Is he really 140lbs? Hmmm
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AHL bio had him at 160lbs so doubt it.
looks like slim pickings for options of new players. I think we should and are standing pat.
Agreed. It was tried (and will likely keep trying), but Kuznetsov and Mantha tanked their values too far on the negative side.
It sucks but we are stuck with them. I have a very hard time believing that a GM (with cap space) is going to wake up one morning and decide that we need to add Kuznetsov or Mantha. The best bet is most likely Vancouver moving Garland or Boeser for either but those aren't really great options for us. Garland for Mantha could be an upgrade, or not. Dark side is that while Mantha is off the books by next summer, Garland has 3 years left, Boeser 2. Garland and Boeser are both guys who have tanked their values league-wide too, even if they bounced back to a degree last season.
I'm happy with not spending assets to get rid of either. Give it a go at the start of the season with the favourable schedule (12 of 20 at home in October+November, facing several bad teams) and see what the kids can do. By december you can re-visit where you are. Does Backstrom still play? Oshie and Pacioretty still in the line-up? Mantha still in the line-up? How does the defense look?
Who knows. Maybe they can beat the odds and actually be sitting at a Playoff spot around the TDL. Perhaps even with a Backstrom-sized hole of cap space to work with. That's when you consider putting those future 2nd rounders in play.
If it's red tank time again at the TDL, then i feel like they can get rid of the problems. Mantha has one way out of the door already. Kuznetsov propably returns something of value with enough retention. Best-case scenario is that he rebounds and builds up that value again before he's traded. I wouldn't hold my breath on that.