Name something that VGK did this summer you really like

[Kcoyote3]

So it seems as if the general consensus is that GMGM mucked up the expansion draft, then mucked up trading his surplus of defenders, and Vegas is going to have an abysmal team next year.

So, name something that GMGM did during this process that you think was awesome. Can also name something you think was not so awesome if you want.


Awesome: Getting Schmidt and Theodore. Exactly the right defenders for the future. Both relatively young, great puckmovers with lots of room to grow and take on more responsibility. Fantastic to get both of them.


Not so awesome: Not getting Linus Ullmark. There's nothing in the pipeline for young goaltenders, and you can put all your chips on Fluery, but by the time Vegas is ready to compete, he'll be long gone. Would have expected more planning for the goaltending position.

Click to read more...

 

[The Macho King]

Their draft was good?

 

[Festinator]

Took Chris Thorburn from us so Maurice isn't tempted to use him next season.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

Stockpiled a bunch of future picks, yet picked up enough goal-scorers to be in most games in Year 1. And Shipachyov could be the league's best breakout player next season.

 

[wpgallday1960]

Took Thorburn off our hands!!!

In all seriousness they did have a good draft. Seem to have chosen a draft and develop path as opposed to win now.

 

[M2Beezy]

Glass

 

[ESH]

I still can't believe how much cap space they took up to make such an awful looking team on paper. Obviously that's the opposite of what this thread is going for, but I still had to say it.

Stocking up on draft picks is probably the best thing they did. Getting Smith and Marchessault from Florida was pretty good.

 

[Legionnaire11]

Glass and Suzuki, likely a very good 1-2 combo in the middle. Even if neither is a dominant center, they should be very good and the combination of the two will be a better than what many teams will be running.

 

[ricky0034]

Shipachyov

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

3 picks in the top 15, picked Erik Brannstrom and Nick Suzuki
James Neal
David Schlemko, but that's partially cancelled out by the fact they got an awful return for him

 

[Wolfpuck]

They hooked us up with our #5 defenseman and #4 center.

 

[Neil Hamburger]

I think GMGM did a good job.

The team was never going to be "good" this year. If they tried to be good, they would have been stuck in no mans land, too good to tank, probably not even good enough to make the playoffs with mediocre players and prospects. They would definitely not have any stanley cup aspirations for a long, long time (i.e until a few years in they realized they weren't any good, and then they would have to start their tank way later than necessary, those wasted years would have hurt them).

He's built a strong prospect pool already, and he has accumulated a ton of picks the next couple of years. It's going to take a few seasons, but all this prospect capital will pay off in a big way before too long.

Glass, Suzuki, Brannstrom, Tuch, and Theodore is a nice start.

 

[tony d]

Picked Marchessault, also had a good draft.

 

[DrJustice]

Loading up on draft picks

 

[hellstick]

Shipachyov

Yeah, he's intriguing, at least.

McPhee could have made his team better initially through the expansion draft, but he's more interested into developing a great team than initially being a good or ok one. It's a solid strategy, Cotton, lets see if it'll work.

They'll still be better than my sad Canucks though.

 

[Nalens Oga]

I thought that flipping that 23rd NYI pick for the 13th or 14th Winnipeg pick was kinda brilliant and getting an extra 3rd in the process. I know some Jets fans think that Chevaldayoff had to do that move to protect Dano or Enstrom or whatever other mediocre ****er on their roster but to me, moving from the 20s to the 10s in a draft is a big deal now. You just look at the names of some of the guys drafted around 14th nowadays compared to 23 and you can see why. Even in this draft, getting Brannstrom was much better potential than any dman available at 23 or 30.

I can't believe the Jets made that move lol but their GM values mediocre players so meh.

edit: Plus actively tanking is a smart move imo, I assumed they'd try to be competitive from the start but McPhee has no problem actively tanking this year and I don't think he'll have much competition as Colorado's the only other team that looks like they've somewhat embraced this year's tank.

 

[Kevin27NYI]

Set himself up down the line with picks, draft was super successful.

Also took the Grabovski contract off Isles hands, Snow and McPhee did really well for each other

 

[Syckle78]

They didn't get great value on trades. But I like that they're going to be patient and not try to go for mediocre out of the gate. No point in prolonging the pain by striving for average. Build through the draft with patience.

 

[Zhamnov5GoalGame]

Good column:
Drafting Glass
Taking James Neal

Bad column:
Didn't like many of the side deals they made.
In so many cases they could have taken a way more valuable player (even if it was just to flip them)
Seems like poor value on some of the trades they made afterward.

 

[pgj98m3]

Yeah, he's intriguing, at least.

McPhee could have made his team better initially through the expansion draft, but he's more interested into developing a great team than initially being a good or ok one. It's a solid strategy, Cotton, lets see if it'll work.

They'll still be better than my sad Canucks though.

Nobody is getting in the way of our drive for a place in the record books as the first team to finish 31st!!!!

GoCanucksGo

 

[Filatov2Kovalev2Bonk]

Really like Dansk signing. A colleague of mine, erudite as ever, had picked him in a mock draft but sadly the NHL never bloomed him to full potential.

 

[KlefDown]

Nothing.
I don't like them.

 

[lakai17]

Vegas acquiring Kolesar and Tuch. Two decent prospects.

 

[Oneiro]

Be really good.

 

[mrwirez]

Took MAF and his 2x5.75M cap hit off the Penguins roster.
For $0.free = everybody's happy