You trade Rakell at the deadline for a 1st+prospect, you trade Rust by fleecing some team that missed out on the Marners and Boesers on July 1st, you trade EK once his bonus is paid this summer. That team is very much in the running to pick top 3 for the final few years of Sid's contract.
They weren't going to out tank Nashville either, clearly. I think the floor for this team if Dubas had gutted the roster more was finishing 4th or 5th overall.
And if Martone and Hagens are off the board like they should be by the time pick 5 arrives, then what? Then you're left with getting a prospect that in all likelihood is similar to what you'd get at #8.
It's been so long since we've been shitty that it just doesn't bother me that much yet. Plus y'know three cups, all the good memories, etc.
Rakell could still be dealt in the summer though that seems unlikely. The draft is gonna be a big fat who the hell knows for 2-3 years unless we draft an instant impact prospect there and even if we somehow win the lottery I don't see a lot of those in this draft.This team had the opportunity to come outta this season accomplishing three very important things; getting value for Petts (success), getting value for Rakell when his value was higher than it'll likely ever be (fail), and settling into a top 5 pick and landing the best prospect they've selected since Staal in 2006 (not looking good). That sucks. But we'll always have these 4-2 wins in mid-April to remember, potentially adding a guy like Martone or Hagens isn't nearly as important as Sid getting a few garbage points.
I have a feeling the Rangers are keeping the pick unless they're forced to hand it over. They don't seem like the kinda organization/owner to essentially say publicly that they can't risk leaving next year's pick unprotected because the team may be just as bad or worse.
Being the worst team isn't always a guarantee either anyhow as we've seen with Chicago. Celebrini looks like he might be good enough to guide San Jose out of the basement, but Bedard is looking a ways away from being that player if he ever even does become that.
I don't agree that "it's been so long since this team's been shitty" tbh. They haven't won a playoff round in seven years and they'll probably miss the playoffs for the final half decade of Sid's career.
They're already shitty, they've been shitty. They'll continue to be shitty. They're just too proud and f***in' dumb to be benefiting from being shitty.
It's a combination. Rakell's been a PPG guy since the TDL. Agree that Jarry suddenly remembering how to play goalie is the real killer, but you take away one of three offensive weapons this team has up front and I do think the team probably loses a couple more games between the TDL and end of the season. And that's a big deal when the race is just as tight for a top 4 or 5 pick as it is for any WC spot. If this team loses 3 more games throughout the season they're sitting below the Bruins for 4th overall atm.
They failed us. But I'm sure the Pens will fail us tomorrow by winning.
When they signed Larsson on April 29, 2024. At the time, they didn't have any idea whether Murashov was going to come over to North America and Nedelkjovic was a pending free agent.
