Quote:
Originally Posted by Textcritic
Vanek is a FAR better player than Moulson, and I think that with an opportunity to play alongside one of the best players in the world, Vanek will almost certainly outproduce him. But even if it is by a small margin, this is not the best way to evaluate the trade from an Islanders perspective. Another consideration here is how much more dangerous does Vanek make Tavares? Further, how much more do the lower two scoring lines benefit from having Vanek in the lineup? There is a discernible trickle-down effect here in offence that Vanek provides, that Moulson never could. The fact that Vanek can carry a line on his own where Moulson could not makes him an immanently more valuable player, and the cost more justifiable (depending upon a contract extension, of course) for the Islanders.
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Bottom line to me is that I think there are better ways to spend a 1st and 2nd round pick.
Optimistically, I think Vanek will score 10-20 points more than Moulson (if Moulson had stayed with Tavares) and Tavares production may improve too. A lot of those points will come from the same goals too.
The "trickle down" effect would only happen if Vanek plays on his own line. If he just replaces Moulson on LW beside Tavares, than it comes down to Moulson vs. Vanek, and how much Tavares' production improves. Plus, how much more can Tavares potentially produce? He is already on pace for 100 points this season without Vanek.
From a numbers standpoint I don't like the trade. You can talk about "talent" all you want, but to me it comes down to offensive production. Moulson was great in his role and I don't see Vanek improving much on Moulson's numbers.
I think there may be some really good UFAs available at the deadline looking at some of the contracts that are expiring, that could probably be obtained for a 1st/2nd round pick. Replacing a winger like Bouchard with say, Cammalleri, would result in a higher offensive improvement than Moulson vs. Vanek, IMO.