Three trade scenarios developed by me, and my opinion on the Edmonton, Florida and Dallas coach hiring
With the trade market being slow right now I have created 3 different trade scenarios that would help, Ottawa get a top 6 forward, Dallas get more offense and Pittsburgh having a backup option in the event that Letang doesn’t re-sign.
#1) Konecny to Ottawa
Now I don’t think this is a best case scenario for Ottawa as I think they have better options but if the Senators don’t get Fiala in a trade and Giroux signs elsewhere as those are the two players that look the most likely for the Sens to acquire to help them upgrade, but could the Senators as a backup plan trade for young top 6 forward Travis Konecny if they don’t get the other two. Now I think this could be a legit possibility as Konecny, while not as productive is definitely a major upgrade on the middle six players in Ottawa and with his contract at $5.5 Million for 3 seasons I have no doubt that he could help the Sens and be a very productive top 6 forward for Ottawa as I would say that he can slot on the 2nd line with maybe Stutzle and be a 50-60 point contributor and help that Sens offense big time. Now what I would see go in return is a respectable amount as the Flyers would still like something good for Konecny but they also want to gain cap space so I feel that the package will be made of the Senators 2RD pick this year and a young defender. The Sens 2RD pick is number 39th overall this year and while I could see next years 2RD pick be traded instead given it is a deeper draft, I believe this years makes more sense as it is a high pick and they don’t know where Ottawa will finish next year so they get the 39th overall pick. And to go along with it Philly also takes a young D prospect from Ottawa. Now I believe that the Senators would be open to moving one of there young defenders as they do have a lot and not all of them would be able to play in their organization but I could see them move one of Jacob Bernard Docker, Lassi Thomson or Erik Brannstrom. All three are young players who in my opinion have NHL futures but I would say not all can play with the Senators. Brannstrom found a role in Ottawa last year as a 3rd pair defensemen and put up a career high 14 assists and points in 53 games but is a pending RFA and did ask for a trade early last season so while it is not a guaranteethat he is moved I do think it is a possibility, while Bernard Docker has his second taste of NHL action and Thomson had his first. Bernard Docker had a assist which was his first NHL point in 8 games, while Lassi Thomson has 5 assists in 16 games this season and I think that while both are good young defenders that only one will get a shot in the Sens organization but given how rough Philly’s defence has been I think a really good young prospect who can make a NHL impact would be great and while I was considering 3 pieces for Konecny, I feel that a former 1st overall defensemen and the 39th overall pick is actually a pretty good return for Philly. But they’ll me what you think, Gould Konecny be a good fallback option for Ottawa and would a 2RD pick and top D Prospect be enough to pry away Konecny from the Flyers.
#2) Olofsson to Dallas
With DeBoer now the head coach I believe that this team will try and get more goals this upcoming season and try to steer away from a one line offence and I think they could acquire a few middle six forwards to try to help put pucks in the net and who else then Buffalo’s best trade chip in Victor Olofsson. Now in the playoffs the Stars could barely score on the power play and were still pretty much a one line team so getting some power play help and power play help is really needed and I think that Olofsson would help them fill both needs. Olofsson is a RFA with a qualifying offer of $3.25 Million and I think if the Starts negotiated a 2-3 year deal at around $3 Million dollars then put him on the 3rd line where he can be a effective secondary scorer and also put him on a power play line as that is his specialty and where most of his goals come from and they would solve both of their needs with this move as Olofsson has scored 20 goals twice in his career and has hit 40 points twice as well and most of his points come on the power play so this would be a great and smart move for Dallas in my opinion. Now although Olofsson’s value isn’t very high, I do think that Buffalo will not give him away for nothing and that is why I came up with a return of Jani Hakanpää and a 3RD pick. Now the reason I cam up with these two pieces is actually quite simple. First Hakanpää, who I think proved this year that he could be a top 4 defensemen because when there was uncertainty surrounding Klingberg, Hakanpää for a bit was playing as a top 4 defensemen either with Suter or Lindell and did quite a good job in my opinion and given he is signed for 2 years at $1.5 Million I thought that at least for the next couple years he could maybe by the partner for Power the Sabres were looking for. I now it is not a highly elite player but having a defensive defensemen like Hakanpää to pair with Power would be the right move in my opinion. And then because Olofsson has good value I added a 3RD pick in this year (82nd overall) as I feel that the Sabres could draft another good prospect with that pick and for a goal scorer the Stars would be okay to part with it. So what do you think of this trade scenario, could Hakanpää be a good partner for Power and would Olofsson help upgrade the Stars power play and secondary scoring.
#3) Burns to Pittsburgh
Now the only way that this trade winds up happening is if the Penguins end up not re-signing long time defender Kris Letang, but if they don’t re-sign him could they look to the Sharks and Brent Burns as a quality replacement for Letang. Now I am not saying Letang won’t resign because it looks like they could work out a deal, but Burns could be a good replacement if Letang left. Now Burns has had at least 40 points in 8 of the last 9 years (the one anomaly was the short season), and Letang has hit 40 points in 7 of the past 9 seasons but the deference is that Letang has a history of being injured while Burns is one of the most likely defensemen in the NHL to consistently play a 82 game season. Now the Penguins don’t want Letang at around $7-8 Million for 5 years but getting Burns who has a cap hit of $8 Million for only three years with the actual salary being less might make sense for the Penguins and with this being a cap move by the Sharks I would think they would be willing to retain $1-2 Million on that contract so having Burns at $6-7 Million for three years could be very appealing if Letang goes and I know that Burns would have to most likely have his NMC to go to Pittsburgh but if they are keeping their winning core as much together as they can and they show that they want to go for another cup then I don’t think Burns would be opposed to waiving. Now the Sharks (as much of a cap dump this is) won’t give Burns away for free so I have included two things in a package to San Jose and that is the Penguins 2RD pick next year and young defender Pierre Olivier-Joesph. Now as good as Burns is I don’t think he will command a first round pick because he is 38 years old and is going to start declining soon so I think that the Penguins 2RD pick in next draft which sounds like it will be a really deep draft would definitely have to be included in a trade as the Sharks could get another good young player. And then POJ is probably the best Penguins prospect and with Joseph not getting much NHL time in Pittsburgh, I could see him being included because he is a good young player who still has great potential and would definitely get more of a opportunity in San Jose. Joseph has 20 career games under his belt getting a goal and 4 assists for 5 points while he had 33 points in 61 AHL games this season and I have no doubt he could still be a 2nd or 3rd pair defensemen and imagine if in a few years the Sharks have Ferraro and Joseph as the 1-2 on the left side so I think he would be a substantial piece in this trade. But let me know what you think, is Burns good enough to be a Letang replacement in Pittsburgh and would POJ and a 2RD pick be enough to get Burns out of San Jose.
While these are just scenarios off the top of my head I would like to see if at least one of these trades actually happened in the real offseason, as that would be absolutely crazy.
Coach signing review.
Edmonton is bringing back Woodcroft.
The Oilers have their next coach locked up as they have extended interim head coach Jay Woodcroft to a 3 year contract extension that will keep Woodcroft the head coach of the Oilers. Woodcroft came in for Dave Tippett half way through the season after a rough patch for the Oilers and did a outstanding job as the Oilers head coach going 26-9-3 to finish the year and get to 2nd in the Pacific and then heated both the Kings in 7 games and the Flames in 5 games before the Avalanche went on and swept them but the improvement under Woodcroft was amazing and this signing is good. I know there were other good coaches but in my opinion it was the best fit for the Oilers as he brought that team together and while I don’t know the terms of the deal at this moment, I think a three year deal is good for Woodcroft and I believe he will lead the Oilers back to the playoffs and maybe to the Stanley Cup Final.
Dallas now has their new head coach.
The Stars have now brought in their next head coach as (just as I predicted) the Stars have brought former Golden Knights head coach Peter DeBoer. He has helped the Golden Knights, Sharks and Devils deep into the playoffs early in his tenures there and has always lead his team to many playoffs so as a experienced coach I think that this is a good hiring. I think that DeBoer can get this teams offensive gears rolling a bit better then when Bowness was in charge as well as keeping a good defence as the Stars are a more defensive teams and I know DeBoer has a reputation for being rough on goalies and a lot of Stars fans are wondering about Oettinger and how well he will do in the system, and while there are concerns I believe that Oettinger should do just fine in a DeBoer system (if anything Oettinger in a DeBoer system might actual take some of the pressure off of him if this team can put the puck in the net more), and the deal is 4 years at $4.25 Million per year and while I would have gone with a three year contract, I think the money is well deserved for a coach of his caliber and I believe he can take the Stars to the next level.
Florida has gone a different direction and signed there new head coach.
The Panthers have decided not to bring back Andrew Brunette as the head coach of the Panthers and have hired former Jets head coach Paul Maurice the next coach of the Panthers. Maurice has coached in the NHL for a long time as he has coached 1685 regular season games and has the 7th most wins in NHL history. The Panthers are going to have to learn yet another new system as it seems the Panthers weren’t overly fond of how the 2RD of the playoffs went and wanted to have a new voice which is a bit of a surprise to me as Brunette was a Jack Adams runner up and lead the Panthers to a President Trophy, but all in all I think Maurice will be a good coach in Florida. When he was in Winnipeg he lead them to the Confrence Final 5 years ago and this Panthers team has a lot of the same aspects as that team did. They have a good starting goalie (maybe not to the level of Hellebuyck but both goalies are quite good) a very good D-Corp and a veteran forward group and with so many similarities it would not surprise me one bit of Maurice was able to coach this team past the 2nd round next year but one things for sure, he will have great success in Florida in my opinion and for the experience and winning resume he brings I think the 3 year deal at slightly under $4 Million is a really good contract for the Panthers.
And here is a list of all signings for the NHL from JUN 17th to JUN 21st
Pacific
Vancouver
Andrei Kuzmenko and the Canucks have agreed to a one year entry level contract that will be worth around $.950 Thousand dollars per year and will kick in the 22-23 season. Kuzmenko was the best free agent from Europe and I would expect him to be a top 6 role next year with Vancouver on a line with Pettersson or Horvat, and this situation sort of reminds me of Zub a few years ago, where he signed a 1 year ELC and then signed a multi year extension and is now a top pair D-Men in Ottawa and I think Kuzmenko could have a similar situation to Zub’s.
Vegas
Right Defensemen Daniil Miromanov and the Vegas Golden Knights have come to terms on a 2 year contract extension that will carry a $.763 Thousand dollar AAV and the deal will begin in the 22-23 season. Miromanov had a brilliant AHL season this year with 40 points in 53 games and had 11 NHL games adding a assist and while I don’t expect him to be a NHL defensemen out of the gate, I would expect him to be a serious call up candidate especially if he has another outstanding start in the AHL.
Atlantic
Tampa Bay
Forward Simon Ryfors and the Tampa Bay Lightning have come to terms on a 1 year contract extension that will carry a AAV of $.750 Thousand dollars per year and the deal will begin in the 22-23 season. After a pretty productive AHL season he was able to get another deal with the Lightning, but I would probably say that he remains a AHL player next year.
Metro
Columbus
Forward Liam Foudy and the Columbus Blue Jackets have come to terms on a 2 year contract extension that will carry a AAV of $.763 Thousand dollars per year and the deal will begin in the 22-23 season. Foudy was a high draft pick in the 2018 draft (18 overall) but hasn’t found a consistent NHL role yet as he only has 5 assists in 27 NHL games over 3 seasons and while he has consistently had good AHL years he just hasn’t been able to transfer that production to the NHL, and I would expect him to have a bit more of a chance on this 2 year deal to become a NHL forward.
Left Winger, Center Brendan Gaunce has come to terms on a 2 year contract extension with the Columbus Blue Jackets that will carry a AAV of $.763 Thousand dollars per year and the deal will kick in the 22-23 season. Gaunce had a pretty good season last year as he was able to get a bottom six role and had a career high 7 points in 30 games and I would suspect that he continues to battle for a 4th line spot with the Blue Jackets over the next few years.
Washington
Center, Left Winger Beck Malenstyn has signed a 2 year $.763 Thousand dollar extension with the Washington Capitals and the deal will begin in the 22-23 season. Malenstyn has only had 15 games of NHL action over the past two years and only has a goal to show for it but I do feel like he will play in the AHL next year and be a call up option for the Capitals.
Right Winger Brett Leason ans the Washington Capitals have come to terms on a 2 year contract extension that will carry a $.775 Thousand dollar AAV and the deal will begin in the 22-23 season. Leason has his first 36 games of NHL action this year and got 6 points but I do believe that he is more of a AHL forward and will probably play in the AHL next year but I would also expect him to be a top call up option for the Capitals as well.
Comments
Post a Comment