Quote:
Originally Posted by Enoch Root
Holland was willing to give up Nyquist and wasn't willing to give up a 1st. Period
You can try to spin it all you want, but I am of the opinion that he would look a little further out than his ability to get Nyquist into the lineup at that point in time
|
I'm sure Holland would have done a deal of a 1st for Bouwmeester, but not a combination of top prospect + first rounder.
The problem is, in my opinion, the Flames tried to have their cake and eat it too. Wanted that 1st rounder, but also needed warm bodies, any bodies, for the system. Holland was willing to give to get, and I think if you look at that roster, you can see why. They are STILL lacking a top pairing defender, and it's a critical weakness for their roster.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Enoch Root
Keeping in mind also, that he had already invested 4 years of development into Nyquist
|
Again, give to get. The hole in their lineup isn't up front, it's on the backend. If I know that, Ken Holland and Mike Babcock know it too. Nyquist and Tatar/Kindl/Andersson is better value than 1st plus Cundari and Berra, but it didn't tickle Calgary's fancy, who were looking for first rounders and college prospects.
At the time I was advocating getting nothing in return but picks or elite prospects. Getting a mix of late firsts and warm bodies is sort of the antithesis of both these strategies.
I like to think I would have done Bouwmeester for Nyquist and Tatar/Kindl/Andersson, but in a vacuum, I can't say for certain if I would have. Were the options between St. Louis and Detroit's offers, I'm pretty confident I would have went with Detroit's.