check yourself:
"You don’t Just throw out the success they’ve had this season to build more."
The success they have had is based on the depth of assets they have now. Depleting same for foolish win now is counterproductive.
You argue they have enough picks/prospects they can go there.
While everything is a different case by case situation, I argue for the most part they do not.
Some of our assets are more irreplaceable than others. Shesty is the obvious proof of that. We go from top notch Vezina quality to solidly good at best.
The acid test here is if the Martians kidnapped Strome, we would fully have enough depth to win as Chytil and Barron would instantly get more minutes fortified last quarter or so of season + playoffs by adding Kravtsov.
#s do not lie. Keeping Strome when it IS IMPOSSIBLE to extend him is arrogant hubris. He is a crutch; a productive crutch who has an uneven game but can score, but still is a crutch nonetheless keeping us from getting down to a true core with more mins.
"You’re not going to get a very high return for him so there’s really no point. Just self rent to the end of the season and move on."
NO, I repudiate your advocated illogic of waste.
I could see OTT dealing the later of their 2 2022 2nds, TB's, and a min 2023 3rd that conditionally could morph into a 2023 2nd if Strome is either re-signed or at any time during 2021-2022 or 2022-2023 seasons is flipped for a 1st round pick, or what may be considered to be a 1st round pick.
You only want all or nothing. Only deal if there is "a very high return". NO. Sufficiently high is adequate.
This is the same error they made w/Buch. Insisted on having their cake and eating it too. Instead of dealing him when he was more valuable b'c he was cheap AND HAD TERM, we kept him up to the last. And as a result instead of a top 10 from EDM we got Blais -- who I like and would pay for -- and a delayed 2nd.
I am compelled to continuously remind how we got Schneider. We upgraded by adding to a later middle 1st. We were able to do that b'c we had surplus. Surplus here is not just a large number of picks; it is also having sufficiently high quality picks to be attractive to follow through on an upgrade.
If you don't use picks, you can always peddle them for upgrades or sell them for better future picks.
Hence there is no reason to waste them -- or not acquire them when it is time to move on from vets. I begrudge that after we suffered for the most part through 4 years of Brendan Smith he was not dealt for a 4th as we instead arrogantly and foolishly pursued a playoff spot when even a blind man could see that was not gonna happen.
Barring a tsunami of injuries, we will make the playoffs and go deep. This will happen w/w'o Strome/Geo. We are not adding a guy like Draisatil or MacKinnon or some other high level add that could shift the balance in our favor.
Play smart with what we have and build some more.
THEN we can consider dealing what will then be surplus futures from a position of strength, the temporary cap prob strangling us until Trouba can be moved notwithstanding.
"You’re throwing the entire business aspect of the nhl in hope of stockpiling more youth and more draft picks.
I agree they shouldn’t deplete the farm for 94 levels moves, but trading strome at this point means nothing."
Respectfully, wrong as detailed above.
"Ditto on Geo. Unless some teams comes out of no where with a crazy offer, they are keeping him in the fold for the playoffs. The cap doesn’t matter this season.
It’s seems he’s turned his play around. He actually plays better when given the brunt of the minutes. They’ll keep him as insurance for a shesty injury and cut ties in the offseason."
You make my pt while ignoring it.
We have solved Geo. He needs regular starter mins I agree.
But what you and others ignore is that there is only one set of regular starter mins. Those go to Shesty, not Geo. If you correctly give them to Shesty, Geo gets cold, and that is a prob as to performances. If you give them to Geo, I am not sure we are keeping our Vezina level guy from getting rusty.
The obvious and clear solution is to take best possible level return for Geo, not only give Shesty starter mins but generally manipulate that vs toughest competition, and leave the backup Kinkaid/Huska for second tier teams. I am aware Huska has a rough baptism vs Avs -- who also roughed up Shesty -- but the team also gave him zero support. That will not be allowed to happen again.
