Latest on the Colorado Avalanche, plus updates on Mike Green, Chris Neil and Mark Letestu.
Could the Avalanche pursue Oliver Ekman-Larsson?
Could the Avs chase Franson, Phaneuf or Ekman-Larsson?
THE DENVER POST: Mike Chambers wonders if the Colorado Avalanche might pursue Toronto Maple Leafs defensemen Cody Franson or Dion Phaneuf or Arizona’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson. He suspects they’ll make inquiries but the asking prices will be more than the Avs are willing to pay. Chambers believes landing Ekman-Larrson could cost “a top-six forward/top-4 D, a top prospect and a No. 1 draft pick.”
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Avs do have Ryan O’Reilly to offer up, though that could depend upon where they are in the standings as the trade deadline nears. It’s sounds like they might try moving O’Reilly in the off-season. I doubt Ekman-Larsson is available but the Coyotes sound like they’ll entertain all offers for their players except Shane Doan. Doesn’t mean they’ll move a key young player like Ekman-Larsson.
To trade or not to trade Mike Green.
CSNWASHINGTON.COM: Chuck Gormley reports Capitals GM Brian MacLellan must decide if he’ll retain pending UFA defenseman Mike Green at the risk of losing him for nothing in July, or trade him for a player who can help the Capitals elsewhere.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Capitals could use a proven scoring winger on their right side. Green might fetch such a player, though it could be a rental.
Neil to remain a Senator. Or not.
OTTAWA SUN: Don Brennan reports Senators veteran winger Chris Neil said he wants to stay with the Senators, and the club stated they’re not trading him. Brennan wonders if that could change, given the recent decline in his playing time and if management wants to move him out for a younger player.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun wondered the same thing. Though the official line is the Senators aren’t trading Neil, that hasn’t mollified the pundits. Expect Neil’s name to remain in the mill leading up to March 2.
Letestu could hit the trade block.
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH: Aaron Portzline reports Blues Jackets pending UFA forward Mark Letestu could be dealt by the trade deadline. While Jackets management would like to keep Letestu, there’s been no contract talks between the two sides.
Don’t even think about Kane for Green. WPG has a log jam on D as it is. I hope to see them move a few of the excess bodies on the blueline out in the next month in order to land some additional scoring and/or possibly an upgrade in goal with the move of a D and Pavelec for a better/more consistent G.
Who would have thought Calgary would be ahead of LA, San Jose and Vancouver in the standings and 3 points behind Chicago in Feb? Maybe Oct 25th but not now. Things are looking up there.
Shhhhh. Don’t say anything you will jinx it.
Just kidding. Feaster really set the table up for the team before he left. Trevling has picked things up nicely since Jay left and his patience is appreciated. I like that he is not out mortgaging the future for other teams damaged goods at this point. A couple years from now when Calgary is 1-2 pieces away from contending damn rights I will be on my soap box.
Hartley has done a magnificent job bringing the kids into the fold but without the development in the AHL we would not be so impressed.
This time next month I would like to see the Flames where they are now. Second… who woulda thunk it.
Green to the leafs for Lupul? Green can walk in the offseason and the leafs get rid of cap space that is locked up over a few more seasons.
No chance the Capitals are not going to want to take on the term of Lupul’s contract with his injury history. Plus Mike Green is a more valuable asset to a team than Lupul IMHO.
Green will not be moved at the deadline unless they are blown away by an offer or drop out of the playoffs. I’m really mad that the Orpik signing is going to prevent this team from re-signing Green. Green has easily been the teams 2nd best defenseman behind John Carlson, who’s been phenomenal. I am still holding out hope that Green will take a paycut to remain in DC, but I don’t see that happening. That’s sad as Green would love to stay here for the rest of his career and he’s liked in the locker room and a fan favorite. Not to mention he’s a great offensive defenseman.
You beat me to it. Leafs trade rumours ALWAYS only make sense for the Leafs and nevet for the other team involved.
What about Lupul and Kadri for Green and a 1st 2015?
Would give WAS a more experienced and better (offensively) player than Kuznetsov is (at this point of his career anyways), the Leafs shed salary and can maybe get Green under contract before the deal is finalized?
Gives WAS a solid 1-2 punch at F, what they are in need of for a playoff push so ALL the attention and pressure is NOT solely on the top line.
I can’t see the Capitals wanting to add an often injured winger making over $5 million a season. Sure, it gives the Leafs cap space but doesn’t help Washington at all and messes up their cap. Plus, they can probably get more for Green than a guy who’ll spend 40% or more of the season on IR.
With out tearing this trade apart for obvious reasons you must believe the Caps can get more for Green than Lupul. Which negates the possibility of this trade happening. But of coarse I don’t think Lupul is worth much due to his injury history.
Lupul for green makes 0 sense for either team. Leafs need to be realistic and realize that their concern is to add assets and strip away some salary. If phaneuf or Kessel are to be traded the leafs, and Franson isn’t going to be resigned, the leafs focus should be longer term. So with that in mind trading Lupul should be for a pick, prospect or young player. To get that value the leafs need to make lupul an affordable commodity and need to bite the bullet and hold back salary. Lupul’s skill and leadership if he were only a 3.75 million dollar player might be attractive. Holding that amount back would be reasonable given the will likely have to fill in their line up with lower paid prospects for the next few years anyway.
For Washington their ideal target would be someone like justin Williams. Both expiring contracts and each team is looking for almost exactly what the other is offering. Kings want to re-sign Williams but it would be a good fit if they can’t.
People when you lose someone to Free Agency you don’t lose him for nothing, remember NHL is salary capped. So if you lose someone to free agency then you gain that valuable cap space . . . this if you don’t trade them before trade deadline then you risk losing them for nothing . . . is old school.
Thats kind of true but if, for example, the Leafs let Franson walk, they need to sign another defenseman to replace him. This is a weak UFA class. So the Leafs gain cap space by letting Franson walk, then sign an inferior defenseman at an undersaturated, high market price.
Acquiring expiring contracts won’t catch on in the NHL like it has in the NBA. The rosters are much smaller, salaries much high and contract terms are shorter in the NBA. In the NBA the whole point of acquiring expiring contracts is to make a splash in free agency. In the NHL there aren’t enough available top tier free agents to do that.
I think that is illogical, personally. Sure you get cap space, but the cap is only a constraint that teams have to work within. Getting cap space does not make a team better in the short run, and only improves the team in the long run if a prudent move is made by the GM.
Cap space is great, but only because it can be used to sign quality players. As such, a departing quality player is significantly more valuable than cap space. If it is an overpaid player departing the team, the cap space is probably worth more. If it is a quality player leaving the team, that cap space provides little solace. Plus, if you trade the player while he is still under contract, not only do you get that cap space but you can also get assets in return.
The cap space you gain in your argument is off set by the cap space you must spend to replace the player you lost. Where as if you trade him you can get at least a late round draft pick and spend more cap space on another player.
Sure, you gain valuable cap space. But if all said cap space goes to is an over-inflated contract come free agency, you could be replacing one problem with a worse one (see: Clarkson, David).
Trading an expiring contract player like Green for an equal rental is a dicey enterprise. But if you can make a deal for someone under contract for 1-2 (or more) years…
So long as that player isn’t a waste like Lupul.
Mike Green to the Pens for Kunitz? And I think Sutter and Bennett could be dealt by the deadline as well for help on Malkin and Sid’s LW’s
(Sutter has sucked as of late and Bennett has been a healthy scratch for 2 of the last 3 games).
No the Penguins want nothing to do with mike green. Sutter sucks this year, he’s not getting the job done at all. Trade Sutter for someone like vermette and beau for Kassian and a second because they need more toughness. One inconsistent underperformer for another.
Trading Kunitz, a proven forward that can play with Crosby or Malkin, makes zero sense considering Pitt has been trying for years to find players that can play with the stars. Never mind that Green is gone at the end of the year while Kunitz is under contract
Based on his on-ice performance and ignoring his off-ice issues, I’m having a tough time jumping on the Evander Kane bandwagon. In 6 seasons his best production has been 30 goals with his next best being 19. His goals per game have dropped like a rock over the last 3 years. This year he has 10 goals and 22 pts in 37 games while logging over 19 minutes a game and playing on the PP. IMO, his $5.25 million salary and low production make him too risky for a GM to give up a 1st, a top 6 fwd and a top prospect.
OEL – no idea why this kid is still in the rumors. Why wouild any GM want to trade a young defenseman of his talents? Yotes should just come flat out and say he’s not available, because he isn’t.
I am curious if the Yotes feel that he is not entirely happy in Arizona and think he is going to test the FA market when his contract expires in a few years. His salary goes up considerably over the next couple years, maybe the Yotes feel like they can’t contend in that time frame and feel like paying him 7 mil a season is not worth it because he is a flight risk. This is all speculation, of course, but I can’t think of another reason for trading a 23 year old elite defender who is still a couple years away from realizing his true potential.
He is elite that’s for sure, smooth
Damnit Neil! Why don’t you want a chance for a cup? I’m a fan but you have to know when it’s time to go! The Sens would probably get a 3rd rounder or less but better than nothing. Sens have a good history with 2nd/3rd round picks so I wouldn’t mind that at all.
I think , moss , erat , michalek and hopefully crombeen get traded from coyotes
If Green is willing to resign at 5 or 5.5 mil how about Girardi 5.5 mil/yr for Green straight up, Washington need defense and the Rangers need offense, seems like a win win situation
Not sure that this really does much for the caps, they are already one of the better defensive teams in the league, and green is heavily utilized in their system. Girardi won’t improve their team defensively as he cant do for the caps what green does. He has other talents, but he might not be a great fit for the way the caps play. We are seeing that good “defensive” players have a harder time adjusting to new teams and it’s likely because they have a harder time adjusting to a new system. Good skill players don’t have as much trouble because players who can dominate puck control are easier to integrate into a system for their new coach. I think Girardi is a great defensemen, but since there is no one else like green in Washington, the whole created won’t be able to be filled making the team weaker overall. A forward would add a strength in a different area and likely balance things out.
Evander Kane wasn’t scratched for the Vancouver game over the track suit. He wore the track suit at the morning skate against team rules I might add. After the skate Dustin took the track suit and threw it in shower to show Evander that the team didn’t approve of his antics. There was an incident Evander disappeared and a hour before game time he called Maurice and told him that he wasn’t playing. This was reported by Team Stream