League News: NHL Talk - (News n' Scores n' Stuff) - 2022-23 season, Vol. 4, Off-season Edition

[twabby]

Are you using some sort of eye test to determine that? How uncivilized.

Oh no. The macrostats just don’t indicate that Ekblad relies on Weegar, even if the microstats might show Weegar has strengths that Ekblad doesn’t.

 

[tycoonheart]

That's an expensive deal for Florida and they're actually worse off now. But something has to be done, they keep getting destroyed in the playoffs. A lot of us wanted the Caps to make a big change like this when we kept losing in the playoffs.

 

[um]

If only they didn't give up a better player, quality D-man, 1st round pick and a prospect in return for that slightly worse star player!

Age and contract status matters a whole lot.

Florida got something that is rarely available. And instead of worrying the last years of Huberdeau's next contract or whether or not they can even sign him (Calgary knows about star UFAs leaving) they decide to go with the much younger star.

Give me Tkachuk age 24-32 over Huberdeau age 29-38.

 

[trick9]

Age and contract status matters a whole lot.

Florida got something that is rarely available. And instead of worrying the last years of Huberdeau's next contract or whether or not they can even sign him (Calgary knows about star UFAs leaving) they decide to go with the much younger star.

Give me Tkachuk age 24-32 over Huberdeau age 29-38.

Why they can't do the same with Huberdeau they did with Tkachuk? Trade him before he walks.

 

[Hivemind]

I think it's hard to overstate how much of a monster season Matthew Tkachuk is coming off of. 42G, 104P while having some of the best play driving and underlying stats in the entire league. He had been a very good play driver previously, but this past year he transcended that into elite territory.

There's obviously risk in acquiring a player with one season that is far better than their rest, and also obviously risk in bringing a player into a new environment and asking them to replicate a career year.

 

[um]

Why they can't do the same with Huberdeau they did with Tkachuk? Trade him before he walks.

They just did!

You want the mystery box or the real thing?

 

[trick9]

They just did!

You want the mystery box or the real thing?

Traded Huberdeau? When?

Do share if you have knowledge of who is on the table for extended Huberdeau? Only a mystery box?

 

[um]

Traded Huberdeau? When?

Do share if you have knowledge of who is on the table for extended Huberdeau? Only a mystery box?

Huberdeau was traded to the Calgary Flames today, its the discussion we're having right now.

 

[trick9]

Huberdeau was traded to the Calgary Flames today, its the discussion we're having right now.

...You do realise he can be traded again if he doesn't want to extend there?

Most interesting part is that Panthers have their 2025 1st round pick in 2 separate trades. In the Giroux deal (if their 2024 1st is top-10 it moves to 2025) and this one.

 

[ClevelandCapsfan]

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

Me this season and I pay the cable bill and have ESPN+ I can watch every game but the Caps. Well done

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

I think it's hard to overstate how much of a monster season Matthew Tkachuk is coming off of. 42G, 104P while having some of the best play driving and underlying stats in the entire league. He had been a very good play driver previously, but this past year he transcended that into elite territory.

There's obviously risk in acquiring a player with one season that is far better than their rest, and also obviously risk in bringing a player into a new environment and asking them to replicate a career year.

He was on the best line in the league. Lets see how he does not on a all star team.
That said i wanted him but we cleary couldnt out bid the panthers

 

[IafrateOvie34]

Huberdeau = Tkachuk
Weegar is still rated as good #2 or #3 around the league.
1st round pick and prospect on top of that is just brutal.

I highly disagree, however you're entitled to your opinion. Florida gets a tougher player for the tough Eastern conference and a better overall player imho. Weegar might be well liked on HF, but not by me. In the series with the Caps in the playoffs, he was a liability for Florida in my eyes. As for the pick, my guess is Calgary had other offers on the table from other teams and was able to pry it away from Florida. As a Cap's fan, I naturally don't want any of them to benefit from a trade especially Florida when playoff seeding is tougher now in the East.

Calgary should still be a top 3 team in the Pacific you'd think. Losing Gaudreau and Tkachuk hurts, but getting Huberdeau and Weegar back softens that blow even if it doesn't quite make them as good. They still have a solid defense and they have some good middle six forwards with guys like Toffoli, Coleman, Backlund, and Mangiapane. It's hard for me to see them out of the payoff picture especially given the division they're in. They should still be favorites.

But they will have interesting choices to make if neither Huberdeau nor Weegar want to extend. They will likely be able to get a ton for them, but are they really going to trade them at the TDL if they are competitive? Seems unlikely, especially if they shape up to be a true contender.

On paper yes. It depends if Vegas stays healthy and if other teams like Anaheim or Vancouver take a step forward.

 

[trick9]

I highly disagree, however you're entitled to your opinion. Florida gets a tougher player for the tough Eastern conference and a better overall player imho. Weegar might be well liked on HF, but not by me. In the series with the Caps in the playoffs, he was a liability for Florida in my eyes. As for the pick, my guess is Calgary had other offers on the table from other teams and was able to pry it away from Florida. As a Cap's fan, I naturally don't want any of them to benefit from a trade especially Florida when playoff seeding is tougher now in the East.

Well, that's your opinion. Tkachuk is certainly the tougher player but no way he is a better overall player.

Weegar is pretty great even though he had a poor Playoffs. He's a solid #2 or a great #3. Poor Playoff run doesn't make him a bad player. If it did what would that make John Carlson who has been garbage for 4 Playoffs in a row?

I like this trade. It makes the Panthers worse team for sure but they traded away from their future problems. Any trade that makes the Eastern teams weaker is welcome for me.

 

[Silky mitts]

 

[IafrateOvie34]

Well, that's your opinion. Tkachuk is certainly the tougher player but no way he is a better overall player.

Weegar is pretty great even though he had a poor Playoffs. He's a solid #2 or a great #3. Poor Playoff run doesn't make him a bad player. If it did what would that make John Carlson who has been garbage for 4 Playoffs in a row?

I like this trade. It makes the Panthers worse team for sure but they traded away from their future problems. Any trade that makes the Eastern teams weaker is welcome for me.

To be clear, I wouldn't have paid that price for Tkachuk nor would I want the Caps to make that type of trade for that price. I agree about Carlson and I don't think Weegar sucks as a player. I just don't think he's elite like a lot of main board posters think he is. He'll fit in Calgary just fine and if not, he'll fetch something at next season's TDL. Florida is indeed taking a big gamble after trading a lot of those first rounders since the TDL. I would like to know what other teams offered Calgary for Florida to make that trade.

 

[Hivemind]

If it did what would that make John Carlson who has been garbage for 4 Playoffs in a row?

For a team with aspirations of advancing in the playoffs? It would make him trade bait.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Weegar is….one dimensional and a liability in his own end. Recipe for playoff disaster. Wouldn’t want him on my team.

 

[Langway]

That Florida team wasn't well coached. They only played one way and it was on their front foot. We'll see if Maurice is an upgrade. Maybe they're more balanced but the D personnel is even worse without Weegar. They'll need Montour to handle an elevated role or else it could get ugly. Even if he's a decent #4 they're still a top 4 short from being good.

The Tkachuk trade is more of a next five years sort of trade but they're so asset depleted that it's going to take some amazing moves to get back in prime position. There's a lot of youth and further upside but overall they should probably trade Reinhart for a comparable defenseman if they're really serious about winning when it matters. All that aggressive movement is probably not the way to go. Credit for going for it at the deadline but that level of aggression takes years to fully recover from. You wonder by then if they'll have missed their window with Ekblad & Barkov nearing 30. Not impossible to keep it on the rails and build something substantial but they're going to have to become extremely resourceful.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

That Florida team wasn't well coached. They only played one way and it was on their front foot. We'll see if Maurice is an upgrade. Maybe they're more balanced but the D personnel is even worse without Weegar. They'll need Montour to handle an elevated role or else it could get ugly. Even if he's a decent #4 they're still a top 4 short from being good.

The Tkachuk trade is more of a next five years sort of trade but they're so asset depleted that it's going to take some amazing moves to get back in prime position. There's a lot of youth and further upside but overall they should probably trade Reinhart for a comparable defenseman if they're really serious about winning when it matters. All that aggressive movement is probably not the way to go. Credit for going for it at the deadline but that level of aggression takes years to fully recover from. You wonder by then if they'll have missed their window with Ekblad & Barkov nearing 30. Not impossible to keep it on the rails and build something substantial but they're going to have to become extremely resourceful.

This is how I see it. They made a move to both extend their future window and shake up what was a really poor team in the playoffs but in doing so I think they closed their current window. Trading away their future then trading away or letting walk the guys they spent those futures to win with is an interesting choice. They’re now left with a worse team next year, no assets, and an albatross goalie contract blocking their top prospect from giving them what all contenders need: top performance at a discount on an ELC.

Maybe Zito can pull a rabbit out of his hat and move Bob and sign Klingberg to replace Weegar but it’s going to be a tough needle to thread. They have Tkachuk now but they’re down Huberdeau, Marchment, Giroux, and Duclair (for a while) which to me is a pretty significant downgrade of their forward depth. Doesn’t mean they can’t plug and play but it won’t be easy.

 

[Langway]

As a general rule it's a lot harder to acquire those defensemen. It may take years to find their Cernak/Toews. Even Klingberg would more be a lateral move from Weegar. I don't think he's the #2 type all situations winner they need. I can get why they wouldn't agree to a Weegar market rate extension and that this was the best near-term move. But they need some pretty drastic moves structurally w/ the Hornqvist+Bob contracts. Can they dump Hornqvist on ARI by including Reinhart++ in a Chychrun deal? Something along those lines is probably best if they've still got the assets for it. (I kind of doubt it.)

They'll need extremely fortunate timing and probably quite a number of cheap UFA wins for it to come together. Not impossible. It's a toss-up. Tampa is due to regress. Toronto doesn't quite seem on the verge of figuring it out. OTT/DET/BUF could be a lotto ball away from mixing that division up for the foreseeable future. It'll be interesting to see just how aggressively teams jockey into tank mode a few months into the season if they start slowly and quickly switch into Bedard Mode.

 

[twabby]

Glad he’s going to get one more shot elsewhere though I don’t have faith he’s going to be much better in Seattle. At least he got his Cup, $10 million+, and the knowledge that he was instrumental in their run.

 

[ClevelandCapsfan]

Top Cap skater is Ovie in Tier 8.

 

[um]

Top Cap skater is Ovie in Tier 8.

Right behind Vrana!

The whole list is a mess. Fancy stats I assume.

 

[Silky mitts]

Top Cap skater is Ovie in Tier 8.

Could be either Tanev, should be neither Tanev