Quote:
Originally Posted by dissentowner
Kopitar is most certainly not a top 5 player in the league.
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I personally think he is (I see almost a 13 way tie for best player in the NHL, I give winning a cup extra pedigree) but probably why I see this deal happened. You got Doughty and Kopitar and a good supporting cast that can get you a cup, and Kopitar is rare and hard to replace - we spent 20 years looking for a replacement for Nieuwendyk. In a few years, they could be in cap hell but as mentioned before, the CBA expires and depending on what the NHL is looking for, they may have compliance buyouts to shave off dollars for the cap and that'll get the LAK out of cap hell. The pending lockout would probabyl eat a year off the deals too. They're going for it now, and the future is a blur... but might as well since there are always options to get out of it (savvy deals like dealing Pronger or Nathan Horton, or even better convenient circumstances so sport fans can whine on for months after it happens)