For the RFA's they won't really get much more money than they get now. ZBad could get paid around 2-3M and that won't be much more overall. I'm honking something similar to the Kadri bridge contract. Chiasson hasn't been impressive to me and now playing with the 4th line makes me wonder if he's not the next Conacher.
Condra has proven that he can be a good 13th forward, has always played well defensively and has been really good since the St. Louis phantom hat trick game. If money wasn't an issue, any other team would be buying out Greening this summer and allocating a portion of that to Condra. If money is an issue, they'll let him walk and fake that role between Greening and Smith plus sell it as leaving an opening for a rookie to have an opportunity.
I'd offer Methot a 1 year at even money. Let him prove himself after injury and he's a year older.
Stone, Hoffman and Z-Bad are no brainers, sign 'em!
Chiasson and Pageau still have much to prove. I like Chiasson's board work.
Condra; i've changed my tune on him. He makes stuff happen and is a very solid 4th liner. he's not there to score (breaking news!)
Meth; never thought he was worth 5 million and think so even less now that he seems to have a nagging back injury. I'd want to see a full year out of him to prove he's a safe investment.
I know it's early, but there aren't games for a few days so I thought I'd throw this out there after hearing a bit of a discussion on this topic today on the radio.
RFAs
Hoffman: he was a healthy scratch 7 weeks ago, and now he's the team's leading scorer.
Stone: a rookie who's making an impact.
Zibanejad: he's starting to play up to expectations, but will it last?
Chiasson: his play has been acceptable, and he's young, so where should his pay be?
Pageau: will he ever make it as a regular NHLer, or just a part-timer who's very good in the AHL?
UFA:
Eric Condra: a useful defensive player who is never going to be a scorer
Marc Methot: will he ever be healthy enough to prove he can play and be worth his reported demand of $5-5.5M per season?
Is Hoffman playing well enough to get Greening's contract, or do you give him a 'bridge' contract and risk having to pay a lot more in two years? Stone, same thing? Chiasson.....how good could he be?
