Around the NHL 2024-25 regular season

dgibb10

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Feb 29, 2024
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Ducks had too many (puckmoving) LHD and had been sitting a guy like Pavel Mintyukov recently. Trouba isn't worth his 8 mil cap hit, but their top RHD was Radko Gudas. Probably not too many useful RHD on the trade market for Anaheim to get right now.

At least in theory they've balanced out their D.

LHD: Dumoulin-Mintyukov-LaCombe-Zellweger
RHD: Trouba-Gudas-Helleson
I don't think the GM of the ducks should get credit for whiffing completly on an excellent free agent RD class and being forced to pay for trouba because of it
 

Saugus

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My god the rangers highlights are insane from yesterday. That poor plug Mackey fighting someone in the first and trying to get the crowd amped like a discount Rempe (which is hilarious to say because Rempe is already like a dollar store goon, so I guess Mackey is food stamp Rempe? IDK) was one of the most painfully awkward things I’ve seen in recent memory.

And then just the lack of effort…a beautiful thing to see. They looked like they could not care less. Igor getting shit on by a team who’s style of play is more akin to the 1920 Chattanooga Crawdads (not a real team but you get the point I’m trying to make).

The post game pressers with Mika and Brochek were top comedy. They looked like someone just told them James Dolan shot their best friend and hung them from the Jumbotron above center ice. Love it.

“Food stamp Rempe” is absolute gold! :laugh:
 
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Triumph

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Oct 2, 2007
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I don't think the GM of the ducks should get credit for whiffing completly on an excellent free agent RD class and being forced to pay for trouba because of it

In his spot, trading for someone like Trouba is obviously better than signing a big RHD free agent. Would you rather have Montour, Pesce, or Trouba? It isn't close - Trouba is UFA in 2026.
 

dgibb10

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Feb 29, 2024
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In his spot, trading for someone like Trouba is obviously better than signing a big RHD free agent. Would you rather have Montour, Pesce, or Trouba? It isn't close - Trouba is UFA in 2026.
Pesce.

Or Roy

Or Montour

Or if you want to go short term. Brodie and Martinez at 7.75 mill combined
 

Triumph

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Oct 2, 2007
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Pesce.

Or Roy

Or Montour

Or if you want to go short term. Brodie and Martinez at 7.75 mill combined

So just leaving aside the fact that Pesce clearly signed in NJ partly because this is near his hometown, you would rather have Pesce for 6 years, when your core is basically all 22, than Trouba for 2?

You'd rather have Roy for 6 years than Trouba for 2?

It is going to be hard for bad teams to get high-priced players in this cap environment. I'm not praising Anaheim for getting Trouba, because Trouba is bad, and they should've made the Rangers pick up salary, but flexibility is so much more important to them than whether or not a player is good. Even if Trouba is a disaster, the thing smart Devils fans should've learned through the 10s decade is that it is so hard to fill a hole efficiently.
 

dgibb10

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Feb 29, 2024
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So just leaving aside the fact that Pesce clearly signed in NJ partly because this is near his hometown, you would rather have Pesce for 6 years, when your core is basically all 22, than Trouba for 2?

You'd rather have Roy for 6 years than Trouba for 2?

It is going to be hard for bad teams to get high-priced players in this cap environment. I'm not praising Anaheim for getting Trouba, because Trouba is bad, and they should've made the Rangers pick up salary, but flexibility is so much more important to them than whether or not a player is good. Even if Trouba is a disaster, the thing smart Devils fans should've learned through the 10s decade is that it is so hard to fill a hole efficiently.
Yes. Either that or I'd rather offer Roy something as crazy as 10x2 than trade for trouba at 8x2
 

Triumph

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Oct 2, 2007
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Yes. Either that or I'd rather offer Roy something as crazy as 10x2 than trade for trouba at 8x2

Offering Roy 10x2 will make for interesting negotiations with other players. In a vacuum, sure, good idea. I don't think it works out in practice.
 

dgibb10

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Feb 29, 2024
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Offering Roy 10x2 will make for interesting negotiations with other players. In a vacuum, sure, good idea. I don't think it works out in practice.
I'd argue trading assets for Trouba does the same at 8x2, at least to any competent agents he's negotiating against.
 

Triumph

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Oct 2, 2007
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I'd argue trading assets for Trouba does the same at 8x2, at least to any competent agents he's negotiating against.

He didn't sign that contract, so I don't really think that argument holds water. Do you think the Devils trading for Subban at 9M per affected negotiations with future free agents? I guess Shero was out the door by the time that mattered, but I don't think trading for a player has much bearing on anything - the days of guys walking out of camp because the Devils acquired Scott Stevens are over.
 

Saugus

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Stan can hold grudges. He routinely leaves Orr off of best defensemen lists because Orr refused to speak with him after Stan wrote a book called “Bobby Orr and the Bug Bad Bruins”

Sure, but what’s the reason for his grudge against Shesterkin? I’m not aware of anything that he did to slight Stan, other than his contract demands, which were fairly reasonable given his importance to the Rangers.

I think Stan is just being a curmudgeon for no reason. It’s his right, and it’s hilarious to watch as a Devils fan, but it seems unprovoked.
 
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Hisch13r

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May 16, 2012
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I’d at least think about Saad tbh. figure we could cover the defensive issues, and we don’t need him on the PP.

I'd like to see the microstats on him because 10 pts in 27 games is rough. His 5v5 ixG/60 is basically identical the last 3 years at least. He's putting on slightly more shots and attempts this year. Him being under contract next year isn't totally ideal to me either.
 

My3Sons

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I'd like to see the microstats on him because 10 pts in 27 games is rough. His 5v5 ixG/60 is basically identical the last 3 years at least. He's putting on slightly more shots and attempts this year. Him being under contract next year isn't totally ideal to me either.
So StL must believe he’s cratering and want to dump him before he loses all value. No thanks. Let someone else trade for another Palat.
 

Hisch13r

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May 16, 2012
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So StL must believe he’s cratering and want to dump him before he loses all value. No thanks. Let someone else trade for another Palat.
Yeah considering they've been winning games since the coaching change and just added Fowler (granted probably partly because Leddy might be done for the year) it does seem weird they'd move on from Saad if he's been good.
 

Brodeur

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Feb 27, 2002
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San Diego
I don't think the GM of the ducks should get credit for whiffing completly on an excellent free agent RD class and being forced to pay for trouba because of it

Not sure if "credit" would be the word I would use, but Verbeek is trying to restructure their blue line which was imbalanced. Despite having the palm tree advantage, I don't know if Anaheim is really a free agent destination right now. Verbeek pursued Stamkos/Marchessault but might have dodged a bullet there.

I thought Seattle overpaid for Montour and Anaheim would have had to offer more because of the state tax. As others said, I don't think Pesce would have considered Anaheim. Chicago would probably like a refund on Brodie/Martinez to this point.

Anaheim had a plethora of young D, trading Fowler just allows somebody like Mintyukov or Zellweger to not have to play the right side. Maybe surprisingly Anaheim is middle of the pack in GA, it's their offense (31st in GF) that's been letting them down. Their special teams isn't great, PP is 29th and PK is 27th. At least in theory Trouba should help their PK2 unit while the dropoff from Fowler to one of their young kids on the PP shouldn't be that big.
 

AfroThunder396

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Jan 8, 2006
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The Ducks are not competing any time soon, signing big UFA contracts today only hurts their roster flexibility tomorrow. Getting short-term stopgaps for basically free is exactly what they should be doing, especially when they're guys they could conceivably flip at the deadline in a year or two.

Fowler is not really a functional NHL defenseman anymore, he's just coasting off his name and reputation from 10 years ago. Trouba is mediocre and overpaid but he can at least do some things and provide some positive impact.

Fowler + Vakkanainen + 4th + 4th for Trouba + Biakabutuka + 2nd is good business, makes them better now while also improving their draft capital.
 

Bleedred

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Didn’t Fitz try to sign Saad when he was a UFA a few years ago?

I’m confused as to why St. Louis would trade him right now. It seems they’re grasping for every last bit to hang on and make the playoffs this year. That Fowler trade is another thing that feels like that.

Maybe if they’re out of it at or near the deadline.
 

Brodeur

Registered User
Feb 27, 2002
26,833
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San Diego
Didn’t Fitz try to sign Saad when he was a UFA a few years ago?

I’m confused as to why St. Louis would trade him right now. It seems they’re grasping for every last bit to hang on and make the playoffs this year. That Fowler trade is another thing that feels like that.

Maybe if they’re out of it at or near the deadline.

Seems like some of the younger guys have bumped Saad who was a healthy scratch yesterday. Would sorta remind me of when Vancouver traded Anthony Beauvillier last year and then acquired Nikita Zadorov a couple days later. Although in Vancouver's case they needed to open up the cap space. But the situation would be similar where the Canucks had other forwards they could use instead of Beauvillier and they wanted to fortify their D.

I'd have to rewatch the HNIC intermission segment, but I think Friedman seemed to indicate that Saad has been complacent when he's not on a contending club. So a combination of St. Louis maybe wanting to get rid of a locker room problem / a contender thinking Saad can flip a switch and get remotivated on a better team.
 

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