I wasn't advocating a Slavin deal. I was just wondering aloud if you guys think there could be merit to the idea that Sakic covets Slavin in a way that is holding up other reasonable deals. (And it goes without saying I think you guys are overrating Slavin, but that's not my point.)
I feel compelled to interject here regarding Slavin. Usually, advocating a brake pump on runaway hype is the safe play and I totally understand that. But with Slavin, he's tracking a lot like Duncan Keith if not a bit ahead of his curve. There is a very, very likely probability we're dealing with a player here that is going to at least be in the conversation for Norris voting consideration if this team starts to trend back into the playoff bound direction. Exposure in Carolina is one of the few things that have kept him a secret around the league to this point and even that is rapidly changing. I have rarely in my time being a fan of this team seen opposing teams watch us for the first time and sincerely gush about one of our players the way people do with Slavin. After one game of exposure, no less. For a player that is primarily considered a defensive defenseman, that's even more exceedingly rare.
If you attempt to look at comparable players who have been traded while showing this kind of upside, the examples are few. Seth Jones is one of the only names that comes to mind and he was swapped in a really unique circumstance for a player that was unquestionably a franchise center that was malcontent in his current location. That is *not* Matt Duchene. It was maybe Matt Duchene 4 years ago, but it's not Matt Duchene today. And that would be assuming that Seth Jones' value is more approximate to Slavin's, and it's not. I think Noah Hanifin's value is more approximate to Seth Jones' at the time but that's beside the point.
What we have in Slavin is a player that is right now, presently, a Top 30 defenseman in the league. And the probability of him getting even better is laid out in front of him depending upon how much he wants it. The fact that there are zero concerns about his character or falling into the professional lifestyle makes it just an absolute no brain decision that you can't part with this player. He's literally a choir boy. He's already settled down, and he's painfully boring in the offseason. I won't go into the role his faith plays because that's a bit touchy, but he seems to have hockey prioritized on his list higher than most his age due to minimal distractions. I think that pairs well with his natural talent and the probability he reaches the level of play that many of us ultimately believe he can.
One of the things that's cool about being active in online communities about things you like is that your personal opinions can be balanced against what other people are seeing and observing about particular players. For example, I see nothing in Warren Foegele that suggests to me that he's a prospect. I feel like he is a dime a dozen type player that found himself in the CHL at an advanced age and tricked a lot of people into believing he has some upside. However, the fact that there are SO many people on these boards that believe otherwise, I have had to come to terms with the fact that my opinion might be on the extreme end of the spectrum and the probability that I am wrong might be worth reviewing considering that the vast majority of this board considers him a Top 10 if not Top 5 prospect for us with a chance of perhaps cracking the NHL roster this season. When the gulf between your opinion and the collective varies to such a wide degree, your stance is polarized to either everyone else is dumb and you're the only one that sees objectively or that perhaps you're on the extreme end of this issue and it might be worth making allowances for that. I think you're pretty firmly underrating Slavin, but if you're comfortable with the extremity of that opinion then that's totally fine obviously. But I wouldn't expect to create many converts when the visual evidence and historical projections are working so defiantly against you. Much less for a talent evaluator like Ron Francis to hock him for 2 years of Matt Duchene.
