James Tanner: Trading Ovechkin Isn't a Terrible Idea - But it won't happen

Watch, this season they'll finally manage to win the cup...

I hate the notion that a player of Ovechkin, Crosby, Eichel, McDavid etcs. ilk can never be traded because, "the team owes it to them to build a winner around him. If a trade makes sense for a team and that will help them build a winner, they owe nothing to that player. I didn't read the article, and not assuming this is your stance. It just bothers me when most major sports media outlets spout that retorhic.

they were afraid of losing Orlov and Kuznetsov to the KHL and their new contracts reflect that

Leafs 4th line easily lined up with the Caps 4th line in the playoffs even with your favourite Matt Martin. I think you use the term best and worst way too easy.

dont think the GM is very good is all. Pretty much proved it

Thats why you try not to wait until the offseason to resign RFA's and UFA's. Thats when the players have all the leverage

Gets your costs figured out and plan your moves ahead of time

Really, If they had just made a Ney York Islander style deal and payed Vegas through the nose to take Orpik, they'd still have both Johansen and Schmidt

The team would have en entirely different outlook right now.

Leafs 4th line easily lined up with the Caps 4th line in the playoffs even with your favourite Matt Martin. I think you use the term best and worst way too easy.
- Garnie

I'll give you that Kapanen certainly elevated the Leafs fourth line - the NHL just doesn't see players of his quality that low in the lineup.

But regular season, no one was close. Matt Martin couldn't take a job from Wilson or Beagle, and I want to be bias in favor of the Leafs.

dont think the GM is very good is all. Pretty much proved it
- rinaldo

He's garbagio.

Thats why you try not to wait until the offseason to resign RFA's and UFA's. Thats when the players have all the leverage

Gets your costs figured out and plan your moves ahead of time

Really, If they had just made a Ney York Islander style deal and payed Vegas through the nose to take Orpik, they'd still have both Johansen and Schmidt

The team would have en entirely different outlook right now.
- PensWin87

Couldn't agree more. With their window to win, and the roster they had, I would have paid multiple firsts to get to keep Shmidt and get rid of Orpik.

I'll give you that Kapanen certainly elevated the Leafs fourth line - the NHL just doesn't see players of his quality that low in the lineup.

But regular season, no one was close. Matt Martin couldn't take a job from Wilson or Beagle, and I want to be bias in favor of the Leafs.
- james_tanner1

KAP was good but I think Boyle made that line. I know it was only 1 play but KAP cost us a game in OT with some terrible D play in our end. I'm not sold on Kap yet...he was ok on the 4th line I'll wait and see if he ever gets in the top 6 on a team.

Before the leafs geriatric free agent signings I was really hoping toronto would snatch bowey in a trade for a reasonable price by taking on orpik for a year.

The caps just look like a team that would buckle if a team could take brooks off there hands. It might be less of concern now with all the terrible moves made by management but the caps still need to win now so freeing up orpiks cap for another deadline doozy is still a possibility.

Vegas and the yotes both need the help on the right side and have the room to shelf brooks if it means bowey is in the mix.

Glad to see you're coming around the idea trading him wouldn't be so bad.

RNH
Puljijarvi
Nurse


For

Ovechkin




McD and Ovechkin will score Edmonton a Stanley Cup

I hate to say any player is un-trade-able, especially since it happened to 99. But lets be honest here, you don't trade the greatest goal scorer of his era and quite possibly in history. Especially when you have him locked into a contract and have the pieces in place around him to win a cup.

The fact that they haven't is astonishing. Although I agree they were the best team in the league last year. The system that was used, clearly stopped Ovi from scoring his usual 50+ goals and even Ovi himself admitted to not trying to score during the year to save it for the playoffs.

I think it's a mentality thing, we should be seeing the "best player n the world" Ovi, not the Ovi who holds back

I agree with the words of the GM, that "if" it makes a good sense hockey trade, trade him. The upside to 8 is slowly fading, and the team is not going to get any better than it was this past season, with him on the team. Hard to figure out and toss the dice and decide to trade now or trade later, what team would take that contract for a player with the upside, fading quickly?

8, is now a piece of the team, and not one to build a team with. He is a supporting piece and can help a team. I cannot argue with the philosophy of the last two years of the GM, "Two year window to win NOW." The GM did, he tried and was not successful and so it goes with sports.

Knowing when to let go of elite players that are no longer elite, and when an elite player understands they are no longer elite and has to come to terms with, "What now" in their career. I am not sure any player cannot be traded. I would think it would come to a mutual, understanding in each situation between the GM and the player seeing the reality of the situation. It is not fun or easy, or not emotional for either party, but it is the reality of sports, learning how and when to let emotions affect or not affect situations.

RNH
Puljijarvi
Nurse


For

Ovechkin





McD and Ovechkin will score Edmonton a Stanley Cup
- lowsix

Be fun to watch, just sucks about the cap implications

GMBM had a poor off season. He does appear to have been caught off guard. He could have attempted longer term deals with Orlov and Kuzy sooner but he did not. Kuzy's 7.8 mil per appeared to be a gross over payment. However, with McDavid's new deal and specifically Ryan Johansen's new 8x8 deal Kuzy is now receiving fair market value. The Caps know/knew Kuzy was their center of the future but for whatever reason were not able to lock him down earlier with a more favorable long term contract. (I agree GMBM blew it)

I don't think it would have been that easy to not only protect Schmidt and have Vegas take on Orpiks contract for a couple of reasons:

1. The return- NYI gave up the 15th pick, a 2nd rounder and Jake Bischoff a quality defensive prospect. The Caps without a 1st rounder, and projected late 1st rd picks in future years would have had to give up a more to match the Islanders return, especially since the Knights would take on more $ with Orpik.

2. The future Money- Orpik's two years remaining are something that Vegas wasn't looking to take on. Most of their picks or trade additions are impending FAs to keep the cap clear for future years. Taking on $5.5M for the next 2 years would have been against Vegas's strategy and they surely would have wanted a lot more in return.

3. The cap room- Vegas actually took on so many bad contracts, players in salary dumps and guys they wanted to trade, that at the end of the expansion draft they were up near the salary cap and couldn't fit Orpik's cap hit. Now they could have taken some cheaper players from other teams or UFAs which wouldn't have caused a cap hit, but some of those guys they've either already flipped in trades or are planning on flipping in trades, so Washington would have to compensate them.

Factoring all of that in, Vegas would have demanded considerably more from the Caps in a trade, probably at least 2 1sts, and two prospects.