Quote:
Originally Posted by Macindoc
Neither is likely interested in trading for Gaudreau in their current state, at least not in exchange for their picks. He's much more likely to be traded to a contender with a bit of cap room looking for an upgrade on 1LW, a team in "win now" mode that thinks he can put them over the top, even if it is at the expense of a promising prospect. So which contenders have a highly-rated centre prospect?
Probably the dream trade for the Flames would be with their 2020 2nd to Washington (which doesn't have its own 2nd this year) for Connor McMichael and Tom Wilson.
Why would the Flames do this? Well, for a middling team with no likely 1C or 2C in the pipeline, this would give them a potential top 6 centre, as well as a decent right-shot top 6 RW who's signed up until the Flames' next likely window to contend (around 2022-2023, at the prime of Tkachuk, Valimaki, Andersson, Pelletier, Hanifin, and Kylington's careers, with maybe Wolf or Parsons taking over in net). The top 9 would look something like Tkachuk-Monahan-Lindholm, Pelletier-McMichael-Wilson, and Dube-Backlund-Mangiapane.
Why would the Caps to this? Their window to win is now. Ovechkin is nearing the end of his contract, and his production is declining a bit. With his seeing-eye pinpoint passes, Gaudreau would be the best set-up man Ovy has ever had. With Gaudreau, a left-hand shot, playing RW and setting up Ovechkin's deadly right-hand shot on the LW, it wouldn't surprise me if Ovy got 60-70 goals and Gaudreau got 120 points. Sign Ovy for one more season, and you have two seasons as possibly the team with the best chance to win the Cup. Their top 6 would be Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Gaudreau and Vrana-Backstrom-Oshie (scary!). They may give up more than they get back in trading McMichael at the beginning of his career, but if they win two Stanley Cups in the process, it will have been worth it (think back to the Niewendyk for Iginla trade). And they may have an above-average shot at re-signing Gaudreau.
With Wilson's cap hit being a bit less than Gaudreau's, the Flames could eat 25% of Gaudreau's salary to balance the cap. And how fun would it be to watch a Connor McMichael/Connor McDavid rivalry in the BOA?
One other intriguing possibility would be to again bundle Gaudreau with a 2nd to Colorado for Burakovsky and Alex Newhook. For the Flames, this would give them a top 6 LW to take 2nd line duties (RFA for UFA, but not at quite the same skill level, especially given that Burakovsky has put up fewer points in spite of playing with MacKinnon, and RFA trade and sign deals seem to be Treliving's forte) and a 1C/2C prospect. Not to mention that it would add to Calgary's own local Team Sweden. Top 6 would be Tkachuk-Monahan-Lindholm and Burakovsky-Newhook-Pelletier. For the Avs, this would give them an elite playmaker who would likely be even better than he is on the Flames given how much space Mackinnon's speed would create for him to work in. I can see Gaudreau easily putting up 120+ points on a line with MacKinnon and Rantanen, and boosting both of his linemates' goal totals significantly, to the point that the line would be virtually unstoppable for the next two years. I see this scenario as less likely because the Avs are more in a "win-anytime" mode, and Gaudreau may be less likely to re-sign there, but it may be hard to turn down the prospect of two years of being the Stanley Cup favourites.
Of course, Johnny's dream trade would be to the Flyers, probably for Morgan Frost. In this scenario, the Flyers would have to add. Maybe Konecky to balance the cap hit? From the Flyers' perspective, they would likely be highly confident that they could re-sign Gaudreau for a reasonable cap hit, and they are in "win-now" territory.
|
Quite a bit to digest here, but don’t see much here that seems plausible.
If I’m Treliving and I’m looking to target a top 6 C, I’m going straight to the Buffalo Sabres to see if there’s a way to get Dylan Cozens. I think there are several reasons why it works for both teams.
Buffalo: the owners, the players (Eichel), the fans, have grown impatient. The time to start making the playoffs is now. Do you think Jack Eichel signs an 8 year deal thing the Sabres are still going to be a lottery team 3 years in? I don’t. With a new GM at the helm, they’re not desperate but the message is going to be clear, improvement is non negotiable. Kim Pegula said so herself that they are not ‘rebuilding’.
Flames: perhaps Morgan Frost is another option, but acquiring a young C with top 6 potential is nearly impossible. You’re going to have to pay a premium, especially if the return is a winger, but you might be able to do it through the right trade partner. Cozens would be preferable to the 8OA pick because he’s already had his draft +1 year and you know (as best you can) what you’re getting. Who knows what you’re getting with the 8th OA? And how long until the pick plays for you, if the pick plays? Is that what the Flames want right now? Picks? I don’t think so. Or at least it’s not their priority.
I’ve been saying all along; JG for Cozens and Miller/Montour.
I don’t see Washington as a fit at all. They won a cup with Wilson as a core piece. Why would they want to change that and in such a drastic fashion? JG for Tom Wilson? Are there two players in the league that are more opposite of one another? Disrupting the core this much would seem to fly in the face of Washington’s ‘win now’ position as you have laid it out. Also, Backstrom is every bit as good as JG as a set up man. Connor McMicheal looks to be a good target though.
Reasonably sure the Flyers have no interest in trading Konecny.