I've been preaching sign Nuge for so long and I'm shocked that I am knee jerking in agreement to trade him.
His play has been so... uninspiring. I know he is streaky at times but it's just dragging on and while I know he is still playing well I expect more.
Especially in a contract year, playing with McDavid, and getting insane PP time as well. He should be ppg. He should be better 5v5.
He looks replaceable. He hasn't accepted Holland's offer and imo should have had that done prior to the season.
With the way things are I would rather trade Nuge for some great assets or a lesser player with term than just potentially let him walk for nothing post season.
Edit: Nurse is another full year away from his contract and playing well enough I give a sizable chunk of what I had planned for Nuge without a second thought right now.
Yes, nobody wants to run the Nuge out of town because top 6 guys are almost impossible to replace but the question is at what price do you say "sorry, can't do it."
I have posted a few times about what the revenue situation looks like now and into the near future. I'm amazed that in reading the main stream press articles that there is virtually no discussion of this topic.
Does post virus hockey attendance bounce back with a vengeance like the Dow and the S&P 500 indexes have or does it have a U shaped recovery that takes a decade? No one knows the answer.
Billionaire owners aren't panicking but they won't operate at a loss forever. Ultimately, if it is warranted, a new agreement will have to be reached and that means some degree of caution looking to the intermediate and long term cap future.
My guess is that Nuge resigns with a small raise on a 3-4 year contract but of course its just speculation on my part.
