Avs44
Registered User
- May 16, 2011
- 21,692
- 10,211
LOL...Yes, semantics, "seriously". It's really not that complicated. Sakic put out a broad category for his asking price. Calling it needs or wants, or asking price, or whatever is just semantics. Simply put, it was his asking price at this point in time, and only he can determine if the value offered was sufficient. Thus..SEMANTICS. That doesn't mean every offer meets that, nor does it mean that other teams are going to pay it, but for now, it's what his price is. It may change in the off season, or next year, or some other time. Just because a team marks off a check in one of the boxes, doesn't mean they met what he was asking for.
For instance, a young, high potential defenseman. From my own team, does that mean Jaccob Slavin? Noah Hanifin? Brett Pesce? Justin Faulk? or Haydn Fluery? Because ALL of those guys are/could be considered young, high potential defensemen, but they are not all equal and I would argue, would not all fit Sakic's asking price. If I was in Sakic's shoes, I certainly wouldn't bank on Maatta being that guy. His skating is a concern, as is his health, and frankly, his play has been pretty poor recently as well.
Another example...a 1st round pick. Again, a broad category. Is a Top 10 1st rounder the same value as Pittsburgh's 1st rounder? Of course not. So depending where that pick resides, it may not have fit Sakic's asking price. Sakic put out a broad set of requirements for his asking price. Each offer has to be looked at in totality to see if the value matches what his requirements were. Just because a team offered a young defenseman, a late 1st rounder, and a prospect, it doesn't mean it fit the bill. If the offer you are referring to was Maatta, a late 1st in 2017 and another prospect, then that offer doesn't meet his asking price IMO. Not enough value coming back.
As others have already posted, respectable people in the media have come out and said his needs weren't met so not sure why you are even arguing it.
Now, if you want to argue that his asking price is way too high and he'll never get that, well, that's a different story. You may very well be right on that front and only time will tell, but if I'm Sakic, I'm holding on to Duchene for the best possible offer, which likely isn't occurring at a trade deadline (for a guy with 2+ years left).
Thank you. This is a brilliant post.