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

[Nikishin Go Boom]

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.

Yea I responded before all the other mess was there.

this management team keeps things close and we don’t have many ears poking around for our rumors.

DeMelo would have been a smart addition. Better than Vatanen.

 

[spockBokk]

I don’t think they’d attach value to Gardiner to move him. That seems completely counterintuitive to how the braintrust has operated so far. However, I could see them moving him for an equally underperforming forward making the same cap hit or thereabouts.
Who knows, maybe a team like the Kings or Panthers, both rumored at point to be actively seeking LD, would give up value for Gardiner.

In the Panthers’ case, they were very interested in Skjei at the deadline, so that may also be an option if Gardiner proves the last few pre/COVID games weren’t a fluke or if Fleury’s strong play continues. I still am of the mindset that, for better or worse, Jake Bean will never play significant NHL minutes for the Canes and that he’s traded for an equivalent pick or expansion draft exempt forward/goalie prospect this offseason.

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

I don’t think they’d attach value to Gardiner to move him. That seems completely counterintuitive to how the braintrust has operated so far. However, I could see them moving him for an equally underperforming forward making the same cap hit or thereabouts.
Who knows, maybe a team like the Kings or Panthers, both rumored at point to be actively seeking LD, would give up value for Gardiner.

In the Panthers’ case, they were very interested in Skjei at the deadline, so that may also be an option if Gardiner proves the last few pre/COVID games weren’t a fluke or if Fleury’s strong play continues. I still am of the mindset that, for better or worse, Jake Bean will never play significant NHL minutes for the Canes and that he’s traded for an equivalent pick or expansion draft exempt forward/goalie prospect this offseason.

My well-known personal view is that Gardiner is a prime rebound candidate this postseason. That still doesn't make the Skjei deal bad, especially if both Skjei and Gardiner perform up to their potential skill level. Either of them, at their best, are on pretty reasonable and tradeable contracts. That valuation changes, of course, if one or both underperform, but as of now, I will give our FO the benefit of the doubt here.

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

Yea I responded before all the other mess was there.

this management team keeps things close and we don’t have many ears poking around for our rumors.

DeMelo would have been a smart addition. Better than Vatanen.

I agree with you in a vacuum. I love DeMelo's game and he would've been very good in a Canes uniform. Ottawa does have a history, however, of not liking to deal players inside the conference unless the offer is absolutely overwhelming, like the Isles sign-and-trade offer for Pageau, so it's possible that the asking price for him was quite insane if dealt inside the conference. Our club's FO, as well as the Rangers' FO, are outliers relative to the rest of the league when it comes to openly and happily trading players inside the division/conference.

 

[spockBokk]

My well-known personal view is that Gardiner is a prime rebound candidate this postseason. That still doesn't make the Skjei deal bad, especially if both Skjei and Gardiner perform up to their potential skill level. Either of them, at their best, are on pretty reasonable and tradeable contracts. That valuation changes, of course, if one or both underperform, but as of now, I will give our FO the benefit of the doubt here.

I’m not a fan of the Skjei deal, but I get why they did it. Now that it’s guaranteed they won’t be giving up a lotto pick for him, I can finally somewhat warm up to it. 4 yrs of a bonafide top 4 D is worth a mid 1st.

But, I will still have a bad taste in my mouth about the deal because of the logjam it creates and the complications it will cause with the expansion draft. I think Bean will be an excellent PPQB and 2nd pair D, but I don’t think he’ll ever hit that potential in CAR. And, it’s almost a given they lose him (or Fleury) for nothing if they don’t act prior to the expansion draft.

They always were going to lose a good player, most likely a D, to Seattle, but now it’s a lot more complicated potentially having to protect Skjei instead of one of their young D.

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

I’m not a fan of the Skjei deal, but I get why they did it. Now that it’s guaranteed they won’t be giving up a lotto pick for him, I can finally somewhat warm up to it. 4 yrs of a bonafide top 4 D is worth a mid 1st.

But, I will still have a bad taste in my mouth about the deal because of the logjam it creates and the complications it will cause with the expansion draft. I think Bean will be an excellent PPQB and 2nd pair D, but I don’t think he’ll ever hit that potential in CAR. And, it’s almost a given they lose him (or Fleury) for nothing if they don’t act prior to the expansion draft.

They always were going to lose a good player, most likely a D, to Seattle, but now it’s a lot more complicated potentially having to protect Skjei instead of one of their young D.

To me, the Skjei trade is beneficial for the Expansion Draft, because it means that even if we lose one of our defensemen (probably one of Skjei/Gardiner/Fleury/Bean), they will have loads of other LH defensive talent to pick up the slack. As long as our club doesn't go full Florida, it's our FO that will be in the driver's seat when Seattle rolls by. Remember, Seattle can only pick one player off of our roster.

 

[HisIceness]

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.

On the AJC.com comments section about the story when it was announced the Thrashers would relocate, there were a lot of dumb takes from Winnipeg fans but the one that really took the cake was the guy who said that Atlanta didn't deserve NHL Hockey because everyone living there was born with a lasso in their hands and knows nothing outside rodeo. Yep, Atlanta, that country/cowboy city .

The Jets as a team I'm fine with, I like their roster and do appreciate what Maurice did here even if it ended poorly both times. Their fans here at HF are cool too, most of them anyways. But yeah I know what you're talking about, those people on the AJC.com comment section and elsewhere can go f*** themselves.

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

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.

My point is that just saying “a 1st only has a 50/50 chance to be Skjei” ignores that it can be better as well.

 

[Joe McGrath]

My point is that just saying “a 1st only has a 50/50 chance to be Skjei” ignores that it can be better as well.

So can the 250th pick. The overvaluation of draft picks on the internet is completely nuts.

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

So can the 250th pick. The overvaluation of draft picks on the internet is completely nuts.

Agree to disagree!

 

[MinJaBen]

So can the 250th pick. The overvaluation of draft picks on the internet is completely nuts.

A ninth round pick? I’m going to guess that won’t happen.

 

[Joe McGrath]

A ninth round pick? I’m going to guess that won’t happen.

7 x 32 is... shut the f*** up

 

[My Special Purpose]

I think its more likely set for Montreal or another struggling big market team that Bettman needs TV money from during times of lessened revenue. Chicago comes to mind, Rangers maybe. Pitt is already doing well.

I guess now we know why the NHL insisted on taking CHI and MTL in the play-ins instead of going with the 22 teams that actually somewhat deserved it.

 

[Bunch of Jurcos]

7 x 32 is... shut the f*** up

Can't wait to see who Seattle takes!

 

[Big Daddy Cane]

I don’t think they’d attach value to Gardiner to move him. That seems completely counterintuitive to how the braintrust has operated so far. However, I could see them moving him for an equally underperforming forward making the same cap hit or thereabouts.
Who knows, maybe a team like the Kings or Panthers, both rumored at point to be actively seeking LD, would give up value for Gardiner.

In the Panthers’ case, they were very interested in Skjei at the deadline, so that may also be an option if Gardiner proves the last few pre/COVID games weren’t a fluke or if Fleury’s strong play continues. I still am of the mindset that, for better or worse, Jake Bean will never play significant NHL minutes for the Canes and that he’s traded for an equivalent pick or expansion draft exempt forward/goalie prospect this offseason.

I'm looking at Detroit. A vet D to mentor their younger guys is a logical target in general. If the Canes were to take back some cap, in the form of an undesirable contract, perhaps that becomes a worthwile mid-term gamble for the Wings. Abdelkader has too much term and Nielsen is too expensive, but Helm has one year left at around the same cap hit as Gardiner.

 

[Canes]

I'm looking at Detroit. A vet D to mentor their younger guys is a logical target in general. If the Canes were to take back some cap, in the form of an undesirable contract, perhaps that becomes a worthwile mid-term gamble for the Wings. Abdelkader has too much term and Nielsen is too expensive, but Helm has one year left at around the same cap hit as Gardiner.

Gardiner might be a vet but I don't see why that would particularly matter with a guy who has experienced a hard trend downwards. We were right in getting rid of de Haan and now other teams will be rightly wary of us trying to trade Gardiner after a year as well. We're going to have to give up assets to get rid of him even if a guy like Helm is coming back for a year.

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

Gardiner might be a vet but I don't see why that would particularly matter with a guy who has experienced a hard trend downwards. We were right in getting rid of de Haan and now other teams will be rightly wary of us trying to trade Gardiner after a year as well. We're going to have to give up assets to get rid of him even if a guy like Helm is coming back for a year.

Again, I don't see Gardiner being dealt this offseason. I think that there's a very good chance that the unexpected extended COVID vacation has been good for his back. It wouldn't surprise me to see a considerable rebound from him this postseason. My guess is that the Canes will either keep both Skjei and Gardiner together for one more season (the most likely scenario; again, we only have Foegele and Fleury as RFAs to sign, so we do have the cap space to keep both and run a loaded defense) or they will flip Skjei, the guy that does have considerable trade value, to one of Florida, Los Angeles, Winnipeg, or New Jersey this offseason for an equivalent package relative to what they gave up this deadline for him.

 

[MrazeksVengeance]

I am still of the mindset this season is over.

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

I am still of the mindset this season is over.

I think that's wrong. The league wants to play, the players want to play, sports fans across the continent are ravenously craving for any sports at all, and the owners want to play, so why can't they play under certain conditions? If health experts approve and the testing is there, why not?

 

[MrazeksVengeance]

I think that's wrong. The league wants to play, the players want to play, sports fans across the continent are ravenously craving for any sports at all, and the owners want to play, so why can't they play under certain conditions?

Because I have no control over this and if the season is scratched I am at peace. If it’s back and hockey gods even smile on Canes, I will be gleefully wrong.

 

[A Star is Burns]

If the season can't happen, no big deal. We've survived the last few months, we will until it returns. I think they've got a chance to pull out off though.

 

[Sens1Canes2]

If the season can't happen, no big deal. We've survived the last few months, we will until it returns. I think they've got a chance to pull out off though.

So golf is going on, and it’s going really well ... and they’re traveling all over the country and have next to no “bubble.” If the NHL can get everyone on board (hey guys ... don’t go out while the season is still going on. Stay in the bubble), then I think it should be relatively easy.

 

[Lempo]

If the season can't happen, no big deal. We've survived the last few months, we will until it returns. I think they've got a chance to pull out off though.

I don't think any health care personnel in the hearing vicinity would be very appreciative of someone suggesting that he was close to dying due to lack of hockey.

Actually I think they might surprise cross-check you just to make a point.

 

[MinJaBen]

If the season can't happen, no big deal. We've survived the last few months, we will until it returns. I think they've got a chance to pull out off though.

Well, let's hope if it doesn't finish, they at least get the playin rounds finished. And we lose.