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A Hockey News writer's thoughts on trade value re Pacioretty vs. RNH, from Dec. 7th:
"Both players have popped up often in trade rumor mills of late, but that doesn’t mean they’re natural fits for the teams in question here.
Let’s start with Pacioretty. First off, to the best of my knowledge, the rumors about him weren’t borne out of any real negotiations happening between Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin and other teams. They were tied to the doom and gloom accompanying the Habs’ terrible start while goalie Carey Price was injured. I believe the first person to suggest a Pacioretty trade was Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos. We live in an era where speculation sometimes gets mistaken for actual information – and that’s no knock on Nick at all. I’ve caused the same stir in this very blog. A few weeks back after suggesting an Alex Galchenyuk-for-Sami Vatanen swap, I saw headines sprouting up with stuff like “Ducks a destination for Galchenyuk?” when the idea was purely from my brain. So just because someone suggests a trade doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.
Since Price returned from injury Nov. 25, the Habs are 5-1-1. Considering they play in the weak Atlantic Division, there’s no reason for them to throw in the towel, especially since doing so would mean Bergevin admitting his roster blueprint was a failure, which he won’t do, as that would put him in the firing crosshairs. The Habs have already climbed back into a playoff spot in the Atlantic. They rank 26th in the NHL in goals per game and thus need their captain Pacioretty, who is their best pure goal scorer. He’s criminally underrated. Over the past five seasons, only Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Joe Pavelski and Vladimir Tarasenko have more goals than ‘Patches.’
So if Bergevin decides to deal someone that important, the return better be significant, and Nugent-Hopkins wouldn’t be nearly enough. ‘The Nuge’ is a solid player, a shifty secondary center with good two-way skills, but he has not realized the potential he showed when the Edmonton Oilers drafted him first overall in 2011. Montreal should only deal a player of Pacioretty’s ilk if he returns the thing they need most: a true, dominant No. 1 center. Nugent-Hopkins isn’t an upgrade over Jonathan Drouin, so why trade for Nugent-Hopkins? Bergevin is better off holding ‘Patches’ and perhaps taking a run at John Tavares this summer if he goes to market.
And if Montreal’s early-season struggles manifest as a second-half slump, then Bergevin can reconsider putting Pacioretty on the block. He’d attract a ton of interest.
The idea makes much more sense on the Edmonton side. The natural thinking is “goal scorer to play with Connor McDavid,” I presume, or at least a way to add scoring depth to a team that really misses Jordan Eberle in its top six. The biggest problem for the Oilers forwards this season has been a lack of speed – more specifically, a lack of someone who can keep pace with McDavid’s peerless wheels. Pacioretty has good albeit not elite speed and would be an interesting pairing with No. 97. But if Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli wants that deal, it’ll cost much more than just ‘The Nuge.’"
Ask Me Anything: Who would fit better on the Leafs…Doughty or Karlsson? | The Hockey News
"Both players have popped up often in trade rumor mills of late, but that doesn’t mean they’re natural fits for the teams in question here.
Let’s start with Pacioretty. First off, to the best of my knowledge, the rumors about him weren’t borne out of any real negotiations happening between Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin and other teams. They were tied to the doom and gloom accompanying the Habs’ terrible start while goalie Carey Price was injured. I believe the first person to suggest a Pacioretty trade was Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos. We live in an era where speculation sometimes gets mistaken for actual information – and that’s no knock on Nick at all. I’ve caused the same stir in this very blog. A few weeks back after suggesting an Alex Galchenyuk-for-Sami Vatanen swap, I saw headines sprouting up with stuff like “Ducks a destination for Galchenyuk?” when the idea was purely from my brain. So just because someone suggests a trade doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.
Since Price returned from injury Nov. 25, the Habs are 5-1-1. Considering they play in the weak Atlantic Division, there’s no reason for them to throw in the towel, especially since doing so would mean Bergevin admitting his roster blueprint was a failure, which he won’t do, as that would put him in the firing crosshairs. The Habs have already climbed back into a playoff spot in the Atlantic. They rank 26th in the NHL in goals per game and thus need their captain Pacioretty, who is their best pure goal scorer. He’s criminally underrated. Over the past five seasons, only Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Joe Pavelski and Vladimir Tarasenko have more goals than ‘Patches.’
So if Bergevin decides to deal someone that important, the return better be significant, and Nugent-Hopkins wouldn’t be nearly enough. ‘The Nuge’ is a solid player, a shifty secondary center with good two-way skills, but he has not realized the potential he showed when the Edmonton Oilers drafted him first overall in 2011. Montreal should only deal a player of Pacioretty’s ilk if he returns the thing they need most: a true, dominant No. 1 center. Nugent-Hopkins isn’t an upgrade over Jonathan Drouin, so why trade for Nugent-Hopkins? Bergevin is better off holding ‘Patches’ and perhaps taking a run at John Tavares this summer if he goes to market.
And if Montreal’s early-season struggles manifest as a second-half slump, then Bergevin can reconsider putting Pacioretty on the block. He’d attract a ton of interest.
The idea makes much more sense on the Edmonton side. The natural thinking is “goal scorer to play with Connor McDavid,” I presume, or at least a way to add scoring depth to a team that really misses Jordan Eberle in its top six. The biggest problem for the Oilers forwards this season has been a lack of speed – more specifically, a lack of someone who can keep pace with McDavid’s peerless wheels. Pacioretty has good albeit not elite speed and would be an interesting pairing with No. 97. But if Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli wants that deal, it’ll cost much more than just ‘The Nuge.’"
Ask Me Anything: Who would fit better on the Leafs…Doughty or Karlsson? | The Hockey News
