Ep. 59: 'Member the Good Ol' Days?

But as I just said, uh, it has been a summer of suck before, uh, Free agency began.

I was optimistic about this summer.

I felt that Don Waddell didn't do much last summer or didn't do enough, if I'm being honest, but I gave him a pass.

You know, I thought he just completed his first season with the team.

Maybe his process takes longer than I would like him to.

He was handed a team of Jarmo Kekulainen contracts, so maybe he needed time to put his own stamp on the team, to make it Don's team instead of Jarmo's team.

The one thing I...

I don't know if it's the one thing, but one thing that I felt he handled poorly was the Provorov situation.

That was a bad contract, if you ask me.

Still is, in my opinion.

Mostly for the term, not the AAV, and the fact that it has a no-movement clause.

But anyway, that was one bad, big decision, but I still gave him a pass.

I felt he could really start to turn the team around moving forward.

Then during the season, he made some questionable calls.

I mean, looking back, trading Chinnikov to a division rival for, in essence, a few months of Mason Marchment just seems like a bonehead move to me.

Basically, now the team has traded Chinnikov for nothing.

But anyway, I'm getting off track.

Okay, my point is, that after a lackluster summer and then a lackluster season, I expected something significant to happen this summer.

I expected Waddell to put his stamp on the team and make some real changes to the roster.

Moves to improve a roster that has not been good enough the last two seasons to qualify for the playoffs.

Instead, we got Nechushkin, who I know a lot of people see as an upgrade from Marchment, but I see as more of a lateral acquisition.

And Ryan Lomberg, who I see as a complete wasted signing, if I'm being truthful.

Nothing against Lomberg himself, okay, but he's a fourth liner.

I have no problem with having a person of his skill level, his energy level on the jacket's fourth line.

What I don't like is that having him takes a spot away from a younger hungry player looking to step into the lineup.

But as I just said, uh, it has been a summer of suck before, uh, Free agency began.

I was optimistic about this summer.

I felt that Don Waddell didn't do much last summer or didn't do enough, if I'm being honest, but I gave him a pass.

You know, I thought he just completed his first season with the team.

Maybe his process takes longer than I would like him to.

He was handed a team of Jarmo Kekulainen contracts, so maybe he needed time to put his own stamp on the team, to make it Don's team instead of Jarmo's team.

The one thing I...

I don't know if it's the one thing, but one thing that I felt he handled poorly was the Provorov situation.

That was a bad contract, if you ask me.

Still is, in my opinion.

Mostly for the term, not the AAV, and the fact that it has a no-movement clause.

But anyway, that was one bad, big decision, but I still gave him a pass.

I felt he could really start to turn the team around moving forward.

Then during the season, he made some questionable calls.

I mean, looking back, trading Chinnikov to a division rival for, in essence, a few months of Mason Marchment just seems like a bonehead move to me.

Basically, now the team has traded Chinnikov for nothing.

But anyway, I'm getting off track.

Okay, my point is, that after a lackluster summer and then a lackluster season, I expected something significant to happen this summer.

I expected Waddell to put his stamp on the team and make some real changes to the roster.

Moves to improve a roster that has not been good enough the last two seasons to qualify for the playoffs.

Instead, we got Nechushkin, who I know a lot of people see as an upgrade from Marchment, but I see as more of a lateral acquisition.

And Ryan Lomberg, who I see as a complete wasted signing, if I'm being truthful.

Nothing against Lomberg himself, okay, but he's a fourth liner.

I have no problem with having a person of his skill level, his energy level on the jacket's fourth line.

What I don't like is that having him takes a spot away from a younger hungry player looking to step into the lineup.