The latest on Alex Ovechkin and Matt Dumba, plus five UFAs who could help the Bruins, in today’s NHL rumor mill.
OVECHKIN
Could Alex Ovechkin one day follow Pavel Datsyuk to Russia?
CSN MID-ATLANTIC: Chuck Gormley wonders if Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin will follow the same path as Pavel Datsyuk when his contract expires in five years time. Datsyuk recently left the Detroit Red Wings to ink a two-year deal with SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL. He notes Ovechkin making statements in the past that he would like to one day return to play in Russia. “So for those wondering, the Capitals’ window to win a Stanley Cup with Ovechkin is now at five years and counting … backward.”
SPECTOR’S NOTE: For now, it’s not an immediate concern for the Capitals. Datsyuk departed with one year remaining on his contract due to family reasons. Ovechkin will likely complete his current NHL contract, by which point he’ll be turning 36. Should he win a Stanley Cup in the next five years, he could consider finishing up his playing days in Russia.
BRUINS
CSNNE.COM: Joe Haggerty lists defensemen Kris Russell, James Wisniewski, Justin Schultz and Luke Schenn, along with winger Jiri Hudler, as five remaining unrestricted free agents who could help the Boston Bruins if their asking prices come down. He notes the Bruins have around $8 million in salary-cap space and still need a veteran top-four defenseman and additional scoring punch.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Considering those players still remain available, Bruins GM Don Sweeney can afford to be patient. He could sign one of those blueliners to an affordable one-year deal later this summer. He could also invite one to training camp on a tryout basis.
DUMBA
SIRIUS XM NHL (via TODAY’S SLAPSHOT): Addressing the trade speculation swirling about defenseman Matt Dumba, Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher last Thursday claimed contract talks are going well with the restricted free agent. Calling Dumba a big part of the Wild’s future, Fletcher believes a new deal can be worked out in the next few weeks.
Dumba was selected 7th over all 3 years ago and now he is expendable , I don’t think so.
I don’t think he’s expendable either but if somebody offers a young number 1 centre for him I think they consider it. It would have to be big, like the Seth Jones-Johansen deal though.
RNH for Dumba. only problem there is that leaves the Oilers 2nd and 3rd lines a bit weak imo. but Dumba could play with Davidson and Oilers could put out
Klefbom/Larssen
Nurse/Dumba
Davidson/Sekera
That’s not happening straight up. Dumba is more valuable than RNH. How does Minnesota make RNH’s cap hit work? 6 mil for 5 more years. Is he really an upgrade over Granlund or potentially Coyle?
No chance Dumba has more value than RNH. That’s some funny stuff right there. And absolutely he is an upgrade over Granlund.
Striker:
“Is RNH really an upgrade over Granlund or Coyle?”
Yes.
Dumba is good but I don’t think anyone would proclaim him as being more valuable than RNH.
& Hall just moved for Larsson! You want a top 2 Dman or even 1 with the potential to become 1, the cost is extreme. A #2 C ain’t getting it done, especially 1 overpaid at 6 mil per for 5 more years.
If Dumba could have been had for RNH it would have been done before Hall was expended to acquire Larsson. No harder commodity to acquire in the NHL but Dman, even 1’s that haven’t shown it yet but appear to be.
You don’t know what EDM and Min talked about and just because Hall was traded for someone who currently has less value doesn’t make your previous statement of Dumba being more valuable than RNH any more true.
He’s not expendable due to his ability or future & if expansion wasn’t less than a year away he wouldn’t even be available but with 5 protectors at D & 6 easy protectors at F not counting Zucker, 2 players have to go at D or a D & a forward depending upon which of the 2 keeper formula’s Minny chooses to use or Minney will have to cut a significant deal with Las Vegas to retain them.
Dumba is going to be a stud offensive Dman & may have very good 2 way ability, to early to tell but he’s years away from being that player, 3 maybe 4.
striker,
im an Oilers fan obviously haha. I haven’t seen Dumba play a tonne so can’t even say how good he is. can you say if he has played as well as or better than Nurse? Nurse has been very up and down so far imo but i still think he has top pairing potential. not sure that Dumba does. so what im hearing from you is that the Wild probably wouldn’t be interested in RHH? and i agree that Coyle is good. people don’t understand that he still has room to develop and is gonna be a very solid second line centre for years. Would it be worth it for the Oilers to consider this deal?
to Minnesota – Davidson/Draisaitl
to Edmonton – Dumba/Coyle
Oilers could have RNH as second centre and Coyle as third. Wild could replace Dumba with a lesser but still solid player in Davidson and upgrade at centre with Leon.
I’m an Oiler fan as well, and I would say NO!!! I am not convinced that Dumba is a first pairing d-man, and you are not trading Draisaitl unless it’s a proven young number 1 d-man that can anchor the first unit power play.
Geof204.
Very similar assets by pedigree, although not the exact same players. I have seen both play quite a bit. Nurse’s offensive upside is harder to see but it’s there although may take far longer to develop, Dumba’s is obvious. Both have top pairing skills & abilities, Nurse appears to be better defensively but both aren’t 1 dimensional.
Coyle is going to be a very good hockey player; 30 goals & 70 points the season after next, developing right on schedule & has played a ton of RW in Minny as well but Draisaitl has more offensive upside. Again not an exact apples to apples comparison but essentially the same asset. Davidsson isn’t inconsequential in your trade suggestion but EDM isn’t giving up Coyle & Dumba to get what essentially boils down to Draisaitl for them. Especially with expansion looming. No team has a bigger protection problem than Minnesota.
I see no point for either to make that trade & it appears to be a slam dunk from EDM’s position.
Drafted in 2012. So, 4 years ago. Still, I agree, it’s a tad early to consider a young D “expendable” after just 152 games in the NHL.
I think they move scandella before dumba imo
When you look at it makes sense. Keep Dumba , he’s a righty and we all know how hard it is to find these types. Same with Spurgeon.
No matter who they move, they should get a good return. Minny is in trouble with the expansion draft.
Yankee Fan.
I fully agree. Minnesota has 5 protectors at D currently, Suter, Spurgeon, Scandella, Brodin & Dumba. Even 1 to many for the 8 skater option. They also have 3 players with NMC’s at forward that need to be protected, Parise, Koivu & Pominville but also Coyle, Niederreiter, Granlund. The only team that may & I say may have positioned themselves in a worse position for expansion is Columbus. Minnesota wins for me currently if winning at being the worst at something is winning.
I can’t wait to see how teams like Min, Clb, Pit, TB & a few others get out of losing the quality of assets them presently would lose. I know almost all will find solutions but with each passing day leverage swings to the buyer.
Striker,
Worst case Minnesota loses one player. Big deal. Just because a number of decent players will be left unprotected doesn’t mean they will lose them all.
Nor did I say it would Ryan. They aren’t allowing Dumba, Brodin, Coyle or Granlund to walk for nothing, even if it’s just 1 of them. Never happening. They will find a solution before the expansion draft.
I doubt the solution is to trade all of them either. Maybe they move some veterans but if they are in a good playoff position I doubt they do that too.
This will be the best expansion team ever assembled so a few good players will be lost for nothing.
Striker is right. The Wild have 5 d worth protecting. One of them has to go in a trade where Minny gets expansion exempt players or picks in return. If they protect 4 d that leaves them able to protect 1 of Coyle, Granlund, Niederreiter, Zucker and Hula. If they only protect 3 D That leaves one of Dumba and 1 of the forwards mentioned open. ( I am basing this on Scandella traded. )
So IMO they need to make 2 moves minimum to help themselves out.
Ryan I’m not saying trade all of them. At least 1 Dman will be moved before expansion draft possibly 2. If only 1 then at least 1 of the forward moves, 2 players in total, even then I think Minny would try to convince Las Vegas to take the player they would less like to lose adding futures.
Even though this is the least restrictive expansion draft ever & free agency allows for far better options every summer than all previous expansions Las Vegas will still be brutal for at least 5 years.
@sriker have you done the draft process on generalfanger? They might not make the playoffs but I don’t think they will be brutal
can see the Bruins signing Jiri Hudler….play RW and hope he score, also take Pastrnak under his wing…They are going to be in the Vesey hunt also, as far as a DMan they are probably going to have to trade to get one
I wonder out loud if Boston is waiting to see where Jimmy Vesey lands before they make another move, if he signs with Boston they may be able to package something up to get a top 4 d that they’re not willing to package today.
I agree with you Caper, especially because everything that’s left on the market right now is just scraps. I wouldn’t mind signing Hudler for a one year, low cap deal. Worst case scenario, you flip him at the deadline to a playoff team for assets. Of the defensemen Haggerty listed… the only one I’d like to see them take a chance on whould be Schultz. They were in on him heavy when he was a college FA and the kid has talent. After the Cup win, the confidence should finally be there. He will definitely be motivated on a “show-me” deal to get that big contract next offseason. Everyone else is a hard pass
At the risk of repeating myself, any team that ASSUMES Vesey is an automatic lock to become a regular and so bases its roster on that assumption, is taking one hell of a risk. As I pointed out before, less than 5% of those drafted in the 3rd round over the past decade have become serviceable NHLers, and even fewer have become what we regard today as Top 6 F.
In the year he was taken 66th by Nashville (2012), going before him were the likes of Joonas Kurpisalo (62nd by Columbus), Jujhar Khaira (63rd by Edm), Tim Bozon (64th by Mtl) and Adam Pelech (65th by NYI). None are in the NHL.
Whoever signs him could get lucky and come u p with a Gostisbehere (78th by Pha), Matt Murray (83rd by Pitt) or Colton Parayko (86th by St.L) – but I wouldn’t bet the f arm on it. It’s fine to say Vesey has grown bigger since 2012 – but you can say the same about the other 29 taken in the 3rd round in 2012.
He could turn out to be a hidden gem, but basing that on college play and assuming he’s the answer this coming season as a regular – well, good luck.
George, it’s his post-draft college play that has people excited. This is now a 23 year old we’re talking about; not quite the same thing as projecting an 18 or 19 year old.
I can say, as Leaf fan, we were very pleased with the way Tyler Bozak turned out. He, like Vesey, was a heavily-pursued college free agent.
More recently, Zach Hyman has shown himself to hold a lot of promise with a very nice transition from college to AHL and NHL in limited games. Vesey is clearly a superior prospect.
I agree George. How many first rounders come into the NHL and make the team, let alone make a difference on their team in their first year let alone 2nd rounders. The smartest thing to do is send him down to the AHL for at least 1 full season.
Good news George he’s in the 5%. Actually he will be even higher than that. Top 1% as he’s stepping straight into the NHL as a 2nd line LW. 20 goals & 50 points give or take 5 at each on what ever team signs him. Top 5 in rookie scoring probably top 3 baring injury.
I don’t have the slightest doubt.
I’m with you George. As Sen fans we have seen the hype of adding College players to the roster and the likely hood of them sticky or even making the team. Mat O’Connor I believe was the last one we signed and he hasn’t earned any major crease time yet at the NHL level.
But perhaps Vesey is different. After all it is Toronto who he may be going to. The pundits in Toronto never over estimate prospects do they? haha
If Vesey were to sign in Toronto, Nashville will be filing tampering charges immediately. Vesey’s father even though he was his father better have made those comments before accepting his position in Toronto, as if made after that is tampering, whether he’s his father or not.
I agree George the main example is justin shultz he was great in college too and the ahl the nhl is a big step
Schultz’s 1st 3 years in the NHL he was exactly as advertised. A solid 1 dimensional offensive Dman. He collapsed under the pressure in Edm & the constant coaching change & expectations. Still young enough to get his career back on track. Never going to be a good defensive Dman. The only way in recognizes his goalie is by the jersey & pads.
He does help drive offense & in the right situation with better & more consistent coaching he could get his career back on track. He isn’t the 1st player nor will he be the last to be destroyed by bad decisions by coaches & organizations.
Vesey is a complete 2 way hockey player. Not 1 dimensional. He will experience the trials & tribulations all players do stepping up to the best league in the world but this isn’t some raw 18 or 19 year old rookie. He is 23 years old & has been very well developed in a great program that allows for such the NCAA. Learning to play 82 games will be hard & he will hit the wall in the 2nd 1/2 like most European & College players do. Developing the cardo & conditioning to play 3 games a week at this speed & intensity takes everyone time.
Striker, I don’t see how his father advising against playing for BOS would justify NSH filing tampering charges against TOR…
I can see how people view TOR signing his father to big money and then drafting his brother constitutes tampering, but I would guess – does anyone actually know? – the bar for tampering charges is set much higher, e.g., the team has to have told the player or his agent that they would sign him or something like this.
Agree with your point that Vesey is not as risky as a 18/19 year old draft pick or an incomplete, under-developed Dman.
If these comments were made well under the employment of Toronto.
“In fact, the senior Vesey told a small number of reporters here that his advice would be for his son not to sign with the hometown NHL club.
Ultimately, said the former Merrimack College star, his son will decide for himself, but as a father he feels the scrutiny in Boston would placeunnecessary pressure on the 22-year-old.
“My advice, personally,’’ said the senior Vesey, “I’d like to see him start [his career] somewhere else . . . [saying that] as a dad. But who knows. There might be some changes in Boston. There might be a new coach, you don’t know.’’”
If he was employed by Toronto when these comments were made it is tampering & I’m surprised the NHL hasn’t find him already. I never saw or read these comments. Not saying they weren’t can you provide the link? Would make for good reading & to try & get some handle on context.
Any player coming out of college is risky they are still playing against boys doesn’t matter if they are 23.
George, like you said, Vesey was drafted 4 years ago! Scouts know a lot more about a player when he is 22 than when he is 18 so he is no longer limited to his immediate post-draft 3rd rounder’s odds of making the NHL one day.
The same way Benning said he would be interested in signing Stamkos if he became a UFA or trading for Subban if made available. Personal under contract to an NHL team; father or not, are not allowed to comment of the assets of other teams in any way. The only real exception is to comment on their play. Boy did Stamkos dominate that game tonight he beat us by himself. Or did you see Subban tonight. I wish we had a player that could play like that, etc.
If Jim Sr. said he doesn’t think Vesey JR should sign in his home town well under contractual obligation to another team that is tampering if on Toronto’s payroll at the time the comment was made.
Please post the link. I can’t find it.
Caper, did you see the comments his father made about Julien? Sounds to me like Boston under Julien is not a preferred destination.
I did not see them Dan39, I gather they weren’t very flattering.
If Vesey signs great, if not who cares. The top 9 in Boston appears semi set & I can live with it. I know there has been talk of Backes playing C just doesn’t make sense to me with Krejci, Bergeron & Spooner. Spooner or Krejci could play LW & Krejci may not be rady to start the season & even if he is he’s goi g to have had virtually no time to train & will be 25 to 30 games from getting back up to full speed.
This is what I see currently. Move the wingers around as you wish Julien will constantly, other than Marchand playing with Bergeron.
Pastrnak, Krejci, Backes.
Marchand, Bergeron, Hayes.
Belesky, Spooner, Vatrano.
Pastrnak can play either side, Hayes could bump to the #3 RW spot, Pastrnak slides in there & Vatrano moves to LW. Even though I show the Krejci line 1st this is more a 1a & 1b scenario with Bergeron & Marchand doing all the heavy lifting.
Should Vesey sign he plays with Krejci. If Backes plays C someone is moving to wing or a trade is forthcoming. Regardless adding Hudler makes no sense to me. We need checkers to play 3rd or 4th line roles.
Griffith’s is ready to start seeing more ice time in the NHL as well. I would much prefer to see Vatrano & Griffith’s play than sign a player like Hudler or other.
As for D, having lost out on Yandle & Goligoski, I’m torn as to what to do to address.
Well, I think they just reaffirm the idea that Boston has not been a great place – for whatever reason, not trying to blame the team or players here – for young stars.
From the Boston Globe:
Both Vesey and his father shot down a recent published report that the top prospect, who scored 56 goals with the Crimson over the last two seasons, has made a decision to sign with the hometown Bruins.
In fact, the senior Vesey told a small number of reporters here that his advice would be for his son not to sign with the hometown NHL club.
Ultimately, said the former Merrimack College star, his son will decide for himself, but as a father he feels the scrutiny in Boston would placeunnecessary pressure on the 22-year-old.
“My advice, personally,’’ said the senior Vesey, “I’d like to see him start [his career] somewhere else . . . [saying that] as a dad. But who knows. There might be some changes in Boston. There might be a new coach, you don’t know.’’
Obviously, subsequent to this, Boston decided to retain Julien so there is no new coach that would have changed things for Vesey’s father.
“scrutiny in Boston would place unnecessary pressure on the 22-year-old” So I wonder if this goes from Toronto as well? We all know that there is a lot of pressure placed on leaf players by media and fans.
I don’t think so. The first question that Mitch Marner was asked during rookie camp was about Matthews. Vesey isn’t going to be the star of the team; in fact, Lou has made it abundantly clear that none of the players will be.
The pressure on leaf players, no matter where they play in the lineup, is arguably more than on any other team, maybe with the exception of Montreal.
vessey will be under a lot of pressure no matter where he ends up any player that holds out for another team is gonna be scrutinized
Toronto media will eat Vesey alive esp if he does not perform up to high expectations immediately.
Don’t understand why he does not just sign with Sabres..they seem to be a destination right now…Tough for NY Rangers to just give him a role..they already have about 7/8 good forwards ..if they signed Vesey they would trade a forward immediately.. Philly needs forwards but i would be surprised there. HOw far northeast does he want to go?
Nashville offered him a top 6 role in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the team that drafted him. Something many players don’t even get an opportunity to do in their careers & he declined. I think he knows where he wants to play, always has but where that is who knows & really who cares. As a Bruins fan I hope it’s Boston but again don’t really care. Obviously not Buffalo & Nashville. Buffalo is a great young team & Nashville is a solid up & coming cup contender moving forward plus a great city to live & play in. No slight to Buffalo which has some beautiful areas.
We can GIVE the bruins girardi and staal… and we’ll eat 2 mil of each of their salaries…!!
that’s funny, vesey’s dad telling his kid to play somewhere other than toronto, and then telling the media this? man toronto management must be steamed him about this! lol
edmonton is desparate to trade RNH ISNT THAT FUNNY. why would anyone want a 30 pt soft well overpaid 2c? how many more years will we keep hearing that this is a great player when he hasnt improved AT ALL since being a rookie.
I honestly think Yakupov has a better chance of being something outside of edmonton because he still skates hard and given a new start with a real team with actual expectations he could resurrect his career
Minnesota would be dumb to trade Dumba for RNH, since Granlund and Coyle can provide everything RNH can. Draisaitl at least adds size to Minnesota. As things stand now RNH is a 3C in Edmonton, perhaps now since he has 2C skills and will be facing lesser skilled 3rd line players he can actually improve his results….if he finally does good on him…..but if he doesnt then just maybe the world will realize he is what he is…..not the hyped up prospect that simply isnt strong enough to be a true #1C
With Draisaitl’s linemate Hall having been moved is he the same player next season? Did he benefit from playing with Hall? No slight to Draisaitl he’s going to be a stud; he is a stud but I see him at the #3 C spot or playing RW with RNH until something gives.
I’m not a huge RNH fan but 30 point C really? He should be a decent # 2 posting slightly more than the 56 he’s managed twice if he can stay healthy.
striker 56 points with Hall and eberle and #1 power play time, 6-8 based on 82 gp more points than Sam Gagner on the average. you cant state that RNH is that much better when every other factor is the same…..is RNH better than Gagner Id say yes, but not by much
where do you see Gagner? We’ve been hearing how great RNH is for years, just as we did with Gagner before him. tell me what has Gagner done since leaving edmonton?
Ive said this about RNH for 3 years and nothing in the interim has changed my mind….he’s a $6M player and overpaid already in a league where cap space is precious
its time for people to realize RNH may very well produce less than he has outside of edmonton than he has in edmonton, since he wont play #1 Power play or have a Hall or Eberle to finish for him
We’ve seen this story before and the outcome wasnt positive
Bill.
Rest assured I share most of your opinions on RNH & have stated so here repeatedly. I took exception with your reference to him being a 30 point C. RNH has more to give but not much. A decent #2 C but overpaid at 6 mil per as he hasn’t shown well defensively either, nor is he good in the face off dot.
I could care less about who or what Gagner is.
Yall trippin. RNH is a #1 center in a high school player’s body. That’s all it is. He hasn’t physically matured very much since his rookie year. Maybe it’s a work ethic thing, maybe he’s just a slow developer physically, but once he grows up and gets some muscle on his bones to compete with men in the NHL, he will be one of the best players in the league. No way do I trade him for Dumba.
As for Draisatyl, he has even more potential than RNH. Future #1 center. He’s a smaller Kopitar but with way more speed. And he’s the only Oilers top 6 forward with size now that they traded Hall, which already isn’t enough and is why they never should have traded Hall, but now they especially can’t trade Draisatyl. Well, they have Puljujarvi too, but that still makes just two. Would be crazy to trade Draisatyl.
And RNH is not even close to Sam Gagner. RNH with a high school body is already better than Gagner fully developed, and it’s not close.
McDavid is number 1 centre. RNH is number two Draistle will be on the wing with either.
Ruby, Lucic is a top six forward with pretty good size. So is that kid they just drafted.
gagner is a previous incarnation of RNH
same small #2C that edmonton hyped through the roof who was weak defensively and only produced due to excellent linemates like Hall and eberle. with undeserved pp time
when he was finally shipped out of edmonton he was exposed as not really even a number 2C……
which RNH likely will be as well….
AT $6M for several years any team that acquires him could very well be acquiring a player who wont even give them what they believed was his established level, Like Gagner he was a mirage
You clearly haven’t watched RNH play. He’s first overall pedigree who is a more complete player now then Gagner ever will be. No he doesn’t put up points like Hall, or Eberle, but that isn’t his specialty. RNH is going to be Selke candidate in the coming years, he plays similar to a Datsyuk without the puck. If your calling him a third line center you might as well call him the best third line center in the league because he is a bonafide first/second line center. He had a rough year with injuries. (so did the rest of the team) The fact that your comparing him to Gagner boggles my mind, they are two completely different style of players who aren’t in the same league when it comes to skill set. A under achieving third/fourth line player without a contract to a 1/2 center man with a 6 million dollar contract that many teams in the league would gladly take on. C’mon man!
The Bruins will sign Dumba NUff Said!
The market may have been set by Edmonton for the time being, and teams best defensemen will remain expensive, but it won’t take long for teams to start re-aligning their assets somewhat due to the expansion draft.
A lot of teams will need to move a D for an asset that doesn’t have to be protected. Teams don’t need to decide today, but there will be 2nd pairing D men available, and prospects with upside from some teams who are in a more compete now mode.
Anaheim – Depres or Fowler
Columbus – Johnson, Savard or Murray
Minnesota – Brodin, Scandella
Nashville – Ellis (possibly)
New York Islanders – De Haan (possibly)
Pittsburgh – Pouliot, Dumoulin
Winnipeg – Myers (Possibly)
Anaheim should move Fowler of the two, but you never know once things get a little tighter. Minnesota can move either. I put Ellis in Nashville since it may make more sense for Nashville to move him for the best assets possible, given they only have him for 3 years before UFA, and would have to expose several quality forwards to protect 4 D. Given their ability to draft and develop D, I think this would make sense, since I believe he will look for an opportunity for a big payday in a few years.
The Islanders will likely be in a similar boat with De Haan. They could protect him, but it might be easier to move him and protect several valuable forwards. It would be better asset management.
Pittsburgh will likely have to expose one of their young D-men, and given their goal of repeating, I believe that Poliout could be pried out especially closer to the deadline.
I could see Winnipeg moving Myers as well. They won’t be forced to, but it is again better asset management as they have the prospects on D, and are forced to protect Enstrom. It would allow them to protect forwards like Dano and Stafford and whoever they get back in a trade (assuming they trade for a forward. Also, they would get better value trading a guy like Myers then trying to trade a forward they could lose for nothing.
All of this could drive D prices down, or at least raise the value decent young players who are ready or near ready and don’t need to be protected.
The teams that don’t need to be under pressure to force a deal, and can protect the assets they acquire will be in the best position. Given the amount of teams that will likely want to make a move, and the somewhat small pool of teams that can afford to protect the assets that they would acquire should mean prices somewhat normalize, and there should be quite a bit of movement both at the trade deadline next year, and the draft. Rental prices for teams with a small window could be massive. If a player like Poliout doesnt emerge next year as a regular top 4 for Pittsburgh, then they may be more willing to deal him for deadline help then a pick because of the expansion draft.
Will make for an interesting year anyway.
Would the Ottawa Senators have a 3rd defenseman they’d protect over Derrick Pouliot if they had him? Assuming they protect Karlsson and Phanuef with the first two slots.
I’d like to see the Pens package Pouliot and Fleury.
I assume they would protect Ceci. They also have too many good forwards to go 8/1 in my opinion. So they would be in tough to protect the D they want if they obtained a good young guy.
Also, I put Columbus on their mostly because I don’t think Kekolinen is the savviest of GM’s. Realstically it should be an easy decision to expose Johnson, but they play him more minutes than anybody and he seems to get highly valued for no real reason. I mean how does he make Team USA over Shattenkirk? Since I don’t see a ton of teams knocking down the door asking for Johnson, I could see CBJ making an error and trading someone like Savard.
Columbus is interesting because they have a lot of good young players, their issue is a bunch of terrible contracts. They have Dubinsky, Foligno, Clarkson and Hartnell all getting paid too much for their given value. The biggest killer is all take up protection slots due to NMC’s. So they have 4 forwards protected right now without protecting Saad or Jenner. Which means they won’t be going 8/1 unless they can move 2 NMC contracts, which is extremely unlikely as they are hard to move at the best of times, let alone when they are overpaid and the NMC will be a toxic to a lot of teams.
Also, with guys like Wennberg and Atkinson as very valuable forwards, it makes more sense to move a D and get assets rather than deal from a disadvantage.
The thing I find the most interesting would be what if a team could get good value on their D by taking on one of those NMC’s. While they should be more willing to deal Johnson than say Savard, he is still their #3 guy so they may be willing to move him if they get ok value, move out an NMC like Hartnell, which will free them up to protect everyone of value.
Striker do yo work? Commenting on a message board all day/ everyday….
from what it looks like the Isles will go 8-1 if pulock is exempt as he was born after september 15 which means he was considered 19 his first pro season.
that way the Isles will protect Boychuck Leddy Hamonic Dehaan Tavares Ladd and 2 of Nelson Strome or Lee…this next season will determine which young forward they expose. experienced young top 4 defenders like Dehaan are too valuable to lose for nothing.
with Dal Colle, Barzal Beauvillier, Ho Sang and Bellows knocking on the door the Isles have plenty of forwards waiting to replace one
personally, the player I take if im vegas, isnt any of those 3. I see them taking Czikas who will finally get a chance on a scoring line this year replacing Frans Nielsen, the Isles are hoping he sneaks through, but GMs arent Stupid…. he’s a gem waiting to be plucked
I wasn’t suggesting that they lose him for nothing, this was more about who could be available in a trade.
The teams I have (possibly) next to could protect 4 D, but also have forwards they would hate to lose for nothing. So they could be willing to trade their 4th D if they felt the overall value of getting a fair asset, that either doesn’t need protection or that they could protect, along with not losing any players they value for nothing could entice them to part with their #4 guy.
As you said, there is a lot of hockey to be played before anyone needs to make a decision, but the choice of either going 8/1 or 7/3/1 will make for some interesting player evaluation.
I think Nashville could be very interesting as Ryan Ellis is a very worthwhile defensemen, being a RHD with offensive upside that can play in a system and moves the puck well. With Subban his offense may be expendable, also when his contract is up he may be too expensive for Nashville now. To protect him they need to expose Wilson or Smith. While not insanely valuable, both are very good young versatile forwards, and for a Pred’s team that has had trouble acquiring forwards, getting assets for Ellis and protecting both could be a better solution long term. Especially with their ability to draft and develop D.
Also, given they don’t have to go that route, and teams like RHD as they are rare, they won’t be forced into taking a terrible trade, just probably a fair one rather than getting a massive overpayment.