Add a player at 0$ cap hit - who do you pick? McDavid vs Crosby vs Kucherov vs Ovi vs Price

[M2Beezy]

Crosby, then the Canucks could ice:

Miller Pettersson Brock Boeser
Hoglander Horvat Garland
Pearson Crosby Podkolzin
Motte Dickinson MacEwan
Sutter

 

[Makaveli]

Leafs would take Kuch from these options.

 

[Dion TheFluff]

But you’re getting Crosby ages 34-37.

1 season of a 24 year old McDavid, which is around the age he’ll likely have his peak season, for free is so overpowered there’s nothing comparable.

Imagine Edmonton running McDavid-Draisaitl-McDavid down the middle. Or Vegas with a 150 point center completing their already very well balanced roster. Any top 10 team would win the cup adding McDavid, because in the real world during the salary cap era there is simply no way to add a 1.9 PPG center to their roster without gutting it.

you've been one the biggest critics of using pace when evaluating a player yet you call McDavid a 150 point center?

 

[KoozNetsOff 92]

Crosby for the caps. McDavid is the best player but anything can happen in 1 year (injuries, hot goalie, etc). 3 years lines up with our core. Crosby is the best playoff performer of the generation. Crosby/Backstrom/Kuznetsov would be the best C depth in the league by far. Get to see Crosby and OV on the same team. Kills the pens chances.

Crosby
Kucherov
OV
McDavid
Price

 

[TGWL]

I honestly don't know who you mean lol.

I assume you mean McDavid - but I could see it as wanting Kucherov with actual recent playoff success + a winger instead. Or Crosby for leadership/added depth. Or Ovechkin for a 1-2 punch with McDavid for goals, and 4 years. Or even Price, as Oilers desperately need a strong goalie.

I mean you already have McDavid so you're taking Kucherov.

 

[The Moose is Loose]

you've been one the biggest critics of using pace when evaluating a player yet you call McDavid a 150 point center?

Yeah true. I really shouldn’t have phrased it like that, because I am a large critic of pace- they always fall over the course of a season.

And for the record I don’t think McDavid is going to get 150 points, I predict like 135-140 for this season. But if you put him on Tampa (for free) he’d have a damn good shot at 150.

 

[780il]

Unless Edmonton can clone Mcdavid I’ll take Kuch for 2 years

 

[Sky04]

Fair points. But if you slapped a free McDavid onto Tampa/Vegas/Colorado, I think 150 points would be more likely than the realistic scenario he is in now

No it isn't. He plays a ridiculous amount of ice time on Edmonton and takes extended shifts all the time, his best chance at 150 points is on a team like Edmonton where everything runs through him and plays him a stupid amount of ice time. You talk like he isn't perfectly situated in Edmonton to produce, he has a 110 point linemate/top-5 forward in the league and an good puck moving D-man in Barrie.

Deep teams mean less ice time, especially in the 3rd when the game is solidly put away.

 

[The Moose is Loose]

No it isn't. He plays a ridiculous amount of ice time on Edmonton and takes extended shifts where he's really all over the place and not in a good way, his best chance at 150 points is on a team like Edmonton where everything runs through him and plays him a stupid amount of ice time. You talk like he isn't perfectly situated in Edmonton to produce, he has a 110 point linemate/top-5 forward in the league and an good puck moving D-man in Barrie.

Deep teams mean less ice time, especially in the 3rd when the game is solidly put away.

He’s hands down the best player in the league, he’d get that kind of leash on whatever team he is on. No coach would cut his minutes down in any significant way. 22 minutes is high for a forward but not detrimental in any manner.

Yeah he got Barrie, his first real puck moving defenseman in his career this past season, and low and behold he scored at a 154 point pace (yes there’s a lot of factors to consider, but Barrie made a massive difference!). Edmonton is a good situation for him but when Draisaitl centers his own line McDavid doesn’t play with that amazing of players. Some combination of Puljujarvi, Kassian, RNH, Kahun, Archibald or even worse in years past.

Puljujarvi is developing well but he’s still putting up pretty modest offensive totals. RNH is a good 1st line forward. The rest are 3rd liners or worse. So really he gets Draisaitl (top 5 player in the league) or nothing. That swing wouldn’t be so dramatic on another playoff contending team.

Vegas, Tampa, Colorado are simply better teams with more support, and offensive tools to work with. No they’re not magically going to boost a players offense by ridiculous amounts, but they present a better scenario than an average team like Edmonton does.

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

Only way I take McDavid is I think I can then talk him into a 2nd contract. In a vaccuum I think three years of $0 Crosby provides the most value.

 

[DaveG]

Three good rounds really makes people forgot about multiple years of mediocre play for a who is 34 and just had another surgery this offseason.

Bingo. Give me Kuch for 2 years. Canes are in the window where we have a legitimate shot at winning in the next 2 years anyway, so the debate would come down to if you'd rather have 1 year of the best center in the league or 2 years of the best winger. Given our depth at C we'll take the winger.

 

[Juicy Pop]

Philly takes McDavid hands down. This is basically our best year to get Giroux a Cup; everything afterwards depends a lot on Frost, Farabee, Konecny, etc. all taking bigger steps forward.

Farabee - McDavid - Konecny
Giroux - Couturier - Atkinson
Lindblom - Hayes - JVR
Laughton - Frost - NAK/Brassard

Provorov - Ellis
Sanheim - Risto
Yandle - Braun

Hart
Jones

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

McDavid at 0$. You could win the cup.

Problem with that option is you only get one shot at it. With the other options, you don't have to put all your eggs in one (year) basket.

Kucherov for 2 years or Crosby for 3 years would probably benefit contenders more as they wouldn't be at the whim of luck/bounces/injury issues going their way in one single run.

 

[reino]

Kucherov. Arguably better than Mcd in the PO's anyway and you get one more year.

 

[wintersej]

For Bruins it’s a choice between running Marchand Crosby Bergeron, with Hall and Pasta running line two, or having Kucherov and Hall on line 2.

I went with putting the team Canada line together because Hall and Kucherov both want to hold the puck and play make.

 

[heretik27]

I'd still want McDavid as a Jets fan.

Our D corps is all signed through next season, but guys like PLD, Stastny, and Copp in our core are all up for new contracts after next season, including some of our guys on ELC's like Gustafsson, Vesalainen and Harkins (RFA).
Mix the top 6 up as you wish, it'd be some combination of McDavid, Scheifele, Ehlers, Connor, Wheeler, PLD/Stastny.
Bottom six we'd have PLD/Stastny, Lowry, Copp, and then whoever fills in the 4th line out of Gus, Harkins, Nash.. et al.

I don't know if I'd put Ehlers with McDavid and just have the two of them run down the opposing teams defense, or have Ehlers play with Scheifele and help drive that lines offense. Connor could play wing with McDavid and probably put up 40+. I say f*** it, we go all in now while Hellebyuck is still in his prime, before Wheeler turns into a pumpkin and is eating up over 8M in cap.

 

[Conbon]

Do I get to re sign them?

 

[MadLuke]

I mean you already have McDavid so you're taking Kucherov.

2 McDavid either skating together or on back to back line with one of them always playing with Draisaitl would be quite something for an opposing team.

For the question your cup windows and cap situation both could influence this.

For example Montreal with McDavid next year are they better than Edmonton last year with him, specially with Weber situation and Price one year older ? So taking a 2-3-4 year player instead for Suzuki-Caulfield and other to growth a bit with them could be better.

Obviously need has well, multiple cups winner playoff warrior Kucherov for 2 good cup windows year on a team that already have 2 elite center like Toronto do sound like a lot of sense to go with.

The giving you an edge to resign can also just throw everything away if you take it into consideration.

 

[542365]

McDavid and hope you can re-sign him after. Kuch is the only other logical choice. End of career of Crosby, Malkin, and Price is not nearly as appealing as prime McDavid or Kucherov.

 

[MadLuke]

Kuch is the only other logical choice.

Can see some team like Pittsburgh (what would 2 Crosby playing together do cycling, hockey sense wise but that said with their windows rapidly closing probably go with one Mcdavid or 2 Kucherov instead at the end of the reasoning), Boston to make the Bergeron-Crosby line have some interest.

Adding year's to Price to make him more attracting here does not work that much and it is true I am not sure he make any sense for any team, Ovechkin not Malkin is also hard to imagine being a pick.

 

[Ace of Hades]

Miller-Pettersson-Kucherov
Hoglander-Horvat-Boeser
Podolzkin-Dickenson-Garland
Pearson-Sutter-Motte
MacEwen

Or

Miller-Pettersson-Boeser
Hoglander-Crosby-Garland
Pearson-Horvat-Podolzkin
Motte-Dickenson-MacEwen

Tough choice

 

[Phil McKraken]

It depends on what stage the team is in pretty much. I don't think the Sharks would win with Crosby even in year one, and the chances would decrease in years two and three as the core gets older, so they might as well maximize whatever chance they have left and go with McDavid.

 

[Arthur Morgan]

as a Leafs fan I'd prob take Kuch

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Crosby AINEC

 

[bobholly39]

Can see some team like Pittsburgh (what would 2 Crosby playing together do cycling, hockey sense wise but that said with their windows rapidly closing probably go with one Mcdavid or 2 Kucherov instead at the end of the reasoning), Boston to make the Bergeron-Crosby line have some interest.

Adding year's to Price to make him more attracting here does not work that much and it is true I am not sure he make any sense for any team, Ovechkin not Malkin is also hard to imagine being a pick.

I think Price could be attractive for very selective teams who have been missing a top goalie to be a top contender for a long time. A Carolina fan spoke up earlier in the thread. And a team like Carolina - you don't even need Price in the regular season, as you probably make playoffs anyways. Play him ~20 games to keep in shape if you want, or not at all, and have him primed and ready to go for playoffs. In year 1, 2, 3, etc. It's true by years ~3-5 he probably declines more and more, but he had a pretty good track record for important games/tournaments in his career. It could be the piece the carries a team to success.

A team like Pittsburgh - I think they definitely would benefit from Price. I think all Pitsburgh has ever needed in the past ~15 years is for their goalies to not lose them a playoff. Fleury did it a few times, Jarry was very bad last year. Put someone super reliable like Price, I think it could help them tremendously. Of course - whether that's more useful to Pittsburgh than a 2nd Crosby, while continuing to rely on average goalie is a good question.

I'd agree with Boston & Crosby being an obvious pick. The core ages together, recreate the Olympic line, contends for a few years.

The Ovechkin pick I think could be fun for marketing purposes. I think a team like Seattle might do that - very marketable, + the goal record to chase. It's not like they're winning any time soon.
And - a team like Tampa, Ovechkin can work too. A team already winning, and likely to continue to contend for many years. Having Ovechkin for 4 years gives them that much more support throughout the next 4 years to win multiple more cups. Unlike almost every other team, they don't really need much to win, so the extra years is beneficial.