Quote:
Originally Posted by PeteMoss
What gives them a better change to win the cup... Marty St.Louis for the next 2-3 years or some unknown draft pick. Sure it could blow up in their face... but the odds are it will work out in their favour.
Would Tampa have made this trade had St.Louis not forced it? Doubtful.
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Well lets be realistic. Is Tampa an upper echelon contender? No, not really. Could they win it all? Yes, but that argument is invalid because so can any of the 16 teams who make it to the playoffs. So maybe they sacrifice a small opportunity now, but if they hit on these picks they might be open up their window even larger in the future, when their very nice young core will develop even more.
Of course Tampa probably doesn't do it without him demanding it, because who trades a guy who's spent almost his entire career in one spot and is still producing at a high level? But he did force them, and with only 1 suitor, they came away with 2 major pieces that could turn into even more pieces. Realistically, does this trade make the Rangers legit Cup contenders? No, and in fact the Rangers are one 5-10 game stretch of poor play from missing the playoffs altogether. It's a very risky trade from the Rangers perspective, one that only works if they win a Cup now.