[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by Major Major

Everyone knows that the prudent thing to do is to cut some canopy from this team and let the sun shine through, but the only reason to do this now is if there is a ridiculous overpay.

Prices for premium pieces will still be high at the draft, the acquiring team can extend them thus upping their value, and there will be lots of excess draft capital that the blues and caps of the world will be looking to buy players with. The market will still be strong in an off season re-tool. Last year Debrinkat, Dach and Romanov all went for high picks. This year, I think there will be even more opportunity at the draft as a seller.

So why give up on the playoffs now if the market stays more or less the same? The value multiplier of staying in the game and trying to bust through is high, not just for the fun of winning, but also for player value. Markstrom could erase his first 3/4 of the season with a scorching hot last quarter. Mangiapane could show his value around the league is still high as a clutch goal scorer. And if all else fails and they miss, Toffoli will still have the rep as a 30 goal productive winger, Hanifin will still be a solid skating PMD who puts up 40-50 points, Backlund and Lindholm will both be still well regarded as trade chips. Tanev will still be thought of as the warrior that can fix on an entire Defensive unit. You just have more mobility to move guys in my mind.

The other thing is that people are looking at lessons of the past and saying, we must sell. I think that's true, but the other lesson from the past here is that if you believe in a player, lock them up even if they just had an off year. It's what people kept bringing up over and over with Johnny and Tkachuk. In Johnny's case it was 3 bad years. So if you think Lindholm is a true number 1 C in the shape of Bergeron, get the deal done now. If you like Backlund on a low cost retirement deal, do it! If you think Hanifin is a Defensive anchor that will be solid for years, sign him! And trade whoever you are unsure about.

You were getting 4 years of service from Dach, 2 years of service from DeBrincat and 4 years for Romanov. They are examples of why you trade guys with term, they have a higher value.