[Kaplan]: “NHL Free Agency opens tomorrow – Here’s a few things I’m hearing…”
June 30, 2025
[Kaplan]: “NHL Free Agency opens tomorrow – Here’s a few things I’m hearing…”
3 comments
Love that GMBA is getting really aggressive this offseason. I keep seeing people saying we’re still really far away from a cup run. I actually disagree. while I don’t think we’d win the cup next year, I don’t think that a first round win in the playoffs is out of the realm of possibility for us, I mean I (and I imagine most fans) expect us to be firmly in the hunt by end of season, if not secure a spot.
Who do you think is the big name we try to bring in FA?
I’m in on Marchand, with the following assumptions:
1.) He’s satisfied with the second cup and doesn’t have unrealistic expectations about where the team is at (i.e. he’s willing to mentor the younger guys)
2.) Similarly, the team doesn’t expect too much from him, and wants him with similar minutes/responsibility as he had in FL.
The way this goes wrong is if the team expects more from him in terms of on-ice production given what they’d have to pay to bring him in. If you overpay him to be a culture guy, he could be a good fit here.
Ekblad already re-signed with Florida, so keep in mind that this is pretty much all just guesswork
![[Kaplan]: “NHL Free Agency opens tomorrow - Here’s a few things I’m hearing…”](https://www.rawchili.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/g1d5dehoz3af1-1170x1024.jpeg)
3 comments
Love that GMBA is getting really aggressive this offseason. I keep seeing people saying we’re still really far away from a cup run. I actually disagree. while I don’t think we’d win the cup next year, I don’t think that a first round win in the playoffs is out of the realm of possibility for us, I mean I (and I imagine most fans) expect us to be firmly in the hunt by end of season, if not secure a spot.
Who do you think is the big name we try to bring in FA?
I’m in on Marchand, with the following assumptions:
1.) He’s satisfied with the second cup and doesn’t have unrealistic expectations about where the team is at (i.e. he’s willing to mentor the younger guys)
2.) Similarly, the team doesn’t expect too much from him, and wants him with similar minutes/responsibility as he had in FL.
The way this goes wrong is if the team expects more from him in terms of on-ice production given what they’d have to pay to bring him in. If you overpay him to be a culture guy, he could be a good fit here.
Ekblad already re-signed with Florida, so keep in mind that this is pretty much all just guesswork