I just checked -- the St Louis pick is top-10 protected. If St Louis gets a top-10 pick in 2019, Buffalo can't touch it and has to wait until 2020 to claim the pick. St Louis might be much better the following season, so that pick might be far less valuable.
I'm sorry but that's nowhere close to a cup winner.
Why can't we try it your way? Have we been so successful the other way to ignore looking at things in an alternative manner? People throw out Edmonton as a reason to argue that high picks do not guarantee success but newsflash, there are versions of the Edmonton Oilers in every sport in the same way that there are versions of the Pens and Hawks as well. WTF do we have to lose?
Yes it is, it's a very good lineup... you think you need to have an all-star team to be a contender ?
You actually do need All Stars in the top 6. At least two of them. You have paid attention to Cup winners of the recent past, have you?
How about trading our mid-pack 1st round pick plus Petry or Byron for a higher 1st round pick? Teams like New Jersey, Philly, Arizona, Florida, etc. might get a top-10 pick and, unlike the Habs, need to make the playoffs. They're finished rebuilding and want to take the next step now rather than three years from now. They might be very interested in adding a very good vet who could help them now, in exchange for their higher 1st round pick.
Is there a credible way for another team to get the Blues' 2019 pick? If I understand correctly, that other team would first have to acquire the pick from Buffalo, then have St Louis agree to give it up. It would be one helluva bank shot.
Exactly. The counter arguments are mostly about the risks of not getting back what we trade away. Which is a possibility. But years of risk-averse management is why we're currently in the position of having this debate. Success in the era of parity requires risk.
It's an interesting business dilemma. Assuming Buffalo can be convinced to give up that pick, the real question is where you project St Louis to be in a year. It appears they might be rebuilding. If so, their 2020 pick might end up being equally valuable than 2019. It would take balls for Bergevin to give up valuable picks/players for a totally unknown draft position in 18 months, but imagine if St Louis decides to rebuild and finishes bottom-5 in 2020. What a move that would end up being!
What is it going to take for us to change then? Most of the fanbase wants to cheer for their team to win but are unwilling to face the reality of what it takes to achieve long term success. What exactly is it that the Montreal Canadiens are doing? This summer the focus turned to youth but only after we were rejected by JT and Paul Stastny and now we are in a playoff spot so has the focus now changed back to trying to win? Are we back to once you are in anything can happen?
I've given up guessing what Bergevin will do. He could mastermind a stealth attack on a top prospect or draft pick, or he could lurch after a playoff fix with a dumb, desperate trade. Nothing will shock me. Most likely, he'll be Mr. In-Between and passively do nothing at the deadline, other than a minor move or two.
You know how it happened?? They got rid of two very very soft players in Galchenyuk and Pacioretty and brought in guys with arguably less talent like donie and Tatar but who have way more character and drive and who aren’t lazy f***ers like Patch and Galchenyuk
Time will tell and I hope that we don’t go after Duncan Keith or some other veteran player because he thinks that we are only a piece away from contending. I like the young prospects we are assembling but we need more of them and I certainly do not want to be giving them up at this stage of the game.
