Around the League 19: And Down the Stretch They Come...OK, Who Hit the Pause Button?

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

On one hand, sure, on the other hand, the Wings have been pretty blatantly tanking (sorry, 'rebuilding') for a couple years and this format gives them high picks but still requires their management to use some talent to build a team. They can get better without the 1st overall if they choose to.

I just don't want Winnipeg to wind up with it. Or the Penguins. Or the Oilers.

I would be OK if Winnipeg got #1 overall. It's generally quite a difficult market to retain players, even when said players are very good (see the Trouba situation), and they're super-reliant on the draft to be a good team. I would not be so happy if Pittsburgh got 1OA, but I do think that they're too stacked to not crush Montreal in the play-in.

 

[cptjeff]

I would be OK if Winnipeg got #1 overall. It's generally quite a difficult market to retain players, even when said players are very good (see the Trouba situation), and they're super-reliant on the draft to be a good team.

I just remember how despicably just about everyone in that city behaved towards every southern hockey fan in the years leading up to the thrashers relocating. They will always have a spot of deep hate in my heart for that.

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

Honestly, though, if the draft is genuinely rigged (I don't see it that way), then the 1 OA would most likely either go to Montreal or Chicago. My personal guess, though, is that Minnesota gets it, assuming that they lose the play-ins.

 

[Blueline Bomber]

And the only way we leave this year without a 1st round pick is if Toronto wins the lottery, yeah?

Any other scenario, and we keep the higher of the two picks and NY gets the lower?

 

[Stickpucker]

Lafreniere - Aho - Terivainen and Svechnikov - Trochek - Necas would be incredibly nasty for the foreseeable future. It's not going to happen because we're going to find a way to beat the Rangers and even if we didn't Montreal is absolutely getting #1. Since there's nothing else to do at the moment though it's an intriguing thought.

Naw Canes goin to get it to fuel the Quebec jealousy even more .

 

[Lempo]

And the only way we leave this year without a 1st round pick is if Toronto wins the lottery, yeah?

Any other scenario, and we keep the higher of the two picks and NY gets the lower?

I don't know how likely it is that TOR would end up with 9OA or 10OA, which would be a top-10 pick and we would not get their 2020 1st.

I think many teams low in the standings would need to win their play-in match-up so that TOR would be the another of the two last losers in regular season point percentage.

 

[Bridgeburner96]

This would never happen, but I like the idea that if we and Toronto get knocked out in the play-in round we should get them to temporarily trade us their 1st. Giving us a 25% chance of getting 1st overall. If we win with either pick we trade it to Ottawa for picks 3 and 5 so we and Toronto get to move into the top 5. Rangers would get whichever pick didn't win the lottery. Then we fight with or figure out who between us and Toronto gets 3 and who gets 5.

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

Its not number 1 pick but anything above 21 is too much for Skjei.

My hope is that we win the Cup. Screw the Gaffe for Laf sweepstakes that some fans of lesser clubs are dreaming about. Honestly, if the play-ins end up starting around the time that Pesce is ready to go, we're closer to Cup contenders than pretenders. Also, pick #31 for Skjei and a Cup win would be a total steal for us. Best case scenario for us, IMO, is not Laf, but rather us winning the Cup, Toronto losing the play-in round, us getting a pick around 11-15, and having Askarov fall into our laps.

 

[AD Skinner]

If our defense is a fully armed and operational battle station we definitely should be able to go deep. Even without pesce it's as good a d corps as exists in the nhl. I think with all the media going on about how the canes are scared and the rangers will definitely beat them they should have chips on their shoulders too.

 

[Lempo]

My hope is that we win the Cup. Screw the Gaffe for Laf sweepstakes that some fans of lesser clubs are dreaming about. Honestly, if the play-ins end up starting around the time that Pesce is ready to go, we're closer to Cup contenders than pretenders. Also, pick #31 for Skjei and a Cup win would be a total steal for us. Best case scenario for us, IMO, is not Laf, but rather us winning the Cup, Toronto losing the play-in round, us getting a pick around 11-15, and having Askarov fall into our laps.

It feels utter dickery to stake Stanley Cup++ as your best case scenario.

"Yes, we got the Cup, but do you know what the cherry on top really is?"

The Cup. Dude, the Cup.

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

It feels utter dickery to stake Stanley Cup++ as your best case scenario.

"Yes, we got the Cup, but do you know what the cherry on top really is?"

The Cup. Dude, the Cup.

I know, however, this is simply a response to insufferable pro-tanksters in places like Montreal, Chicago, and Toronto that the Cup is always preferable to the hottest young stud, and after all of that, just let the chips fall where they may.

 

[Joe McGrath]

Its not number 1 pick but anything above 21 is too much for Skjei.

Picks outside the lottery are 50/50 to ever become Skjei at best.

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

Picks outside the lottery are 50/50 to ever become Skjei at best.

It’s not always that simple though. Picks in the 2nd round are 50/50 to ever become TVR but I’d probably trade him for a 2nd in a heartbeat.

A 1st can have a ceiling ABOVE Skjei too.

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

It’s not always that simple though. Picks in the 2nd round are 50/50 to ever become TVR but I’d probably trade him for a 2nd in a heartbeat.

A 1st can have a ceiling ABOVE Skjei too.

That's apples to oranges, though, because TVR was a pending UFA. Skjei has 4 seasons left after this one. 4 and a 1/2 years of Skjei is well worth a mid-1st, value-wise. A late 1st is in steal territory.

 

[Joe McGrath]

It’s not always that simple though. Picks in the 2nd round are 50/50 to ever become TVR but I’d probably trade him for a 2nd in a heartbeat.

A 1st can have a ceiling ABOVE Skjei too.

And a 1st can be Zach Boychuk. What’s your point?

Edit: Also a 2nd isn’t 50/50 to be TVR. It’s 50/50 to play 100 NHL games like Zac Dalpe.

 

[Lempo]

And a 1st can be Zach Boychuk. What’s your point?

Edit: Also a 2nd isn’t 50/50 to be TVR. It’s 50/50 to play 100 NHL games like Zac Dalpe.

How does Zac Dalpe play and is the guy bound to become any better after those 100 games?

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

That's apples to oranges, though, because TVR was a pending UFA. Skjei has 4 seasons left after this one. 4 and a 1/2 years of Skjei is well worth a mid-1st, value-wise. A late 1st is in steal territory.

Except when you need less LHD and more goaltending but you have 5.25m tied up in something you don’t need. Then its just dumb.

 

[GoldiFox]

Except when you need less LHD and more goaltending but you have 5.25m tied up in something you don’t need. Then its just dumb.

Stating the obvious but the Canes would only pay an unprotected 1st round pick for a piece they very much did feel they need. They made that trade after seeing Bean tear up the AHL and Fleury develop towards the end of the year. A healthy Slavin-Hamilton / Skjei-Pesce is the best top-4 in the league.

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

Stating the obvious but the Canes would only pay an unprotected 1st round pick for a piece they very much did feel they need. They made that trade after seeing Bean tear up the AHL and Fleury develop towards the end of the year. A healthy Slavin-Hamilton / Skjei-Pesce is the best top-4 in the league.

In a vacuum yes. But.... we just signed Gardiner. Again too many LHD and not enough money for a goalie, which we truly need.

 

[GoldiFox]

In a vacuum yes. But.... we just signed Gardiner. Again too many LHD and not enough money for a goalie, which we truly need.

Reports had the Canes trying to trade Gardiner away all year. The Skjei deal reinforced that idea. I'd bet dollars to donuts they move him this offseason even if it costs them a pick/prospect to do so.

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

Reports had the Canes trying to trade Gardiner away all year. The Skjei deal reinforced that idea. I'd bet dollars to donuts they move him this offseason even if it costs them a pick/prospect to do so.

A lot of those rumors will change in a hurry if both Gardiner and Skjei perform well this post-season. Then the question becomes which luxury piece is the better one to deal.

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

Reports had the Canes trying to trade Gardiner away all year. The Skjei deal reinforced that idea. I'd bet dollars to donuts they move him this offseason even if it costs them a pick/prospect to do so.

It will be tough to do so with 3 years of flat cap. It’s also bad asset management. Now if they used it one a RHD then I would be all on board.
Jy of 2019: Yay we sign Gardiner, a defender we don’t need, to value deal, yay us.
October 2020: anyone want a not so valued defender we desperately want to get rid of. We have too many LHDs and we made it worse by trading a good pick for another one. Hey we’ll give you something for it. Please?!?!

Doesnt look good

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

It will be tough to do so with 3 years of flat cap. It’s also bad asset management. Now if they used it one a RHD then I would be all on board.
Jy of 2019: Yay we sign Gardiner, a defender we don’t need, to value deal, yay us.
October 2020: anyone want a not so valued defender we desperately want to get rid of. We have too many LHDs and we made it worse by trading a good pick for another one. Hey we’ll give you something for it. Please?!?!

Doesnt look good

Could anybody in the FO have predicted some crazy COVID nonsense in February? If so, I have a tinfoil hat to sell you. I'm not a big believer in most blogged conspiracies unless the source is well-trusted, like that Wild beat reporter Russo. I firmly believe that they looked into Brodin and Dumba as luxury adds, but both of their asking prices were too rich for the FO's taste. They made the Skjei and Vatanen deals because both Dougie AND Pesce were injured and they wanted post-season adds. I've said this before, but I would not be surprised if Skjei was acquired to give Gardiner some post-season competition, followed afterwards by a pick-one-and-deal.

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

Could anybody in the FO have predicted some crazy COVID nonsense in February? If so, I have a tinfoil hat to sell you.

That is only half the issue with the bad asset management screnario.

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

That is only half the issue with the bad asset management screnario.

Read the other part of what I posted. I generally think that the FO's strategy is to be interested in everybody, therefore be interested in nobody, leading to everyone being relatively shocked at the final outcome. I don't think that the interest in Dillon, DeMelo, and Martinez around January were all that serious, for example, especially considering that they weren't even offering draft picks for Martinez, but rather just one "veteran player", according to rumors. There were no front office ties whatsoever to either Trocheck or Skjei until the hour that the trades were signed. Whether that these were good asset management decisions or not depends on how the postseason works out, because all of Skjei, Gardiner, and Dzingel are on eminently trade-able deals IF they perform well after the season resumes.