Ed Stein: Ducks Place Stoner on Waivers

Stoner jersey shirts on sale

Don't trade 67 - unless the package back includes a proven impact offensive player - RR is young / gifted / and only getting better - the ducks have no impact young offensive players besides this guy- he plays both center and wing well - creates his own shot and passes extremely well -

All the naysayers (you know who you are) think Bob doesn't have a plan that includes options. Look folks, you can panic if you want to panic. But as far as player moves go, Bob has been above average. Hiring Carlyle is another thing in my opinion. But maybe he knows more than I do.

All the naysayers (you know who you are) think Bob doesn't have a plan that includes options. Look folks, you can panic if you want to panic. But as far as player moves go, Bob has been above average. Hiring Carlyle is another thing in my opinion. But maybe he knows more than I do.
- yzermaneely

Above average ... Not recently my man -

Considering Barberio just went unclaimed, I doubt Stoner will get claimed either.

Could be a prelude to packaging Stoner with another asset to send his cap hit somewhere like Carolina.

Ana puff puff passing on stoner!

dis good shtt man...

Clayton Stoner is now in the minor leagues. 950K of cap space is now freed up too. I don't know if Thompson's LTIR status has been factored into the equation. There possibly could be enough if that were the case. However, it sounds like Rickard Rakell and Hampus Lindholm are seeking "where I'm headed" contracts. Nothing outrages, and I'm going to refrain from jumping to conclusion. We'll see.

Randy Carlyle has been sizing everyone up in camp, and clearly he wasn't thrilled with Stoner. Any coach who comes to a new team asks, "Who can I get more from?" Stoner is a guy who's peeked, and it's just not happening. If I was Carlyle, Josh Manson, Simon Despres and Nick Ritchie would be the three players I'd be looking at to make vast improvements. Then falls in the guys who can probably improve on last year like Perry, Getzlaf, Silfverberg and Cogliano. I think if he can get Kesler to kill 35 less penalties that'd be a reasonable goal too.

I watched the preseason game versus the Kings. The main difference I saw from that game, as opposed to last year, is there wasn't 2 v 4 puck battles in Anaheim's offensive corner every other shift. Lots of movement by Anaheim in the offensive zone. Cogliano netted the screened wrister from the high slot only to see it negated. Possibly a offensive draw play, but the high slot isn't a bad place to shoot the puck from. What's important is there's more skating instead of predicable drawn out stagnation.

In closing, I'm stil frustrated that Rakell and Lindholm haven't been signed. I don't know if it's that management and their agents are far apart, or they're still planning on moving someone. Bob Murray runs a tight ship, so if Stoner isn't happening than maybe it's merely a protocol move. I don't know.

Above average ... Not recently my man -
- dozerD10

Like I said, you know who you are. And you're the leader of the pack, my man.

If Ek says it is going to happen, it won't But even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in a while A broken clock is even right twice a day

No suckers for stoners?!?

Clayton Stoner is now in the minor leagues. 950K of cap space is now freed up too. I don't know if Thompson's LTIR status has been factored into the equation. There possibly could be enough if that were the case. However, it sounds like Rickard Rakell and Hampus Lindholm are seeking "where I'm headed" contracts. Nothing outrages, and I'm going to refrain from jumping to conclusion. We'll see.


- IGotTheMemo

Unfortunately, that's not how LTIR works.

Like I said, you know who you are. And you're the leader of the pack, my man.
- yzermaneely

You're right about that - what possibly could murrays plan be ? This move stinks of desperation - first it was assured August / September - deal will be done / now everyone knows Murray is up against it with arguably his best player going forward & another proven highly skilled forward both unsigned - with no end in sight -season starting in less than a week / and we have Murray groupies saying well wait until they miss games or dec 1st or both players have nowhere else to go - or whatever - Here's the bottom line. Murray has no plan and that's been obvious for some time - Helen Keller could have seen this coming as far back as June -

You're right about that - what possibly could murrays plan be ? This move stinks of desperation - first it was assured August / September - deal will be done / now everyone knows Murray is up against it with arguably his best player going forward & another proven highly skilled forward both unsigned - with no end in sight -season starting in less than a week / and we have Murray groupies saying well wait until they miss games or dec 1st or both players have nowhere else to go - or whatever - Here's the bottom line. Murray has no plan and that's been obvious for some time - Helen Keller could have seen this coming as far back as June -
- dozerD10

No, he probably had a plan, but it probably involved Hampus signing for less than $5 mil per season. This MIGHT have been doable had Murray made Lindholm's signing a priority and got him signed before all of the other RFA defensemen started signing. Once Seth Jones signed his deal the bar was set and all of those financial plans flew out the window.

You're right about that - what possibly could murrays plan be ? This move stinks of desperation - first it was assured August / September - deal will be done / now everyone knows Murray is up against it with arguably his best player going forward & another proven highly skilled forward both unsigned - with no end in sight -season starting in less than a week / and we have Murray groupies saying well wait until they miss games or dec 1st or both players have nowhere else to go - or whatever - Here's the bottom line. Murray has no plan and that's been obvious for some time - Helen Keller could have seen this coming as far back as June -
- dozerD10

You get way too emotional. I'm far from a Murray groupie, but I also understand the dynamics of the club. NOBODY, and that includes you, knows what's going on behind the scenes. All we can do is play armchair GM's and throw around a bunch of assumptions. That's the problem. The "plan" that Murray may have is he's not paying a player coming off his ELC anything over a certain $ amount. We don't know if that's the issue because both sides aren't saying a word. It's not about Lindholm, it's also about Theodore, Larsson, Montour, and any other top prospect that needs to sign another contract going forward. You can say the other three aren't as good as Lindholm, and my response would be, "yet". As fans we're emotional for the player, but Murray is in charge of running a hockey operation. It's a business.

No, he probably had a plan, but it probably involved Hampus signing for less than $5 mil per season. This MIGHT have been doable had Murray made Lindholm's signing a priority and got him signed before all of the other RFA defensemen started signing. Once Seth Jones signed his deal the bar was set and all of those financial plans flew out the window.
- duxcup07

I think the Aaron Ekblad contract set the bar. The underlying Corsi stats for the two are pretty similar. Difference is in point totals. imo

No, he probably had a plan, but it probably involved Hampus signing for less than $5 mil per season. This MIGHT have been doable had Murray made Lindholm's signing a priority and got him signed before all of the other RFA defensemen started signing. Once Seth Jones signed his deal the bar was set and all of those financial plans flew out the window.
- duxcup07

Additionally, Murray can't play that card unless he frees up cap room. It is one thing to have Hampus on the fence between taking 5.5mm/year and 6mm/year when the alternative is not signing and sitting out for an extended period. It is entirely another thing to have insufficient cap room whereby Murray can't even make Hampus think about it. The decision for Hampus is easy: sit out and wait for his number. The Ducks have ~7.5mm in cap space. AND that's actual cap space and not the Ducks' internal ceiling (whatever it is). Murray now has to move salary a week before the season starts. Almost all rosters are set. The outcome will likely be the Ducks get a lesser return for Fowler. Murray has lost all leverage. He's a good GM, but this has been handled poorly.

-double post

Additionally, Murray can't play that card unless he frees up cap room. It is one thing to have Hampus on the fence between taking 5.5mm/year and 6mm/year when the alternative is not signing and sitting out for an extended period. It is entirely another thing to have insufficient cap room whereby Murray can't even make Hampus think about it. The decision for Hampus is easy: sit out and wait for his number. The Ducks have ~7.5mm in cap space. AND that's actual cap space and not the Ducks' internal ceiling (whatever it is). Murray now has to move salary a week before the season starts. Almost all rosters are set. The outcome will likely be the Ducks get a lesser return for Fowler. Murray has lost all leverage. He's a good GM, but this has been handled poorly.
- Only_A_Ladd

Wow, rationality from a KINGS fan?!?!? What's this world coming to???
I agree 100%. Lombardi almost screwed the pooch with Doughty a while ago but he came to his senses at the last minute. I'm praying for a similar situation in Anaheim although Murray's situation is worse. If Doughty didn't sign he literally had no where to play, Hampus can sign a nice contract and play in Sweden this year if he so chooses.

Additionally, Murray can't play that card unless he frees up cap room. It is one thing to have Hampus on the fence between taking 5.5mm/year and 6mm/year when the alternative is not signing and sitting out for an extended period. It is entirely another thing to have insufficient cap room whereby Murray can't even make Hampus think about it. The decision for Hampus is easy: sit out and wait for his number. The Ducks have ~7.5mm in cap space. AND that's actual cap space and not the Ducks' internal ceiling (whatever it is). Murray now has to move salary a week before the season starts. Almost all rosters are set. The outcome will likely be the Ducks get a lesser return for Fowler. Murray has lost all leverage. He's a good GM, but this has been handled poorly.
- Only_A_Ladd

We can agree to disagree. The Kings are in cap hell because of a multitude of poor contracts. Yes, you've won 2 Cups, and yes, some contracts were unavoidable (Kopitar), but the reality is as valuable as Lindholm is today, it's not like the Ducks don't have "potentially" better players in waiting (Theodore, Montour, Larsson). Murray hasn't lost must leverage at all (imo). Lindholm isn't UFA, if he chooses not to sign he can play in Sweden all year. Then we repeat the process next year. Ducks have plenty of quality D. I would argue Rakell signing is far more important to the success of the team right now than Lindholm. There's zero players ready to replace him. I agree this hasn't been handled expertly, but none of us know what's going on behind closed doors. All us armchair GM's can do is ponder what if's.

I think the internal budget is out the window this year. Team gets about 11 million in expansion money, plus, while Bernier carries a cap hit a little over 4 million, Toronto paid 2 million of that on July 1, so that's 2 million less of actual salary.

And so we wait and wonder.........

We can agree to disagree. The Kings are in cap hell because of a multitude of poor contracts. Yes, you've won 2 Cups, and yes, some contracts were unavoidable (Kopitar), but the reality is as valuable as Lindholm is today, it's not like the Ducks don't have "potentially" better players in waiting (Theodore, Montour, Larsson). Murray hasn't lost must leverage at all (imo). Lindholm isn't UFA, if he chooses not to sign he can play in Sweden all year. Then we repeat the process next year. Ducks have plenty of quality D. I would argue Rakell signing is far more important to the success of the team right now than Lindholm. There's zero players ready to replace him. I agree this hasn't been handled expertly, but none of us know what's going on behind closed doors. All us armchair GM's can do is ponder what if's.

I think the internal budget is out the window this year. Team gets about 11 million in expansion money, plus, while Bernier carries a cap hit a little over 4 million, Toronto paid 2 million of that on July 1, so that's 2 million less of actual salary.

And so we wait and wonder.........
- quackup

The Kings face a much worse cap scenario. No one would argue differently unless they are completely diluted. The Brown and Gabi contracts are putrid. Lombardi dealt away several prospects and picks for 1 playoff win in the last 2 years. Aside from Kempe and a few others, there ain't much coming through the system. Was it worth it? Yes, but the next 10 years could be awfully painful. I know you won't cry for us, though, and it isn't expected as we will delight in your misery.

As we've seen with the last decade, to win a Cup, you need young, talented players on entry level and/or RFA contracts contributing immediately.

And that's precisely the cross-road the Ducks find themselves at this off season. The Ducks are loaded with young d-men. Problem is, Vats and Hampus came off their deals at about the same time. Add in Fowler, and all of a sudden, you have a bunch of kids who were making a manageable, combined salary hit all of a sudden demanding (and reasonably so) pay raises that force roster moves. That's not Murray's fault. But how these moves are made and the return obtained is the measure of GM performance in the salary cap era.

So here's the rub for Murray: sure, Fowler can be moved to make room for Hampus and Rakell. But if that occurs, are you going to get an optimal return for Fowler now, on Oct 7 or sometime afterwards? And what would you define as an optimal return? To me, an optimal return is a top 6 wing, a hole the Ducks need to fill.

Notwithstanding the salary cap implications, Larsson got the Devils Hall. Is Fowler as good as Larsson? Yes. Do they have comparable cap hits? Yes. Was that even a reasonable trade in the first place? Pretty hard to argue "yes" IMO.

BUT, even if you look at it reasonably and that Fowler, under normal circumstances wouldn't fetch a guy like Hal but maybe a notch below, we'll be able to measure Murray's performance and handling of this off-season by what he gets for Fowler.

You get way too emotional. I'm far from a Murray groupie, but I also understand the dynamics of the club. NOBODY, and that includes you, knows what's going on behind the scenes. All we can do is play armchair GM's and throw around a bunch of assumptions. That's the problem. The "plan" that Murray may have is he's not paying a player coming off his ELC anything over a certain $ amount. We don't know if that's the issue because both sides aren't saying a word. It's not about Lindholm, it's also about Theodore, Larsson, Montour, and any other top prospect that needs to sign another contract going forward. You can say the other three aren't as good as Lindholm, and my response would be, "yet". As fans we're emotional for the player, but Murray is in charge of running a hockey operation. It's a business.
- quackup

Again correct - I do - especially when this was a layup and Murray turned it into a tire fire -

Again correct - I do - especially when this was a layup and Murray turned it into a tire fire -
- dozerD10

Nice dodge. Like I said and you ignored, paying Lindholm 7 or 8 million is the "layup". I'll take my chances with the "tire fire" (which hopefully is 6M or less).