GDT: Free agency edition Trade Rumours/Proposals [MOD - Stay on Topic] 3

[aragorn]

There's simply no way you trade for a 3rd line player by giving up a 1st, a slightly overpaid 3rd line player and a cheap young D that's demonstrated the ability to play top 4 minutes for extended stretches of time.

Laughton played 18 minutes a night last year and posted 43 points. You can't win with him playing 18 a night. So when he drops down to a 14 minute a night guy, his points are going to plummet and people will be screaming

When I posted just Joseph & Brannstrom for Laughton most said it wasn't enough, so I added the 1st. Dorion has said that he wants to acquire another top 9 forward with term, that kind of eliminates anyone wanting a 1 yr contract. I like Crouse & would give that package plus, but I wouldn't want to give up Greig, we might need his skillset in a few yrs when Giroux ages out. It's interesting with Brannstrom, when I put him in trade proposals people always point up how valuable he is to us as a top 4 replacement, but in a trade doesn't seem to have the same value. Ott has Chabot, Chychrun, Sanderson, Kleven & Larsson on the left side we have plenty of LD depth. We also have plenty of RD depth in Zub, Hamonic, JBD, Thomson, Guennette & Matinpalo.

Laughton to me makes the most sense, he is buddies with Giroux who apparnetly got MacEwen to sign here & Laughton is also friends with DJ & played for him at the worlds. He might not be worth that 1st but Philly seems to want more than just a 1st for him. Laughton will probably get more ice time playing on the PK & move up the lineup due to injuries that inevidably happen. Do you have a better option in mind?

 

[Oscar The Grouch]

I really feel like Tarasenko to Ottawa is a pipe dream.

He will be taking a 1yr, low salary contract. Ottawa has very little space, so we can probably only offer him an ok deal. Add in higher taxes, chances are we won't be offering significantly more than any other team.

Now, on a 1yr deal, the most important thing is fit. What are the odds that he ends up as our 3RW, or is forced to play LW if he wants to be in the top 6? Pretty high imo.

So why would he sign here?

Yah it makes absolutely no sense for him to sign here in a prove-it pre-UFA year. I mean, he can just look at what happened with DeBrincat's numbers. Now add a healthy Josh Norris.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

They just signed MacEwen so I doubt he is waived, maybe Kelly, but my guess continues to be Joseph & his $3 mil to be traded. I agree with SOA that Laughton would be a guy that they could go after given his association with Giroux & DJ, he's a left shot which to me means he would replace Greig most likely & Sokolov being a RW would fill that 3rd line RW spot. Laughton fits into their salary structure at $3 mil & has 3 yrs left on his contract & he's only 29 yrs old. He checks a lot of boxes they like.

I think Ott needs to move both Joseph & Brannstrom to free up the money to trade for Laughton along with that 1st rd pick we just acquired from the DBC trade. The 1st rd pick entices them to do it, Joseph replaces Laughton & maybe they could use Brannstrom as a PMD. We'll see, but they are getting close to filling out their 13 forwards since they already have 8 D & their goalies in place. This trade makes the team bigger & harder to play against, adds a little more offence & Laughton brings some leadership qualities & toughness. I think it's an overpayment but it depends how much they want him, he would improve the team, no question.

To Philly: 2024 Boston conditional 1st rd pick, Joseph LW/RW & Brannstrom LD/RD
To Ott: Scott Laughton LW

Tkachuk $8.2 - Stutzle $8.3 - Giroux $6.5 = $23
Kubalik $2.5 - Norris $8 - Batherson $5 = $15.5
Laughton $3 - Pinto $2.5 - Sokolov $1 = $6.5
Smejkal $.8- Kastelic $.8- MacEwen $.7/Kelly $.7 = $3 + $48 mil

Chabot $8 - Zub $4.6 = $12.6
Sanderson $1 - Chychrun $4.6 = $5.6
Kleven $1- Hamonic $1/JBD $.8 = $2.8 = $21 mil

Korpisalo $4 - Forsberg $3 = $7 + Dead Cap $5 = $12

Forwards $48 + Defence $21 + Goalies & Dead Cap $12 = $81 mil leaves $2 mil for injury callups.

I was thinking the 3 year deal on MacEwan would prevent any claims and allow them to move him up and down, but yes, probably unlikely that's the plan. I do like Laughton but I think he'll just cost too much to acquire to be worth it.

In the end, we might be best off just taking the best ufa we can get and carry on. Can always upgrade midseason if things are looking good, but it at least gives a qualified body in the mean time.

I like having some big, tough, physical guys on the team and the 4th line is where you can stack up some enforcement type players. The key is to not be out-scored when they are on the ice. I don't need scoring from them.

I hear you. Just a little TOO dry for offense imo between the 3 of them. Nor are they an overly imposing line physically, so Im not sure it gives either of us what we want lol.

 

[JD1]

When I posted just Joseph & Brannstrom for Laughton most said it wasn't enough, so I added the 1st. Dorion has said that he wants to acquire another top 9 forward with term, that kind of eliminates anyone wanting a 1 yr contract. I like Crouse & would give that package plus, but I wouldn't want to give up Greig, we might need his skillset in a few yrs when Giroux ages out. It's interesting with Brannstrom, when I put him in trade proposals people always point up how valuable he is to us as a top 4 replacement, but in a trade doesn't seem to have the same value. Ott has Chabot, Chychrun, Sanderson, Kleven & Larsson on the left side we have plenty of LD depth. We also have plenty of RD depth in Zub, Hamonic, JBD, Thomson, Guennette & Matinpalo.

Laughton to me makes the most sense, he is buddies with Giroux who apparnetly got MacEwen to sign here & Laughton is also friends with DJ & played for him at the worlds. He might not be worth that 1st but Philly seems to want more than just a 1st for him. Laughton will probably get more ice time playing on the PK & move up the lineup due to injuries that inevidably happen. Do you have a better option in mind?

My option would be signing a Ufa to a bit of term to play bottom 6 and PK.

While I like your affinity for physical hockey, I think Brannstrom is a very useful piece. He moves the puck very well and is quick. He also wins far more one on one battles than his size would otherwise dictate, primarily because he's quick with his hands.

Joseph certainly had a down year but the flip side to that is it's not really possible to have an up year with an inadequate center which is what we had in the 3C role once Pinto moved to 2C.

I've also said a few times, I'd move Chabot. He's got an 8 AAV contract and it's not a huge stretch to think he could be our 3LD. Moving him and trying to find an RHD that can play top 4 with a bit of term is what I'd try to do. Some additional points on that are Chabot has some NTC protection kicking in next year and with a backloaded contract anything short of a huge rebound year, his contract becomes an immovable anchor

There recently was an article written on Vegas making bold moves. Moving Chabot is a bold move obviously but certainly sends the message that going thru the motions doesn't cut it.

 

[Cosmix]

When I posted just Joseph & Brannstrom for Laughton most said it wasn't enough, so I added the 1st. Dorion has said that he wants to acquire another top 9 forward with term, that kind of eliminates anyone wanting a 1 yr contract. I like Crouse & would give that package plus, but I wouldn't want to give up Greig, we might need his skillset in a few yrs when Giroux ages out. It's interesting with Brannstrom, when I put him in trade proposals people always point up how valuable he is to us as a top 4 replacement, but in a trade doesn't seem to have the same value. Ott has Chabot, Chychrun, Sanderson, Kleven & Larsson on the left side we have plenty of LD depth. We also have plenty of RD depth in Zub, Hamonic, JBD, Thomson, Guennette & Matinpalo.

Laughton to me makes the most sense, he is buddies with Giroux who apparnetly got MacEwen to sign here & Laughton is also friends with DJ & played for him at the worlds. He might not be worth that 1st but Philly seems to want more than just a 1st for him. Laughton will probably get more ice time playing on the PK & move up the lineup due to injuries that inevidably happen. Do you have a better option in mind?

A 2nd round pick.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

What if Dorion just offersheets Lafreniere? It's not like he'll be around to to witness the eventual backlash or repercussions.

 

[BondraTime]

What if Dorion just offersheets Lafreniere? It's not like he'll be around to to witness the eventual backlash or repercussions.

Likely can't, unless they think a contract between 2.1-4.2 would get it done, as they don't own their 3rd.

 

[JD1]

@aragorn here's an article on Vegas's bold moves

Golden Knights are teaching Maple Leafs a thing or two about winning — big, bold moves can pay off

If you google Vegas Knights bold moves there's lots of content on it including TSN videos

Edit: if you think about the Toronto contrast, they've stuck with the big 4 and done squat. Maybe they'd be wearing cup rings today had they traded Marner a couple of years ago

 

[Bjornar Moxnes]

Dellandrea who scored at a similar pace to Pinto just got a 1 year deal at 900k. We also have more leverage.

 

[Cosmix]

Likely can't, unless they think a contract between 2.1-4.2 would get it done, as they don't own their 3rd.

We could buy it back.

 

[Ice-Tray]

We’ll probably give Tank a two year deal to smooth the entrance.

 

[Sens Vader]

We’ll probably give Tank a two year deal to smooth the entrance.

Yeah, I think Ottawa can either compete by giving term or if he feels he will get a better opportunity here to increase his stats if it is a 1-year deal.

 

[aragorn]

The only exception to that philosophy is Crouse. I’ve proposed the Boston 1st + Greig + Joseph for Crouse and one of Arizona’s 2nds. In fact if the money works I’d even keep Joseph. That’s 4 years of the exact type of player we need.

Tkachuk - Norris - Batherson
Kubalik - Stu - Giroux
Crouse - Pinto - Joseph

Sexy top 9 no matter how you mix it up.

It's a good top 9 but can it fit their budget leaving about $2 mil for injury replacements & have you taken the $5 mil dead cap into consideration as well. I think they will eventually make a trade, but who they bring in will likely depend on who they send back as well & IMo it likely needs to be at least one or two current roster players to make the cap room.

Sure, but Crouse>>>Laughton

Crouse is definitely better than Laughton, but also makes $1.3 mil more & that's the difficult part trying to get these guys to fit into their salary structure where you still leave about $2 mil for injury replacements. It's not easy with Joseph & Barnnstrom's $5 mil collectively & everyone seems to have a different solution which depending on their viewpoint may work or doesn't work. There is also the dead cap of $5 mil which could be reduced by $1 mil if Murray is bought out, that would help.

@aragorn here's an article on Vegas's bold moves

Golden Knights are teaching Maple Leafs a thing or two about winning — big, bold moves can pay off

If you google Vegas Knights bold moves there's lots of content on it including TSN videos

Edit: if you think about the Toronto contrast, they've stuck with the big 4 and done squat. Maybe they'd be wearing cup rings today had they traded Marner a couple of years ago

I couldn't get into it, but basically what I have been saying for yrs is that Toronto wasn't tough enough & needed to get bigger & tougher & this off season they finally seem to be rectifying that now that Dubas is gone. Dubas loved fancy stats & skill level, but you need more than that in the NHL, you need to be tough because winning 16 games in the NHL playoffs is the toughest road to success in sports, skill alone won't do it.

Casual fans love the skilled guys because they are entertaining to watch, they pay next to no attention to the tough guys that break up plays like Hamonic or understand the entricacies of why players drop the gloves, only in hockey can these things be strategies. Intimidation is still a big part of hockey & pushing around skilled players is part of that to get them off their game & it has to be answered or teams will just continue to do just that. Everything in life is a balance & hockey is no different, you need skill & you need toughness. Seattle has an interesting roster construction with very little high end or low end players & more very good middle tier players that fit their salary structure & they roll 4 lines continuously & wear teams down. The Leafs could be the team to beat in our division this yr with the addition of much more toughness in their lineup.

 

[Bileur]

It's a good top 9 but can it fit their budget leaving about $2 mil for injury replacements & have you taken the $5 mil dead cap into consideration as well. I think they will eventually make a trade, but who they bring in will likely depend on who they send back as well & IMo it likely needs to be at least one or two current roster players to make the cap room.

Crouse is definitely better than Laughton, but also makes $1.3 mil more & that's the difficult part trying to get these guys to fit into their salary structure where you still leave about $2 mil for injury replacements. It's not easy with Joseph & Barnnstrom's $5 mil collectively & everyone seems to have a different solution which depending on their viewpoint may work or doesn't work. There is also the dead cap of $5 mil which could be reduced by $1 mil if Murray is bought out, that would help.

I couldn't get into it, but basically what I have been saying for yrs is that Toronto wasn't tough enough & needed to get bigger & tougher & this off season they finally seem to be rectifying that now that Dubas is gone. Dubas loved fancy stats & skill level, but you need more than that in the NHL, you need to be tough because winning 16 games in the NHL playoffs is the toughest road to success in sports, skill alone won't do it.

Casual fans love the skilled guys because they are entertaining to watch, they pay next to no attention to the tough guys that break up plays like Hamonic or understand the entricacies of why players drop the gloves, only in hockey can these things be strategies. Intimidation is still a big part of hockey & pushing around skilled players is part of that to get them off their game & it has to be answered or teams will just continue to do just that. Everything in life is a balance & hockey is no different, you need skill & you need toughness. Seattle has an interesting roster construction with very little high end or low end players & more very good middle tier players that fit their salary structure & they roll 4 lines continuously & wear teams down. The Leafs could be the team to beat in our division this yr with the addition of much more toughness in their lineup.

I think this actually cuts both ways, some casuals love the skill, some like the physical play because they don’t understand how hard it is to make a skilled play. It’s one of the reasons physical guys/fighters are often fan favourites.

For instance, Lidstrom was always underrated defensively because people didn’t understand how effective he was at using skill to shut down opponents. Stevens was easier to appreciate defensively because his stops were splashier (huge hits, pins, cross checks etc).

 

[BrawlFan]

I doubt we are close to getting Tank. I think we are likely 3rd on his list if canes and rangers are fully out.

Sign Tatar and call it a day.

This is why signing someone like pacieoretty should have been our number one priority.

Personally I believe Pierre has learned from last year. I believe this Tarasanko nonsense is just that. Smoke screen. After Chych he doesn’t want to show his hand. I believe that first round pick will yeild us the player he wants. Probably just waiting on the damn to break.

Many guys are still on the block. Karlsson, Dumba, Nylander, Scheiffle, list can go on and on.

 

[TheNewEra]

My issue is that we spent a lot of cap on the 18-22 pieces on our team. Around 3 to 3.5 of our remaining cap space will go to pinto and sokolov.

So we have 1.5 to 2 million to add one more forward. If the move isn't upgrading on Joseph and going through FA/trade then we basically have to get rid of Kelly. This is because most of our bottom 6 has either been recently signed or have a lot of potential (minus Joseph and Kelly)

We get rid of Kelly and we have 2.2 to 2.7 to add a forward. If we can't get tarasenko then go for Tatar or Suter. The upgrades are still available.

Tkachuk-Stutzle-Giroux
Kubalik-Norris-Batherson
Greig-Pinto-Tarasenko/Tatar/Suter
Joseph-Kastelic-MacEwen/Sokolov

With Smejkal/Chartier/Jarventie/Imama being the call ups if/when needed

 

[Cosmix]

What does Tarasenko want for salary and term?

I think he wants at least $5M and 3 years.

 

[aragorn]

What does Tarasenko want for salary and term?

I think he wants at least $5M and 3 years.

Yea, I think he is too expensive & they would have to move at least a couple of guys to fit him in.

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

I doubt we are close to getting Tank. I think we are likely 3rd on his list if canes and rangers are fully out.

Sign Tatar and call it a day.

This is why signing someone like pacieoretty should have been our number one priority.

Personally I believe Pierre has learned from last year. I believe this Tarasanko nonsense is just that. Smoke screen. After Chych he doesn’t want to show his hand. I believe that first round pick will yeild us the player he wants. Probably just waiting on the damn to break.

Many guys are still on the block. Karlsson, Dumba, Nylander, Scheiffle, list can go on and on.

Pacioretty is Pascal Leclair as a forward given how injured he is

 

[Big Muddy]

We also have plenty of RD depth in Zub, Hamonic, JBD, Thomson, Guennette & Matinpalo.

Laughton to me makes the most sense, he is buddies with Giroux who apparnetly got MacEwen to sign here

1. Is Chychrun a RD or LD? It seemed like he was thought of as RD when the trade went down, or at least that was the hope.

2. If Zub gets hurt, I think the right side will be somewhat weak. That seems to have happened last year.

3. MacEwan probably found the 3-year term attractive. I'd wonder how many other teams were offering him 3 years.

 

[Loach]

1. Is Chychrun a RD or LD? It seemed like he was thought of as RD when the trade went down, or at least that was the hope.

2. If Zub gets hurt, I think the right side will be somewhat weak. That seems to have happened last year.

3. MacEwan probably found the 3-year term attractive. I'd wonder how many other teams were offering him 3 years.

Is that really depth though? Kinda looks not.

 

[Big Muddy]

Is that really depth though? Kinda looks not.

I'd feel better with another good RD on the roster or in the system. If there's another injury, I guess we are going to see more of Hamonic or JBD will step up. I'm not sure what side Chychrun will play on either. In the few games he played with us last year, they moved him around.

 

[aragorn]

1. Is Chychrun a RD or LD? It seemed like he was thought of as RD when the trade went down.

2. If Zub gets hurt, I think the right side will be somewhat weak. That seems to have happened last year.

3. MacEwan probably found the 3-year term attractive. I'd wonder how many other teams were offering him 3 years.

1. Chychrun is a LD, we assume that one of Chabot, Sanderson or Chychrun will play the right side along with Zub RD to fill out the top 4 with our best offensive defencemen.

2. You're right, if Zub does get hurt it will be weaker, but we have JBD who IMO is ready to take a big step on the right side & he will be the 7th D. We also have Thompson behind him & Kleven has played some on the right side in school. No matter who is behind Zub it stands to reason they won't be as good & will need the experience to get better.

3. It's hard to know who else would have been interested in MacEwen, but Ott had the need as Watson aged off the team & he was buddies with Giroux who supposedly helped one side or the other or both make the deal. I imagine given Mac is only 29 yrs old rather than have to find a new enforcer every yr, you sign one for a little longer at a cheap contract & call it a day.

 

[aragorn]

Is that really depth though? Kinda looks not.

It is what we got, Zub RD & Hamonic RD have NHL experience, Chychrun LD also has NHL experience & is considered a top 4 D who can play either side. JBD RD will likely start the season as the 7th D & will fill in when there is an injury, that's clearly depth. Depth players are not as good as starters, but can fill in temporarily & as they become better they eventually become starters. Kleven & Brannstrom can also play both sides & the guys in Belleville Larsson, Guennete, Thomson, Hetherington & Matinpalo are all depth defence who can fill in temporarily. I suppose we could argue all day whether they should be better players, but they are certainly depth players for this team at this time. The left side is the same.

 

[Big Muddy]

1. Chychrun is a LD, we assume that one of Chabot, Sanderson or Chychrun will play the right side along woth Zub RD to fill out the top 4 with our best offensive defencemen.

2. You're right, if Zub does get hurt it will be weak, but we have JBD who IMO is ready to take a big step on the right side & he will be the 7th D. We also have Thompson behind him & Kleven has played some on the right side in school. No matter who is behind Zub it stands to reason they won't be as good & will need the experience to get better.

3. It's hard to know who else would have been interested in MacEwen, but Ott had the need as Watson aged off the team & he was buddies with Giroux who supposedly helped one side or the other or both make the deal. I imagine given Mac is only 29 yrs old rather than have to find a new enforcer every yr, you sign one for a little longer at a cheap contract & call it a day.

I know Chychrun has played LD throughout most of his career, but the theory when he was traded here was that he'd play RD. But, the few games he played for us, it was difficult to tell what the plan was as they moved him around. I'm presuming the plan is still to have him play RD.