Quote:
Originally Posted by VilleN
What excites me about this trade is that with Weegar and Huberdeau we have effectively replaced Gaudreau and Tkachuk from a talent perspective. Huberdeau replacing Gaudreau is basically a wash, which is incredible - you could argue Huberdeau's size makes him more valuable. Based on what I have read, from an analytics standpoint, Weegar is one of the best Dmen in the entire league - to me that replaces Tkachuk's value, albeit very different skillsets.
With our improved Dcorps we should be incredibly hard to score against under a Sutter system, sure we won't score as much - but we won't be scored on as much either. So with the roster as it is today we're about as good as last year on paper. Which is pretty impressive considering our two best forwards left. Now, if we could sign Kadri I think it really puts us into the contender category:
Goaltending: A
Defense: A+
Forwards: B+
Coaching: A+
Could be a very good year.
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It could be, but it comes down to a few factors:
1.) Is the team done? Is there a Kadri, Stastny or other FA signing in the works that will re-shape the top 6?
2.) If they are done as currently constructed, does say, Mangiapane and Weegar replace the loss of 100 points on the top line?
For me it's yes and no for the above, but the the improved depth on the blueline and natural progression of some players may make it closer to a wash than it may seem.
There's still a sizable drop off offensively and will require a player like Dube to break out (20g/30a) and another player like Pelletier to step in and immediately make an impact (15g/25a) in his rookie season, but these happenings don't seem like much of a stretch.
Sutter is likely to get a heck of a lot out of Weegar, Huberdeau and Pelletier, so flirting with another divisional title is not out of the question.