Confirmed with Link: Bjorkstrand to Seattle for 2023 3rd & 4th round picks

[Halberdier]

I get the feeling it's more about the fact that they back stabbed him and their values in a way.

But what I've read about Laine being in extremely good condition, and Björk not 100%, it does look like it was the right decision play wise.

I also guess the decision was much harder in emotional than in business standpoint.

However, the decision was never between Laine & Bjork. That would have been silly. It was also not between Gaudreau & Bjork. It was the question about long term cap & roster management and given all the prospects (plus having Gaudreau, Laine [+ Voracek short term] as TOP-6 wingers) it's hard to see where in the TOP-6 Bjork was fitting with his 5.4M cap hit. And on 3rd line he would be too expensive anyway. As his last season was pretty bad defensively and not particularly great offensively, that most likely affected those long term plans by the management.

I expect a strong bounce back season and good career for him anyway, and I guess there will be a lot of "sellers remorse" posts regarding him.

 

[majormajor]

As his last season was pretty bad defensively

Sad to say but one of the only ways to explain the trade might be that the FO agrees with you.

You are aware though that "Bjorkstrand is a bad defensive player" is not a take any professional analyst has ventured? Alison Lukan just introduced Bjorkstrand as a great defensive player on the Kraken broadcast.

 

[Halberdier]

Sad to say but one of the only ways to explain the trade might be that the FO agrees with you.

You are aware though that "Bjorkstrand is a bad defensive player" is not a take any professional analyst has ventured? Alison Lukan just introduced Bjorkstrand as a great defensive player on the Kraken broadcast.

I am aware that Bjorkstrand has been good defensively. His last season, however, was rather bad.

It's possible to be a good player but have a bad season. It's actually a norm (that it happens during the career). It's very rare to always play a good season, even for great players.

Underlying stats are important, but flawed. They are great on quantities, but much worse at qualities. Ultimately, results do matter and there are skaters that are consistently better than their "underlying stats" and vice versa.

Hockey is so much more than "expected goals + luck".

 

[BB88]

I get the feeling it's more about the fact that they back stabbed him and their values in a way.

But what I've read about Laine being in extremely good condition, and Björk not 100%, it does look like it was the right decision play wise.

Of course you take Laine over Bjorkstrand longterm.

In normal situation it would have been Gustav gone instead of Bjork.

But this summer moving cap was the hardest it has ever been and Gaudreau basically landed at their hands with minimal preparation time.

Otherwise the cap move could have/should have been done a week or two prior to avoid this.

 

[JacketsDavid]

So let me ask this question:
How many other (in their prime) players were dumped for below market value this offseason?

 

[wabagee]

If you were a big fan of him great, you can still follow and cheer for the guy. Jarmo did him a favor, He’s now the man in Seattle. He’ll get way more opportunity to shine.

 

[JohnnyJacket13]

So let me ask this question:
How many other (in their prime) players were dumped for below market value this offseason?

Why even ask the question when you already know the answer you’re looking for

 

[wabagee]

So let me ask this question:
How many other (in their prime) players were dumped for below market value this offseason?

Look at what Florida gave up for the worse Flame.

 

[koteka]

So let me ask this question:
How many other (in their prime) players were dumped for below market value this offseason?

Another question about this offseason to ponder: How many teams signed two of the most exciting wings in the game to multi year contracts with each having a cap hit less than Mitch Marner?

Looking at what happened with Bjorkstrand without considering what else was happening is a mistake.

 

[Viqsi]

This is rapidly becoming the next William Karlsson and I really wish people would shut the f*** up about it because I want to keep happy memories of Ollie here rather than have them overwritten by endless whining about his departure.

 

[MoeBartoli]

This is rapidly becoming the next William Karlsson and I really wish people would shut the f*** up about it because I want to keep happy memories of Ollie here rather than have them overwritten by endless whining about his departure.

Just for you I haven’t been posting for the last month so as to spare you from my whining about the trade. No thank yous required.

 

[tunnelvision]

This is rapidly becoming the next William Karlsson and I really wish people would shut the f*** up about it because I want to keep happy memories of Ollie here rather than have them overwritten by endless whining about his departure.

I think I get your point there but you do understand that some of us might feel that with this post you're indirectly trying to deprive people of having any kind of talk about his departure and Jarmo's decision-making, even when the arguments/speculation are well reasoned? I don't think it would be fair to call all posts in the thread "endless whining" (I'm not sure if that is how you actually feel).

 

[NotWendell]

Oliver Bjorkstrand is great. Hated to lose him, hope Seattle really embraces him. But we're a better team now than we were at the end of last season. No doubt in my mind.

 

[majormajor]

This is rapidly becoming the next William Karlsson and I really wish people would shut the f*** up about it because I want to keep happy memories of Ollie here rather than have them overwritten by endless whining about his departure.

I've seen little whining unless you would classify "trying to understand what happened" as whining.

The thing about the Karlsson situation is that everyone understood why he was left unprotected in the expansion draft so there really wasn't anything to investigate, the entire conversation was pure whining.

Meanwhile we have very little understanding of this very recent event so it seems a tad rude that the reaction is "shut the f*** up".

I understand why folks feel some emotional fragility regarding Bjorkstrand. Personally I'm over it, but I get it. Perhaps you could try ignoring the thread. You won't find anything in here that doesn't make you feel upset.

 

[Cowumbus]

This is rapidly becoming the next William Karlsson and I really wish people would shut the f*** up about it because I want to keep happy memories of Ollie here rather than have them overwritten by endless whining about his departure.

You could just not read the thread.

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

I've seen little whining unless you would classify "trying to understand what happened" as whining.

Since we have no new information and still asking the same questions and making the same points, I can see how it could be felt as “endless whining.”

I also understand it’s going to happen. No one’s trying to shut down discussion just by wishing it wouldn’t happen.

 

[Viqsi]

I think I get your point there but you do understand that some of us might feel that with this post you're indirectly trying to deprive people of having any kind of talk about his departure and Jarmo's decision-making, even when the arguments/speculation are well reasoned? I don't think it would be fair to call all posts in the thread "endless whining" (I'm not sure if that is how you actually feel).

I honestly think the arguments ceased to be well reasoned a ways back. It's largely rehashing the same territory at this point. Add to that the driveby hot takes and this topic is suddenly looking annoyingly familiar. I can already anticipate this thread being bumped with hot-take garbage for his first three or four good games with the Kraken.

* * *​

Perhaps you could try ignoring the thread.

You could just not read the thread.

I kind of help moderate this message board and so am a teensy bit obliged to keep track of threads and topics, including the ones I have little patience for.

* * *​

The thing about the Karlsson situation is that everyone understood why he was left unprotected in the expansion draft so there really wasn't anything to investigate, the entire conversation was pure whining.

The folks complaining about Karlsson sure felt differently. Or at least that's how they presented themselves.

so it seems a tad rude that the reaction is "shut the f*** up".

Noted, but I wasn't particularly aiming for politeness. I'm watching one of my favorite players ever getting reduced to another "we actually suck!" "gotcha" talking point of the type I've always hated beyond reason, and, well, words cannot adequately describe just how much loathing I have for that process. So some snappiness may leak through.

 

[majormajor]

Since we have no new information and still asking the same questions and making the same points, I can see how it could be felt as “endless whining.”

I also understand it’s going to happen. No one’s trying to shut down discussion just by wishing it wouldn’t happen.

I'll acknowledge that I don't have any answers on this, but am I getting an acknowledgement from you that the situation is somewhat of a mystery with a lot of unknowns?

It sure looked like two months ago most of the board decided the right answer was "we had to clear $4m+ in cap and Nyquist would have cost a 1st rounder to move". That was more or less what I was saying at first too.

Then a few of us figured out that that didn't add up, and the response to that point was

** crickets **

and then

** shut the f*** up **

And maybe I earned that by being repetitive but it felt like there was never an acknowledgement in the first place that the initial explanation was just bullshit. The board just went from spouting bullshit to hushing any discussion on the topic.

 

[Viqsi]

it felt like there was never an acknowledgement in the first place that the initial explanation was just bullshit.

I can't speak for others, but for my part, I never gave any such acknowledgement because I found the case for such extremely unconvincing and I had little interest in debating it further in any case.

 

[majormajor]

I can't speak for others, but for my part, I never gave any such acknowledgement because I found the case for such extremely unconvincing and I had little interest in debating it further in any case.

The case for what?

 

[Viqsi]

The case for what?

The case for "the initial explantion was just bullshit".

 

[majormajor]

The case for "the initial explantion was just bullshit".

So you still find "we had to clear $4m+ in cap and Nyquist would have cost a 1st rounder to move" persuasive or more like you don't want to engage with it?

It looks like there is a big unstated disagreement about something big that just happened. Normally this would entail discussion!

 

[NotWendell]

It DOES seem like there's more than meets the eye here. There's THERE there.

 

[Viqsi]

So you still find "we had to clear $4m+ in cap and Nyquist would have cost a 1st rounder to move" persuasive or more like you don't want to engage with it?

It looks like there is a big unstated disagreement about something big that just happened. Normally this would entail discussion!

Term.

 

[majormajor]

Term.

Okay, I'll try and restate your position in a way that works better, but you're not giving me much info.

"We had to clear a couple million in cap (not $4m+) but also clear a long term winger contract (because we have too many). Voracek wasn't moveable and Laine and Gaudreau are core, so Bjorkstrand had to go."

There is still some mystery about the timing of the trade (Did they really think Bjorkstrand would be unmoveable later on?) but leaving that part aside, it seems the above version is closer to plausible for both of us.