this might be his last year if he can't have them in the same city where he plays his home games. Few NHL players earned more career money than he has, and he is still earning it..
Especially, a hard way to end a consecutive game streak.
That would be a hell of a career to walk away from.

I would love to see him in a Blue Note next year.
If that is not to be... I will enjoy the bejeezus out of watching Suter in the Playoffs.
Lord knows what he might still be holdin' back.

Harry, i'll say this too Im not 100% convinced that Army will go into next season penciling in Dvorsky and Sunny as the bottom 6 centers, thats a little weak as of today. The Blues brass will know more than we do but i havent seen enough from DD to anoint him as a center. It could very well be that Army explores the FA market whether its Faksa, Frederic, who knows but something to ponder