Continuing down the path toward next Monday's trade deadline with no deals done and no surprise re-signings, here is installment 2 of "picking partners." Part 1 went outside the orthodox "random depth player for a 4th-rounder" category and instead offered up a non-rental hockey trade of Jeff Skinner + a 2nd tier rental for Erik Gudbranson + Brandon Pirri + lower-tier futures and also Andrej Sekera for Malcolm "no matter how good I am, I am just a backup to a 6-year, $7M/year commitment in Rask" Subban.
Today, I will offer up 2 more trade partners:
Los Angeles Kings
The Kings have an interesting predicament in Slava Voynov. If he is cleared to play which could happen before the playoffs, the Kings would suddenly be much deeper on defense - about as deep as they were last year when they won the big silver cup. And they would also need to have salary cap space available to fit him. If he is not cleared to play at some point, the Kings would arguably be short a top 4 defenseman, and it would be too late to spend the leftover salary cap to fix this problem. Enter Andrej Sekera. He has a modest $2.75M salary cap hit and an even lower actual salary of $1.75M. In theory, the Canes could agree to keep 25% of his salary. This would cost the Canes only about $110k in real $ (1/4 remaining season X 1/4 of remaining amount X $1.75M) and make Sekera only a $2.1M cap hit for the rest of the season for a total counted amount of about $500k. Things are tight in LA, but this should still leave the wiggle room to also add Voynov later especially if the Kings do the math and just hold him out until the math works.
So what does it take to do this deal? Right now, I think Ron Francis is working the phones to see if he can generate a bidding war that yields a 1st round pick. IF this happens and IF the Kings want to win it, they are in a good spot with a 1st round pick that looks to be a mid-round pick right now (unless of course they win the whole thing again), That pick even has an outside chance to turn into a tiny chance at the lottery if the Kings crumble and miss the playoffs. But there is a very good chance that a 1st-round pick will not materialize in which case, I think Francis will instead look to get a decent package that maybe includes pick(s)/prospect(s) but more importantly an NHL ready or near-ready player. Following the theme of trying to fill a lineup gap (not just the system) on defense (reference last blog's Skinner trade), I think the compelling package that the Kings could offer has Derek Forbort as the centerpiece. In Forbort (just like Gudbranson), the Canes get a pedigreed 2010 1st-round defenseman with size (6-5, 200ish). Forbort does not bring the experience that Gudbranson does, but he should be ready to give it a go at the NHL. The Canes would get 20ish games this season to make a reasonable judgment on his readiness/slot and decide if they need to look elsewhere this summer while he develops. As a left shot, more stay-home defenseman with size, you could aim to slot him next to Ryan Murphy on a 3rd pairing next season and hope that 1 or both play their way up from there.
Especially if Sekera goes, the Canes need to find some way to backfill the blue line without spending a fortune. Gudbranson is farther along and at least has the potential to climb into the top 4 next season. Forbort is much more of a stretch for that big of a jump, but then the Canes depth recently is such that Brett Bellemore with much less pedigree and all-around potential did exactly that last summer. If the Canes prefer, the Kings are deep in terms of farther out defensemen, so it might also be possible to collect a 2nd round pick and a medium-quality/couple years away type of defensive prospect.
So the trade: Andrej Sekera for Derek Forbort + 4th round pick
The Kings get a replacement for Voynov plus defensive depth and (importantly) with a little financial wrangling the do it in a way that still leaves room for a Voynov return if that happens. Forbort is a decent young prospect, but the Kings are deep on the blue line both on the roster and in the system.
Anaheim Ducks
You heard it here first. If Jiri Tlusty goes to a team where he can play on a top line with an elite playmaker, he will prove to be the most productive scoring addition of the trade deadline. You say I'm crazy. Jiri Tlusty finished 1st (yes 1st) in the entire NHL (yes the ENTIRE NHL) in even strength goal scoring in shortened 2012-13 being a complementary player and finisher extraordinaire on a line with playmaking (Semin's good days as a Cane) and bigger problems for the defense to worry about on his line. He does not so much create his own shot/offense. And he is not a dynamic scorer. But what he is is an underrated heady 2-way hockey player who reads situations well and goes to the right place. That fits real well with Getzlaf/Perry. It also fits real well with Crosby/Anyone else. After another very strong regular season but a bigger need to follow it up in a stacked Western Conference playoff bracket and with salary cap room to spare, I just cannot see the Ducks sticking to the "we are going to be prudent and not sacrifice our future" motto coming out of the GM offices right now. The future is now for them. Jiri Tlusty is a good fit at forward and not likely that expensive. In pure draft pick currency, Tlusty probably costs a 2nd round pick. The Ducks are another team that is fairly deep in terms of prospects. Again, it is just my hunch, but unless Francis can get the ceiling for picks (1st for Sekera, mid-roundish 2nd for Tlusty), I think he will gravitate more toward getting a few players who are part-way into their development and maybe able to compete for a roster spot next season. The pickup of Nestrasil, disappearance of Terry and Boychuk and small number of near-term options in Charlotte tell you where the organization stands in terms of "ready now" depth. As long as Francis continues to keep his high-round picks (used all 3 last summer), he can restock the 2-3 year from now options via the draft.
So the trade: Jiri Tlusty for 2 medium futures probably of the near-ready player variety and a mid-round pick.
What say you Canes fans? Are you surprised that the roster is still fully intact now only a week from the deadline? Or are we just building toward a rapid-fire trade weekend? Do you think I am right that Ron Francis will have a preference toward landing prospects who are ready to compete for an NHL slot versus the usual draft picks? Does anyone else think Jiri Tlusty will thrive on a good scoring line with a playmaker? What else?
Twitter=@CarolinaMatt63
Go Canes!