No, it's Fowler, Rakell, and Zegras for Hamilton, Fleury, Dzingel, and St. Louis' 2021 7th. And again, even with the inclusion of Rakell, the GSVA coming back to Carolina STILL doesn't match Hamilton's score alone. This is why Zegras is needed in order to balance the return to Carolina. Elite players require king's ransoms in return.

Well, I disagree. Carolina would LOVE to improve their defense by adding Fowler, and it wouldn't make any difference whether it was Fowler-Hamilton, Slavin-Pesce or Slavin-Hamilton, Fowler-Pesce, which to me proves that Fowler is a top-pairing guy. We'll just have to let it go at that.

I tend to prioritize Game Score over RAPM, mainly because points do matter in terms of in-game outcomes. Players can, on balance, be quite valuable even if they aren't that great defensively, IF they have the offensive talent to overcome it.

Canucks are a hard no. Rafferty is playing RD for Canucks 2020/21.

Well, in that case, we'll just stumble along as best we can. Three first-line players for Hamilton and three throw-ins is moronic.

Getting Hamilton on RHD is the forward equivalent of acquiring Sebastian Aho. If he's on the market for whatever reason (and with Carolina's FO being the NHL equivalent of the Patriots when it comes to contract negotiations, they very well might), the smart move, at least IMO, is to pounce hard and give up the proper return.

Also, I'd consider Rakell (on a contending squad) a good-to-elite 2nd-line winger and Fowler (again, on a contending squad) as a good-to-elite 2nd-pairing guy.

Agree with both comments, 100%. The issue is, what is "the proper return"? And is the proper return a return we can afford?

In reading through the preceding discussion, I've become convinced I was guilty of a flippant response to the original proposal. I really should stop issuing knee-jerk reactions, to which I am occasionally prone. Obviously, if we had the choice of Doug Hamilton or Jamie Drysdale, being guaranteed that the latter would eventually become Doug Hamilton (an iffy proposition at best), we would prefer the current Hamilton to the future one, i.e., Hamilton is worth more than our first-round pick this year. The question then becomes, How much more? It seems clear to me that the "add" would start with Rakell, but should be more. But I wouldn't go so far as to trade away Zegras as the "more."

Zegras is the crown jewel of their prospects and a potential 1C, don’t see a scenario where he gets traded.

Game score doesn't take into account defense like at all tho... So any offense is gonna look like it overcomes their defense, when really they have a worse defensive output than good offensive output

I'm using Dom L.'s GSVA index, which DOES include defensive metrics in his calculation. I'm not saying the indicator is perfect, but it does try to combine the best aspects of GAR and RAPM to make an approximate player value.

Yeah I saw Zegras and the ducks pass, Hamilton is an amazing player with a ton of value but in no world do I even consider moving Zegras

Nooooooooooooo chance, I would trade that pick before I trade Zegras, Rossi is a full tier below Zegras in my eyes not even close. Zegras is a top 5 prospect in Hockey, Rossi wouldnt be top 25

I think that at the current, blank-slate-like spot that Anaheim's team is at, the goal should be to acquire sure-fire elite talent wherever possible, even if the price is really steep, such as the Fowler/Rakell/Zegras package that I posted. Hold onto John Gibson for dear life, because he's of that level of elite talent. Carolina's main benefit from this deal is that it enables their team to build more like a St. Louis-type of squad, one that has some elite skill, like Aho/Svech/O'Reilly/Tarasenko, but really makes their name off of overwhelming, best-in-the-league depth.

Hamilton is a sure-fire elite player while Zegras is a maybe-elite player. If everything goes exactly right, sure, but he was drafted at #9 instead of the top 5 for a reason, because he's much more likely to be a very good #2 center than a true #1 guy as far as the odds are concerned.

Best I can offer you is Rakell, Fowler, Tracey and our 2020 second for Hamilton and Bean or Bokk.

Yeah thats true, but Zegras has proved since the draft he was picked too low. he is in line with the Ducks compete window and hes a top 5 prospect in all of Hockey where as Hamilton isnt. This makes our already bad offense much worse and it wont be fixed in for at least 2 seasons. If Zegras is the cost I have 0 interest in Hamilton

Change the 2020 2nd to Thrun or Comtois and I would consider that package. I would still push hard for Zegras, but getting Tracey and Thrun would not be a bad consolation prize.

You mean just like Bo Horvat and Timo Meier are second-liners?

I would give you our LAST second-round draft pick: Jackson LaCombe.

Hamilton is also extremely workable as a long-term veteran centerpiece of your future core, though. Remember, he's only one month older than John Gibson!

Yeah as I said in a previous post Hamilton is amazing and I would love to add him, just not at the cost of Zegras.

Yes, like Horvat or Max Domi, to give a couple of examples. I consider Meier a 1st-liner.

Carolina's FO was willing to give up Lindholm & Hanifin, two MUCH more established young guns than Zegras, to acquire only 3 years of Dougie. It was worth every damn penny. You won't regret dealing Fowler/Rakell/Zegras for 8 years of Dougie, I promise. He is that special of a player. You can get your maybe-future star center in any draft where your team is picking high. Never fall too much in love with prospects when you can improve your team in a massive way.



I'd have to study LaCombe's game before making that deal, but tentatively, I'll keep the add-on request to be Thrun or Comtois until further notice.

Yeah 8 years of Dougie would be fantastic, I feel like the impact of losing an entire career of Zegras is more impactful for a team in a rebuild than adding Hamilton (who would be the Dman I want the most)

You don't need to sell me on Dougie, i'm sold already. I would trade literally anyone else in the organization outside of Gibson before I move Zegras for him though