View Single Post
Old 05-25-2022, 11:08 PM   #1117
OptimalTates
Powerplay Quarterback
 
Join Date: Feb 2020
Exp:
Default

Tampa also turned their third overall (Drouin) into Sergachev while Colorado turned their third overall (Duchene) into Girard (who was playing 20+ minutes a night before he got injured) and Byram (who has filled in for Girard's injury).

I don't consider Thornton with Florida, Tavares with the Leafs, Gudbranson with the Flames or even Johnson with the Avalanche etc. as part of the "high draft picks" but if you can trade those high draft picks for good players like Tampa and Colorado did, they surely have to count.

Also the Duchene trade could have landed the Avalanche B, Tkachuk (the Senators decided to keep that pick) or Hughes (Avalanche had best odds but lost all three lotteries). So that top 3 pick in 2009 was very close to giving the Avalanche a franchise player to build around in the 2020s. They still might have got one with Byram.
OptimalTates is offline   Reply With Quote