newfy
Registered User
- Jul 28, 2010
- 14,771
- 8,328
Yeah, just a few years ago we lacked a puck-moving right handed defenseman. We don't have many guys who are good at distributing the puck atm and even with Nyquist in the lineup, I'd argue we still lack in this department. Given that just about every young forward we have is a shoot first kind of player, I'd think people be more willing to recognise the need here. Whatever you call mediocre, he is still a top 6 winger and outside of Larkin, just about the only guy that has the sense to suck in opposind dman, open up a lane and ship off a pass. Having a playmaker play with a shooter has always bern a wise move to have. He's not 23? What does that have to do with the fact he can pass the puck well when others can't? Trying to align everyone simply by age is the same as arguing that Toronto should have passed up on Tavares because he eoesn't fit the demographic. As cap space, who's to say Nyquist or someone else can't be moved if it needed to come to that? And again, counting the chickens before the eggs hatch, you already spending salary on players you don't have and want to clear the space with the players you actually do have. As it stands though, I tend to think a line of Ras, Mantha and Nyquist would do better than a line of AA, Ras and Mantha. Not because Nyquist is necessarily better but because there's more complimentary skill that go into that line.
You cant separate bottoming out with ready to compete. When the wings are ready to compete they can add another winger like Nyquist if one of their draft picks dont pan out. Same with the Leafs with Tavares, they added him once they had a top pair dman, an elite first line center and at least one other top line stud forward. They waited until they were ready to be competitive with good young guys and then top free agents will want to join the team. This happened with them even with Marleau as well.
Its called planning for the future. You save cap space and get an asset for a guy like Nyquist because hes not good enough to build around but good enough to have value at the deadline. Your idea is to half ass the rebuild, and not get assets for expiring contracts that wont be useful when Larkins core is ready to compete. That extra first rounder might not pan out, but maybe can be used in a trade for a top dman while theyre still a prospect. You think anyone is going to want Nyquist in a package for a top guy? 33 year old, small, soft wingers dont have value and really wont have value to the wings when theyre ready to compete.
And yes a few years ago the wings lacked a right handed puck moving dman. What has having Green really done in the long run for the wings while theyre not ready to compete? I dont mind having him here but would have rather gotten assets for him at last years deadline if they could've. Now hes going to be older, have less value, and when the wings are good again he will be irrelevant to the team contending again