Confirmed with Link: Will Smith signs ELC

[weastern bias]

Opening bid would be 14+33+Eklund+Cagnoni. Willing to include any of Bystedt, Edstrom, Musty, Lund, Havelid, obviously Bordeleau and Gushchin.

Untouchables for me would be Celebrini, Smith, any of our own future 1sts, the Vegas 1st and Mukhamadullin.

With those untouchables I think Ottawa just keeps the player

We're in a tough spot in our rebuild when it comes to acquiring true difference makers via trade because basically all of our most valuable assets are untouchable

I peach patience, we're gonna be real bad again next year and that's okay, just hope for progress and improvement

We're still a draft or 2 away from having expendable picks and prospects that are enticing enough for a seller to bite, we're too talent bare to risk the prospect pool because right now we basically need every player drafted in the first 3 rounds for the last 3 years to meet or exceed expectations just to become a fringe playoff team, and we all know picks don't work out at that rate

We JUST hit the bottom of the tank, it's gonna take time to climb back up, the worst thing we could do is mortgage the future for immediate gain

 

[TheBeard]

Opening bid would be 14+33+Eklund+Cagnoni. Willing to include any of Bystedt, Edstrom, Musty, Lund, Havelid, obviously Bordeleau and Gushchin.

Untouchables for me would be Celebrini, Smith, any of our own future 1sts, the Vegas 1st and Mukhamadullin.

This is too much for my liking.

 

[Juxtaposer]

If that's really the case then I'm fine withdrawing from the bidding.

I'm not sure it takes much more than that though, especially if Brady wants out. Unless the Sens really want someone like Jordan Kyrou or Filip Hronek.

Well, I’m no GM so perhaps I’m overestimating based on how much Sens fans on HF value him. But I don’t think I am.

 

[DG93]

Yeah, I have a fun feeling that offer gets Grier laughed out of the league.

I would definitely pay that price for Brady, but there’s no chance he’d go for that cheap given that he has no trade protection to limit the market.

Ottawa would probably want quality over quantity and would ask for Will Smith, at which point the Sharks say no

 

[Grinner]

Just say no to Tkachuks

 

[Hodge]

With those untouchables I think Ottawa just keeps the player

We're in a tough spot in our rebuild when it comes to acquiring true difference makers via trade because basically all of our most valuable assets are untouchable

I peach patience, we're gonna be real bad again next year and that's okay, just hope for progress and improvement

We're still a draft or 2 away from having expendable picks and prospects that are enticing enough for a seller to bite, we're too talent bare to risk the prospect pool because right now we basically need every player drafted in the first 3 rounds for the last 3 years to meet or exceed expectations just to become a fringe playoff team, and we all know picks don't work out at that rate

We JUST hit the bottom of the tank, it's gonna take time to climb back up, the worst thing we could do is mortgage the future for immediate gain

Brady's cap hit isn't easy for most teams to absorb, especially contenders.

We could add roster players like Granlund and/or Ferraro to give the Sens some added short term depth.

14, 33, our 2025 2nd, Eklund, Granlund and Ferraro for Tkachuk and Joseph. That seems like at least as much value as NJ gave us for Timo.

 

[dmcccdmn]

Please dear god we're not trading our 1st round during a rebuild. Top-5 protected is meaningless. It's a high high draft pick for the next few years. We're not at a stage where we're trading our 1st rounders. Teams trade 1st rounders when they're serious contenders, not a team that's about to pick 1st overall.

 

[weastern bias]

We're also adding another year of experience from Eklund, Shakir, another year of development from Zetterlund, the possibility of Logan being healthy enough to play and the concept of Grier actually improving the defense instead of purposely and blatantly creating the worst blue line he could (not to mention a surprisingly steady if not above average goaltending combo). I also envision Musty and Bysted (and Thompson) being on the team in 2026-27 so even if the protected first next year gets pushed I'd be absolutely shocked if we're still a bottom 8 team. With that said, I'd gladly give up 14 this year and 9 in 26-27 for Brady.

I fnd this to be an overly optimistic view of our prospects' development, an overstating of our goaltending quality and an understating of how dire the defense is

Eklund had a fine year, but he was a .56 points per game player in a league where scoring is exploding, I don't expect him to be a difference maker next year

Mukhamadullin was not an NHL player last year and there's no guarantee his is this year, I have legitimate concerns about him, he may be more of a project than we are hoping for

Zetterlund is 25 years old, he likely isn't getting much better than he was last season, and on a better team he doesn't get such an insane amount of ice time

Expecting Logan Couture to contribute to a winning team isn't a great bet he hasn't done so in 5 years and he played 6 games last year

Musty is very promising, but high scoring junior players turn into bottom 6ers all the time, I'm going to hold off on assuming he changes our fortunes until he makes the team

Bystedt and Thompson are just as likely career minor leaguers as they are to be difference makers on the Sharks

Obviously, I don't think all of these worst case scenarios will play out at the same time, but it's important to consider that they are just as likely of outcomes as everything working out great, and until we have some certainty about our trajectory we should not be trading any future 1st round picks

 

[TheBeard]

Brady's cap hit isn't easy for most teams to absorb, especially contenders.

We could add roster players like Granlund and/or Ferraro to give the Sens some added short term depth.

14, 33, our 2025 2nd, Eklund, Granlund and Ferraro for Tkachuk and Joseph. That seems like at least as much value as NJ gave us for Timo.

That's twice as much value.

 

[Hodge]

That's twice as much value.

At the time of the trade the Devils were acquiring 1.25 (guaranteed) seasons of Meier including one at $10 million. They eventually agreed on a long term contract but that wasn't part of the trade. We would be getting 4 guaranteed seasons of Brady Tkachuk. And they should be 4 of the best seasons of his career based on aging curves.

 

[TheBeard]

I fnd this to be an overly optimistic view of our prospects' development, an overstating of our goaltending quality and an understating of how dire the defense is

Eklund had a fine year, but he was a .56 points per game player in a league where scoring is exploding, I don't expect him to be a difference maker next year

Mukhamadullin was not an NHL player last year and there's no guarantee his is this year, I have legitimate concerns about him, he may be more of a project than we are hoping for

Zetterlund is 25 years old, he likely isn't getting much better than he was last season, and on a better team he doesn't get such an insane amount of ice time

Expecting Logan Couture to contribute to a winning team isn't a great bet he hasn't done so in 5 years and he played 6 games last year

Musty is very promising, but high scoring junior players turn into bottom 6ers all the time, I'm going to hold off on assuming he changes our fortunes until he makes the team

Bystedt and Thompson are just as likely career minor leaguers as they are to be difference makers on the Sharks

Obviously, I don't think all of these worst case scenarios will play out at the same time, but it's important to consider that they are just as likely of outcomes as everything working out great, and until we have some certainty about our trajectory we should not be trading any future 1st round picks

I think your pessimism is about on par with my optimism but there's no doubt Grier isn't interested in purposely icing the worst possible team he could like he did this year. I guess we'll see when free agency starts. If none of Shak, Bysted, Havelid, Thompson, Thrun or Cannoli turn into at least viable NHL D-pieces then that's on Mike.

Zetterlund doesn't have to get better, just be the same player. Eklund also had his first full year and was stuck playing with Kunin for a majority of it. He came on strong as the season progressed and I fully expect a substantial jump in quality of play next year with better line mates.

I also never said the goaltending was spectacular, but it's far steadier than most teams considering the aforementioned D they had to play behind.

At the time of the trade the Devils were acquiring 1.25 (guaranteed) seasons of Meier including one at $10 million. They eventually agreed on a long term contract but that wasn't part of the trade. We would be getting 4 guaranteed seasons of Brady Tkachuk. And they should be 4 of the best seasons of his career based on aging curves.

That's fine, you just said it's about as much value as NJ gave to us, which is untrue. There was no Eklund, 14 is higher than 27, 33 is higher than 42 (40?), another 2nd, a top 4 D-man in Ferraro, who's probably worth a late first-mid second AND Granlund who was undoubtedly our top forward last year even if he is older. That's way more.

 

[DG93]

That's fine, you just said it's about as much value as NJ gave to us, which is untrue. There was no Eklund, 14 is higher than 27, 33 is higher than 42 (40?), another 2nd, a top 4 D-man in Ferraro, who's probably worth a late first-mid second AND Granlund who was undoubtedly our top forward last year even if he is older. That's way more.

I still think this is all quantity over quality, which is what Ottawa would want, unfortunately

 

[TheBeard]

I still think this is all quantity over quality, which is what Ottawa would want, unfortunately

Which is doable since we have a lot of players that we can sell high on (Luca, Halt, Musty).

 

[Hodge]

Which is doable since we have a lot of players that we can sell high on (Luca, Halt, Musty).

Those guys are the textbook definition of quantity over quality.

I think Eklund and 14th overall are quality though.

 

[weastern bias]

I think your pessimism is about on par with my optimism

Again, I don't think it's more likely for these negative outcomes to occur, but they are every bit as likely as for positive linear development to continue, and until we have roster certainty trading future 1sts is a bad idea

 

[TheBigDrunkPanda]

I’ll believe when I see it I don’t think he did well at worlds and I would t be shocked if he’s a little sour from the overall experience

 

[TheBeard]

Those guys are the textbook definition of quantity over quality.

I think Eklund and 14th overall are quality though.

I think it's a steep price, but fair value.

Again, I don't think it's more likely for these negative outcomes to occur, but they are every bit as likely as for positive linear development to continue, and until we have roster certainty trading future 1sts is a bad idea

While true, all the guys mentioned are guys Grier brought in so if things go sour with them then I see no reason to think it doesn't continue with future picks.

The unknown us the unknown.

 

[DG93]

Which is doable since we have a lot of players that we can sell high on (Luca, Halt, Musty).

Not sure how much value those guys hold...I think that's all quantity. I bet they will want either Will Smith or SJ 2025 1st as a big piece coming back if they are trading their 24-year-old captain and 30-goal scorer.

 

[TheBeard]

Not sure how much value those guys hold...I think that's all quantity. I bet they will want either Will Smith or SJ 2025 1st as a big piece coming back if they are trading their 24-year-old captain and 30-goal scorer.

Who knows, but their value may never be higher.

 

[weastern bias]

I think it's a steep price, but fair value.


While true, all the guys mentioned are guys Grier brought in so if things go sour with them then I see no reason to think it doesn't continue with future picks.

The unknown us the unknown.

Because draft picks and their development are probabilites that are often independent of the GM picking them

If Musty busts out it's a bummer of a pick, but it's not like he would have succeeded if he was picked by a different GM instead, it just happened to be Mike Grier in that instance

But we're sidestepping my main point which is the team can't get ahead of themselves and bank of the future being strong because we have a handful of promising prospects, half of them aren't going to amount to anything and half of those that do will be depth players, not to mention the fact that we have 0 high level D prospects (as in top-pair potential), one of the most important parts of the roster doesn't even have theoretical future talent stocked and waiting, trading the future for now would be beyond foolish, it is guaranteed to fail

 

[The Nemesis]

This can't be true. I was assured that neither would sign and would rather return to college because "lol shorks suck" by the very authoritative source of Will Smith's father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate.

 

[Juxtaposer]

This can't be true. I was assured that neither would sign and would rather return to college because "lol shorks suck" by the very authoritative source of Will Smith's father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate.

If Will changes his mind, I’m blaming you.

 

[TheBeard]

If Will changes his mind, I’m blaming you.

He's moving with his auntie and uncle in Bel-Air

 

[The Nemesis]

He's moving with his auntie and uncle in Bel-Air

You can't really blame him though. He got in one little fight and his mom got scared.

 

[Hodge]

This can't be true. I was assured that neither would sign and would rather return to college because "lol shorks suck" by the very authoritative source of Will Smith's father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate.

I was told his life's dream was to play for the 3rd most popular college hockey team in the Boston metropolitan area in exchange for Chipotle burritos.