NHL Trade Rumors and Speculation 2022-23

[PerreaultForever]

7 hours ago, JohnC said:

The reason why the Rangers made the leap forward is that their goalie played like one of the top two or three goalies in the league. We are definitely not going to get that level from play regardless of who the GM brings in. As I said in prior posts the primary driving factor is going to come from internal improvements from players who are already on the roster. Not only is that the best way moving forward, it is the fastest way to move forward. I am counting Mitts and Cozens to up their game the most and improve the team. The Italian coach with the cool blue framed glasses has stated that Mitts was the best player in camp. That is encouraging. 

I'm also counting on the GM to bring in players at the positions you noted. But although they won't be at an exceptional level, they should collectively contribute to improve the team. How much so? I can't say. What I can say is that the young GM has been clear on his strategy to rebuild the roster. It's obvious to me that he is adhering to it. Some people don't like his approach because it doesn't meet their desire for instant gratification. I'm on board because I know that I don't reside in a fantasy world. 

 

So presumably with that last sentence you think I do? Nice. 

What's with all this "young GM" and "Italian coach with the cool blue framed glasses" stuff?  Sounds like you're in the fantasy world. 

Now to hockey, and what matters, you acknowledge we need a goalie to succeed and you believe all of those positions need to be addressed as I said, so there's really nothing to argue about. The rest is just a question of degree. 

Mitts? Believe it when I see it, not when the little balding man who looks like Moby tells me. 

 

[DarthEbriate]

2 hours ago, dudacek said:

Don’t you love it that going 5 and 3 while allowing 12 goals in 8 games and 298 shots is “cooling off”?

I do. Setting the bar high is a good thing.

[JohnC]

10 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

So presumably with that last sentence you think I do? Nice. 

What's with all this "young GM" and "Italian coach with the cool blue framed glasses" stuff?  Sounds like you're in the fantasy world. 

Now to hockey, and what matters, you acknowledge we need a goalie to succeed and you believe all of those positions need to be addressed as I said, so there's really nothing to argue about. The rest is just a question of degree. 

Mitts? Believe it when I see it, not when the little balding man who looks like Moby tells me. 

 

Since the GM was installed, he has repeatedly publicly stated his philosophy on rebuilding this franchise. There is no hidden agenda. Every time he is interviewed his robotic response is the same: The word patience is included in almost all his sentences. The over-arching rebuild strategy in his rebuild is to "draft and develop". There really is nothing innovative about it because it is a standard approach that is widely used. Yzerman took that approach when he was with Detroit (successfully so), then with Tampa (successfully so) and is now employing it back in Detroit (starting to show results). 

We all agree that there needs to be a goalie upgrade. What's obvious is obvious. And most of us agree that a solid veteran defenseman and forward should be added. But it is unlikely that a high cost and top tier player will be filling any of those positions. Would I like to see the GM go after the best goalie available? Absolutely! But based on what the GM has stated and on how he has operated during his tenure I don't see him taking that more costly road.  

I have a more favorable view of Mitts than you appear to have. And I don't consider it wishful thinking. I'm basing my projection on how he performed last year when he was healthy. And I have the same positive view of Cozens for next season. As I said before the main source of this team's improvement next season will be due to internal improvement more so than from outside additions. I highly doubt that there will be any blockbuster deals that will have the fans buzzing with excitement. That's how I see it.

[tom webster]

34 minutes ago, JohnC said:

Since the GM was installed, he has repeatedly publicly stated his philosophy on rebuilding this franchise. There is no hidden agenda. Every time he is interviewed his robotic response is the same: The word patience is included in almost all his sentences. The over-arching rebuild strategy in his rebuild is to "draft and develop". There really is nothing innovative about it because it is a standard approach that is widely used. Yzerman took that approach when he was with Detroit (successfully so), then with Tampa (successfully so) and is now employing it back in Detroit (starting to show results). 

We all agree that there needs to be a goalie upgrade. What's obvious is obvious. And most of us agree that a solid veteran defenseman and forward should be added. But it is unlikely that a high cost and top tier player will be filling any of those positions. Would I like to see the GM go after the best goalie available? Absolutely! But based on what the GM has stated and on how he has operated during his tenure I don't see him taking that more costly road.  

I have a more favorable view of Mitts than you appear to have. And I don't consider it wishful thinking. I'm basing my projection on how he performed last year when he was healthy. And I have the same positive view of Cozens for next season. As I said before the main source of this team's improvement next season will be due to internal improvement more so than from outside additions. I highly doubt that there will be any blockbuster deals that will have the fans buzzing with excitement. That's how I see it.

You know, we agree more than we don’t but if the team is counting on Mitts it would greatly lower my opinion of the front office. He could be a wildcard. If he stays healthy and produces like some thought he would, it greatly speeds up the process. However, he should be thought of as the icing on the cake and should not, based on his history, be counted on as a key ingredient of that cake. As successful teams across all sports have repeatedly stated, the best athletic attribute is availability.

[Brawndo]

 

[JohnC]

23 minutes ago, tom webster said:

You know, we agree more than we don’t but if the team is counting on Mitts it would greatly lower my opinion of the front office. He could be a wildcard. If he stays healthy and produces like some thought he would, it greatly speeds up the process. However, he should be thought of as the icing on the cake and should not, based on his history, be counted on as a key ingredient of that cake. As successful teams across all sports have repeatedly stated, the best athletic attribute is availability.

The injury factor certainly is a concern. The player that I'm more concerned about regarding an injury derailing a career is UPL. The coach has stated that during training camp he felt that Mitts was one of his best players. That's certainly encouraging. But what makes me optimistic about this upcoming season (goalie still an overriding issue) is that the roster is starting to create some depth where it can absorb an injury and not be devastated by it. At the center position you have to add Krebs, Tage and Cozens to the center mix. My point is that although I'm expecting Mitts to become a good contributing player, I'm not counting on him to be an invaluable player who can't be replaced.  

Edited July 4, 2022 by JohnC

[Rasmus_]

19 hours ago, Pimlach said:

Well the Avs are a very talented and powerful team that peaked at the right time and didn’t have to rely on brilliant goaltending but how many cups are won without great goaltending?   Not many.  Most teams don’t get past round 2 without great goaltending.  
 

I prefer that Adams shore up the goaltending and help the young core win more games.  
 

I also think Kuemper is superior to Ullmark. 

 

I agree on Kuemper, but he's also a major injury concern to giving long term dollars. 

[Huckleberry]

1 hour ago, Brawndo said:

 

I would pay that for him, I think he has a lot of upside.

[SabresVet]

2 hours ago, JohnC said:

Since the GM was installed, he has repeatedly publicly stated his philosophy on rebuilding this franchise. There is no hidden agenda. Every time he is interviewed his robotic response is the same: The word patience is included in almost all his sentences. The over-arching rebuild strategy in his rebuild is to "draft and develop". There really is nothing innovative about it because it is a standard approach that is widely used. Yzerman took that approach when he was with Detroit (successfully so), then with Tampa (successfully so) and is now employing it back in Detroit (starting to show results). 

We all agree that there needs to be a goalie upgrade. What's obvious is obvious. And most of us agree that a solid veteran defenseman and forward should be added. But it is unlikely that a high cost and top tier player will be filling any of those positions. Would I like to see the GM go after the best goalie available? Absolutely! But based on what the GM has stated and on how he has operated during his tenure I don't see him taking that more costly road.  

Yzerman's track record versus Adams' are vastly different and to compare the two's strategy is absurd.  Adams mismanaged the goalie situation and seemed to be caught flat-footed when Ullmark left and did not recover.  The GM has a lot to prove although he's had a lot thrown at him.    

I understand that, emotionally speaking, people want to believe in this regime because it's different than previous ones which were either way too cautious (Botterill) or too audacious (Murray).  Neither produced a team close to the playoffs, but to avoid taking risks to hide behind a draft and develop mindset.  

Also have not expectation for a big UFA or trade this off-season, but I'm done with setting low expectations because it's safe to expect they'll meet them.  Success this season is seeing the young players move closer to being productive NHL players and win.  Because you don't truly "draft and develop" without the W's. 

[Contempt]

25 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

I would pay that for him, I think he has a lot of upside.

He's nearly 28 years old and had a whopping 32 points last year, in his best statistical season. No thank you.

[tom webster]

2 hours ago, JohnC said:

The injury factor certainly is a concern. The player that I'm more concerned about regarding an injury derailing a career is UPL. The coach has stated that during training camp he felt that Mitts was one of his best players. That's certainly encouraging. But what makes me optimistic about this upcoming season (goalie still an overriding issue) is that the roster is starting to create some depth where it can absorb an injury and not be devastated by it. At the center position you have to add Krebs, Tage and Cozens to the center mix. My point is that although I'm expecting Mitts to become a good contributing player, I'm not counting on him to be an invaluable player who can't be replaced.  

I’m not worried about what you are counting on, unless of course you are KA.

And I previously stated, I’m not counting on anything from UPL.

[dudacek]

Last sentence of the Buffalo portion of his latest blog makes me wonder if Elliot Friedman has been talking to @tom webster’s sources.

Buffalo’s got a boatload of cap room, but appear inclined to save it for its young core’s eventual extensions. Or, if something really interesting comes along

[JohnC]

14 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Last sentence of the Buffalo portion of his latest blog makes me wonder if Elliot Friedman has been talking to @tom webster’s sources.

Buffalo’s got a boatload of cap room, but appear inclined to save it for its young core’s eventual extensions. Or, if something really interesting comes along

You don't have to listen to what Elliot Friedman has to say about the cap and money because it isn't a secret. The GM has publicly stated about how he is going to spend the cap in the present and the future. There is no hidden agenda. He's leaving money on the table now so he can have it when the young core needs extensions. 

[dudacek]

1 minute ago, JohnC said:

You don't have to listen to what Elliot Friedman has to say about the cap and money because it isn't a secret. The GM has publicly stated about how he is going to spend the cap in the present and the future. There is no hidden agenda. He's leaving money on the table now so he can have it when the young core needs extensions. 

But I want to listen because he hears things that Kevyn Adams isn’t discussing publicly.

That last sentence wasn’t added by accident and it fits with what Tom has said about Kane to Buffalo, which is what Friedman has said about how Kane and Toews would exit Chicago.

I have repeatedly heard Kevyn Adams say he would only spend money or make a big move if it made sense long-term. Kane for “excess” picks and/or prospects makes sense long term.

While I generally share your vision of Adams plan, I don’t share your dogmatic interpretation of it.

[Curt]

3 hours ago, Brawndo said:

 

I got a lot of push back a few weeks ago when I wrote that his market value was somewhere in that range.

[tom webster]

Regarding Kane and Toews. Chicago wants to move on but they go not want to be the ones to ask. They also are not looking for immediate help. They want to be bad. They aren’t planning on qualifying Strone or Kubalik. They would trade Jones if they could move that contract. They want a full reset. Some believe that if/when Debrindicat(sic?) is dealt,  the Blackhawks hope Kane and Toews ask to be dealt. It’s still likely they are not, but this is considered a pretty open secret in the league. This is not hockeybuzz stuff. It’s been talked about by Lebrun, Friedman, TSN, etc.

[thewookie1]

55 minutes ago, dudacek said:

But I want to listen because he hears things that Kevyn Adams isn’t discussing publicly.

That last sentence wasn’t added by accident and it fits with what Tom has said about Kane to Buffalo, which is what Friedman has said about how Kane and Toews would exit Chicago.

I have repeatedly heard Kevyn Adams say he would only spend money or make a big move if it made sense long-term. Kane for “excess” picks and/or prospects makes sense long term.

While I generally share your vision of Adams plan, I don’t share your dogmatic interpretation of it.

Pretty much this; Adams isn’t going to cannonball into the pool of cap they have barring he sees the puzzle piece he needs at the bottom. They call Free Agency the “Silly Season” for a reason and Adams seems to full embrace that idea. With all this cap space, we are capable of absorbing literally any cap hit in the league and not blink. Add to that we have already have a “functional roster” once our RFAs are signed. The goaltending would be highly suspect but rarely can a team theoretically fill a roster with 23 guys and a 5mil IR guy without even approaching 15mil left in cap space region. This being almost entirely due to the number of ELCs on the roster and a couple cheap bridges. How many teams could honestly call up Chicago and offer them 21mil in cap space? And still have little trouble getting under the cap.

[PerreaultForever]

2 hours ago, dudacek said:

Last sentence of the Buffalo portion of his latest blog makes me wonder if Elliot Friedman has been talking to @tom webster’s sources.

Buffalo’s got a boatload of cap room, but appear inclined to save it for its young core’s eventual extensions. Or, if something really interesting comes along

the key word is "interesting". That could mean anything. Could be Kane, could be Husso, could be ?    What exactly would be "something interesting" ?

1 hour ago, JohnC said:

You don't have to listen to what Elliot Friedman has to say about the cap and money because it isn't a secret. The GM has publicly stated about how he is going to spend the cap in the present and the future. There is no hidden agenda. He's leaving money on the table now so he can have it when the young core needs extensions. 

You really seem to love KA as GM. Why I don't know, but it's clear you are all in on him 100%. To me at this point he still needs to prove himself. Deconstruction was not the hard part. At this point for me he's no different than the others. You called him the "young GM" earlier which made me laugh as the implication was that somehow made him what, better? We've had nothing but young GMs in this era and they've all screwed up royally. Until we see the results of his drafting we can't really evaluate him. As to his "plan", of course that's the plan, and there's a bunch of picks coming, but there comes a point where you need to make other moves too. 

The draft is without a doubt how you build, but the teams you mentioned, Yzerman and all that, also made trades and signed UFAs to make them better. You want to win you don't just save money for the future, you balance your payroll. For example after his entry level deal ends you'll need money for Power, so you can sign a UFA with a contract that expires around that same time. You MANAGE the cap as you are the GENERAL MANAGER. Spending nothing and sitting on the cap floor cheats the fans and only lines the pocket of the owner. 

Two things I don't want. I don't want to wait any longer, and I definitely do not want to teach this group that they have to wait and that losing is acceptable. We do that, and this will all unravel yet again, just like last time. No thank you. 

[Taro T]

2 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

the key word is "interesting". That could mean anything. Could be Kane, could be Husso, could be ?    What exactly would be "something interesting" ?

You really seem to love KA as GM. Why I don't know, but it's clear you are all in on him 100%. To me at this point he still needs to prove himself. Deconstruction was not the hard part. At this point for me he's no different than the others. You called him the "young GM" earlier which made me laugh as the implication was that somehow made him what, better? We've had nothing but young GMs in this era and they've all screwed up royally. Until we see the results of his drafting we can't really evaluate him. As to his "plan", of course that's the plan, and there's a bunch of picks coming, but there comes a point where you need to make other moves too. 

The draft is without a doubt how you build, but the teams you mentioned, Yzerman and all that, also made trades and signed UFAs to make them better. You want to win you don't just save money for the future, you balance your payroll. For example after his entry level deal ends you'll need money for Power, so you can sign a UFA with a contract that expires around that same time. You MANAGE the cap as you are the GENERAL MANAGER. Spending nothing and sitting on the cap floor cheats the fans and only lines the pocket of the owner. 

Two things I don't want. I don't want to wait any longer, and I definitely do not want to teach this group that they have to wait and that losing is acceptable. We do that, and this will all unravel yet again, just like last time. No thank you. 

To the bolded, absolutely.

And cap space that goes away unused is a wasted asset come next July 1.  Totally get not signing expensive LT deals on guys that will be fading when this current roster is peaking, but if at the end of June the Sabres sit with $15MM in cap space that's about $10MM worth of an asset they'll never get back.  Botterill threw away the cap space Berglund gifted him; don't want to watch Adams do something similar.

[Huckleberry]

3 hours ago, Contempt said:

He's nearly 28 years old and had a whopping 32 points last year, in his best statistical season. No thank you.

Ah damn, thought he was younger xD

[Buffalonill]

1 hour ago, tom webster said:

Regarding Kane and Toews. Chicago wants to move on but they go not want to be the ones to ask. They also are not looking for immediate help. They want to be bad. They aren’t planning on qualifying Strone or Kubalik. They would trade Jones if they could move that contract. They want a full reset. Some believe that if/when Debrindicat(sic?) is dealt,  the Blackhawks hope Kane and Toews ask to be dealt. It’s still likely they are not, but this is considered a pretty open secret in the league. This is not hockeybuzz stuff. It’s been talked about by Lebrun, Friedman, TSN, etc.

Kubalik is not going to be qualified? 

[tom webster]

3 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

Kubalik is not going to be qualified? 

They are trying to trade both his and Strome’s rights. If they can’t, it’s possible they don’t. They really want to blow it up.

[Brawndo]

 

[Contempt]

17 minutes ago, tom webster said:

They are trying to trade both his and Strome’s rights. If they can’t, it’s possible they don’t. They really want to blow it up.

You can't just let those types of players walk.  Even if you dont get what you want you have to get something

[Marvin]

For my peace of mind, here is how I have mentally prepared for the next few off-seasons.

Put together anticipated payroll changes for the next few years for players already here.  Give Tage at least 7M, Dahlin at least 9M, Power at least 6M, etc.  Assume cap increases of $1M per year until it is $90M.  Give yourself $2M manoeuvering room each season.  Like it or not, do not spend above the lower of the league median and league mean on goaltending.

How much cap is left?  IMHO, that is the maximum total salary he is giving out for the next few seasons in any given season.  He is committed to this group of young players and will not make a move which will force him to trade one due to a cap crunch.  There will be no high-priced mercenaries and,  IMHO, mediocre goalkeeping.