Confirmed with Link: [BOS/TBL] Brett Connolly for 2015 and 2016 2nd round picks

LightningStrikes

Champa Bay Lightning
Nov 24, 2009
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What do you mean why? Yzerman has said that without the Connolly trade, the Coburn trade probably doesn't happen. Or am I misunderstanding your question? That we don't make it as far? You think we would've gotten this far riding Carle-Sustr even more?
What I understand is that Yzerman would only do the Coburn trade if he was able to compensate for the picks lost in that trade via another trade. The picks we got in the Connolly trade were not part of the Coburn trade package: Connolly got us two 2nd rounders, Coburn cost us a 1st and a 3rd. The Connolly trade was not some kind of condition for Philly to give up Coburn or vice versa.

Yzerman wanted to have a certain amount of "higher" draft picks in his cookie jar, to be "safe" in that regard but I think it's a legit question to ask why trade Connolly in March and not June/July. He pulled the trigger because the two 2nd rounders were available back then. It was the safe route to go and maybe he didn't expect us to go as far as the SCF but the move arguably hurt our forward depth (no way JAM gets the call or Morrow plays the final 5 minutes when we're down a goal with Connolly available).

With that said hindsight is always 20/20. For all we know Namestnikov could've stepped up and nobody would question a bottom-6 trade like this one now.
 

DFC

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What I understand is that Yzerman would only do the Coburn trade if he was able to compensate for the picks lost in that trade via another trade. The picks we got in the Connolly trade were not part of the Coburn trade package: Connolly got us two 2nd rounders, Coburn cost us a 1st and a 3rd. The Connolly trade was not some kind of condition for Philly to give up Coburn or vice versa.

Yzerman wanted to have a certain amount of "higher" draft picks in his cookie jar, to be "safe" in that regard but I think it's a legit question to ask why trade Connolly in March and not June/July. He pulled the trigger because the two 2nd rounders were available back then. It was the safe route to go and maybe he didn't expect us to go as far as the SCF but the move arguably hurt our forward depth (no way JAM gets the call or Morrow plays the final 5 minutes when we're down a goal with Connolly available).

With that said hindsight is always 20/20. For all we know Namestnikov could've stepped up and nobody would question a bottom-6 trade like this one now.

My honest feeling is Yzerman was trying to force Cooper's hand on Drouin and, to a lesser extent, Namestnikov. By that I mean, he wanted them to get a bump in playing time, which I believe he actually stated in the press conference, but which we all know didn't happen.

Just a conspiracy theory, but it makes a lot of sense with Yzerman's statements. He said we would replace Connolly from within, but we never did actually give anyone a bigger role.
 

snowden

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Connolly was garbage and would have added nothing but penalties. The sentiment in this thread is stupid. Trading him was the right thing to do. He is a bust.
 

Outl4w

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Dec 16, 2011
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What I understand is that Yzerman would only do the Coburn trade if he was able to compensate for the picks lost in that trade via another trade. The picks we got in the Connolly trade were not part of the Coburn trade package: Connolly got us two 2nd rounders, Coburn cost us a 1st and a 3rd. The Connolly trade was not some kind of condition for Philly to give up Coburn or vice versa.

Yzerman wanted to have a certain amount of "higher" draft picks in his cookie jar, to be "safe" in that regard but I think it's a legit question to ask why trade Connolly in March and not June/July. He pulled the trigger because the two 2nd rounders were available back then. It was the safe route to go and maybe he didn't expect us to go as far as the SCF but the move arguably hurt our forward depth (no way JAM gets the call or Morrow plays the final 5 minutes when we're down a goal with Connolly available).

With that said hindsight is always 20/20. For all we know Namestnikov could've stepped up and nobody would question a bottom-6 trade like this one now.

Honestly we can't afford Connoly int he long run anyways. He does not fit in our top 6 plans for the future. We have Stamkos, Triplets, Drouin, and hopefully a powerforward or playmaker. He is neither.
 

Lord Stan 2020

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i think in hindsight and said it then trading connolly was a mistake and him over morrow in playoffs on how he played at the end might have made some difference

is not just one thing him over brown is something i could handle moving forward lol

he was gonna get a raise though and would rather have a natural guy to fill his spot a guy like vermette versteeg older guys who have been there

i still dont like the connolly trade so never will but wanted coburn so is that

i think vladdy and nesterov should have played full playoffs over morrow and sustr or even carle he was sooooo bad jeez

didnt expect that at all expected carle to play better but he was atrocious
 

HoseEmDown

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Connolly was garbage and would have added nothing but penalties. The sentiment in this thread is stupid. Trading him was the right thing to do. He is a bust.

He would've fit right in with Paquette and Morrow who were doing the same. We got all of 7 goals from the bottom 6 and that's with Callahan, you can't say Connolly who was scoring at a goal every 4 game pace wouldn't have potted close to or half that many himself?
 

2020 Cup Champions

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He would've fit right in with Paquette and Morrow who were doing the same. We got all of 7 goals from the bottom 6 and that's with Callahan, you can't say Connolly who was scoring at a goal every 4 game pace wouldn't have potted close to or half that many himself?

He's exactly the kind of bottom-6 scorer we needed, but not the one we deserve.
 

Hockeyfan02

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You just don't know how he would've performed in the playoffs. I thought Vlad was going to be solid for us and help provide secondary scoring but he was brutal. I think the team expected Vlad and a couple others to step up on the bottom lines as far as production but it just didn't happen. I think Yzerman saw a chance to maximize Brett's value with our forward depth and pulled the trigger. Maybe that trade offer isn't there if Yzerman waits and Brett has an average or bad playoffs. We got to game 6 of the finals with this move and getting Coburn, I have no issue with that. I was disappointed at the time for Brett cause it seemed like he'd finally found a role on the club.
 

DFC

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You just don't know how he would've performed in the playoffs. I thought Vlad was going to be solid for us and help provide secondary scoring but he was brutal. I think the team expected Vlad and a couple others to step up on the bottom lines as far as production but it just didn't happen. I think Yzerman saw a chance to maximize Brett's value with our forward depth and pulled the trigger. Maybe that trade offer isn't there if Yzerman waits and Brett has an average or bad playoffs. We got to game 6 of the finals with this move and getting Coburn, I have no issue with that. I was disappointed at the time for Brett cause it seemed like he'd finally found a role on the club.

The trade probably doesn't happen if Yzerman believed Connolly's value would increase in the playoffs. With the extra attention (usually our team flies very under the radar, i.e. "Who's this Tyler Johnson kid and why's he Tampa's best player?"), it's not unthinkable that Yzerman believed a poor showing by Connolly would have sealed him as a "bust."

But the thing about Connolly was, for most of his tenure with the Lightning, he seemed to struggle to mentally keep up with the game. That would likely have gotten worse in the playoffs. Maybe Yzerman that was Yzerman's gamble.

That, combined with trying to force Cooper to play more promising prospects in a bigger role, are the only ways to make the timing make sense. Yzerman must have, for whatever reason, believed it was addition by subtraction. Otherwise he would have waited until right about now to pull the trigger.
 
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Hockeyfan02

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Yzerman must have, for whatever reason, believed it was addition by subtraction. Otherwise he would have waited until right about now to pull the trigger.

I think he saw it as the upgrade to the defense with Coburn was higher than the downgrade to the forwards with the loss of Connolly.
 

HoseEmDown

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The trade probably doesn't happen if Yzerman believed Connolly's value would increase in the playoffs. With the extra attention (usually our team flies very under the radar, i.e. "Who's this Tyler Johnson kid and why's he Tampa's best player?"), it's not unthinkable that Yzerman believed a poor showing by Connolly would have sealed him as a "bust."

But the thing about Connolly was, for most of his tenure with the Lightning, he seemed to struggle to mentally keep up with the game. That would likely have gotten worse in the playoffs. Maybe Yzerman that was Yzerman's gamble.

That, combined with trying to force Cooper to play more promising prospects in a bigger role, are the only ways to make the timing make sense. Yzerman must have, for whatever reason, believed it was addition by subtraction. Otherwise he would have waited until right about now to pull the trigger.

Stamkos had a crap postseason and people still want to pay him dumb money. Don't think it would've been that bad for Brett that his value would've went in the toilet.

The thing that people forget is that this was only his second full NHL season and probably should've been the first. He developed a good defensive game and a physical element. The quick release and big time shot were always there. The style change was meant for the playoffs, he may not have scored but would've had an impact on the game, like finals Callahan.

Namestnikov can still have a role if he does what Connolly did. Get stronger in the offseason and change his game to fit his new role in the bottom 6. He's not going to be a top 6 player and he needs to adapt to that.

Him, Nesterov and Vasilevskiy should have been in Syracuse for the playoffs. All this talk about how we develop kids correctly and we waste these three in the pressbox or bench. We played a lot of the year with Barberio as our only extra, not sure why we needed to keep them up while the Crunch struggled down the stretch. They weren't helping us in the first round and could've gained valuable experience helping the Crunch in the playoffs.
 

DFC

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I think he saw it as the upgrade to the defense with Coburn was higher than the downgrade to the forwards with the loss of Connolly.

That's beside the point. They were two separate deals. The question is, why didn't Yzerman wait until after the season to recoup the losses on the Coburn trade. It only makes sense if you think Yzerman, for whatever reason, didn't believe he would be able to. Any way you look at it, it boils down to a lack of faith in Connolly to perform. Otherwise, it was just a poorly timed trade. I choose to believe the former.
 

Todd1a

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That's beside the point. They were two separate deals. The question is, why didn't Yzerman wait until after the season to recoup the losses on the Coburn trade. It only makes sense if you think Yzerman, for whatever reason, didn't believe he would be able to. Any way you look at it, it boils down to a lack of faith in Connolly to perform. Otherwise, it was just a poorly timed trade. I choose to believe the former.

having that extra 2nd round draft pick will help us next year at the trade deadline! almost anytime yzerman gets extra picks he uses them in a trade.
 

dechire

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That's beside the point. They were two separate deals. The question is, why didn't Yzerman wait until after the season to recoup the losses on the Coburn trade. It only makes sense if you think Yzerman, for whatever reason, didn't believe he would be able to. Any way you look at it, it boils down to a lack of faith in Connolly to perform. Otherwise, it was just a poorly timed trade. I choose to believe the former.

Not really. The two trades were completely dependent on each other according to SFY. He wasn't going to do one without the other so if we didn't trade Connolly we wouldn't have picked up Coburn.
 

Volodya Krutov

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Not really. The two trades were completely dependent on each other according to SFY. He wasn't going to do one without the other so if we didn't trade Connolly we wouldn't have picked up Coburn.

DFC talked in the absolute, they could've been 2 separated deals if SFY wanted so. I was personally against trading Connolly, scoring depth is absolutely crucial in the playoffs and Connolly plays a simple game that fits playoffs style, works the puck down low, finds some open space and takes advantage of an above average release. Connolly is a disappointment if you take his draft position into consideration but he's still a scoring 3rd liner with overlooked possession abilities. Hindsight is 20/20 though, it's unfair to blame SFY now, only 2 wins short from the Cup. Better luck next time, hopefully.
 

DFC

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Not really. The two trades were completely dependent on each other according to SFY. He wasn't going to do one without the other so if we didn't trade Connolly we wouldn't have picked up Coburn.

Yes, but the debate is all about questioning the logic behind that.

Option A: Trade for Coburn and recoup the losses immediately by trading Connolly.

Option B: Trade for Coburn but wait until the season is over to recoup the losses by trading Connolly, thus keeping a depth scorer on the roster for the playoff run.

The question is why did Yzerman choose Option A over Option B. I think he probably had reasons, and I think those reasons stemmed from a lack of faith in Connolly to maintain his trade value through the playoffs.
 

HoseEmDown

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Yes, but the debate is all about questioning the logic behind that.

Option A: Trade for Coburn and recoup the losses immediately by trading Connolly.

Option B: Trade for Coburn but wait until the season is over to recoup the losses by trading Connolly, thus keeping a depth scorer on the roster for the playoff run.

The question is why did Yzerman choose Option A over Option B. I think he probably had reasons, and I think those reasons stemmed from a lack of faith in Connolly to maintain his trade value through the playoffs.

He must not like Connolly at all. He traded him to a division rival so if he breaks out could hurt us. Boston was in a playoff spot at the time so the pick could've been late 2nd and next year's could be too. Even if Connolly faulted in the playoffs sure we could've got a 2nd and maybe a 5th in 16 instead of 2nd. If he breaks out then more then the 2nd's. Think he was worried he might which would make his contract bigger then what they wanted to pay him. It also might hurt Boston as they don't have uc cap room.
 

TheSchmidt

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Dec 28, 2013
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Didn't read every post but Boston wanted Connolly for the playoff run and this offer likely wouldn't be on the table in the offseason. Especially if Boston missed out on the playoffs. I think it was a combination of selling high AND recouping the loss of picks in the Coburn trade.
 

LightningStrikes

Champa Bay Lightning
Nov 24, 2009
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Didn't read every post but Boston wanted Connolly for the playoff run and this offer likely wouldn't be on the table in the offseason. Especially if Boston missed out on the playoffs. I think it was a combination of selling high AND recouping the loss of picks in the Coburn trade.

Good point.
 

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