Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - The Buyers and the Sellers

KevanGuy · 02-06-2006, 10:30 PM

I was going to do both conferences tonight but this took longer then I thought. I'll try and do the Howe soon.

The Buyers and the Sellers - Gretzky Conference

February 6, 2006
Kris Fernet

And so it begins. Today Jaromir Jagr was traded today for youth. Joe Thornton was traded for depth. With just 20 games left to go in the 2005/2006 CPHL season the annual Buy/Sell Sweepstakes has begun. Some teams will be looking to make some big pre-playoff additions. Some teams will be dumping overpaid veterans. Some teams will tinker and other will stand pat. Today I take a look at the Gretzky Conference and some possible pre-deadline moves:

New Jersey Devils (20 39 8 2) – Consider the Devils a seller. This team was in a constant state of flux since last summer. A number of lackluster GMs have come and gone over that time and the teams standing this year reflects that. NJ is third last in the Gretzky conference and has a couple solid vets that could easily find new homes before the deadline. Sellable: Radek Bonk, Niklas Sundstrom, Eric Cairns, Glen Wesley, Mike Dunham.

New York Islanders (28 27 12 3) – The Islanders are a team on the cusp of the playoffs. They have some very marketable young players and could move some of these for some playoff muscle. However, if they drop too far off in the next month is it possible they become sellers. But at this point in the season I think they can be considered tinkerers. Sellable: Jiri Hudler, Marek Svatos, Keith Ballard, Jordon Leopold, Shawn Belle, Colin Fraser.

New York Rangers (34 26 7 0) – NYR is another team on the playoff bubble. 3 teams are breathing down their neck and they have only a 7-point cushion on the 11th place Leafs. The Rangers are the type of team to do what it takes to make the playoffs so you can consider them buyers. Sellable: Mika Noronen, 2 1st round picks, 3 2nd round picks, Braydon Coburn.

Philadelphia Flyers (24 37 5 1) – The Flyers have made the best of a bad situation and have done well in the standings lately. Over the summer they were a team that had a promising future. They had a good balance of veteran stars and decent rookies. However, a previous GM decided to change the team’s game plan to emulate the Flyers teams of the late 70’s. This approach did not pan out. So the team made a major youth movement and that seems to have paid off in the meantime. However, they will not make the playoffs and they do not have the assets to be considered sellers. They are few players there that interest the buyers in the league. Look for them to add youth when they can. Sellable: Bryce Salvador, Chris Simon.

Atlanta Thrashers (48 16 2 0) – Atlanta already has a classic playoff team assembled. There are very few, if any, gaps in the current line-up. The Thrasher’s GM is know for making deals constantly so you can put the Thrashers in the tinkering category. There just aren’t enough sellable assets (or cap room) to consider them buyers. Sellable: Grant Stevenson, AJ Thelen.

02-06-2006, 10:30 PM	#1
KevanGuy Franchise Player Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Estonia Exp:	The Buyers and the Sellers - Gretzky I was going to do both conferences tonight but this took longer then I thought. I'll try and do the Howe soon. The Buyers and the Sellers - Gretzky Conference February 6, 2006 Kris Fernet And so it begins. Today Jaromir Jagr was traded today for youth. Joe Thornton was traded for depth. With just 20 games left to go in the 2005/2006 CPHL season the annual Buy/Sell Sweepstakes has begun. Some teams will be looking to make some big pre-playoff additions. Some teams will be dumping overpaid veterans. Some teams will tinker and other will stand pat. Today I take a look at the Gretzky Conference and some possible pre-deadline moves: New Jersey Devils (20 39 8 2) – Consider the Devils a seller. This team was in a constant state of flux since last summer. A number of lackluster GMs have come and gone over that time and the teams standing this year reflects that. NJ is third last in the Gretzky conference and has a couple solid vets that could easily find new homes before the deadline. Sellable: Radek Bonk, Niklas Sundstrom, Eric Cairns, Glen Wesley, Mike Dunham. New York Islanders (28 27 12 3) – The Islanders are a team on the cusp of the playoffs. They have some very marketable young players and could move some of these for some playoff muscle. However, if they drop too far off in the next month is it possible they become sellers. But at this point in the season I think they can be considered tinkerers. Sellable: Jiri Hudler, Marek Svatos, Keith Ballard, Jordon Leopold, Shawn Belle, Colin Fraser. New York Rangers (34 26 7 0) – NYR is another team on the playoff bubble. 3 teams are breathing down their neck and they have only a 7-point cushion on the 11th place Leafs. The Rangers are the type of team to do what it takes to make the playoffs so you can consider them buyers. Sellable: Mika Noronen, 2 1st round picks, 3 2nd round picks, Braydon Coburn. Philadelphia Flyers (24 37 5 1) – The Flyers have made the best of a bad situation and have done well in the standings lately. Over the summer they were a team that had a promising future. They had a good balance of veteran stars and decent rookies. However, a previous GM decided to change the team’s game plan to emulate the Flyers teams of the late 70’s. This approach did not pan out. So the team made a major youth movement and that seems to have paid off in the meantime. However, they will not make the playoffs and they do not have the assets to be considered sellers. They are few players there that interest the buyers in the league. Look for them to add youth when they can. Sellable: Bryce Salvador, Chris Simon. Atlanta Thrashers (48 16 2 0) – Atlanta already has a classic playoff team assembled. There are very few, if any, gaps in the current line-up. The Thrasher’s GM is know for making deals constantly so you can put the Thrashers in the tinkering category. There just aren’t enough sellable assets (or cap room) to consider them buyers. Sellable: Grant Stevenson, AJ Thelen.