Around The League Part 6: The Unrestricted Free Agent

[Surrounded By Ahos]

Today is my new favorite day.

 

[Sens1Canes2]

I can't wrap my head around what Montreal is thinking. Anyone have a single reason why it makes sense?

His teammates must hate him. Like full on hate-your-guts mode. That's the only thing I can think of. Seriously. Dude gave $10 MILLION to a Montreal children's hospital last year. He's a great player, friendly to media and fans and advertisers...

 

[Blueline Bomber]

What the hell happened today?

 

[Unsustainable]

[MTL/NSH] PK Subban for Shea Weber

That makes no sense

 

[RodTheBawd]

His teammates must hate him. Like full on hate-your-guts mode. That's the only thing I can think of. Seriously. Dude gave $10 MILLION to a Montreal children's hospital last year. He's a great player, friendly to media and fans and advertisers...

Gotta be, right? He's a bit of a dick on the ice, I could see that carry into the lockerroom, but still...

Hahaha, went to see if Bergevin has a daughter or hot wife that Subban had relations with, and they've already gotten to his wikipedia:

Marc Bergevin (born August 11, 1965) is a retired Canadian professional hockey defenceman and current (and soon to be ex) disowned general manager of the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League. He is known for making dumb trades like PK Subban to the Predators for 4th defenseman Shea Weber.

 

[Brock Anton]

Oh man, I can't wait until Nashville-Montreal play next year and PK inevitably scores. Going to be magic.

 

[Penaltykiller17]

I guess part of rebuilding your team is watching other teams get worse. I know UFA season hasn't started yet, but there's only 5 or 6 teams in the east I have penciled into a playoff spot.

 

[DougieSmash]

Why in the world u trade Hall for Larsson??

 

[Dishface]

Good guy Stamkos, waiting till the last minute to resign a similar contract that was offered 6 months ago just to have teams scrambling trying to find cap room to sign him. Now those teams will sign 2nd and 3rd liners to 1st line contracts.

 

[Brock Anton]

Why in the world u trade Hall for Larsson??

1. Peter Chiarelli
2. Desperate for a RHD
3. Peter Chiarelli

 

[Wolfpuck]

Why in the world u trade Hall for Larsson??

That's bad asset management for sure, but at least it addressed a need.

I don't understand trading Subban for Weber at all.

 

[Blueline Bomber]

Would anyone be surprised?

 

[NotOpie]

Well guys, one of the more notable things that just happened is that Tampa Bay's salary cap situation just reared its ugly head again.

Killorn
Kucherov
Namestnikov
Nesterov

.....all need contracts.....and Tampa has $9 million to work with.....Why wouldn't a team offer sheet Kucherov?

 

[Oogie Boogie]

What the flying **** is happening
QUICK
RF
FLEECE SOMEONE

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

im with notopie

gotta think kucherov gets first priority

killorn could be had, id think, for something cheap

 

[Penaltykiller17]

Well guys, one of the more notable things that just happened is that Tampa Bay's salary cap situation just reared its ugly head again.

Killorn
Kucherov
Namestnikov
Nesterov

.....all need contracts.....and Tampa has $9 million to work with.....Why wouldn't a team offer sheet Kucherov?

Great point! Could this be the mystery target of GMRF all along???

 

[Brock Anton]

Namestnikov and Nesterov likely won't command all that much, so they're fine. But I'm pretty sure Killorn is getting traded here pretty soon. They're not going to be able to re-up both he and Kucherov.

 

[NotOpie]

Good guy Stamkos, waiting till the last minute to resign a similar contract that was offered 6 months ago just to have teams scrambling trying to find cap room to sign him. Now those teams will sign 2nd and 3rd liners to 1st line contracts.

^This all day long. There's a good side and a bad side to this. The good side is Tampa Bay is kinda screwed and is going to have to move somebody. The good side is that several teams will now overpay for mediocre talent. The bad side is that competition for some of that talent just got a little stiffer.

In the end, we weren't going to be a big player for the big guys anyway. But some of the marginal guys that I thought we might surprise on, might have gone up in price.

Would anyone be surprised?

Pure ****ing gold right here!!!

 

[cptjeff]

Why in the world u trade Hall for Larsson??

Quality D ain't cheap, and every GM in the league knew that Edmonton was in a comically weak negotiating position.

 

[My Special Purpose]

Good guy Stamkos, waiting till the last minute to resign a similar contract that was offered 6 months ago just to have teams scrambling trying to find cap room to sign him. Now those teams will sign 2nd and 3rd liners to 1st line contracts.

All part of Stevie Y's plan?

 

[Finnish Jerk Train]

Whoa. Crazy day.

 

[NotOpie]

Namestnikov and Nesterov likely won't command all that much, so they're fine. But I'm pretty sure Killorn is getting traded here pretty soon. They're not going to be able to re-up both he and Kucherov.

In the grand scheme of things it isn't about Namestnikov or Nesterov or Killorn or even Kucherov.....it's about next year when Johnson, Palat, Drouin, and Hedman all will need new deals as well.

So all of you all clamoring for the big deal, the big signing, watch Tampa Bay dismantle itself over the next couple of years. The do, however, have a nice stable of prospects and had a nice draft this year. This will be moneypuck at its finest.

I predict that Ron Francis is watching and learning from all of this. He's going to take advantage where he can, but he will almost never overpay a guy going forward. In the new salary cap era it is death.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

I wonder if Hall for Larsson affects "BPA vs. Need" drafting strategy? Edmonton drafted BPA for 8 years, amassed a bunch of skilled wingers, then traded the best of the bunch (by far) for a good but lesser player.

The clear problem is that saying "BPA, then trade" is that trading is based entirely on factors outside of the teams' control- ie the supply and demand of the market. Certainly, Edmonton (or so HF claims) would have liked a better guy than Adam Larsson, who has wavered between "good" and "adequate" in his career, but reports indicate that he was the best Edmonton could offer. I don't buy that Isle's report, if anything it was probably two or more lesser assets for Hall, and Edmonton went with the BPA. Really, by consistently taking the best guy available, Edmonton just shunted their "Need" draft down the line continuously, until they ended up doing it anyway.

I know you can't predict your team needs 2-3 years out, or when a draft pick can even start to have an impact, but by the same token, you can't predict the value of the player you draft. Case in point, if, for whatever reason, in 2-3 years the market value on LHD is very low, the 'Canes are absolutely screwed.

All that said, to be clear there were not really any forwards at 13 that impressed me, as a guy who vaguely follows prospects, to the point that I can confidently say "Him. The 'Canes should have taken Him".

 

[My Special Purpose]

Quality D ain't cheap, and every GM in the league knew that Edmonton was in a comically weak negotiating position.

The first part is true, but I'm again going to disagree with the second point. There is simply no such thing as "comically weak negotiating position" in a league with 30 teams. Yes, everybody knew Edmonton had to trade a forward for a defenseman, but 28 teams still lost out on Taylor Hall. They chose this trade likely from many options.

Having a team in a position of need -- whether it is due to an over-abundance in one position, or pinned against the salary cap -- is only an advantage if you *benefit* from it. The bottom line here is that they got a young, mobile, highly-touted d-man that they obviously like a great deal. We may not like Larsson as much, but that doesn't mean they got hosed.

 

[Roboturner913]

Edm fans were upset at the idea of giving up Hall straight up for Faulk. I can only imagine what they think about this.

The Subban-Weber thing is so bizarre I assumed it was a bad proposal and did a double-take when I saw it stickied as confirmed. Then I laughed out loud at my desk.