Just out of curiosity what return do you think Gus would get right now? He's young, gained a bunch of confidence towards the end of the season and had a fantastic Worlds.
I'm not advicating moving him but I betcha that the Flyers have gotten some calls or had his name tossed into deals...
Think he'll still be with us? I'm sure it's contingent on getting some good D back. But ya never know!
- FlyersGrace

I doubt he'd get much more than a 2nd or 3rd, at the absolute most.

Probably worth more if they hang onto him.

Semin also had a history and a reputation of being a difficult guy to coach and who wasn't a very good teammate.

Clarkson has none of that baggage.
- Jsaquella

who would you go after in the offseason, jsaq?

who would you try to acquire via trade? and who would you willing to trade?

What's worth more? 1 year for 7M, or 5 years for 5M a year?
- MJL

Depends what you'd expect the other 4 years to get. Two in the bush and all.

However, with regards to the specific player, I think he signed this 1 year deal to try and show he was worth more than just a 1 year deal. He could easily get 4 years @ $5.5M.

Who do you have in mind?
- mayorofangrytown

No one in particular. Say col traded us #14 and a third or something for hartnell. Not saying I'd make that trade But it would give us two higher picks then could take a dman or two or dman and forward if one dropped in draft. In essence say we could draft pulock and domi Bye trading hartnell? Would people go ape shi/ ?

Depends what you'd expect the other 4 years to get. Two in the bush and all.


- jmatchett383

There's no guarantee there will be 4 years after the one year deal is up. Injuries can happen.

There's no guarantee there will be 4 years after the one year deal is up. Injuries can happen.
- MJL

Like I said, 2 in the bush is worth 1 in the hand.

If that's the case, Eddard could have just told Cat so that she wouldn't hate Jon.
- jmatchett383

Ned holds honor above all else, so you could see him willingly taking the shame to keep his promise to LS and protect JS (he'd be a pretender to the throne). There's also the possibilty that RT might have taken LS by force, so there would be a reason for Ned to want to protect her honor over his own. Involving Cat in a possible conspiracy would have threatened her honor as well.

What's worth more? 1 year for 7M, or 5 years for 5M a year?
- MJL

5 for 5m, I would have to agree. But maybe he personally is more appealed by a 1 year, big money to start with. Recently, long-term contracts have come to hurt players at times. Players get stuck on a team they don't like, and they can't move, because they're contract still has many years left, and their team can't trade them because they haven't found the right deal or they can't trade that player's contract. They get trapped on a team they don't like. This has, and is happening, to Rick Nash, Luongo, and Ryan. Maybe it's in the player's best interests in some cases to take a big, 1 year deal, and see if they even like it on that team.

who would you go after in the offseason, jsaq?

who would you try to acquire via trade? and who would you willing to trade?
- sarmen25

I'd pursue the 3 defensemen I mentioned earlier(Edler, Johnson & Yandle). I'd be willing to offer Hartnell, Read or Simmonds to head a package, but I wouldn't go crazy with the add ons.

If I couldn't land one of those three or similar in a trade for one of those three wingers, I'd look at guys like Mark Streit on a short term deal to provide stability and maybe younger guys like McBain(Carolina) or Diaz(Montreal) who are young and have rough spots, but also potential.

In the cases like McBain and Diaz, I'd obviously offer lesser assets.

The best player available may well be a defenseman. But if he's not they shouldn't ignore the better player to take the next best defenseman.

That's part of the reason I'm open to trading down. They could end up with a couple of very good players, and have more options when they do pick. Then, they're not in a spot where they have all their eggs in one basket.

If they traded the 11th & 41st picks and & got 14 & 22 or 26, they could end up with Josh Morrissey and Samuel Morin and have two good prospects for the defense.
- Jsaquella

I understand where you are coming from, we're probaby close in what we would like the team to do overall. I'm ok with that trade, though given how close these players are from 10-40, we'll see if CBJ would make that trade now that Howson is gone. Of course, a GM can lock in a player and throw out reason too.

I'm just worried that the Flyers, who tend to be impatient, are focused on immediate payback with their 1st round pick and go for a Domi or Shinkaruk, nice players but to me are not part of a plan that gets you into serious contention 2-3 years from now.

No one in particular. Say col traded us #14 and a third or something for hartnell. Not saying I'd make that trade But it would give us two higher picks then could take a dman or two or dman and forward if one dropped in draft. In essence say we could draft pulock and domi Bye trading hartnell? Would people go ape shi/ ?
- SMS4016

I'd think long and hard about that, if Columbus offered it. Really hard to turn that return down, and I don't feel they are that far away from contending.

5 for 5m, I would have to agree. But maybe he personally is more appealed by a 1 year, big money to start with. Recently, long-term contracts have come to hurt players at times. Players get stuck on a team they don't like, and they can't move, because they're contract still has many years left, and their team can't trade them because they haven't found the right deal or they can't trade that player's contract. They get trapped on a team they don't like. This has, and is happening, to Rick Nash, Luongo, and Ryan. Maybe it's in the player's best interests in some cases to take a big, 1 year deal, and see if they even like it on that team.
- JAKEw1234

I don't see that as a realistic premise. Clarkson is going to want a long term deal.

I understand where you are coming from, we're probaby close in what we would like the team to do overall. I'm ok with that trade, though given how close these players are from 10-40, we'll see if CBJ would make that trade now that Howson is gone. Of course, a GM can lock in a player and throw out reason too.

I'm just worried that the Flyers, who tend to be impatient, are focused on immediate payback with their 1st round pick and go for a Domi or Shinkaruk, nice players but to me are not part of a plan that gets you into serious contention 2-3 years from now.
- TheGreat28

Those guys could be getting you into serious contention in a couple years, especially if they allow you to move other assets to land a defenseman.

If they take Shinkaruk, it makes it easier to trade a Matt Read.

To make such a trade with Columbus, I think there'd probably have to be a guy that they really loved at 11, which is possible.

I don't see that as a realistic premise. Clarkson is going to want a long term deal.
- MJL

I agree on that.
I think with Semin, there were legitimate concerns with his work ethic (in fact, that has been the knock on him since he entered the league). So I'd bet that most teams were hesitant to offer him long-term/big-money deals, but Carolina figured they'd take a shot on him for 1 year thinking he could produce at big money level. Now the he pretty much did, he's probably going to get than multi-year deal.

I don't see that as a realistic premise. Clarkson is going to want a long term deal.
- MJL

Ok, well the least we could do is try it on a few of the top UFAs, and see if one of them bites.

You don't know if he's dead for sure. If Cat survived, anyone can.
- jmatchett383

wow spoiler alert lol

5 for 5m, I would have to agree. But maybe he personally is more appealed by a 1 year, big money to start with. Recently, long-term contracts have come to hurt players at times. Players get stuck on a team they don't like, and they can't move, because they're contract still has many years left, and their team can't trade them because they haven't found the right deal or they can't trade that player's contract. They get trapped on a team they don't like. This has, and is happening, to Rick Nash, Luongo, and Ryan. Maybe it's in the player's best interests in some cases to take a big, 1 year deal, and see if they even like it on that team.
- JAKEw1234

The only reason Semin signed a one year deal is that people were worried about his reputation as a bit of a cancer and bad teammate, who played soft, despite a ton of talent.

He knew he was getting a great shot at landing a long term deal if he came in and was a good soldier for one year. Clarkson doesn't have to worry about that. He's already viewed as a good character guy and dressing room leader. He's not going to have to take a one year deal to prove he's not a cancer.

wow spoiler alert lol
- Don'tForgetTocchet

Yes, because that gives away so much.

Yes, because that gives away so much.
- jmatchett383

don't get defensive.

To make such a trade with Columbus, I think there'd probably have to be a guy that they really loved at 11, which is possible.
- Jsaquella

Somebody pretty terrific would have to have dropped to 11 to compel Jarmo & Davidson to make that move... organizationally, they have almost an equal need to restock the cupboard, so quantity would serve them better as well.

So it would have to be a player that's pretty highly regarded, the Jackets can't pass up, but the Flyers aren't in love with. Not sure who would fit that criteria... Nichushkin maybe?

The better shot at getting another 1st-rounder might be from Calgary, although now we're talking about 27-30.

Those guys could be getting you into serious contention in a couple years, especially if they allow you to move other assets to land a defenseman.

If they take Shinkaruk, it makes it easier to trade a Matt Read.

To make such a trade with Columbus, I think there'd probably have to be a guy that they really loved at 11, which is possible.
- Jsaquella

I guess here is my issue. We say that we can draft a forward and trade that asset for a top caliber defenseman, except a) no one here wants to trade the assets most likely to land that defenseman (Coots, B Schenn), and b) teams that have young defenseman that are not without risk are not trading them, so you are likely getting someone that a team is down on. And even then, you are giving up a lot.

I like the three dmen you just proposed. But playing devil's advocate,

1. Hartnell is on the wrong side of 30 which for a power forward would likely make a team nervous, so likely only a team that is very close in contention with excess young D would bite on him.

2. I really like Read, but the reality is that he was undrafted (likely to affect perception) and 1 year from UFA. This will hurt him.

3. Simmonds might have most trade potential but is still likely a secondary asset (he was in Richards trade).

To me, the most viable strategy is to draft dman this year, scoring forward or another d next year and then supplement with veterans 2-3 years out.

(Obviously plug roster until then).

You don't know if he's dead for sure. If Cat survived, anyone can.
- jmatchett383

she survived with a slit throat?

I'm on board with Edler, but I understand the concern that his numbers are skewed because of the way he was utilized.

Vigneault is a line-matching whore. He's the best at getting the most out of each and every player. The fact that there were better defensive players (Bieksa/Hamhuis) getting more d-zone starts are more of a reflection of the Canucks roster than Edler in particular, IMO.

I believe he can be the 25 min., two-way horse that this team needs.
- bradleyc4

Brad - I'm not much of an advance stats guy (about the only thing I'm advanced at these days is age).

But if I'm reading the info at stats.hockeyanalysis.com correctly, they seem to say that Elder played more without the Sedins than he did with them. Is that correct?

Here's the page I'm referring to:
http://stats.hockeyanalys...ue&season=2012-13&sit=5v5

Doesn't seem to be a way to do the WOWY with two other players (i.e. both the Sedins), but if you look at the stats with/without each Sedin you see the following:

Daniel: with 287:30, without 480:29
Henrik: with 296:13, without 471:46

Does that really mean he played roughly 60% of his total 767 minutes without the Sedins? Again, assuming I read the numbers correctly, it does look like his numbers are better when he plays with the Sedins (as I think anyone would expect), but it certainly doesn't seem like he plays with them all the time.

don't get defensive.
- Don'tForgetTocchet

Just sayin'. I'm not gonna give any specific times/events surrounding what happens. I'm just hoping for my Snow/Dani/dragon hardcore 3-way and the king of The Others ruling the world with an icy iron fist.

Somebody pretty terrific would have to have dropped to 11 to compel Jarmo & Davidson to make that move... organizationally, they have almost an equal need to restock the cupboard, so quantity would serve them better as well.

So it would have to be a player that's pretty highly regarded, the Jackets can't pass up, but the Flyers aren't in love with. Not sure who would fit that criteria... Nichushkin maybe?

The better shot at getting another 1st-rounder might be from Calgary, although now we're talking about 27-30.
- Tomahawk

That's the rub. Although I think the Flyers are as high on Nichushkin as anyone, there could be a kid that Kekalainen really likes that could be sitting there that he'd be willing to jump for, even if it's just a second rounder that he's willing to add to the 14th pick.

Obviously getting a 2nd first in that kind of deal would be an absolute, best possible scenario