No, it's not directed at fans. That would be something altogether different. Let me give you an example - over the next few days, some team is going to pay a substantial price to acquire David Savard. This will likely prove to be a mistake as the player is in steep decline, but that's not the way Savard is being perceived in NHL circles.
I see this sort of thing all the time with 'name brand' players that are generally thought to be much better than they truly are. Matt Duchene. Matt Murray. Taylor Hall. Patrik Laine. Many such cases. This is different from low value players [like Tierney and Duclair] that are rightfully valued as poor/mediocre.
I don't think a true Cup contender would have Reilly playing 20 minutes a game the way we do, but there are playoff teams that have worse defensemen playing about as much. Is he not better than the likes of Jason Demers, Ben Harpur, Jordan Oesterle, Connor Clifton, and Tucker Poolman? He could help a lot of teams, but they likley wouldn't pay enough to make it feasible. Reilly is under appreciated in that respect.
I don't see how getting a 3rd or 4th round pick helps. The pressure on DJ Smith and Pierre Dorion is going to be immense next season. Both entering the final years of their respective contracts and both needing to produce some serious results. Opening up a hole in the top-4 for a marginal return shouldn't be on the agenda. If Brannstrom were playing better and developing, that might allow the Sens to move Reilly. Unfortunately that's not the case. So what happens? You deal Reilly for a 4th and then in July you send that same pick to Montreal for Brett Kulak because you need a cheap player that can eat minutes? Or you sign Ben Hutton or something? Pointless.
A 2 year deal at about 2.5M per is perfect for Reilly and the team. A nice pay bump for the player and he gets to stay in a good situation for him, while the club gets a nice bridge to Jake Sanderson.
Teams are not going to acquire David Savard and give him a 5 years extension though. Maybe he could get an extension from the team acquiring him but the goal will be to have him help the team during the playoffs. They might not necessarily care if he's going to be bad in a year or two. They are expecting him to help their team for a limited period of time. There will be a market price for that. Everything works by supply and demand.
If a team pays more for David Savard than another team for Mike Reilly, it is NOT because they are biased and have no idea what they are doing, perceived value, etc... it's simply about supply and demand, like every market
Players like Matt Duchene, Matt Murray, Taylor Hall, Patrik Laine are acquired based on their ABILITY and what they have been able to do in the recent past. It's always a gamble but they hope they will play at similar levels for their team. Matt Murray dominated the AHL at 20-21 y/o and won 2 cups (stealing the job twice from a goalie that will be 3rd in All-Time Wins by the end of the season) before he was 23 y/o. Has any goalie ever done that before? All these players are still young and could/will rebound in the next few seasons. Sometimes they just don't fit in some systems (as expected, Patrik Laine was going to be a bad fit in Columbus with Torts but thigns could change if they move on from Torts)
That type of players will always have more value (without considering contract term of course) than players like Mike Reilly, except for goalies but it's another subject.
I don't think Reilly is "under appreciated", I think he's done well considering what he has shown in the past but I'm not sure if teams see him as a steady guy you can rely on in the playoffs, hence why the price for him will be modest. Again, I don't think it's because they are "biased"
IMO, guys like Tierney and Reilly are exactly the types you should try to trade at their peak value and not hold on to them until their value plummets. But what do I know? Ottawa Senators clearly know best. I don't know what Dorion should do or not do next off-season, that's not my job and also not my problem.
Ya the draft lottery made the rebuils take some extra time, if this draft handed the sens a top line center Brady and Josh would make a great second line
weird draft this year that part sucks but you gotta admit its so close to being rebuilt if things go ok
Disagree. You have to be able to find pieces all kind of ways and not only rely on drafting as high as possible. Or you end up like the Sabres or Oilers and still don't succeed.
