In your opinion.
Yes, obviously in my opinion, but anyone who thinks Letang should be traded for anything less than an absolutely stellar return
Not saying it is not valid, but I certainly find that it is too much of an auto-pilot thing you have going here.
Yes, obviously in my opinion, but anyone who thinks Letang should be traded for anything less than an absolutely stellar return is both nuts, and out of touch with reality. It's just not going to happen -- in my opinion (and in this universe).
If the Pens even had a little bit of an itch to trade Letang AND there was talk about huge trade offers being thrown at them at the draft (lottery picks and top prospects, etc), they would have taken it. They obviously wanted this player here for a while. At the very least, at least until Pouliot arrives as a regular NHL player, and our other top young guys have cemented themselves on our roster.
The thing is that if we can ice a defense that is now (for reasons of Nisky playing really well and Letang being below his level) as good without Letang as it is with him, then short term we lose nothing by making the trade. Long term a return of all potential would be impossible to evaluate short term, but we would lose ourselves Letang's cap-hit, open the door to playing much more cap-effective players, AND for these reasons have plenty of cap-room to find a forward upgrade or two in free agency.
I'm well aware of the whole "because Nisky is playing so great, Letang is expendable" argument that is so pervasive on these boards. And I have been enjoying Nisky's good play (and advocating we re-sign him long ago, before this thread began and regardless of whether or not Letang is here). But as much as I like Nisky, his upside is not half of what Letang's is.
And there are a few other premises of your statement that I just don't agree with or think make sense:
1) You say that Letang has been playing poorly and Nisky well, and so we wouldn't be losing anything. That is correct in the microcosm of the recent past, but it does not take into account how good our defense will be when Letang brings his A-game. I will not say that Letang has been good this year, and agree with the criticism he's been getting for his play so far this season. But I believe even more strongly in his ability to turn things around and get back to the level of being one of the very best Dmen in the NHL. When/if that happens, our defense group is A LOT stronger with Letang than without him, and he's a MUCH better player than Niskanen is right now.
2) Practically, there is NO chance we move Letang, thinking Nisky can take over, until such time as we get Nisky under contract. An announcement could happen any day, and this organization does tend to keep things very quiet until they happen, but there has been ZERO rumours or news of discussion about the Pens talking contract extensions with Niskanen's camp. To me, a re-signing of Nisky could be a smoking gun and tell me that a Letang trade is much more likely to go down. But until Nisky is re-signed, Letang is not going anywhere.
3) Ridding ourselves of Letang's cap hit is NOT preventing us from making moves this season. His extension has not kicked in yet, and until such time as this does become a real issue, we cannot factor this into the equation. If, come summertime, we're able to sign a guy like, say, Vanek and Letang's cap hit becomes a problem at that time, then I will completely agree with you that it's a problem. But right now that "opportunity cost" that everyone thinks Letang is costing us rests entirely in the realm of fantasy and the hypothetical.
So going forward, in addition to the rising cap, there are many other players we could trade or not re-sign going into next year to free up cap space (Scuderi, Orpik, Martin, Niskanen, Jokinen, Vokoun or even Fleury if he chokes again in the playoffs). So let's save that discussion of how we could better utilize the cap space Letang is costing us when it actually, not hypothetically, interferes with us being able to acquire other players.
Edmonton 1st and Yakupov.... for kicks/arguments sake and because Edmonton is the team in the West that most needs a major minute muncher on D. Yakupov should become a very, very good player with seasoning and the 1st is a lottery pick most likely. Doesn't help us much this season unless Yakupov plays a lot better, but asset wise?
I am saying this as someone who would prefer something different than Yakupov.
Yes: for argument's sake, that is EXACTLY the type and example of a high value deal that could help us long and short term. And if that deal was on the table, I would sign it and would drive Letang to the airport surrounded by a parade.
As I stated in the post you quoted: I am more than happy to trade Letang in a deal that is strong value, and helps us short and long term. But I vehemently reject the notion that there would be any addition-by-subtraction by losing Letang, or that he can be easily replaced over a long term. And I have zero interest in trading any of our assets of significant value (1st rounders, top prospects, and certainly top players like Letang) for rental or band-aid type solutions. It has to be a great hockey trade. If it is, I'm all in.
