If someone came up to me and said, "Hey you want Thomas Vanek?" I would say absolutely.
If they then asked me to give up a top prospect, a proven top-six forward, and a draft pick for the impending free agent I would kick them in the shins and walk away.
Rumors are going round and round these days, especially as the Kings losing trend moves on and they now sit dangerously close to the drop zone of the Western Conference playoff picture. With a need for left wingers, powerplay producers, and a top-six forward, the rumors have generated new steam since
Vanek has said he will be hitting the free agent market come July 1st.
A poignant quote from the linked article from ESPN says exactly what I don't want to hear:
"It's just me being a little selfish, I guess, and wanting to get to July 1 and seeing what's out there," Vanek told Newsday. "It has nothing to do with the team and where we are in the standings. I think this team has tremendous upside."
Don't get me wrong here, I think Vanek is a tremendous player and someone who would be of great value to the Kings. However, given his stance on hitting the market and the fact that he turned down a reported extension from the upstart Isles of seven years and $50 million, it just doesn't make sense.
At the time the Vanek-Moulson deal was made, I was on the fence. Color me a fool I actually thought the deal might work out in the Isles favor. Being a pseudo Sabres fan for several years I have watched Vanek play very well and consistently hit double digits in powerplay goals. When the Sabres moved the Austrian to the Island it was a sensible move and the return was worth it for the rebuilding club. A first-round pick, a second-round pick, and a 30-goal scoring winger (who could also be flipped for draft picks) is not something you pass up for an impending free agent. Even someone who has been so integral to the Sabres offense as Vanek. Rebuilds are rebuilds and people have to move on.
Now, with Vanek potentially moving to the free agent market it is quite clear the Sabres made out like bandits in this deal.
The always polarizing Garth Snow made a big mistake, giving up valuable assets for a player who is walking. So what has he reportedly ask the Kings to do? The exact same thing he just did, and got burned on I might add.
Mind you, these are just rumors, and there are lots of different things going on out there of different degrees of validity. Snow wants a king's ransom for Vanek.
The Fourth Period has reported that Snow is looking for the following:
Islanders GM Garth Snow is looking for a young, NHL-proven forward with top-six potential as the centerpiece of a package, which will likely include a high draft pick and a top prospect, for Vanek.
Fill in the blanks as a Kings fan. That's likely Toffoli, a first-round pick and another forward. FOR AN IMPENDING FREE AGENT.
That is quite the price for a rental with no guarantees of returning. Here is where it really starts to make less sense from a King standpoint:
The cap is raising to $71 million next season and the Kings will have $15.4 Million in space to work with. Up for resigning? Trevor Lewis, Dwight King, Matt Frattin, and the aging veterans Colin Fraser, Matt Greene, and Willie Mitchell. Realistically the Kings could have around $12-13 million dollars to work with in pursuing the left winger via free agency.
I know free agency is the wild west sometimes and it can be an utter crapshoot, but do you even consider dropping your number one prospect and a first-round pick at this deal? There is also no guarantee that Vanek is successful in the King system on top of there being no guarantee he resigns. Imagine the fan uproar if Lombardi dealt Toffoli, a first, and Stoll for example, and Vanek goes full on Anson Carter.
The Kings would be better served to roll the dice at a summer signing where they could deal with the potential utility and success of Vanek on their own terms and not mortgage the future on taking the risk at the deadline.
The simple fact in this is that Garth Snow knows he is in trouble for the Moulson-Vanek swap, and now he is trying to get out from under the deal by executing a similar move on another GM. I don't think Lombardi is foolish enough to take the bait being waved in front of him even though Vanek looks like the panacea to many King woes right now. As it comes closer to the deadline the asking price will fall considerably. Now that the 30-year old has said he will more than likely head to free agency, opposing GMs are in a perfect bargaining position knowing that if Snow doesn't get something now he will walk away from these deals having lost Vanek, Moulson, a first-round pick and a second-round pick for absolutely nothing. Pressure is on for Garth Snow to get something, anything, at this point. Maybe the price goes down in the future, who knows.
If I were a betting man, I'd say the Kings add a defenseman at the least before the deadline. Anything else after that, be it Gagner, Gaborik, or whatever other rumor is out there, is as uncertain as it comes. We all know the Kings need a forward but the price has to be right.
The Isles and Snow can keep Vanek for now, but come summer it's glory to the highest bidder. Maybe the Kings will be in on that one when it happens. As for now though it makes no sense given the asking price.
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