Quote:
Originally Posted by Sylvanfan
Don't fall in love with your own players and over evaluate them. Matthew Tkachuck and Johnny Gaudreau were star players. But no one else was. You want to be careful about having too many players on long term deals around the same time.
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Super important point. Need that flexibility for sure but have to lock up your young stars. Mangiapane is a good example of not being a core piece but at least we did not signing him to really long term.
BTs insistence on icing a team right at cap ceiling gave him no flexibility with Tkachuk to sign the long term deal. Perhaps with Tkachuk there was no inkling at the time that he wanted out and was playing BT for a bridge deal. But that bridge deal was a big mistake. Tkachuk was undeniably a core piece at the time. Already the second or third best player in that draft year.
I have always wondered what is truly "core". Is it 4 untouchables or more?
Elite center, elite winger, elite 1D, elite goalie?
Maybe 7. If you add another 2C, W, 2D.
If your entry level guy is clearly one of those 7. Got to try and get that 8 year deal I think.
Would be interesting to look back and see how often that approach was a big fail.