Trades and Potential Trades

I cannot remember a situation turning toxic this badly after such extremely high hopes. Jonathan Drouin (#3 overall in 2013) has requested a trade from TB.
TB has very little leverage here and have some other contract issues distracting them - some guy named Stamkos. I think they'll get a nice bundle for Drouin, but it'll be almost impossible IMO for the Lightning to get fair value.

Any contender with a tight cap will be interested since he's still on his ELC. I also think the NJD will be players.

 

He's the only top #10 pick to get sent down and not playing in the nhl.

 

i loved how drouin's agent said john loved tb, loved the coaching staff and loved management

 

i was thinking the ducks would be needing a spark and could use drouin.

 

Turris?

 

Hawks in Panik mode:

 

There have been 7 NHL player for NHL player trades since TEH Phil trade and a grand total of 10 trades since camps began. Talk about constipated.

There have been 5 trades since the season began. Bowman or Bergevin have been involved in 4 of those 5. After Drouin is moved, it will have been one of Bowman, Bergevin, or Yzerman in every trade of the 6 completed.

 

Allan Walsh = loud penis

 

That's not fair since Horvat should be sent down.

 

true he hasn't done much this year. does that mean hosival should be sent down?

 

They're couturierizing him.

He's going to be a defensive forward, bottom 6. He's not helping them win anything where he's at and he's not going to get anybetter managing his looks in the ozone or improving his transitions at this level. If he's not helping, I don't see the point unless he's the part of the plan to sell seats "promise of hope" type stuff.

I don't like it. Something with the Boston influences or the water supply consumed a few years ago there. I have no idea what the GMs in BoS, VAN, or EDM are trying to accomplish this year.

 

Yeah, there's a lot of similarities. Both were C's taken #3. I guess the difference - for me - is that in 2007 I was not heavily into scouting draft prospects. (It should be understood that I use the word "scouting" loosely when applied to myself.) By 2013 prepping for the draft was my primary avocation. I didn't have a lot of prior familiarity with Turris, but knew exactly who Drouin is.

That said, I do not think TB will get what they would like for him. 1) They have no leverage, especially given their cap situation. 2) He has defensive deficiencies that may not get better since he seems to have CodyHodgson syndrome. 3) He may be blamed for being a prick rather than his agent. Worth kicking the tires but no reason to overpay here.

 

I think Yzer is going to try to package Drouin with a veteran contract. What they need more than anything is a way to retain what they already have. If they lose Stamkos then they'll be mediocre at best for a while. Why would Hedman not test the waters when his time comes?

TB has a nasty cap situation and that's gotta be their focus. They cannot afford to take a hardline with Drouin trade talks.

 

If what Walsh said is true, Drouin has been out there for a while being shopped.

Looking at all the malcontents and players that have dumped teams for gauranteed ice time in recent years will raise an eyebrow with most front offices.

Wheeler-long time to get there
Turris-long time to get there
Hayes-huge step back year two
Schultz-huge step back year two
Reilly-not close to cracking the roster
Grigorenko- (insisted on one way contract)
etc.

Obviously dozens more stories of players picking their spots, but their profiles are smaller or they had more experience.

 

I have no problem with a player wanting to pick his spot. The trouble begins once he actually starts doing something to force a move. The agent is usually to blame, but the agent wears Teflon and the player is in the public eye and the court of public opinion can be very capricious. Be careful want you want for.

Of your list, Bob, the only one that I really understand why he needed out was Grigerenko. He had played for a woeful team and was abused by them. Then they start acquiring good young talent at C and he got squeezed out; if he was ever going to make it in Buffalo then he needed to switch to the wing. But, for that he'd need time in Rochester.

So he said enough already! And I do not blame him. He gets moved to his ideal setting, but then made the mistake of insisting on a one-way with the Avs. He should have accepted that he needs time in San Antonio and that his time in the Sabres org. was water under the bridge. His future is in mother Russia.

 

I don't blame the players for wanting the best outcome for themselves. KHayes would be stuck behind Hossa, Kane, and Teravainen for a spot at RW for example, that wouldn't look good to any skill player that actually wanted to play. Grigorenko, Burmistrov ("play me of I leave"), etc. all have understandable circumstances as you said. How did I forget Yak on my list of examples?

My point is that gms around the league have a pool of history to learn from now and it will drive the cost in trade even lower for many if not most gms. It used to be mainly about money, now it's mainly about FA clocks and minutes (eventually for money). The problem for these players is that a system trumps skill on winning teams. He has to be Jawhnny Hawkie or better to justify the minutes since he's an undersized one dimensional player.

 

dan, i really likerized the drouin to hodgson comparison

 

I guess it is that bad.

 

I am not really surprised. There are no teams clearly tanking for number 1 - and that's predictable due to the draft lottery changes. It's one thing for #30 to "lose" the lottery and drop to #2, and it would altogether suck for a team that tried and succeeded at sucking marvelously just to see their draft spot drop to #4.

There remains a lot more bunching in the standings and for various reasons some teams are not willing to admit that they're sellers. This will sort itself out by late February and I think the slow trade action now could lead to pent up action then.

On the other hand, I believe this year could be a buyers' market and that could dampen trade activity.

 

Brooksie is on the case.