2018 Draft Targets
- Thread starter CarltonTheBear
- Start date
CarltonTheBear said:
Realized that the Wings also have Vegas' first rounder from the Tatar trade, so they're picking 6th, 30th, 33rd, 36th, 67th, 81st, and 84th through the first 3 rounds. That's very impressive.
So with the free agents set to walk, and the prospect pool being rather shallow, how would fans feel about moving Kadri and Gardiner for futures? Sure they take the hit now and they probably miss the playoffs for the next couple of years, but the hope is that they recoup a bunch of picks and prospects to build a stronger team depth wise around Matthews, Nylander, Marner, and Reilly in a couple of years.
I just read a rumour that Vancouver may be dangling the 7th overall pick in a package for either Ryan O'Reilly or Noah Hannifin, and that got me thinking about what Kadri or Gardiner could bring back.
I just read a rumour that Vancouver may be dangling the 7th overall pick in a package for either Ryan O'Reilly or Noah Hannifin, and that got me thinking about what Kadri or Gardiner could bring back.
Zee
Active member
Significantly Insignificant said:
Kadri is turning 28 before this season starts and coming off back to back 30 goal years you'd definitely be trading high on him. He's also got a sweet cap hit for the next 4 years so I'm sure he would be worth quite a lot in a trade. The problem is how the hell do you replace your 2nd line center? Would be a hell of a bold move that's for sure.
Gardiner has 1 year left, so the time to trade him would be now. There's no way they can afford to pay him what he'll want in his next contract so if they can move him for some good asset I'd say do it. Again, the problem of replacing what he brings to the current lineup is there.
Highlander
Active member
What do you mean we have Martin Maranchin waiting in the wingsZee said:
Zee said:
So the goal isn't to replace what you have in them right now, but rather to work towards being better in two years to three years.
My opinion on the NHL is that a team always has to be building towards something. They have to be tearing things down, or patiently waiting for the assets acquired in the tear down to mature, or tweaking to eventually win the cup. That previous statement seems like it doesn't have any sort of middle ground, and the reason for that is because you don't ever want to be trapped in that middle ground area because that is the area you cannot get out of.
The Leafs appear to be a team that is heading towards that middle ground area, in that they will hit a cap at their talent level, but they won't have options open to them to improve them past that by assembling a team that is complete enough to overcome the amount of parity that exists in the league.
They are about to lose three players for nothing, and they don't really have anything that is coming that looks like it is going to move the needle in terms of pushing the team over the edge. So they start to stagnate, and every year we as fans may come to the same conclusion which is that while Matthews, Nylander, and Marner are great players, they need something more to actually win the cup. However, by that point they may not have the assets to actually make the moves that they need to make. They'll still only have the one asset that the NHL continually tries to mitigate it's effect, which is money.
So maybe they recognize that this year, and bite the bullet and trade two pretty valuable pieces on their team to strengthen themselves long term.
mr grieves
New member
Significantly Insignificant said:
Which is where I'd get a bit hesitant to move Kadri...
If they trade Gardiner now, would they be ahead of where they are now in 2 to 3 years? Yes, he's likely to price himself out and allocating those dollars elsewhere while letting more cost efficient options filter in is good.
But Kadri...? I don't know. It's hard for me to imagine them doing better than a $5m 2C in his prime (at least as far as knowing how to play goes, if not being offensively explosive).
If they Tavares, on the other hand...
Frank E said:
Quite honestly I think he's out of control.
herman
Well-known member
Bullfrog said:
Frank E said:
The timing is critical. Edmonton will have a bounceback season but falter again the following year after Cam Talbot, re-signing with Edmonton following a 2018-19 statement season for 6 years @ 5M, promptly remembers he is 32+, giving us what amounts to a 6th round pick for a player that had no viable NHL path in our system.
It really is amazing that even with a trade as minor as this I can still laugh at the Oilers. Using 1 of 50 contract spots on Nolan Vesey is puzzling.
Highlander
Active member
After watching Johnsson yesterday, I think we should trade down and stock up with 7th round picksZee said: