Helene St. James Trading Mrazek "Makes Sense" if Red Wings out of Playoff Picture

[PuckDynasty]

If it was January 2016, the article would be ridiculous. But a lot has happened in the past year. Mrazek looks like a frightened child in net most days. He looks awkward and uncomfortable and looks like he hopes the puck won't come near him.

Eventually, the Wings are going to have to trade something of value to get something of value. Depending on what they get, I'd have no issue with them trading Mrazek.

 

[Run the Jewels]

Obviously losing Howard for nothing in expansion draft wouldn't be great.

That's actually the best case scenario. It gets Holland out from underneath another one of his awful, long-term deals. There's no way Las Vegas has any interest in an overpriced, injury prone, inconsistent goalie so it won't happen. I do expect the Wings to at least expose him and see if they can get the Golden Knights to take that contract.

 

[TatarTangle]

That's actually the best case scenario. It gets Holland out from underneath another one of his awful, long-term deals. There's no way Las Vegas has any interest in an overpriced, injury prone, inconsistent goalie so it won't happen. I do expect the Wings to at least expose him and see if they can get the Golden Knights to take that contract.

He has two more years left after this season.
His contract is no worse than Abdelkader's, DeKeyser's, Helm's, Nielson's, Nyquist's, and even Zetterberg's.

And wait until he gives Tatar some ridiculous 5 year $5 million deal next year.

 

[RedWingzz]

Is this a joke?

 

[Shaman464]

He has two more years left after this season.
His contract is no worse than Abdelkader's, DeKeyser's, Helm's, Nielson's, Nyquist's, and even Zetterberg's.

And wait until he gives Tatar some ridiculous 5 year $5 million deal next year.

Bolded are players who prove that Holland can't negotiate. Pointing to his terrible asset management doesn't negate the fact that trading Mrazek would be terrible asset management.

 

[Henkka]

Trading Mrazek would literally be the final point on the incompetence of Ken Holland.

Yeah, it's hockey trade, playoffs or not.

I'd rather see 4-5M quarterbacking our power-play, than sitting on the bench.

 

[TatarTangle]

Bolded are players who prove that Holland can't negotiate. Pointing to his terrible asset management doesn't negate the fact that trading Mrazek would be terrible asset management.

I think that's debatable depending on the return. If they're gonna trade him for a 2nd or 3rd, no thanks. But if they can trade Nyquist and Mrazek for a top pairing defensman I am going to at least think about it. But let's be honest, we all know the former would happen given Holland's trade history

And if the former were to happen, I would hope Hollanf would be clearing his desk the next day.

 

[HockeyinHD]

Bolded are players who prove that Holland can't negotiate.

You didn't seem to be too terribly against the Nyquist deal when he signed it.

Edit: This is what I'm referring to...

"Right now I think this is a good signing."

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=1927077&highlight=nyquist+contract&page=6

 

[Ricelund]

I'll be incensed if they give up on Mrazek. It's concerning that HSJ is reporting this.

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

I'll be incensed if they give up on Mrazek. It's concerning that HSJ is reporting this.

Yeah, this is the only reason to give this any attention. I don't know if Mrazek will be our starter the next time this team is relevant. I do, however, know that Howard will most certainly not.

 

[Run the Jewels]

I'll be incensed if they give up on Mrazek. It's concerning that HSJ is reporting this.

If you couple this with the Shattenkirk trade rumor it sorta makes sense. St Louis needs a goalie. The question is whether they think Mrazek is the answer who can fill that need for them. I would never put the starter's position firmly in Jimmy Howard's hands and this is what you would be doing if you trade Mrazek.

If it comes to pass it just goes to show how desperate Ken Holland is to paper over the roster and try to get back to being a mediocre team contending for a playoff spot. FWIW I do think Shattenkirk would thrive here, assuming we have competent coaching.

 

[Nemesis Prime]

Trading Mrazek would literally be the final point on the incompetence of Ken Holland.

This, especially for Sam freaking Bennett.

 

[Bench]

Yeah, this is the only reason to give this any attention.

People love to dogpile on HSJ here, which is, whatever. But she's been a mouthpiece for the organization for years and typically doesn't float ideas like this unless there's some kind of traction.

Now obviously smart money is on Holland doing absolutely nothing until his hand is forced, but the fact the press is already turning it's spotlight on Mrazek (remember the piece about him being huffy leaving practice, too?)...

We'll see. I can't pretend Mrazek is on my untouchable list. He hasn't shown franchise goalie chops, so at best I think you end up with a younger Howard. Which is fine. You could do worse. Well, depending on which Mrazek shows up.

 

[HockeyinHD]

People love to dogpile on HSJ here, which is, whatever. But she's been a mouthpiece for the organization for years and typically doesn't float ideas like this unless there's some kind of traction.

Now obviously smart money is on Holland doing absolutely nothing until his hand is forced, but the fact the press is already turning it's spotlight on Mrazek (remember the piece about him being huffy leaving practice, too?)...

We'll see. I can't pretend Mrazek is on my untouchable list. He hasn't shown franchise goalie chops, so at best I think you end up with a younger Howard. Which is fine. You could do worse. Well, depending on which Mrazek shows up.

IMO this is Holland firing a broadside across Mrazek's bow. Maybe Mrazek thought that losing starts to freaking Coreau was as bad as it was going to get this year. Leaking a rumor like this, and there's no question in my mind that this was leaked to HSJ on purpose because next to nothing comes out of that organization unless they want it to, has to be done with a reason.

So, why? There's no reason to say he's on the block publically if you're actually serious about trading him, all that does is depress his value (such as it might be). Holland could let other GMs know without giving that info to HSJ.

I think he's doing it to try and scare the kid out of sucking.

 

[Bench]

I think he's doing it to try and scare the kid out of sucking.

That's Ken Holland alright. Deploying his elite psyops team.

 

[Mijatovic]

To be fair, Mrazek might not be the goaltender everyone here thought he was. Howard has rebounded very well and still shows to be a decent level goaltender. FWIW, Mrazek has the worst numbers of all 3 goaltenders. The previous year where everyone was talking about buying out Howard and sending him for any return, Howard still had significantly better stats than Mrazek this year.

So the reality is, does Mrazek still have a lot of currency with other teams? And you can probably bet he does. So if you can get a decent Return on Mrazek, then you probably look at taking it. I dont see a reason to have both Howard/Mrazek. Coreau is a solid enough backup who might develop into a decent starter.

Then if Mrazek was just riding a wave of confidence and wont return to those numbers, you've dodged a bullet and potentially gotten a really good asset out of it.

If he does get good again, the numbers probably suggest it wont be much better than Howard and we still get a high end asset out of it and we are saving $5m in goaltender wages. In all likelyhood, getting that 1D/1C would likely have a bigger effect on the team than the difference between Howard/Mrazek anyway.

So I wouldnt be so quick to dismiss trading Mrazek. Especially given the numbers between the two this year show a significant play difference in Howards favour, yet Mrazek will still have a lot of trade currency.

 

[jkutswings]

That's Ken Holland alright. Deploying his elite psyops team.

I dunno. Between the Mantha comments last year and the recent trade deadline chatter, Ol' Kenny might be changing his communication patterns a bit. He's not used to having a roster this awful - maybe, from a battle of words standpoint, he's pulling out all the stops.

I just don't want any panic moves, or it'll be Tatar for Clayton Stoner.

 

[LeighDx59]

Out of the three goalies we have, trading Mrazek would be the worst thing to do. Howard is inconsistent and injury prone, Coreau IMO is an AHL goalie who is lucky that most of the time the team in front of him helps him out. Mrazek is still relatively young and has the most upside of the three, it would be insanely stupid to trade him unless we have someone in the pipeline who has alot of potential.

 

[lomekian]

For the right return Everyone bar z is tradeable. I'm not sure right now is the time to get the right return for Mrazek.

As for HSJ mythical status as organisional mouthpiece, she also writes a lot of nonsense that never comes to pass. She's an awful writer and sounds like an idiot when she interviews people. Sometimes they flow her some fairly non-controversial fluff, but they would never share trading intentions re specific players with her.

 

[Claypool]

They would be better of buying out the final two years of Howard's contract than having to trade someone. His cap penalty would be around $1.5M for four years. They'd save over $3 million in space.

 

[PuckDynasty]

Mrazek will likely become the goaltending version of Tatar, Nyquist, DeKeyser, Jurco and company. Since Holland never trades anyone, I don't see it happening. But I'm not getting the shock and horror at the thought that seems pervasive in this thread. He'll be 25 in a few weeks. A kid by Red Wing standards of overripening, but if he hasn't proven himself to be a solid starter by now, when will he?

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

People love to dogpile on HSJ here, which is, whatever. But she's been a mouthpiece for the organization for years and typically doesn't float ideas like this unless there's some kind of traction.

Now obviously smart money is on Holland doing absolutely nothing until his hand is forced, but the fact the press is already turning it's spotlight on Mrazek (remember the piece about him being huffy leaving practice, too?)...

We'll see. I can't pretend Mrazek is on my untouchable list. He hasn't shown franchise goalie chops, so at best I think you end up with a younger Howard. Which is fine. You could do worse. Well, depending on which Mrazek shows up.

Whether untouchable or not, Mrazek's best from the last two years is exponentially better than the best we have seen from Howard. Mrazek at his best makes the saves that he is supposed to and then some. Even when Howard is playing his best, pucks still find a way through him (which is the kiss of death for any goalie). Never mind the whole blocker-side issues that still haunt him.

I may very much be in the minority, but I just don't see how Howard fits in with the future of this team. Howard is already 32. He will be out of the league before we are a relevant franchise again. This doesn't, however, mean that he necessarily has any trade value. Again, Mrazek may or may not be the goalie of our future. However, Howard sure as **** isn't our goalie of the future.

Also, why are people expecting Howard to come back strong from IR as if nothing happened. History suggests that he could be a hot mess when he gets back.

 

[chances14]

Mrazek will likely become the goaltending version of Tatar, Nyquist, DeKeyser, Jurco and company. Since Holland never trades anyone, I don't see it happening. But I'm not getting the shock and horror at the thought that seems pervasive in this thread. He'll be 25 in a few weeks. A kid by Red Wing standards of overripening, but if he hasn't proven himself to be a solid starter by now, when will he?

goalies, like defensman, take a long time to develop. we've seen mrazek play at an elite level before.

I would give him a couple more years before I give up on him

But if i was holland and an offer came my way that I couldn't refuse, then I would definitley trade him

 

[Syckle78]

what's scary is st james is a pr spokesperson for the wings rather than a journalist. so if she is spewing this nonsense, then there's a good chance this is what the wings Management is thinking

Yep, she's a mouthpiece and this is alarming. If it were to happen I do look forward to seeing what justification and defense fans come up with for Holland.

 

[Dotter]

If you can get Shattenkirk for Mrazek, you take that deal. You take that deal and run!