In The Wild: Reacting to Ryan Suter being bought out by the Dallas Stars
It'll "add" an extra $1.4 million to the cap.
Earlier today Jeff Marek reported that Ryan Suter was being bought out.
Then DMS beat reporter Lia Assimakopoulos confirmed it.
Suter himself had an interesting season. This is pretty much where we were at the same time last year: “buy out Suter!” we all said. Hey, D Magazine even wrote about it.
Suter stayed, we all pouted, but something funny happened: put Suter in the bottom pair where he belonged, and he was totally fine. In fact, during the playoffs he seemed pretty decent. Granted, I think our expectations created something of an optical illusion: he was actually one of only two defenders who were a minus in goal differential per 60 (the other being Esa Lindell) in the postseason.
But he didn’t stick out like the proverbial sore thumb like he did next to Miro Heiskanen. Still, as I argued — it was imperative that they get in front of a true cliff-falling incident (as happened with Joe Pavelski), especially with Lian Bichsel on the cusp.
Nonetheless, losing Suter has a ripple effect on a lot of things beyond the cup so let’s break it down.
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The numbers
Suter’s defense still had legs at even strength, but shorthanded, and offensively? He was cooked.
His rating via sG was a little kinder, but still had him ranked where he belonged.
The problem with Suter is that he just didn’t have much of an outward impact. Was Suter’s performance really any different from Alex Petrovic, who was making league minimum?
A veteran’s resume is no different than a prospect’s potential — it’s alluring more for what it represents than what it actually is. In the end Suter was just a warm body. If Dallas has designs of turning all of their blueline into an active strength, then buying out Suter is addition by subtraction.
How it helps
The biggest thing is making the money work so that they can bring back Chris Tanev. The Tanev contract is fascinating. Him being an older player would typically drive his price down, but the fact that he’s never been better…no seriously…
…and the job he did in the playoffs means everyone wants a piece. Especially from Canadian teams. According to Pierre LeBrun, Toronto and Ottawa are leading the charge in trying to lure him in. So Tanev’s price is going up.
I talked about Tanev with Ryan on Starcastic Remarks (should go up Friday) and I’m in agreement with him — Tanev and Miro Heiskanen were by far your best defenders. It wasn’t even close IMO. If you’re in it to win it, then bringing back Tanev is a must, especially if Matt Roy is about to get that Mattias Ekholm money. If it means Tanev becoming the next Suter, you do it, because you just made the Western Conference Finals in consecutive seasons.
However, bringing back Tanev is no guarantee. Nonetheless, this probably makes it a lot easier to negotiate, while also being able to explore different options at the ready. The biggest question for fans is ‘what now?’ Only Heiskanen and Lindell are officially signed.
I wouldn’t be terribly concerned. A Thomas Harley deal will get done. Even if you don’t have a Suter replacement, you’re in complete control of everything else. I’m not gonna get too sidetracked by the Bichsel discussion. I know a lot of people don’t think he’s ready. I disagree. On the bottom pairing, you don’t need a difference maker: you just need a few good shifts. Bichsel was a far better defender in the AHL than Petrovic, and he turned in a completely milquetoast performance in the playoffs. I personally like the idea of Dallas bringing in a right shot defender like Sean Walker to play next to Bichsel. But this is all pie in the sky theorycrafting right now.
What I would say is that even if you don’t believe that Mavrik Bourque is replacing Pavelski and Bichsel is replacing Suter — which to me reads like an upgrade, but I’m a right fool — we’re still talking about players who were punting shifts for Dallas when all was said and done.
The Stars don’t need to replace that. You would need to replace Tanev, however. If Suter has to be collateral damage, I don’t think it matters who takes Suter’s spot because he’s simply not what matters right now. I never liked the signing, and even now, still feel a little spurned; “retirement sure would have saved Dallas some extra cash!” Which is why this buyout feels like a relief rather than another dilemma for the Stars to solve.
Suter had a nice career. He was a big part of the Stars recent successes… even with his flaws and occasional mistakes. He cleared the net front as well as any current Star…. And better than most. He blocked out well. He was rarely skated around/by… much less than Mr. Wonder Stick!!! He was a prototypical traditional Dman. Nobody messed with him either, like Benn, opposition did not challenge him. That’s something of value, that hopefully Bichell can replace!!!
Happy Trails RS
How many other players have been bought out while still actively in a buyout? Suter is about to be remembered for one quite trivial reason.