Friedman: "One of the guys I'm hearing things about (trade rumors) is Spurgeon"

[DANTHEMAN1967]

Did the refs put any of the 4 goals in the net?

They set up the conditions that allowed them to happen.

 

[Bazeek]

If trading Spurgeon was a possible move on Fenton's agenda, he really should have targeted someone like Faulk in that Nino trade.

I agree with VMO in that trading away a member of this Top 4 is going to have a negative impact on this team going forward for many years. Spurgeon will be very hard to replace and this young group of forwards needs high-end defensive players on the back end to make up for their mistakes.

A Spurgeon trade for picks makes sense in a long-term rebuild, Fenton has made it apparent that's not what he's after.

I actually agree on the Nino thing: we were down a RD at the time anyway and this must have been on his radar for the offseason. It's possible that Carolina wasn't interested in giving up Faulk for Nino or that Fenton's intention has been to extend Spurgeon.

On the second point though, the forward group would still have high-end defensive players behind them.

 

[Spurgeon]

I actually agree on the Nino thing: we were down a RD at the time anyway and this must have been on his radar for the offseason. It's possible that Carolina wasn't interested in giving up Faulk for Nino or that Fenton's intention has been to extend Spurgeon.

On the second point though, the forward group would still have high-end defensive players behind them.

They would, but they'd be down to 3 of them. We also still need to see how much of an impact that injury has on Dumba's stick handling and shot power.

With Suter aging, I'm really concerned about our lack of defensive talent outside of our Top 4 and that's why I think it's something we need to keep in tact as long as possible. Dumba, Spurgeon, and Brodin are all guys that should still be playing at high levels in 5 years. Spurgeon could be the Suter-equivalent for the next era of this team. Obviously not in play-style, but as a veteran leader that is a #1.

A draft pick, no matter how high it is (except for maybe the top 3), always comes with some level of risk. I'm already comfortable with the skill level that I think Spurgeon will bring this team and I don't want to gamble that we'll be able to acquire someone at #11 that can perform at a higher offensive level than Spurgeon can defensively.

If it's a rebuild we're after, I understand it. If this team wants to be competitive in 2 years, I think it's completely the wrong move.

 

[Bazeek]

They would, but they'd be down to 3 of them. We also still need to see how much of an impact that injury has on Dumba's stick handling and shot power.

With Suter aging, I'm really concerned about our lack of defensive talent outside of our Top 4 and that's why I think it's something we need to keep in tact as long as possible. Dumba, Spurgeon, and Brodin are all guys that should still be playing at high levels in 5 years. Spurgeon could be the Suter-equivalent for the next era of this team. Obviously not in play-style, but as a veteran leader that is a #1.

A draft pick, no matter how high it is (except for maybe the top 3), always comes with some level of risk. I'm already comfortable with the skill level that I think Spurgeon will bring this team and I don't want to gamble that we'll be able to acquire someone at #11 that can perform at a higher offensive level than Spurgeon can defensively.

If it's a rebuild we're after, I understand it. If this team wants to be competitive in 2 years, I think it's completely the wrong move.

I do share your wariness of draft picks, even high ones. I understand why they're difficult to pry away from teams, but that seems like all the better reason to see if we can target a young player from an especially flush prospect pool instead.