Senators sign W Roman Wick

Like… I don’t know what we could get if we packaged, say, Winchester and Shannon together. Who would want something like that?

Let’s say, for sake of argument, that Regin is on the kid line. Here are your potential lines:

Michalek – Spezza – Alfredsson
Foligno* – Fisher – Kovalev
Ruutu – Kelly – Neil
Winchester – Z. Smith – Shannon
Wick – Regin* – Butler

• RFA, bold = two-way deal

If/when Regin is re-signed, there will be 12 forwards on one-way deals. Chances are pretty high that Z. Smith will take that 13th forward spot and Shannon will be press box fodder for most of the season. Unless the logjam of forwards is somehow lessened, there’s no space for either Butler or Wick unless you’re hoping to stunt their development. Top-six minutes in Binghamton for a year will be much more beneficial to their development than being 3rd or 4th line players in the NHL.

I love the idea of a kid line, but I don’t see it happening for at least another season. Also consider the benefits of salary cap hits for keeping Z. Smith over Wick and Butler:

Z. Smith: $583,333
Butler: $900,000
Wick: $625,000

Z. Smith is the most ready of the trio for the NHL, and he’s also significantly cheaper than Butler, and moderately cheaper than Wick. Interestingly, CapGeek (best. site. ever.) says none of the three have bonuses this season that contribute to their cap hit (Z. Smith had $50k in his first year, $25k last year, none this year). A look at their AHL salaries:

Z. Smith: $62,500
Butler: $67,500
Wick: $55,000

The difference between Butler and Z. Smith is relatively small, but again Wick is cheaper than both, and none of these contracts break the bank to keep them in the AHL. I think you’re far more likely to see Corey Locke as the main call-up in case of emergency. His NHL salary is $550,000 (cheap cheap cheap), but his AHL salary is a ridiculous $250,000. The cost of keeping him in the NHL versus sticking him in the AHL makes calling him up a more attractive option. If you’re going to pay him that much in the AHL, you might as well have him in the NHL and contributing there. He’s also further ahead in his development, although there’s unlikely to be much more potential to tap.

A ridiculously long reply, and I’m sorry for that. But I really do love the idea of a kid line, even if they’re going to be prone to more mistakes. I just don’t see it happening for another year or two.

At least, I am if he’s ready to play at the NHL level consistently. It’s a one-year deal because of his age, but it’s still an entry-level one. He’ll be an RFA afterward, and I believe he’s not eligible for arbitration. Basically he’s in the same boat as Jonas Gustavsson last year in Toronto.

Swiss skaters are getting better and better. Wick’s coming in, Mark Streit’s already there, and Severin Blindenbacher just signed with Dallas. I got to watch Nino Niederreiter and Luca Sbisa live in the WHL playoffs. Sbisa was noticeable all series long as a grinder, completely the opposite of Swiss stereotypes. He wasn’t just picking fights against junior kids, either. He spent a lot of time going after the Vancouver Giants’ James Wright. I know Wright a little bit, and after each game against Portland he’d have another cut on his nose or scrape somewhere else. Apparently they’re actually friends, so Sbisa was just playing his role to a tee.

Niederreiter I was less impressed with. He seemed to be invisible at times, but the suddenly he’d knock a puck in from anywhere in the offensive zone completely on a whim. He benefited from Columbus’ first-rounder Ryan Johansen as his centre, but make no mistake, the guy can score.

I like the Swiss national team (minus Gerber). I enjoy watching them pull off upsets just because nobody takes them seriously. I had Jonas Hiller in a Swiss jersey as the photo on my Twitter page (now replaced with someone more awesome). I look forward to watching Wick this year at whatever level he’s at.

And like Mark said, welcome aboard. Even if you feel like everyone else has covered the main points, jump into the conversation. The more the merrier. One tip: Use the reply button at the bottom of someone’s comment if you want to keep a particular conversation going. Enjoy the site!

That video is a great highlight package… I forgot just how good a wrist shot he has (although I don’t know if any of his backhanders would beat an NHL goalie). He looked very promising at the Olympics. Having him and some of our other young forwards develop into scorers would be the best thing that could happen to this team.

The problem, as Ryan described so well above, is that we have too many forwards to put Z. Smith and Wick on a line yet.

Totally agree on Winchester vs. Z. Smith. But I’m so high on Z. Smith I’d be fine if he replaced Kelly straight up, and that’s probably too much hype for a young kid — Kelly was quietly very good last year.

I would LOVE for some of our young fowards to force their way onto the roster this year like Regin did last year. Putting together a young, fast third line gives Clouston free reign to roll four, which we know he likes to do, and also lets Murray trade some players. However, the realist in me says we’re still a year away from seeing that happen.

Same reason Bobby Bustler only got a 2-year ELC.