dudacek

It is stunning how many good players have moved, with the deadline still more than 24 hours away. I haven’t had time to process everything, but in terms of the wild card, the Caps and Wings appear to have been sellers so far, the Islanders and Senators big buyers, the Pens smaller buyers, and the Sabres and Panthers have been quiet. It will be interesting to see how this affects the race.

I wonder if Buffalo had a similar offer on the table but Ottawa was willing to risk a top 10 pick and Buffalo was not

I feel vindicated as to the cost and disappointed KA was unwilling to beat it. OK, Ottawa's first might be slightly better than ours, but I'd have had no problem adding another pick or prospect to compensate.

Which is actually light years in @brawndo time

Chychrun would be around for two more years after this one on a cheap salary, maybe more. that's why he makes sense: It's a move for now and later, which is what Adams said he was interested in.

Or Detroit Did the give up on the playoff race, or are they going to flip the picks for something better, like Chychrun?

Do you ever wonder if Adams has yet to pull the trigger on a minor upgrade to the defence because he’s been working his ass off for months a major one?

So, you agree: player evaluation issue. The issue with Schenn or Jensen is that they in all likelihood would represent operational hypocrisy on Adams part, unless he had a good sense he would have been able to sign them. He’s made it clear he’s not interested in trading futures for pieces who won’t be here in the future.

I think @Thorny has the rights of it: you were framing this as an operations issue, when what it really is (or it least could be) is a player evaluation issue. It’s clear from your posts you’d have no issue whatsoever with Adams trading a 3rd-round pick for a 24-year-old physical defenceman with a year left on his deal and the potential to upgrade the bottom pairing. On the contrary, it’s what you have been yelling at him to do for months. The objections come from people who think Bloom has value in excess of of a 3rd-rounder, and people who don’t think Stillman is an upgrade to Bryson/Clague. Each of which is a legitimate concern, although probably not worth the pixels we’re using to discuss it.

I don't think anyone disagrees with your argument that we need another good defenceman and better goaltending and Adams needs to do something about it. I think most of us think those things are obvious. It's the constant repetition and conclusion that it means Adams has no plan and is doing a terrible job.

I thought so too.

I don't think the fanbase is tough enough for a growth season. Every 3-game winning streak you see hope starting to creep in to people's posts. Every loss like last night and it's "I knew it, they were just teasing me, they're never going to change!" We're like a partner in an abusive relationship. His inability to find a goalie yet aside, I am so glad Kevyn Adams has his hands on the wheel. Don't know if his plan will get us there, but listening to the noise definitely won't.

Holy *****! Blake with some cold ass dealing there. (It’s apparently a 1st and Quick for Korpisalo and Gavrikov) Quick must be furious. Also, does this affect their ability/desire to get Chychrun? The still have the pieces even without their first, but if the Coyotes aren’t taking salary back, how do they fit Chychrun under the cap?

No, I get your point. I disagree with your perception of the prospect pool. To my eyes, the only players who match your perception are Rosen and Kisakov. Just because Savoie, Kulich Östlund, Krebs, Peterka and Cozens are skilled enough to play in the top six does not mean they are too soft, too defensively irresponsible, or too offensively focused to play in the bottom six. They are all responsible brave, all-round players And I disagree that Bloom is the only prospect we have capable of grinding: Poltapov is far more abrasive and Nadeau stronger on his skates and better in traffic. To answer your question of 'why Bloom?' I think the answer is simple: he's elite at nothing and the least likely of any of them to become an NHL player.

First mention of UPL by an “insider?” And from the wording, he’s being dangled in order to get what we’re looking for. That’s an attention grabber.

Chychrun to me makes the most sense to the Kings; they have the need and the pieces.

So exactly what i think, except you think he's not still trying, he's done?

Personally, I think he has a Tyler Ennis ceiling and a bust floor. Less than 2 years ago the Sabres thought he was no worse than the 13th-best player in the draft, so I’d say 2nd line or better has to be their projection.

Does anybody else see Stillman as basically an insurance policy? As in, if we aren’t getting our targeted Dman, we’ve at least added some depth and attitude at a cheap price?

I’ve said it before Rosen, this year’s 1st, Philly’s 2nd and Portillo. Arizona doesn’t want salary

And has been patiently waiting more than a year for a promised trade. Something is going to break. Curious as to the Ekholm vs Chychrun debate Edmonton must have had. That package meets the reported Chychrun price in value, but Edmonton had to move salary, and apparently Arizona wouldn’t take it. Wonder what futures Barrie could have been flipped for.

I dont agree. Matt Savoie will be better, but he could easily play Tyson JOST’s role. Jiri Kulich has a game that can slot anywhere in the lineup. They’re dogs. Östlund is diligent and smart as they come. Prokhor Poltapov is Vaclav Varada. Tyson Kozak is a longshot, but if he makes it it will be as a textbook 4C. Olivier Nadeau is a beast in traffic. And that is ignoring the fact that guys like Krebs, Quinn and Cozens are competitive diligent guys who will be available to PK and matchup as they mature. Pretty much everything Bloom offers is still there.

Just asked this in the other trade thread. There are a billion defencemen still available. The beauty of this is that he can afford to wait. As much as a few want to sell the farm to make the playoffs, they can do that without selling the farm, and making the playoffs is absolutely as far as they are going to go. 3 of the Rangers, Bruins, Lightning and Leafs are going to live to regret what they’re doing.

If Edmonton opened up salary for Ekholm, and Parayko and 8 billion other D-men also on the market, is the window closing for the Coyotes to get their ask on Chychrun? And are the Sabres actually going to be able to scoop up the leftovers from that market late?

Read some charts that said Schenn and Stillman are roughly the same player. Saw somewhere else that the main difference between them is Stillman played with Myers while Schenn got to play with Hughes? Only semi-related, am I the only one wondering if the Leafs are making too many changes to a team that’s been pretty damn good, and much improved defensively this year?