Welcome to the inaugural trade value column (in-progress)

[My Special Purpose]

There are 700 players in the NHL. I'm not going to try to rank them from 1-thru-700. Not today, anyhow. I've always wanted to do this and have no idea why a major publication hasn't made this a cornerstone. The idea here is that *value-wise* the lower-ranked player *should* get traded for the higher-ranked player. I understand that there are millions of reasons teams trade or don't trade players. Not all of them have to do with on-ice value. This is an attempt to strip everything else away and just rank players based on their ability to help win hockey games.

Contracts, age and production count. No-trade clauses, value to one franchise, and "untouchability" don't.

I've kept hot prospects out of it because it's just about impossible to rank them by value. We're just as likely to undervalue a guy like Cale Makar as we are to overvalue him. For free agents, I'm assuming value once their next contract is signed.

I'm not going to do a big reverse-order build-up to the top because nobody is paying me for this. I'm just gonna drop it all here. I'd also appreciate feedback. So anyhow ...

Top 30
Connor McDavid, 21, $12.5m, 2026
Nikita Kucherov, 25, $9.5m, 2027
Auston Matthews, 21, $11.634m, 2024
Nathan Mackinnon, 23, $6.3m, 2023
Elias Pettersson, 20, $925k, 2021
Leon Draisaitl, 23, $8.5m, 2025
Victor Hedman, 28, $7.875m, 2025
Rasmus Dahlin, 18, $925k, 2021
Aleksander Barkov, 23, $5.9m, 2022
Sebastian Aho, 21, $925k, 2019

Jack Eichel, 22, $10m, 2026
Mitch Marner, 21, $894k, 2019
Johnny Gaudreau, 25, $6.75, 2022
David Pastrnak, 22, $6.66m, 2023
Filip Forsberg, 24, $6m, 2022
Brayden Point, 22, $687k, 2019
Seth Jones, 24, $5.4m, 2022
Mikko Rantanen, 22, $894k, 2019
Matthew Tkachuk, 21, $925, 2019
Patrick Kane, 30, $10.5m, 2023

Mark Scheifele, 25, $6.125m, 2024
John Gibson, 25, $6.4m, 2027
Matthew Barzal, 21, $863k, 2020
Brad Marchand, 30, $6.125m, 2025
Vladimir Tarasenko, 27, $7.5m, 2023
Patrick Laine, 20, $925k, 2019
Patrice Bergeron, 33, $6.875m, 2022
Evgeny Kuznetsov, 26, $7.8m, 2025
Sidney Crosby, 31, $8.7, 2025
Alex Ovechkin, 33, $9.538m, 2021

31-90
Mark Stone, 26, $9.5m, 2027
John Tavares, 28, $11m, 2025
Andrei Vasilevskiy, 24, $3.5m, 2020
Steven Stamkos, 29, $8.5m, 2024
Artemi Panarin, 27, $6m, 2019
Roman Josi, 28, $4m, 2020
Tomas Hertl, 25, $5.625m, 2022
Ryan O'Reilly, 28, $7.5m, 2023
John Carlson, 29, $8m, 2026
Colton Parayko, 25, $5.5m, 2022

Drew Doughty, 29, $11m, 2027
Alex Pietrangelo, 29, $6.5m, 2020
John Klingberg, 26, $4.25m, 2022
Jonathan Toews, 30, $10.5m, 2023
Taylor Hall, 27, $6m, 2020
William Nylander, 22, $6.962m, 2024
Dylan Larkin, 22, $6.1m, 2023
Andrei Svechnikov, 18, $925k, 2021
Morgan Reilly, 25, $5m, 2022
Sean Monahan, 23, $6.75, 2023

Timo Meier, 22, $894k, 2019
Alex DeBrincat, 21, $778k, 2020
Mika Zibanejad, 25, $5.35m, 2022
Jake Guentzel, 24, $6, 2024
Viktor Arvidsson, 25, $4.25m, 2024
Sam Reinhart, 23, $3.65m, 2020
Jesperi Kotkaniemi, 18, $925k, 2021
Niko Hischier, 20, $925k, 2020
Jonathan Marchessault, 28, $5m, 2024
Jonathan Huberdeau, 25, $5.9m, 2023

Miro Heiskanen, 19, $894k, 2021
Jaccob Slavin, 24, $5.3m, 2025
Matt Murray, 24, $3.75, 2020
Tyler Seguin, 27, $9.85m, 2027
Brent Burns, 34, $8m, 2025
Aaron Ekblad, 23, $7.5m, 2025
Thomas Chabot, 22, $863k, 2020
Nikolaj Ehlers, 23, $6m, 2025
Alex Tuch, 22, $4.75, 2025
Tom Wilson, 24, $5.167m, 2024

Mattias Ekholm, 28, $3.75m, 2022
Matthew Dumba, 24, $6m, 2023
Charlie McAvoy, 21, $917k, 2019
Josh Morrisey, 23, $3.15m, 2020
Tyson Barrie, 27, $5.5m, 2020
Ivan Provorov, 22, $894k, 2019
Ryan Johansen, 26, $8m, 2025
Brady Tkachuk, 19, $925k, 2021
Nicklas Backstrom, 31, $6.7m, 2020
Claude Giroux, 31, $8.275m, 2022

Mark Giordano, 35, $6.75m, 2022
Kris Letang, 31, $7.25, 2022
Sean Couturier, 26, $4.33m, 2022
Jakub Vrana, 23, $863k, 2019
Jacob Trouba, 25, $5.5m, 2019
Elias Lindholm, 24, $4.85m, 2024
Anze Kopitar, 31, $10m, 2024
Gabriel Landeskog, 26, $5.571, 2021
Evgeni Malkin, 32, $9.5, 2022
Matt Duchene, 28, $6m, 2019

91-200 (RANKED WITHIN TEAM)
BOS-Torey Krug, 27, $5.25m, 2020
BOS-Jake DeBrusk, 22, $863k, 2020
BOS-Danton Heinen, 23, $873k, 2019
BUF-Casey Mittelstadt, 20, $925k, 2020
BUF-Jeff Skinner, 26, $5.725m, 2019
DET-Andreas Athanasiou, 24, $3m, 2020
DET-Tyler Bertuzzi, 24, $1.4m, 2020
DET-Anthony Mantha, 24, $3.3m, 2020
FLA-Vincent Trocheck, 25, $4.75m, 2022
FLA-Michael Matheson, 25, $4.875m, 2026

MTL-Carey Price, 31, $10.5m, 2026
MTL-Jonathan Drouin, 23, $5.5m, 2023
MTL-Max Domi, 24, $3.15m, 2020
MTL-Brendan Gallagher, 26, $3.75m, 2021
TBL-Mikhail Sergachev, 20, $894k, 2020
TBL-Yanni Gourde, 27, $5.166m, 2025
TOR-Nazem Kadri, 28, $4.5m, 2022
TOR-Frederik Andersen, 29, $5m, 2021
CAR-Teuvo Teravainen, 25, $5.4m, 2024
CAR-Dougie Hamilton, 25, $5.75m, 2021

CAR-Brett Pesce, 24, $4.025m, 2024
CAR-Nino Niederreiter, 26, $5.25, 2022
CLB-Sergei Bobrovsky, 30, $7.425m, 2019
CLB-Pierre-Luc Dubois, 20, $894k, 2020
CLB-Cam Atkinson, 29, $5.875m, 2025
CLB-Zach Werenski, 21, $925k, 2019
NYI-Josh Bailey, 29, $5m, 2024
NYI-Ryan Pulock, 24, $2m, 2020
NYI-Anders Lee, 28, $3.75m, 2019
NYR-Filip Chytil, 19, $894k, 2021

NYR-Chris Kreider, 27, $4.625m, 2020
NJD-Kyle Palmieri, 28, $4.65m, 2021
PHI-Carter Hart, 20, $731k, 2021
PHI-Shane Gostisbehere, 25, $4.5m, 2023
PHI-Nolan Patrick, 20, $925k, 2020
PHI-Jacob Voracek, 29, $8.25m, 2024
PIT-Brian Dumoulin, 27, $4.1m, 2023
PIT-Phil Kessel, 31, $6.8, 2022
WSH-Dimitry Orlov, 27, $5.1m, 2023
WSH-Braden Holtby, 29, $6.1m, 2020

WSH-T.J. Oshie, 32, $5.75m, 2025
CHI-Dylan Strome, 22, $863k, 2020
CHI-Brandon Saad, 26, $6m, 2021
COL-Samuel Girard, 20, $728k, 2020
COL-Erik Johnson, 30, $6m, 2023
DAL-Alex Radulov, 32, $6.25m, 2022
DAL-Jamie Benn, 29, $9.5m, 2025
DAL-Esa Lindell, 24, $2.2m, 2019
DAL-Ben Bishop, 32, $4.917m,2023
MIN-Jared Spurgeon, 29, $5.188m, 2020

MIN-Kevin Fiala, 22, $863k, 2019
MIN-Jordan Greenway, 22, $917k, 2020
MIN-Jason Zucker, 27, $5.5m, 2023
MIN-Jonas Brodin, 25, $4.166, 2021
MIN-Ryan Donato, 22, $900k, 2019
MIN-Eric Staal, $3.25m, 2021
MIN-Devan Dubnyk, $4.33m, 2021
NSH-Mikael Granlund, 27, $5.75m, 2020
NSH-P.K. Subban, 29, $9m, 2022
NSH-Juuse Saros, 23, $1.5m, 2021

NSH-Ryan Ellis, 28, $2.5m, 2027
NSH-Pekka Rinne, 36, $5m, 2021
STL-Robert Thomas, 19, $894k, 2021
STL-Jaden Schwartz, 26, $5.35m, 2021
STL-Brayden Schenn, 27, $5.125m, 2020
STL-Vince Dunn, 22, $723k, 2020
STL-Jordan Binnington, 25, $650k, 2019
WPG-Blake Wheeler, 32, $8.25m, 2024
WPG-Kyle Connor, 22, $894k, 2020
WPG-Connor Hellebuyck, 25, $6.167m, 2024

WPG-Kevin Hayes, 26, $5.175m, 2019
ANA-Rickard Rakell, 25, $3.789m, 2022
ANA-Hampus Lindholm, 25, $5.206m, 2022
ANA-Ondrej Kase, 23, $2.6m, 2021
ANA-Josh Manson, 27, $4.1m, 2022
ANA-Ryan Getzlaf, 33, $8.25m, 2021
ANA-Jakob Silfverberg, $5.25m, 2024
ANA-Adam Henrique, 29, $5.825m, 2024
ANA-Cam Fowler, 27, $6.5m, 2026
CGY-Travis Hamonic, 28, $3.857m, 2020

CGY-Mikael Backlund, 29, $5.35m, 2024
CGY-Noah Hanifin, 22, $4.95m, 2024
CGY-David Rittich, 26, $800k, 2019
CGY-Rasmus Andersson, 22, $756k, 2020
CGY-T.J. Brodie, 28, $4.65m, 2020
EDM-Oscar Klefbom, 25, $4.167m, 2023
EDM-Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 25, $6m, 2021
EDM-Darnell Nurse, 24, $3.2m, 2020
LAK-Tyler Toffoli, 26, $4.6m, 2020
LAK-Adrian Kempe, 22, $894k, 2019

LAK-Jonathan Quick, 33, $5.8m, 2023
ARI-Clayton Keller, 20, $886k, 2020
ARI-Oliver Ekman-Larsson, 27, $8.25m, 2027
ARI-Nick Schmaltz, 23, $925k, 2019
ARI-Alex Galchenyuk, 25, $4.9m, 2020
ARI-Jakob Chychrun, 20, $4.6m, 2025
ARI-Christian Dvorak, 23, $4.45m, 2025
ARI-Derek Stepan, 28, $6.5m, 2021
SJS-Erik Karlsson, 28, $6.5m, 2019
SJS-Evander Kane, 27, $7m, 2025

SJS-Kevin Labanc, 23, $718k, 2019
SJS-Joe Pavelski, 34, $6m, 2019
SJS-Logan Couture, 29, $8m, 2027
SJS-Marc-Edouard Vlasic, 31, $7m, 2026
VAN-Bo Horvat, 23, $5.5m, 2023
VAN-Brock Boeser, 22, $925k, 2019
VGK-Marc-Andre Fleury, 34, $7m, 2022
VGK-Shea Theodore, 23, $5.2m, 2025
VGK-William Karlsson, 26, $5.25m, 2019
VGK-Reilly Smith, 27, $5m, 2022

Click to read more...

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

This is such a neat idea, kudos.

You asked for feedback, so here it comes. Keep in mind that this is such a crazy complex activity that we are bound to disagree on a ton of players. Because of that, this will all seem like potshots, but I don't intend it as such. It's just that it's easier to voice specific disagreements than to go and do this activity myself and re-order everything the way I like it.

Here goes nothing:

• Splitting hairs at the top because it's important, Mackinnon's contract bumps him ahead of Matthews IMO. Matthews is signed for one more year, but Mackinnon is signed at almost half the cap hit. He's by far the steal of the league, contract-wise. Switch those two and I like your top 4.
• I like Pettersson, and even I think "5th most valuable asset in the league" seems high.
  
• Draisaitl is high. I love the year he's having but he's still playing a ton of time with McDavid. Elite 2C? Yes. Average 1C? Yes. Top 6 asset in the league? No.
• I'm good with the rest of the top 10, but Hedman's age makes him feel a little out of place. Signed to a good number for awhile, but compared to a Jones I'm not sure you wouldn't take the extra 4 years of aging curve in a vacuum. Not overtly offensive though.

• Nothing I take a huge issue with in 10-20. Were I doing it myself I might tinker here and there, but it'd be splitting hairs with a lot of guys. Interesting to see how valuable contracts make certain guys here (e.g. Forsberg is far from a top 15 player IMO but that contract is a steal). I may bump Point up a bit simply because I feel he's an outstanding player, but his contract this offseason could be steep so I get why he is where he is.

• The guys in their 30s from Kane on down to Ovechkin seem out of place. Crosby should absolutely be ahead of a guy like Marchand, and probably Kane. Kane's contract is such that he shouldn't be the cream of that crop.
• Given Scheifele's contract situation, I'm not sure he shouldn't be bumped up a few spots. I'd take Scheifele's $6m in change over the uncertainty of Rantanen and Tkachuk's next contracts, e.g.

• If contracts really are being taken into account, Panarin is too high at 35. I'm certainly not giving some of the guys below him just to risk him leaving next year.
• Won't call out every instance, but I think I would tend to value age, contract, and years of control more at this stage than you have. Hitting a lot of late 20s, $7-9m contracts in the next couple sections, and I probably tend to value younger guys higher. I'm also a Canes fan, so I've perpetually lived in a state of looking towards the future for the last 10 years, so that might be my own bias introduced.

• Toews is WAY too high. To me this is one of the bigger disagreements I have with the list. That contract, term, age, and recent production don't have him to "zero value" or "cap dump" level, but it certainly reduces what they'd get in return for him. I'm not paying Svech or Slavin for him, that's for sure.
• Doughty is high as well. Don't love the longevity or number on that contract.

Won't go any further on a 10-by-10 basis, but will call-out a few guys I think should be higher. As stated above, I tend to value guys with more years and better contracts situations. I think several are too low based on their age, potential, and current production.

Too low:

• Slavin (good contract)
• Chabot (good and young)
• McAvoy (good and young)
• Provorov (good and young)
• B. Tkachuk (good and young)
• Malkin (WAY too low. If Crosby, Ovechkin, and Kane are that high, Malkin being in the 80s is awful. Malkin being that far below Toews is brutal. My only "shot" of the day - were you on the same committee that left Malkin off the "Top 100 Players of All-Time" list? )
• Teravainen (probably cracks my top 90. Maybe biased. Multiple guys up in that list I wouldn't trade TT for.)
• Kopitar (weird to have Bergeron, Crosby, Ovechkin, etc. up there, than Kopitar all the way down in the 80s. He's being given the Malkin treatment too IMO.)

Too high:

• Nylander (we were talking about the merits of trading Pesce or someone for him, you really would trade Svech for Nylander in a vacuum?)
• Marchessault (28, not having a great year stats-wise. Fine player, but not someone I'd hesitate trading for Tyler Seguin in a heartbeat)
• Wilson (right now it's such that you'd be willing to trade McAvoy, Provorov, even Malkin for Tom Wilson. I wouldn't even trade Teuvo for the guy and he's outside your top 90).
• Barrie (Just not as good as his placement IMO.)

And that's it for now. Fun idea. Catalyst for about as many discussion as you'd care to have (Slavin vs. Toews, Barrie vs. Provorov, anyone vs. anyone). Post this on any other forum and you'd be shredded no matter what. Probably why no publications have picked it up. Then again it'd be a click-generating machine, even if the comment sections are awful. My disagreement on certain players =/= disrespect, this is quite a feat to even put something like this together and for the amount of variables I think you did quite well.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

You could turn this into a thing that stupid people pay you money for.

 

[NotOpie]

You could turn this into a thing that stupid people pay you money for.

I think you misspelled lazy...

 

[My Special Purpose]

You could turn this into a thing that stupid people pay you money for.

Hank's in. Who else?

 

[My Special Purpose]

This is such a neat idea, kudos.

You asked for feedback, so here it comes. Keep in mind that this is such a crazy complex activity that we are bound to disagree on a ton of players. Because of that, this will all seem like potshots, but I don't intend it as such. It's just that it's easier to voice specific disagreements than to go and do this activity myself and re-order everything the way I like it.

Here goes nothing:

• Splitting hairs at the top because it's important, Mackinnon's contract bumps him ahead of Matthews IMO. Matthews is signed for one more year, but Mackinnon is signed at almost half the cap hit. He's by far the steal of the league, contract-wise. Switch those two and I like your top 4.
• I like Pettersson, and even I think "5th most valuable asset in the league" seems high.
  
• Draisaitl is high. I love the year he's having but he's still playing a ton of time with McDavid. Elite 2C? Yes. Average 1C? Yes. Top 6 asset in the league? No.
• I'm good with the rest of the top 10, but Hedman's age makes him feel a little out of place. Signed to a good number for awhile, but compared to a Jones I'm not sure you wouldn't take the extra 4 years of aging curve in a vacuum. Not overtly offensive though.

• Nothing I take a huge issue with in 10-20. Were I doing it myself I might tinker here and there, but it'd be splitting hairs with a lot of guys. Interesting to see how valuable contracts make certain guys here (e.g. Forsberg is far from a top 15 player IMO but that contract is a steal). I may bump Point up a bit simply because I feel he's an outstanding player, but his contract this offseason could be steep so I get why he is where he is.

• The guys in their 30s from Kane on down to Ovechkin seem out of place. Crosby should absolutely be ahead of a guy like Marchand, and probably Kane. Kane's contract is such that he shouldn't be the cream of that crop.
• Given Scheifele's contract situation, I'm not sure he shouldn't be bumped up a few spots. I'd take Scheifele's $6m in change over the uncertainty of Rantanen and Tkachuk's next contracts, e.g.

• If contracts really are being taken into account, Panarin is too high at 35. I'm certainly not giving some of the guys below him just to risk him leaving next year.
• Won't call out every instance, but I think I would tend to value age, contract, and years of control more at this stage than you have. Hitting a lot of late 20s, $7-9m contracts in the next couple sections, and I probably tend to value younger guys higher. I'm also a Canes fan, so I've perpetually lived in a state of looking towards the future for the last 10 years, so that might be my own bias introduced.

• Toews is WAY too high. To me this is one of the bigger disagreements I have with the list. That contract, term, age, and recent production don't have him to "zero value" or "cap dump" level, but it certainly reduces what they'd get in return for him. I'm not paying Svech or Slavin for him, that's for sure.
• Doughty is high as well. Don't love the longevity or number on that contract.

Won't go any further on a 10-by-10 basis, but will call-out a few guys I think should be higher. As stated above, I tend to value guys with more years and better contracts situations. I think several are too low based on their age, potential, and current production.

Too low:

• Slavin (good contract)
• Chabot (good and young)
• McAvoy (good and young)
• Provorov (good and young)
• B. Tkachuk (good and young)
• Malkin (WAY too low. If Crosby, Ovechkin, and Kane are that high, Malkin being in the 80s is awful. Malkin being that far below Toews is brutal. My only "shot" of the day - were you on the same committee that left Malkin off the "Top 100 Players of All-Time" list? )
• Teravainen (probably cracks my top 90. Maybe biased. Multiple guys up in that list I wouldn't trade TT for.)
• Kopitar (weird to have Bergeron, Crosby, Ovechkin, etc. up there, than Kopitar all the way down in the 80s. He's being given the Malkin treatment too IMO.)

Too high:

• Nylander (we were talking about the merits of trading Pesce or someone for him, you really would trade Svech for Nylander in a vacuum?)
• Marchessault (28, not having a great year stats-wise. Fine player, but not someone I'd hesitate trading for Tyler Seguin in a heartbeat)
• Wilson (right now it's such that you'd be willing to trade McAvoy, Provorov, even Malkin for Tom Wilson. I wouldn't even trade Teuvo for the guy and he's outside your top 90).
• Barrie (Just not as good as his placement IMO.)

And that's it for now. Fun idea. Catalyst for about as many discussion as you'd care to have (Slavin vs. Toews, Barrie vs. Provorov, anyone vs. anyone). Post this on any other forum and you'd be shredded no matter what. Probably why no publications have picked it up. Then again it'd be a click-generating machine, even if the comment sections are awful. My disagreement on certain players =/= disrespect, this is quite a feat to even put something like this together and for the amount of variables I think you did quite well.

Lots of great stuff, and I do appreciate the thought you put into your comments. I assure you, I took offense to *none* of it. Some general comments, since addressing each point would just make this go on forever.

My single biggest focus (of age, contract, performance) is performance. By a lot. Some guys are just better hockey players than others, and the fact that they're young or on great contracts doesn't change that fact. I don't mind paying $11 million for Drew Doughty because Drew Doughty is a fantastic hockey player. I'd rather have him on my team than Provorov, McAvoy, Chabot and Slavin because he's better at hockey than they are.

For free agents, I slotted them where they would slot based on signing a deal similar to what is assumed they'll get. That's why Panarin is 35. He's going to get *paid* but he's very good at hockey.

Another thought with d-men, is that their prime years are a bit later than forwards. A 28-year-old forward, say Tavares, is closer to slowing down than a 28-year-old defenseman, like Hedman. I expect Hedman to have 7-8 more Norris-caliber seasons.

I know you like Point, but he also lucked out a bit to be on the deepest offensive team in the league. Trying to separate out team effect is the toughest part of this.

Say what you will about Kane, but he's third in the NHL in scoring *and* goals right now. Like I said, I value production and there are very few who produce like Kaner.

I am way too high on Toews, though. You're right about that. And too low on Scheifele, but he's just so damn boring. And too low on Kopitar, but the Kings, you know?

Regarding Malkin, he'll be 33 before next season starts, he's always had injury issues, and he's a minus-23 this season with 21 goals. I just see him falling off a cliff. Plus, I hate the guy. He's a jerk. Maybe I just hope he'll fall off a cliff.

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

I think it comes down to a difference in what you value. Doughty is a better player than Chabot, Slavin, McAvoy, etc. But take Slavin for example (he’s the one signed to a known contract). Assuming you’re able to control the asset past the end of the contract, you’ve got Slavin for an extra 5 years at basically half the current price.

There’s an opportunity cost to the cap hit that needs to be considered. The Blackhawks are where they are right now in large part because of the cap space being eaten by Kane, Toews, Keith, and Seabrook. All fine players when they signed, but aging is taking a toll on all to varying degrees except Kane (though Toews has had a nice year). Team-related factors come into play that don’t quite exist in our “vacuum” (example: do I run a team with unlimited real cash that can compliance buy out a 35-year-old Doughty once he’s declined?) The primary thing that has screwed the Blackhawks and Kings (aside from trading draft picks away to keep the good times rolling as long as possible) is the lack of cap flexibility. Not only are they not good, but your Kane, Toews, Keith, Seabrook, Kopitar, and Doughty contracts keep you from doing anything about it. Pittsburgh and San Jose are next in this purgatory pipeline. Toronto is quickly finding out that those type of contracts are tough to hand out. It’s a “vacuum”, but that doesn’t mean cap implications don’t exist. I would be hesitant to take on Doughty’s contract right now the same way I would Price’s. There are guys that you just know are going to continue to be effective for a long time (Crosby, probably Kane). Is Doughty one of those guys? For me I’m not so sure. I think we are approaching an era where cap space is an asset. It’s not “Slavin for Doughty.” It’s “Slavin and $5.5m in cap space for Doughty.” That’s... Nino. Or Teuvo. That’s a commodity.

Now, before you say anything, I understand that it’s not that simple and that’s part of the reason this exercise is so fascinating. $5.5m in cap space isn’t Nino or Teuvo, it’s the potential for Nino or Teuvo. You still have to go find Nino or Teuvo. Ultimately I agree, Doughty is a better defenseman today than all of the above. That’s where maintaining a “vacuum” becomes harder. Are you trading for today? Are you a Cup contender? Are you rebuilding? Are you middle of the pack and trying to bump yourself over the edge? Are you trying to provide more organization stability? Etc. There are contexts where yes, I would trade Drew Doughty for Jaccob Slavin (the Kings may be in one). There are a lot more contexts where I wouldn’t.

Now, I’ve inconveniently picked one on which I think we’d agree. I think more often than not I’d take Doughty. But that’s where my mind is at when I say I put more value on younger guys and good contract situations. More cap space, more years of peak performance, more organizational control and flexibility. Those are all assets just like performance.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

Hank's in. Who else?

I'm in for a dollar. That's all the stupid I can afford.

 

[MinJaBen]

I'm in for a dollar. That's all the stupid I can afford.

For a dollar?!? He just posted it on a free forum.




I’ll give him a “like” to spend however he pleases.

 

[Tryamw]

For a dollar?!? He just posted it on a free forum.




I’ll give him a “like” to spend however he pleases.

Likes have Value...