Epic!

Erik Gustafsson isnt worth a 1st round pick

he puts up points as a defenseman, thus he is quite valuable to must NHL GMs. Islanders expect to be a real contender, theyd be a team to move a 1st.

He did 1 season of 60 points, if he doesn’t hit 30 points comes TDL, you’ll get a 2nd rd pick. He’s bad defensively, losing value

Hate to agree, but I do think Stan waited too long to trade Gus. If he traded him last year at the TDL, that would have gotten us some pretty good draft capital. Now, I’d say barely a 2nd and that’s only due to his cap hit.

@GMs @kopiino

We'll see. But let's be realistic...his talent level is only half the equation. (Maybe two thirds...whatever...pick your favorite percentage) The other half of his value is the hawks can very easily eat half his cap and only cost $600k. Literally every team in the NHL can be in the market for his services. How many teams can afford Mike Green's $5.375M cap hit? Not nearly as many as you think. Vegas/TOR/BOS/CGY/EDM/TBL...etc... Would all require additional secondary moves.

You are definitely right on that. The only counter point I may try to make, especially considering the isles, is their playing style. The isles have a very hardworking, grinding defensive, style. It works for them and I believe they’re on a 10 game winning streak as of now. Having said that, Gus is definitely not a good defensive player.

However, we are trading him based on the idea of a team needing a PP QB. If we do want a 1st rounder for him, I see two problems. First, Gus has been terrible so far this season on the PP. That may be down to Colliton and his so far suspect coaching ability, but Gus does deserve some criticism. The second problem, then, is his status as a rental player. I understand this one is open to debate, but I truly believe teams are less inclined to take a chance on Gus when he hasn’t been great this year and he’s only good in one area of the game. Mix that with the isles defensive style, a first rounder doesn’t seem very feasible for NYI to fork out for his services for 3-4 months.

I agree with every word you said. HOPEFULLY, Stan sends him to the highest bidder regardless of where that is. But at this point...who knows? I actually don't think the Isles are the best spot for him. For the exact reasons you brought up. TBL has zero cap...and a couple Dmen injured...and multiple 1sts that are BOTH looking to be late 1sts. Stan should look there. Vegas also has zero cap and (5) 2nd rounders in the next 2 years. I'd be fine with (2) 2nds. EDM is another run and gun offense that might suit Gus. EDM is also slowly gathering some nice prospects. What about Benson and a pick? I'd be ok with that. Holland would also be making a good impression with McDavid AND the fan base that in his 1st year he can get them into the playoffs.

***EDIT*** The other thing I forgot to mention about rentals...is that many times at the TDL being a rental (having an expiring contract) is a good thing. NOT a bad thing. TOR might have to trade have to trade away a Kasperi Kap who has 3 more years on his deal. TOR could keep their long term vision in place. Next year the Cap goes up and they'll have ~$18M to figure out what they want to do.

I’d definitely go either Tampa or Edmonton. Vegas seems like a team where if you’re not always skating balls out all game long, your immediately left out. Gus is a guy who is selective with his effort, so I’d say go to Tampa and see they’ll give up the Vancouver 1st rounder. I’m with you on that one. Edmonton’s a weird one to me. I’m almost trying to figure if they’re for real at this point or not. Their new coach has done them wonders, but I don’t know if one strong line will hold them forever. Defensively, I’m not sure where Gus would stand, but it is certainly worth an inquiry.

Gus isn't valuable to Chicago who's defence is much worse than the Islanders. Lol

Pop Quiz...who's got a higher career best in points...William Nylander a forward with 5 years in the NHL that get's to play next to #1 OA picks on a night in night out basis...or Gus who plays defense? It's Nylander by 1 single point. At Least most of us Hawks fans can discuss the Pros/Cons of their players openly and admit when something isn't quite right.

Gus is a natural Left D, but due to player personnel circumstances has been forced to play right. That's also another benefit he brings. EDM could also send cap dumps back. Gagner/Manning. They could still afford a Mike Green, but it'll cost them in draft capital.

You guys are hoping a healthy scratch gets you a 1st rounder. What are you even talking about

As much as I like the idea of amplifying return through bad contracts, that would force Stan to admit the team needs a bit of a rebuild..........

That’s a very taboo word with bowman, lol.

Exactly, this post is exactly who you are. This is why you end up fighting with everyone on this site and how irrational and make believe your supporting data is. Sometimes people need a wake up call. I can absolutely admit that right now is the worst hockey he's ever played in a Hawks uniform. EVER But 10 games doesn't take away what's he accomplished and what he brings to a team. We know he's an offensive minded Dman. He needs to get back to that.

What in the world do you argue about when people bring up Nylander's 27 points and healthy scratches last year???

You accuse me of making up supporting evidence and then try to bring a player not mentioned anywhere here as supporting evidence for your argument. Which, as far as I can tell, your argument is that Gus is worth a 1st round pick because Nylander had 27 points last year and was a healthy scratch (which in fact he was never a healthy scratch, so lets file that under made up statistics to support a silly argument.) How about this, lets all take a long deep breath and look at reality and since this discussion is actually about Gus and his massive over evaluation, lets talk about him. What are his grand accomplishments. He is a 27 year old defenceman who scored a pile of PP points 1 time in his career and can't play at 5v5. So much so that he is now being healthy scratched. There is just no logic in thinking he's worth anything more than a 3rd round pick at this point. If you aren't good enough to play in Chicago why would anyone want to spend premium assets on acquiring you? The reality is Gus was never really good, he's terrible defensively, and has always been that, he scored a bunch of secondary points on the PP last year and you want to capitalize on that, which is fair. But lets be reasonable, he's not good enough for your lineup, even if he costs only 600K he's still not good enough to play 5v5 for a bad team, who would he replace in the lineup? There are not many teams where he'd be an upgrade and the teams where he would be, are in the basement with Chicago.

I'm admitting Gus isn't playing well right now, but to say he's not good enough to play on the team.....OK fine...I'm going win this argument if Gus ever plays another game with the Hawks. I'll make sure You're the 1st person to know if he ever plays in the NHL ever again. You act like a wake up call means he'll never play again. Sometimes players need a wake up call. And for the record...real supporting data looks like the below...not just type 5V5 and an age and then making stuff up. You have ZERO supporting Data above.

3rd round picks for Dmen @ the TDL...

3rd round pick - Alex Petrovic...played all of 9 games for EDM
3rd round pick - Brandon Davidson...7th Dman for NYI
3rd round pick - Nick Holden - 7th Dman for BOS

Teams routinely trade 3rd round picks for 7th Dmen. So, Yeah...he should get ALOT more.

You are acting like Gus has been a top pair defenceman and long standing highly ranked guy on your team. He isn't. He played parts of 3 seasons in the AHL and NHL never really gaining traction until he got to QB the PP for a season and scored a bunch of points while also being terrible in his own zone. Now, he isn't the PP guy and because that is literally the only thing he can do well, he's in the press box. A 3rd is probably the best you can hope for a this point. Someone with a struggling PP will call you up and say, whats the asking price on Gus? If Bowman says, a 1st, he's going to get nothing but hang ups. I doubt Kieth would get you a 1st at this point and he is better than Gus in almost every way still. Gus doesn't have term, so what he is, is a TDL low risk potential high reward pickup for a team that is close but needs PP help. Currently out of the teams that are reasonably expected to challenge for a playoff spot, TO might actually have the worst PP currently. Would Gus be brought in to play PP minutes over Rielly? Or Barrie? Hell even Muzzin would get a shot before him. Looking at the teams that need PP help, they are all in the basement right now.

So what is the market for Gus? Cause looking at the current landscape of the NHL, Gus's history of 1 year of offensive success and the rest of his career of being a bubble player at best, I think if you get a 3rd round pick that's about as best as you can hope for.

We will see. I'll also make sure you're the 1st person to know if/when he gets traded. If Stan was smart he'll make a trade regardless of the return because of their cap situation and he's a UFA. So both of these situations should come to down the road. I owe you (2) posts. If Gus ever plays again...I'm calling you out. Because you've repeatedly said that he's not good enough for ice time with the Hawks. If Gus gets traded for a 3rd or higher...I'm calling you out.

Call me out all you want, I don't care. Firstly, because of course he's going to play again, someone will get banged up and he's their 6th/7th defenceman, so obviously he'll play again. Secondly, I just stated getting a 3rd is a reasonable expectation. It'll all depend on who's available and who's looking for help. If a playoff team sees their PP plummet due to injuries, they Gus is once again exactly what I said in my last statement a low risk high reward pickup. Get him for a 3rd or less and see if he can regain some PP magic while not playing much at 5v5. That is the scenario where you move him, right now though he doesn't have much value since he is the 6th/7th guy on a bad team.

So feel free to call me out if he gets you a 2nd or 1st rounder. I'll eat my hat when it happens. When it doesn't, I won't be looking to call you out, that is too much effort and I don't care enough.

With 17.63 posts per day...I think you care a little Cheers. I actually enjoy these debates. Oh and that's supporting data too! haha

Nice! I also enjoy debating this, we all can get a little heated at times and I for one sometimes shake my head at myself but I truly don't have any ill will towards anyone on here. Well there are a couple of guys that like to make people feel stupid and I don't like that, but otherwise, I enjoy the passion of other fans on here. On a side note, Chicago won 3 cups with this core, I hope I can say the same about the Leafs over the next decade but it remains to be seen.