Quote:
Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher
Why do you disagree? You didn't say.
There aren't going to be many sellers with how tight the standings are. VAN claims they won't be selling. WPG just re-signed Byfuglien to remove one of the biggest trade chips and may re-sign Ladd too.
How many teams are looking to improve through trade to make the playoffs or go far? like 20?
How many teams will be selling off? like 6-8?
How could it not be a sellers market with those conditions?
Like half the teams in the league are going to want to improve their defensive depth and there certainly aren't 15 great defensemen on the market this trade deadline.
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Here's who I can see as sellers at the deadline (not necessary declared sellers right now):
-- Edmonton
-- Calgary
-- Vancouver
-- Arizona
-- Minnesota
-- Carolina
-- Montreal
-- Toronto
-- Winnipeg
-- Buffalo
-- Columbus
-- Philly
-- Ottawa
Only Jersey is really out of a playoff spot but still in the thick of it. I would hazard to guess that historical 4-6 points out of a playoff spot come deadline day (with equal games in hand) makes you a seller.
Now, with the cap crunch its not a question of who's a buyer, its a question of who's got space to buy. I disagree that just because a team is signing their players that makes them a buyer (or conversely, not a seller), I think it simply means that any given season any roster could make the playoffs if they perform in the regular season, so long term its better to retain your best players.
Right now the playoff bracket turnover rate is ~50% for two years in a row. That means half the current playoff teams were not a playoff team last year.