I did not say the isles could protect all of Pelech, Pulock, Mayfield,Toews and Leddy. I said Toews was a cap dump Lou lamented more then fans and that based on the isles shopping Leddy for a few yrs with no takers, then being forced to move Toews instead, showed GMs valued Toews more.
Yes, Trotz preferred the more experienced Leddy to Toews. Yet, despite Trotz preference Leddy was the one shopped for a few yrs. Trotz's preference would not have mattered if Lou could have found a taker.
As for this weekend's moves...
Did Lou do a good job getting the isles out of their cap crunch? Yes.
Did he get good value for Leddy? Yes.
I am not sure if you are the poster who in a earlier post dismissed the value of those two seconds and the third ,but that's such a homer outlook.
I dismissed the constant crying from certain posters who have been bemoaning the Isles cap situation the past two years. Like it was some untenable problem to overcome and we were in for nothing but pain, which simply didn't happen.
Instead, over two offseasons, Lou traded Toews and Leddy, two players we couldn't protect in expansion and it did not impact the on-ice results in any material way.
The Isles defense didn't fail them, the ability to score big goals against Tampa, specifically having a true sniper alongside Barzal, cost them, especially in game No. 7.
Ultimately both players had to be traded and, IMHO, it didn't matter the order they went. I just don't care because, again, it wasn't the difference for the Isles.
Personally, I am glad Trotz got to retain the player he wanted for an extra season. I like Toews, but I am not near as high on him as some. He didn't fit well in the Isles situation, especially alongside Mayfield at times, and is better served out West with a team like Colorado.
The reality is the Isles acquired a total of three second rounders and a potentially interesting forward in Panik, with Detroit retaining 50% of his cap, which could be a good move by Lou. The Isles then flipped two seconds and a conditional third to get rid of Ladd and his contract.
The Isles ultimately came out AHEAD on the draft pick front, with a guaranteed second in hand vs. the conditional third they might have to give up. Again, that is a fact, nothing to argue there.
Draft picks have value, but it is dual value where you actually use them to add to your system or trade them to improve the team. After all of the trades, the Isles came out with a slightly higher draft pick, at least as of right now.
They probably also improved slightly up front with Panik as a depth forward (over say a Czarnik or Timashov) or maybe Panik is the player Seattle selects and the Isles can keep younger players like Bellows, Koivula, etc.
The Isles also saved $5.5 million AAV for two seasons on Ladd, $5.5 million on Leddy and didn't pay the $4.1 million AAV extension for multiple years to extend Toews.
To me, Toews is not a core player I would necessarily award a mid-level contract to. Not when the Isles will need to pay core players like Pelech, Pulock, Dobson, Barzal, Beauvillier, Wahlstrom, Sorokin, etc.
With all of that free cap space, the Isles can now potentially sign or trade for a BETTER LHD2 than either Toews or Leddy AND maybe get the sniper they desperately need.
Of course it is contingent on being able to sign or trade for those players but, in a vacuum, the Isles added a higher draft pick once you net off the picks traded, freed up tons of cap space and have the chance to get better players than they gave up in trade.
That isn't a homer outlook but freaking reality if Lou and Trotz can lure in the right players. That is going to be tough, but I am hoping for the best and you have to trust the process.
Get those last couple pieces and maybe the Isles get over the hump to win a Stanley Cup vs. worrying about a couple draft picks with, what, a 20-30% chance of even reaching the NHL?
