Quote:
Originally Posted by dissentowner
Crap, I missed the memo where Rasmus Andersson said he was leaving in two years. Did anyone else get it?
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It’s not that I don’t like Andersson as a player. And maybe you’re right… they might want to keep him and he may want to sign here long term. I’m putting him into a trade proposal because he is the most valuable player that the flames could trade. I don’t know if any other player would/could return as much as him right now without significant retention (Kadri for example). And even then, it’s unlikely any other player on the team would return as much as Andersson.
I figure the flames should lean into the rebuild early if it’s possible to get another pick in the top ten of this draft. We have seen from trades over the last year that teams simply do not trade top prospects for veteran players. So the best option might be to trade Andersson now while he is under contract for multiple seasons at a reasonable cap hit… if it means a return that has a good chance to be a top prospect/young player for this team.
Some people argue a pick is “magic beans” but a top ten pick is a very different return than a first round pick from a contending team at the TDL. With a top ten pick, that player is much more likely to increase in value from the day they are drafted until at least when they start playing in the AHL or NHL. A good example could be Iginla or Lindstrom…. Both will likely go in the top ten of this draft and both have a decent chance to make team Canada at the upcoming World Juniors (barring injury). If they have a solid showing at that tournament and also continued their progression in the WHL, they could be top 20/30 prospects in this league. As I have said, those are super valuable and teams are way more likely to trade upcoming picks than top prospects.
For example, two years ago, the cost to acquire Dallas’s 2nd round pick would have been a pittance compared to the cost of acquiring Logan Stankoven two months ago. That’s because he was developed into a top prospect in this league.
You have a better chance of turning top ten picks into top prospects than you do trying to acquire them in a year or two while trading veteran players. If Iginla/Lindstrom keep progressing like they have… in a year, a team would likely never trade one of them for Andersson with one year left on his deal. But this year I’m hoping for things to align for the flames where they can make a big move at the upcoming draft. There are very few quality right hand top pairing defencemen available in trade or free agency this year and there are teams with high picks (like Ottawa) that are desperate for one. And Ottawa’s also desperate to get better right away. If that makes for the rare scenario where they would consider trading a top ten pick, it would be a smart move for this franchise to make that kind of trade IMO.