we didnt have the pieces to get hamilton. he got traded for a 1st and two 2nds. if you are just moving our first you maybe land a young top 4 d, which would help us considerably, but jones has added points to the standings to my eye and the stats seem to back that up. so its hard to say which acquisition would be more valuable, but i know you are in the camp that you can get by with stellar defense and average tending. its not a wrong position just one extra body would not give this core of d man that ability.
but imo, jones looks like he could be a top 5-10 goalie in this league. so one 1st rounder for him seems like better management than three picks for hamilton, who i want quite a bit. we could all look like fools in a couple of years when it turns out hamilton was benefiting from playing on the bruins versus being a #1. both wouldve been an equal gamble.
and from what i have seen out of vlasic this year he looks like a number 1 two way D. PDB has loosened the reigns a bit and its helped him quite a bit. hes got 11 points and is a +6, if he keeps that pace thatll be a great year for him, probably even a career year but maybe it continues. its also interesting that he is scoring at a equal clip to burns at ES per 60 and is a million times better defensively.
but to me you have to have a really strong goaltender. we are never going to be chicago stacked or use a team defensive system like LA, but we could be a NYR or tampa style team and that would start with a goalie like jones.
I don't agree that the Sharks didn't have assets for Hamilton. They just didn't have the opportunity given reports but that's merely an example. It's too early to tell that Jones has added points in the standings. They did get Ward and Martin too who have both helped out. The goalie for a 1st thing is a matter of principle. It's unnecessary and investing too much into the position for building a winning team.
It's not an equal gamble going Hamilton over Jones. It's a worse gamble betting on Jones with that pick because the upside isn't there. No matter how good Jones may be, the team as it stands will never stand to reap any rewards because it isn't good enough. Hamilton being on this team with another goaltender has a better chance of being a high reward just based on how winning teams are assembled these days.
Vlasic isn't a #1 two-way d-man. He's a top end defensive d-man that possesses the puck well but he doesn't and will not produce like a #1 needs to. He simply doesn't have that offensive acumen to be that player. Being on a 36 point pace is a good year for Vlasic but he's not an actual offensive threat even if he maintains that clip. He's not involved like that.
Having a strong goaltender is ultimately meaningless unless the team in front can compete with the best in the league as teams with elite goalies can attest to over the years.