From The latest Spector Article:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/c...draft-preview/
Quote:
VEGAS PICK PROJECTION
Micheal Ferland, LW
The Golden Knights are going to accrue a ton of draft picks in 2017 and 2018, but what they’ll want is useful players in that 21-to-25-year-old age group that will be mostly protected around the NHL. Ferland fits this bill.
He is big, and Vegas will need some size up front to avoid getting pushed around by the Ducks, Kings and Oilers in the Pacific. Plus, the Brandon relationship exists with McCrimmon and Ferland.
Privately, Calgary may prefer to lose Brouwer – we don’t know this however — but exposing Brouwer could be poisonous if he remains on the Flames roster after the expansion draft. Barring trade — and the Fleury possibility casts a shadow over all of this — they’ll bite the bullet and expose Ferland.
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Umh... WHAT?? How does this even make sense, there is a 0% chance that Ferland isnt protected, especially over Brouwer. One guys finished on the season on the first line, and one guy finished on the 4th line. One guy is just coming into his prime, the other is on the other side of it. There is also a 3 Million dollar differential on their Contracts. Treliving is a businessman and pretty smart; if he exposes Ferland, Ferland is gone. If he exposes Brouwer, "worst case" (assuming the flames want to keep him), Vegas takes him, the flames have essentially lost nothing because all he cost to aquire was money. "Best case" (same assumption) your keep them both and lose Stajan/Kulak. Seriously, if they wanted to protect both Brouwer and Ferland, they wouldn't have traded a draft pick for Lazar!
Also insinuating that these professional hockey players that are getting 7 figures will somehow be poisoned by being exposed and not being picked; ASININE. That essentially means that each team is going to have 10-13 players that are just going to check out and request trades? Or purposely tank and risk being buried in the AHL or bought out? Seriously, if Brouwer is exposed and not picked, he is going to wipe his brow and say "wow, that was close. at least i don't have to pack". If he tanks or sucks worse then he did last season, on purpose, he will get bought out and be done as a NHL level hockey player. What team would touch him?