Armchair Gm Thread II

[triggrman]

At this point, I would settle for our D playing better positionally and transitionally than we've seen so far. I'm always a fan of physicality on D, but at this point we have room to improve in basically all aspects at the position.

I'm all for controled gaps and clean breakouts. Whatever it takes to get there....

 

[BigFatCat999]

If Kunin and Davies both pan out we will have got one hell of a nice haul for a washed up PK Subban..... Afanasayev is the third piece...

Santini
Davies

Egor Afanasyev (LW)

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Kunin

I am not complaining of that. Santini was a cap dump.

 

[Scoresberg]

Man, we're really selling low on the franchise's goal scoring record holder, aren't we?

 

[Armourboy]

Man, we're really selling low on the franchise's goal scoring record holder, aren't we?

I wouldn't put much stock in it atm. I saw where someone stated that this person has no real sources inside or anything to have this kind of information.

 

[GoldOnGold]

Man, we're really selling low on the franchise's goal scoring record holder, aren't we?

Couldn't even get the spelling right...

 

[Scoresberg]

Would people do 1st and Debrusk for Ekholm?

 

[Predsanddead24]

Would people do 1st and Debrusk for Ekholm?

If I had any confidence we would be able to get DeBrusk back to how he played his first two seasons I'd do it, but I just don't see us being a good place for a forward who needs a change of scenery like him. Would depend on the other offers out there I guess.

 

[TK]

If I had any confidence we would be able to get DeBrusk back to how he played his first two seasons I'd do it, but I just don't see us being a good place for a forward who needs a change of scenery like him. Would depend on the other offers out there I guess.

Yep, I don't want any forward that isn't at least a couple of years away. What about the Preds recent track record would indicate this is a good place for a "fresh start" for a struggling forward? Not a thing as far as I can tell. Best to get picks/prospects and hope the franchise is in a better place in a few years.

 

[Pr0fet]

Ekholm seems like a guy who doesnt need too much and whos main concern is providing tranquility to his family. He recently expressed his concern with having to move during the pandemic.

Wishful thinking but my dream scenario would be Ekholm stepping into Poiles office promising him he’ll sign a 4 year 5 million contract in the summer no matter what and Poile then moving on to trading Ellis instead.

 

[TK]

Ekholm seems like a guy who doesnt need too much and whos main concern is providing tranquility to his family. He recently expressed his concern with having to move during the pandemic.

Wishful thinking but my dream scenario would be Ekholm stepping into Poiles office promising him he’ll sign a 4 year 5 million contract in the summer no matter what and Poile then moving on to trading Ellis instead.

While I'm confident Poile would 100% fall for this promise scenario, I'm not on board. We've seen enough of these "promises" (Vesey, Suter) not coming to fruition and Poile caving to players requests. (Don't change up the team etc)

The harsh reality is that this team probably isn't going anywhere over at least the next three years and Ekholm will be 31 soon. I love the player, but sadly it's time to move on. Poile made his bed with the 8 year Ellis contract and now he'll lie in it, for at least a while, whether we like it or not. In this fantasy scenario though, sure, you'd definitely rather have Ekholm for 32-36 at 5 million than Ellis at 6.25 mil from age 29-36.

 

[Pr0fet]

While I'm confident Poile would 100% fall for this promise scenario, I'm not on board. We've seen enough of these "promises" (Vesey, Suter) not coming to fruition and Poile caving to players requests. (Don't change up the team etc)

The harsh reality is that this team probably isn't going anywhere over at least the next three years and Ekholm will be 31 soon. I love the player, but sadly it's time to move on. Poile made his bed with the 8 year Ellis contract and now he'll lie in it, for at least a while, whether we like it or not. In this fantasy scenario though, sure, you'd definitely rather have Ekholm for 32-36 at 5 million than Ellis at 6.25 mil from age 29-36.

as I said, its a dream I also think se know enough about Ekholm not having to compare him to Vesey.

 

[TK]

as I said, its a dream I also think se know enough about Ekholm not having to compare him to Vesey.

Apparently Poile trusted Vesey, judging from his comments around that time anyway. And we don't really know anything about Ekholm, at least I don't, except what I hear in interviews etc. Suter's interviews sounded pretty great too, at the time. But yeah, it's a nice dream, and if it were actually possible I'd be on board.

 

[Pr0fet]

Apparently Poile trusted Vesey, judging from his comments around that time anyway. And we don't really know anything about Ekholm, at least I don't, except what I hear in interviews etc. Suter's interviews sounded pretty great too, at the time. But yeah, it's a nice dream, and if it were actually possible I'd be on board.

all I know is that if wed trade him and the return would be one of Gustafsson or Ghost Id probably cry.

 

[TK]

all I know is that if wed trade him and the return would be one of Gustafsson or Ghost Id probably cry.

Agreed there, I'm not feeling that rumor at all, unless "draft picks" means 2 first rounders and Poile is confident Gostisbehere is back to his form from 2+ years ago. For all his faults (and there are plenty) I still mostly trust Poile when it comes to D-men. Plus Ghost is just about to turn 28, still has some major tread left on the tires if he can get right.

 

[desmondtootoo]

Well it’s not like we don’t off load offensive Dmen for little or nothing, all the time, because we always have 4 to 6 of them, all thinking they’re first pair.
Weber, PK, Hamhuis, Suter, Girard. And we still have a surplus to give away.
If we ever had only 2 real top guys, or split them between pairs 1 and 2, nobody would know what to do.
(That is, had a few decent forwards to go with Forsberg, instead)

 

[desmondtootoo]

If we trade from among Josi, Eckholm, Ellis, Fabbro, Farrance ... and get nothing but get fancy little D in return, what have we fixed or improved ? Absolutely nothing.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Would people do 1st and Debrusk for Ekholm?

No thanks. Boston's pick will be late in a weak draft... odds are you don't get an impact player here. Debrusk is at risk of fading away... he's a highly dependent/"complementary" player IMHO... we've seen that we don't fit well with forwards who need somebody else to click with them in order to succeed.

But I still think there are just 2 massively different scenarios that need to be considered in evaluating Ekholm's trade value.

1) There's the one where he explicitly states he wants to move on and not extend with us --- or alternatively wishes to seek max UFA market value on something like a 7x$7M contract.

2) There's the one where he explicitly states he wants to stay here, and isn't greedy, and would cheerfully take a "bargain" 4x$5M contract extension.

In 1), the kinds of values we see in many trade offers like this is fine, since we wouldn't be keeping Ekholm either way. In 2), he's worth A LOT more to us than these offers.

Of course, there's a range of stuff in between. But if I'm Poile, I absolutely need to get that feedback from Ekholm first before anything else.

And just from the peanut gallery, I'm expecting Ekholm's stance to be a lot closer to 2) than to 1).

 

[Predsanddead24]

No thanks. Boston's pick will be late in a weak draft... odds are you don't get an impact player here. Debrusk is at risk of fading away... he's a highly dependent/"complementary" player IMHO... we've seen that we don't fit well with forwards who need somebody else to click with them in order to succeed.

But I still think there are just 2 massively different scenarios that need to be considered in evaluating Ekholm's trade value.

1) There's the one where he explicitly states he wants to move on and not extend with us --- or alternatively wishes to seek max UFA market value on something like a 7x$7M contract.

2) There's the one where he explicitly states he wants to stay here, and isn't greedy, and would cheerfully take a "bargain" 4x$5M contract extension.

In 1), the kinds of values we see in many trade offers like this is fine, since we wouldn't be keeping Ekholm either way. In 2), he's worth A LOT more to us than these offers.

Of course, there's a range of stuff in between. But if I'm Poile, I absolutely need to get that feedback from Ekholm first before anything else.

And just from the peanut gallery, I'm expecting Ekholm's stance to be a lot closer to 2) than to 1).

The other question is how much more value we would get from trading him now versus waiting until the offseason or next trade deadline to make a move. I'd assume we would at least get a first by waiting so does the extra piece we get justify not letting things play out a bit longer? Then when we can actually negotiate this offseason we can get a better sense of what he is actually willing to sign too.

 

[Bringer of Jollity]

Would people do 1st and Debrusk for Ekholm?

Debrusk's numbers basically look like Craig Smith. I feel like we could get a higher upside prospect for Ekholm, but maybe not.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

The other question is how much more value we would get from trading him now versus waiting until the offseason or next trade deadline to make a move. I'd assume we would at least get a first by waiting so does the extra piece we get justify not letting things play out a bit longer? Then when we can actually negotiate this offseason we can get a better sense of what he is actually willing to sign too.

Yeah, I don't think we need to wait to find out... there is not really any "mid-season pressure" or whatever on our team right now... Poile should already have talked to Ekholm and/or his agent and know very well what the scenario is. If they absolutely refuse to divulge their intentions, you just have to tell them you're assuming the worst, and act accordingly. Which then comes to your scenario... even if you do assume the worst... you're exactly correct. How much more is he worth right now than he's going to be worth as a pure rental this time next year? (Or even as a nominal pure rental who might yet change his mind and stay with us after another year to mull it over).

The kind of trade offer it would take for me to trade Ekholm right now is just at a different level from anything I'm seeing in any other team's trade offer discussions. Of course, real NHL GMs may have different ideas than HFBoards fans. But I would steadfastly oppose trading Ekholm at any of the values I've been seeing these last few weeks.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Debrusk's numbers basically look like Craig Smith. I feel like we could get a higher upside prospect for Ekholm, but maybe not.

Thing is, you can just sign UFAs who are that "generic" though. I don't feel like they should be looked at as trade components for core players.

 

[Bringer of Jollity]

Thing is, you can just sign UFAs who are that "generic" though. I don't feel like they should be looked at as trade components for core players.

No, I totally agree with this. We're trading a top-pairing level defenseman we need something better back than a bottom 6 forward with middle 6 upside and a mid-to-late 1st. And when looking at the alleged Philly deal, the primary pieces shouldn't be a 27- and 28-year old defensemen (who Ekholm is better than now, and will continue to be better than). Then again, I suppose in that deal the primary pieces are the picks, but like already said, if I'm giving up a d-man of that caliber, I want a talented young assets with pretty decent certainty of being a contributor coming back, not just lottery tickets.

 

[OldFan]

No, I totally agree with this. We're trading a top-pairing level defenseman we need something better back than a bottom 6 forward with middle 6 upside and a mid-to-late 1st. And when looking at the alleged Philly deal, the primary pieces shouldn't be a 27- and 28-year old defensemen (who Ekholm is better than now, and will continue to be better than). Then again, I suppose in that deal the primary pieces are the picks, but like already said, if I'm giving up a d-man of that caliber, I want a talented young assets with pretty decent certainty of being a contributor coming back, not just lottery tickets.

Which Preds aren’t going to get. I still say don’t trade Ekholm. Preds are not going to get even comparable value; much less improvement.

 

[BigFatCat999]

It's sounding like a media trade war for Grandlund and Ekholm. Between Philly and Toronto

 

[Soundgarden]

It's sounding like a media trade war for Grandlund and Ekholm. Between Philly and Toronto

I'm ok with that.