Tell me this team can't explode with youth next year.
This teams front office has to want to win. I question their will at this point.
Lets be honest, they aren't going to fix this team in FA. They need to stop that. They might find one or two helping pieces but that's not going to make them a winner.
If they are going to win it's going to have to be playing the prospects. Adding Yager will help this team more than any FA next season and be far cheaper.
This fixes the 3rd pair. Which is a joke this year and will stay that way if they keep up their current ideas. They could move Graves if they want, and use the cap savings to replace him. I'm neither here nor there on it.
We get rid of that clown POJ who belongs in the AHL instead of the guy we traded Marino for who has outplayed POJ in the preseason every year since his arrival. I really question the motive at this point. But what I do know, what a horrible decision by the front office.
Next lets talk about replacing the coach. Sully has nothing but personal issues with players. Crosby won him a cup and his head has become so large it could pop. He has lost the room. He chased out Cole and ruined the defense. Then proceeded to chase out Kessel with no plan and killed the power play right after Kessel walked out the door. They went from a top 5 powerplay to bottom 5 and killed the team. Some coaching.
They need a coach who can be flexible, game plan, and work with his players strengths. Most importantly stop chasing players out the door because he can't get along with them with his pompous BS.
Instead we got a rigid buffoon with a his system no matter what or which players.
Couple that with a GM that makes poor decisions and we chase Dumo out, who's having a decent year in SEA playing next to can't play defense for crap Schultz (don't argue, he was a PEN well before he was in SEA, we all know who he is) and we bring in Graves. Who is a much better player than any penguins fan will ever know, because the coach forces a press system pushing the defense men and forwards up the ice into the Ozone pretending their stay at home defenseman can do that. Then cry, what happened to Dumo....well nothing, you asked him to do something he clearly can't do....and now do the same thing with Graves and wonder why you get the same results. It's no wonder there are tons of breakouts and the defensemen can't get back to play. But hey blame the guy because he can't skate like Letang or EK.
Think the coach would put his players in better position...hell no. He'd rather try to explain why we got Carter still on the ice. Any coach worth anything would have told the 39 year old retiree to sit down and shut up on the bench while packing his things because he's out of here next year. But Sully keeps him on the ice.
Sully has 1 trick and that's it. Must play that way. Don't game plan, don't switch things up for different teams, don't do anything. Just "play the right way" which is keep doing what isn't working apparently. Because the power play has sucked for YEARS now and the defense system is bust. But lets blame the players like some magic combination is going to fix it.
Truth is your power play was Kessel, the one player he didn't want to listen too and when he chased him out there it went up in smoke. "play the right way"
It's hard to watch anymore. He's got to go. The poor coaching, the smug attitude, the blaming the players. He needs to find the door out fast.
As for the SEA trade spare me the too much.
A. you have to get to give.
B. SEA doesn't play him.
Don't give me the too young crap or the not ready crap. They played Matty B at the same age and the same level of preparedness. SEA instead turns around and brings in a declining 34 year old Tatar instead of moving their young prospect up. On top of it. you got 20 games of ice time for 1 goal Andre B. and you got excuses of Wright can't produce at the NHL yet.
Give me a break.
He should ask for a trade immediately, they are costing him money and opportunity. They clearly don't trust him. Which is why he should get out and PIT is the perfect landing spot for him. It will help phase out the Crosby era and bring in the youth. Which is his opportunity to be the man going forward shortly. Something that he clearly won't ever be in SEA.
SEA has a lot of declining aging talent. You got Tatar, Eberly, Yanni all old and going down hill faster than people want to admit.
You got Andre B. who looks to have cashed out.
In a blink of an eye the talent they do have left like McCann and Oliver B. will be gone.
If they are going to go for it anytime this is the time to make the move. Because muddling around in the middle is death and that is their future soon. This will help extend that window.
Jake will pair well with Matty B and give him a real threat on the wing. The cost of a late round 1st and a prospect they clearly have no faith in isn't too much.
To be honest Wrights whole draft class has under performed anyway. Just look at that draft compared to the year before and after. Where is the impact?
If you don't agree I don't care but you better have an answer to why a team that needs help is sitting a guy who could help. Because right now you're wasting him. SEA fans should be a whole lot louder because clearly your GM doesn't want to win sitting him for some of what they are playing.
Either way 40 goal scorers aren't cheap. Claud G. cost Tippet and a 1st.
I think this is the same level of return. Given what some others have gone for this trade deadline, it's on par.
The question is will Wright demand a trade, or will SEA try to go for it and make a push.
But I think the ask is reasonable.
Either way, they don't need Wright to get the point here. Which is why he's in the bottom 6.
They need to play the youth, they have 4 good young forwards without Wright. But he would make 5.
Obviously Iggy is this years 1st round pick. It only seems to fit and he's looking like a great prospect. He looks like he's ready to slide right into an NHL team. The speed, shot, physical play, and elusiveness. Him and Yager could both make the jump next year with Poulin clearly looking ready and Broz continues to look NHL ready at Denver.
It takes a decent piece to land Jake. There aren't many teams out there that have one. The 1st is like nothing. It's late round has little value. At best it's 50/50 for a guy who even gets to the NHL level let alone becomes a regular.
Please remember you have to give to get. Jake is a consistent upper 30-40 goal guy who is great in the playoffs.
SEA
Jake G.
SEA doesn't play him, PIT will.
I would also be willing to take cap dump Yanni G. as a sweetener to make it easier for Seattle to resign Jake.
I read the novel... agreed with some, disagreed with some... I think your reasoning behind the jake deal is good, but I don't think Seattle sees it that way. I'm not that high on Wright, I think he was over-rated (and the way he dropped, I'm not the only one.) as a 3rd line center who could possibly move up, he'd be a good fit.
Give me Ned's address, I'll gas up the car and head west to get him this weekend. Jersey rosters 3 Gs with Vitek and Daws along with Ned, best 2 carry the workload, give the team a chance that they can get outta G funk
Wright plus 1st would be a highly unusual price to pay by Ron Francis, who himself was once a falling center prospect take 4th overall.
If Guentzel had 3-4 years maybe, but as rental, there is no way
This is why i offer to take back cap dump Yanni G. So they have the cap to sign him to extension.
Which would be expected in the trade. Even so. Claud G. got an equal return as a rental. So I don't think it's out of the park value wise.
I don't view Wright as a generational player. Nor do I think SEA does. They would be playing him right now if they thought any of that.
That doesn't mean I don't think he will be a 20 goal 60 point guy eventually. I do. But SEA still gets the better player as Jake is an upper 30s to 40 goal guy who can knock in 80 points.
They might not be able to fix it in FA - but they'd be able to do a lot better than throwing a bunch of unready guys with no NHL experience at 1LW, 2C, and 3C and leaving 10+mil in cap space. They definitely don't need to stop using FA - and playing these prospects isn't going to help them win anything. Youth is great, but talent and NHL readiness is much more important. If you want to play youth - at least spend the extra money on good players to add to them
That 3rd pair isn't really any better to be honest. POJ isn't a clown lol - and there's no secret motive for him playing. He's just a better overall player than Smith is right now.
Carter was benched - Sully's only playing him because of injuries. Letting Dumo walk was the right decision - he only looks better because he's playing sheltered 3rd pair minutes. Dumo's struggles were his own, blaming the coach is wild lol. Same goes for Graves. That same coach was on the team when Dumo was a peak defensive defenseman. Criticisms of Sully are fair - saying he has a smug attitude or is unjustly blaming the players just isn't accurate lol.
McDavid, Connor
250 000 $)
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