[Trade]Vanek for Moulson and 2014 1st and 2015 2nd rounders

[Husky]

Vanek. A solid player but overrated.

[stemit14]

This trade reminds me a lot of the jokinen for lombardi, Prust, and a first rounder trade. Could go either way based on what the picks turn out to be.

[Anduril]

Originally Posted by T@T

Probably just me but I think Moulson is the worst 30 goal scorer in the league.

Better than the best 20 goal scorer I would say. At the very least he's shown repeated results over the last couple years in potting goals and isn't just a warm body like a Hagman.

[OutOfTheCube]

Good deal I say. Officially the end of an era in Buffalo... Ship Miller out now too and call it a season. Already looking forward to the draft haha.

[Jacks]

Originally Posted by kyuss275

Moulson is UFA at the end of season also. Look for Buffalo to probably trade him at the deadline. Have to think they can get at least another 2nd round pick.

They should trade him right now while his value is over inflated.

[T@T]

Originally Posted by Anduril

Better than the best 20 goal scorer I would say. At the very least he's shown repeated results over the last couple years in potting goals and isn't just a warm body like a Hagman.

Have you ever watched him play? he's not just a one zone player he's a half zone player, only time he shows effort is from the circles in.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

Regier is simply amazing at making trades. Have to wonder why Buffalo just can never click.

Yeah he's netted a bunch of 1st round picks for players that are good but maybe not elite although Vanek could be. Kind of a head scratcher for the Islanders but I guess they are going all in for a playoff run but I don't understand why they felt they had to throw in all those picks as Moulson has actually produced more points than Vanek in each of the last two seasons. Massive overpayment but I guess it's a reminder that the Islanders are still the Islanders.

[EYE_Overstand]

Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube

Good deal I say. Officially the end of an era in Buffalo... Ship Miller out now too and call it a season. Already looking forward to the draft haha.

i'm jealous with the building pieces in buffalo. the rebuild has a lot of good pieces already

[Frank MetaMusil]

Originally Posted by stemit14

This trade reminds me a lot of the jokinen for lombardi, Prust, and a first rounder trade. Could go either way based on what the picks turn out to be.

That trade was Jokinen + a 3rd for Lombo + Prust + 1st rounder. The 3rd rounder was used on Ryan Howse.

[TjRhythmic]

Originally Posted by kyuss275

Moulson is UFA at the end of season also. Look for Buffalo to probably trade him at the deadline. Have to think they can get at least another 2nd round pick.

I'd actually laugh if Buffalo managed to get more for Moulson then the Islanders did if they traded him at the deadline, or before.

[Oling_Roachinen]

Originally Posted by Anduril

Better than the best 20 goal scorer I would say. At the very least he's shown repeated results over the last couple years in potting goals and isn't just a warm body like a Hagman.

Moulson has scored maybe 3 goals in the last 2 and half years while Tavares was not on the ice. Obviously he had the chemistry with Tavares that they were rarely separated but I think the verdicts still out on how good he is when he's not playing with one of the best players in the world.

I think it's a decent trade for both teams. The Islanders are getting to the stage where they can't just keep looking for the future, with the relocation starting it off on the right foot and trying to make a splash in the playoffs to drum up excitement is probably a great business move even if they overpaid for Vanek. The Sabres get a decent package for a player who didn't look to be long term in a season that's already a write off.

[Buff]

As far as the current roster goes, the Islanders win this deal. They improve their team now. Vanek with Tavares could be a deadly duo. Even if they play on separate lines, the Isles can have two dangerous lines. Tavares stacked Moulson's stats, not the other way around. Vanek is not a superstar but he can help Tavares more than Moulson did.

Steep price to get Vanek though. Moulson is no slouch so adding a 1st AND a 2nd seems like an overpayment. The Islanders are banking on Vanek and Tavares taking this team into the playoffs the next two years. Maybe they have something lined up like Okposo a 2014 2nd and a 2015 1st for Cammalleri?

[SebC]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

let us not forget to mention

the Oilers were once willing to give up 5 first round picks for Thomas Vanek, 3 picks that ended up at number 1 (and all things being equal would probably have still been in the top 5 every year)

Let us also not forget that the Sabres turned that down.

Both teams came out of that looking like idiots.

[timbit]

Originally Posted by Buff

As far as the current roster goes, the Islanders win this deal. They improve their team now. Vanek with Tavares could be a deadly duo. Even if they play on separate lines, the Isles can have two dangerous lines. Tavares stacked Moulson's stats, not the other way around. Vanek is not a superstar but he can help Tavares more than Moulson did.

Steep price to get Vanek though. Moulson is no slouch so adding a 1st AND a 2nd seems like an overpayment. The Islanders are banking on Vanek and Tavares taking this team into the playoffs the next two years. Maybe they have something lined up like Okposo a 2014 2nd and a 2015 1st for Cammalleri?

Are you serious? Okposo is a stud!

[Jake]

I don't like the deal from the Islanders perspective... how much more productive will Vanek be than Moulson? Moulson was an easy 30-goals/year. I honestly can't see Vanek scoring much more than that and certainly not enough to justify moving two high picks. Sure, you can argue Tavares was padding Moulson's stats, but even if Vanek plays with Tavares, I don't think he will out produce Moulson by much.

[Oling_Roachinen]

Originally Posted by SebC

Let us also not forget that the Sabres turn that down.

Both teams came out of that looking like idiots.

That's easy to say in hindsight, but at that time it wasn't so clear. The Sabres had just won the Presidents' Trophy and lost 2 of the their top 3 scorers, losing Vanek would make it all 3. To go from literally the best team in the league to rebuilding would be unheard of. Teams don't give up on making the playoffs when it's a very achievable goal. Again in hindsight it's easy to say that the Sabres weren't a contender, but at the time who was saying that a Conference Finals finalist and Presidents' Trophy winner aren't going to be a threat the following season?

At the same time Vanek as a 22 year old had just put up 43 goals and a league leading +47 season, to give up on him so quickly could have been a huge mistake. And the Oilers very possibly make the playoffs that year with Vanek instead of Penner so it wasn't like it was a guarantee 4 (not 5) first overall picks. Edmonton making the playoffs in 2008 changes everything, delays the complete gutting of the team, and those 4 picks might end up being middle of the pack rather than Hall and Hopkins.

[Henry Fool]

Vanek is a great player but I don't see how the Islanders will convince him to stay. I bet he signs with Minnesota in the off season.

[timbit]

Originally Posted by Jake

I don't like the deal from the Islanders perspective... how much more productive will Vanek be than Moulson? Moulson was an easy 30-goals/year. I honestly can't see Vanek scoring much more than that and certainly not enough to justify moving two high picks. Sure, you can argue Tavares was padding Moulson's stats, but even if Vanek plays with Tavares, I don't think he will out produce Moulson by much.

Vanek is at least twice the talent Moulson is....hence the deal.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Jake

I don't like the deal from the Islanders perspective... how much more productive will Vanek be than Moulson? Moulson was an easy 30-goals/year. I honestly can't see Vanek scoring much more than that and certainly not enough to justify moving two high picks. Sure, you can argue Tavares was padding Moulson's stats, but even if Vanek plays with Tavares, I don't think he will out produce Moulson by much.

Vanek is a FAR better player than Moulson, and I think that with an opportunity to play alongside one of the best players in the world, Vanek will almost certainly outproduce him. But even if it is by a small margin, this is not the best way to evaluate the trade from an Islanders perspective. Another consideration here is how much more dangerous does Vanek make Tavares? Further, how much more do the lower two scoring lines benefit from having Vanek in the lineup? There is a discernible trickle-down effect here in offence that Vanek provides, that Moulson never could. The fact that Vanek can carry a line on his own where Moulson could not makes him an immanently more valuable player, and the cost more justifiable (depending upon a contract extension, of course) for the Islanders.

[stemit14]

Were moulson and Tavares really good friends? If so, I wonder if Tavares is ok with this trade. It's so easy for us to say vanek will score more than moulson did cause he's a better player but Tavares seemed to have chemistry with moulson. Hopefully he can have it with vanek too