Michael Frolik

[BigTed3]

1 year deal, 750k

[maas_art]

Odd move. Puts us just over the cap now (I would assume we'll waive Weal so we'll be back under) but even though Frolik's contract is basically league min, could we not have just brought up a guy like Poehling or Vejdemo? 

Maybe there's another move coming. Frolik is fine - will fit Julien's system but seems like a really bizarrely timed move. 

[ramcharger440]

I don't know...this is going to be a crazy condensed season perhaps there is a feeling that a lot of guys will have short term injuries due to lack of recovery time. he is a proven player and in this odd year we may be able to go a ways in the playoffs so I am ok with it for a year. looks like some folks will be leaving at least one or perhaps down to Laval.

[maas_art]

8 minutes ago, ramcharger440 said:

I don't know...this is going to be a crazy condensed season perhaps there is a feeling that a lot of guys will have short term injuries due to lack of recovery time. he is a proven player and in this odd year we may be able to go a ways in the playoffs so I am ok with it for a year. looks like some folks will be leaving at least one or perhaps down to Laval.

Right but the cap is a bit of a concern.

With Frolik, we're now about 350k over the cap with this signing.  We have 13F, 7D and 2G on the active roster.  The logical move is to send Weal down (he makes $1.4m but we can recover about $1m of that).  Then we have 700-800k of cap space but we're down to 21 players on the active roster.  You could easily bring up a guy like Evans or Poehling (but not both) but that does leave you one player short of the 23 man roster limit. Its not unheard of to do (Toronto almost certainly will run with less players than 23) but its still a bit of a tricky area. 

Now, maybe MB has a deal up his sleeve - like maybe we're moving Byron (who Frolik would replace nicely) and his $3.4m salary - but i kind of doubt it. 

 

[claremont]

Bargain basement cheap insurance reclamation project who plays RW and LW (shoots left) - with likely more back to back games he’s just fodder depth IMO and nothing to get excited about 

[CaptWelly]

Could he be included in/out of the "taxi" squad they are talking about for teams?

 

[arpem-can]

3 hours ago, claremont said:

Bargain basement cheap insurance reclamation project who plays RW and LW (shoots left) - with likely more back to back games he’s just fodder depth IMO and nothing to get excited about 

  ....plenty of experience but inconsistent and declining scoring over career ...apparently has "sneaky fast skating ability" so I can see perhaps why Montreal went for him ...size is bigger than Weal so he might present another Weise alternative with some scoring up-side ...like you I see him as a back -to -back alternative for the fourth line especially against the likes of Jumbo Joe , Spezza and Simmonds in Toronto who will be "slugging" it out somewhere down the line-up when not on the 2nd PP  ...I don't have any problems with this acquisition from a depth perspective and if he doesn't fit in short term from a defensive angle it's still worth the flyer ...who knows ? he might be rejuvenated in Montreal .

[maas_art]

1 hour ago, CaptWelly said:

Could he be included in/out of the "taxi" squad they are talking about for teams?

Yeah depth is not a bad thing, especially under the circumstances of the upcoming season, but we're not exactly in the best situation, cap-wise. 

24 minutes ago, arpem-can said:

  ....plenty of experience but inconsistent and declining scoring over career ...apparently has "sneaky fast skating ability" so I can see perhaps why Montreal went for him ...size is bigger than Weal so he might present another Weise alternative with some scoring up-side ...like you I see him as a back -to -back alternative for the fourth line especially against the likes of Jumbo Joe , Spezza and Simmonds in Toronto who will be "slugging" it out somewhere down the line-up when not on the 2nd PP  ...I don't have any problems with this acquisition from a depth perspective and if he doesn't fit in short term from a defensive angle it's still worth the flyer ...who knows ? he might be rejuvenated in Montreal .

To me, Frolik is the perfect depth player. He's no longer a 2nd liner but he's easily a 4th and sometimes 3rd liner. He's Paul Byron or Jordan Weal but at league min salary.  The only negative to the signing is that a guy like Poehling, Vejdemo or Ylonen will be kept in the minors because of him, but with Suzuki, JK and Evans set to take on even bigger roles, im not sure how much room Julien would give to yet another young player. 

[electron58]

11 hours ago, maas_art said:

Yeah depth is not a bad thing, especially under the circumstances of the upcoming season, but we're not exactly in the best situation, cap-wise. 

To me, Frolik is the perfect depth player. He's no longer a 2nd liner but he's easily a 4th and sometimes 3rd liner. He's Paul Byron or Jordan Weal but at league min salary.  The only negative to the signing is that a guy like Poehling, Vejdemo or Ylonen will be kept in the minors because of him, but with Suzuki, JK and Evans set to take on even bigger roles, im not sure how much room Julien would give to yet another young player. 

Agreed. Leave Poehling, Vejdemo & Ylonen in the minors,  give them a full year? or taxi squad them. Season is too short, and Frolik's experience will help, plus he is a good skater, good forechecker & very good on the penalty kill.  Definitely gives the Habs options. Could even risk losing Byron, by putting him on the taxi squad, although, they may just start Frolik there.  All the other teams had a chance to sign him already, although Team's needs can change once the season starts.

[claremont]

1 hour ago, electron58 said:

Agreed. Leave Poehling, Vejdemo & Ylonen in the minors,  give them a full year? or taxi squad them. Season is too short, and Frolik's experience will help, plus he is a good skater, good forechecker & very good on the penalty kill.  Definitely gives the Habs options. Could even risk losing Byron, by putting him on the taxi squad, although, they may just start Frolik there.  All the other teams had a chance to sign him already, although Team's needs can change once the season starts.

I don’t think You are explicitly say this but only referencing the risk of a Byron loss. I find it surprising that a few of you want to throw Byron into the trash heap so quickly. He’s had a couple of injury plagued seasons and while I agree he doesn’t earn his current salary, the players must have liked him to warrant him wearing an A. He’s just as much a reclamation project as Frolik, Juulsen, even a rebound ascension from Poehling, or Evans. He’s got amazing speed but a lack of finish but let’s see how the season progresses before tossing him under the bus. He’s still my leading candidate to offer up to the Kraken at this point, as I don’t see anyone taking his contract in a trade with the current caps and free agents left, unless he’s dumped at a substantial loss. 

[electron58]

1 hour ago, claremont said:

I don’t think You are explicitly say this but only referencing the risk of a Byron loss. I find it surprising that a few of you want to throw Byron into the trash heap so quickly. He’s had a couple of injury plagued seasons and while I agree he doesn’t earn his current salary, the players must have liked him to warrant him wearing an A. He’s just as much a reclamation project as Frolik, Juulsen, even a rebound ascension from Poehling, or Evans. He’s got amazing speed but a lack of finish but let’s see how the season progresses before tossing him under the bus. He’s still my leading candidate to offer up to the Kraken at this point, as I don’t see anyone taking his contract in a trade with the current caps and free agents left, unless he’s dumped at a substantial loss. 

Agreed.  That's why I wouldn't worry about risk losing him by putting him on the taxi squad, as the lilkely-hood of any team claiming him is minimal. I gotta believe the Habs will go with the best possible lineup, and in a short season there is no room for miscalculations.  I believe Byron will start the season on the active roster, but.........And if they did lose him, which, is always a possibility, the Habs still gain the cap benefit.

[campabee82]

1 hour ago, claremont said:

I don’t think You are explicitly say this but only referencing the risk of a Byron loss. I find it surprising that a few of you want to throw Byron into the trash heap so quickly. He’s had a couple of injury plagued seasons and while I agree he doesn’t earn his current salary, the players must have liked him to warrant him wearing an A. He’s just as much a reclamation project as Frolik, Juulsen, even a rebound ascension from Poehling, or Evans. He’s got amazing speed but a lack of finish but let’s see how the season progresses before tossing him under the bus. He’s still my leading candidate to offer up to the Kraken at this point, as I don’t see anyone taking his contract in a trade with the current caps and free agents left, unless he’s dumped at a substantial loss. 

I don't want to lose Byron his finish isn't as bad as many believe. He is just more selective with his shots which is evident in his shooting%, which is 17.4% in the regular season for his career and his career high shooting % is 23.1%. That is a higher shooting percentage than Crosby's (14.6) Point (17.3) Kucherov (14.9) MacKinnon (10.0) McDavid (15.0) Ovechkin (12.7) and Stamkos (16.0) regular season career shooting %. Byron is underrated IMO he may not be an elite goal scorer but he does possess a very good shot and when he utilises it is very dangerous.

[electron58]

1 hour ago, campabee82 said:

I don't want to lose Byron his finish isn't as bad as many believe. He is just more selective with his shots which is evident in his shooting%, which is 17.4% in the regular season for his career and his career high shooting % is 23.1%. That is a higher shooting percentage than Crosby's (14.6) Point (17.3) Kucherov (14.9) MacKinnon (10.0) McDavid (15.0) Ovechkin (12.7) and Stamkos (16.0) regular season career shooting %. Byron is underrated IMO he may not be an elite goal scorer but he does possess a very good shot and when he utilises it is very dangerous.

I don't believe Byron has ever been the same, since the Matheson debacle. But like I said, he will probably start the season with the Habs, and if he plays the way he used to, he should stay on the team. Can he be that player? I, personally, really hope so. I liked Byron, pre Matheson. If Frolik ends up being an injury replacement for any Hab, all the better. That would mean, that every Hab is pulling his weight. (I'm not even going to mention Drouin.)

[maas_art]

5 hours ago, claremont said:

I don’t think You are explicitly say this but only referencing the risk of a Byron loss. I find it surprising that a few of you want to throw Byron into the trash heap so quickly. 

Im absolutely not saying Byron doesnt have a place on my team. He's a very useful player who can really hold his own in pretty much any circumstance. That said, on this roster, he's probably (at best) the 11th forward. Paying your 11th (or even 9-10th) forward $3.4m a season in this cap age is not a good idea. 

So while i really like him as a player & he's exactly the sort of depth guy you want, it does put us in some cap troubles. 

[jennifer_rocket]

When discussing Byron's shooting percentage, I'd be interested in seeing the season to season breakdown. His past four seasons have seen a downward trend.

2016-17: 22.9%

2017-18: 17.4%

2018-19: 16.0%

2019-20: 13.8%

Could be rebound and post a better shooting percentage in 2020-21? Certainly. Could he do worse? That's possible too. Over the past couple of seasons he's missed many games due to injury and it seems his production has suffered because of that. His G/60 and P/60 both saw decreases last season when compared to 2018-19. However, I guess that could be related to line usage and the such.

[PuckPundit]

Was wondering if the coaching staff refuse to give Tatar a redemptive opportunity and ran out of options, would they gamble to give Frolik a try in the SCF? RW with reasonable size.  And he does have a Cup ring after all .

[Regis22]

9 hours ago, PuckPundit said:

Was wondering if the coaching staff refuse to give Tatar a redemptive opportunity and ran out of options, would they gamble to give Frolik a try in the SCF? RW with reasonable size.  And he does have a Cup ring after all .

No

Now is not the time to be gambling especially on a guy who played 8 reg season games 

[maas_art]

1 hour ago, Regis22 said:

No

Now is not the time to be gambling especially on a guy who played 8 reg season games 

Agree.  I think its incredibly unlikely he makes the roster for the finals. Which is a shame because if we win the cup, he wont get his name on it.  You need to play a min 41 games reg season or 1 playoff game.  So guys like Tatar or Romanov would and even Drouin, but not frolik.