Very sensible offseason. As a Leafs fan, I do think Byron, Allen, abd Drouin all fetch a bit more (maybe a 4th for Byron, a 2nd in place of the 3rd for Allen and replace the 7th going to Edmonton with a 5th, take out the 7th going to Montreal, and another 3rd or something going for Drouin). Also, I would try to get rid of Savard under any circumstance, I think a team would take him based on previous play. That contract already looks ugly and is only going to get worse. Get him out and find a RHD with better puckmoving ability so that Romanov has someone better to play with (Oliver Kylington would be an interesting one if Calgary can’t afford to bring him back. Vince Dunn would be a really nice pickup too)

Problem with Edmonton trading for a goalie is that they have Smith and Skinner signed for next season. Skinner is waiver eligible, and I would expect he'd be picked up if waived. Smith is popular with his teammates and Edmonton's leadership, unless he chooses to retire or go on LTIR, I think Edmonton runs a Smith/Skinner combo next year.

What made Domi so appealing is that he wanted Carolina. He's been like a kid in a candy store ever since he arrived. He's been just happy to be in Raleigh. Drouin isn't the same.

Can you explain to me, why Carolina would even consider trading for Drouin?

I agree, I think they will *try* a Smith/Skinner combo to start. If it works well enough, that is a super cheap combo who could do well if Skinner can double his games played with similar stats next year to around 30 games. If either falters, then I see an in-season trade to upgrade G as most likely. But the cap savings in Smith/Skinner should be too good for Holland to not have a look at it first.

Maybe that's because Drouin has never played for Carolina before?


Also, what evidence do you have that Domi "wanted" Carolina before he was traded there?

-Jake Allen got that package coming off a season when he put up a .927 SV% and 2.15 GAA in 24 GP during the regular season and a .935/1.89 in 5 games in the bubble before Blues got eliminated. I can't see him having the same type of value today, even with retention.

-Look, maybe I'm in the minority opinion here, but it's hard for me to compare Max Domi and Jonathan Drouin when Max has played 178 out of a possible 190 games over the past 3 seasons and Jonathan Drouin has played only 105 in that time. I think Drouin needs to re-establish himself as a guy who can stay on the ice before a team makes a move to acquire him, even at a low cost.

1. Offensive flair to his game, plays on the powerplay and brings secondary scoring to the Canes, much like Domi.



2. In the offseason, the Canes are at risk of losing Domi, Niederreiter, Stepan and Trocheck to free agency and they might not be able to keep everyone.



3. Can you explain to me why Carolina would even consider giving a massive 8 year extension to Kotkaniemi?

How do you explain this then?

https://awinninghabit.com/2022/03/23/canadiens-bigger-trade-oilers/

Skinner was still waivers-exempt this season so they could've made it work and figure it out this summer if they had to. I can't see them going as hard to do the same deal now without having something planned for Mike Smith.

Looking at your second point first, If you look at Nino’s insta, his last post was coming off like he already had an extension in place. Plus, there is a mutual interest in Trocheck resigning with the Canes, so I think he gets resigned as well. Stepan will very likely be resigned to help mentor Drury but also give the Canes a depth RHC switch in. I can see Domi being resigned, since he wanted to come to Carolina, but what he gets I don’t know. It will be an interesting off-season for sure.

As for Drouin, he is more of a liability than anything else. Whether it’s his health or his personal life, there is no guarantee that he will help the Canes. Not to mention, he really hasn’t done anything of real note in his career except for in 3 seasons. He wouldn’t be the best fit in the Canes system and the Canes need a pure goal scorer, not another pass first guy.

And as for KK, he was on pace to beat his best totals in MTL before he was injured by Eller with fewer minutes, a grind line role, and with linemates who are not that offensive for the majority of the season. And when he was forced into the top 6 2C role during the Covid stretch in December, he performed very well and I believe outperformed Trocheck as the 1C. So if time is circular, playing KK in the top 6 as the 2C starting next year should significantly start to increase his offensive production. Its a gambler’s game, and it is looking like Waddell’s gamble will pay off, but only time will tell.

1. Carolina will be competing with the other 31 teams in the league when it comes to signing Carolina's UFAs.

They will be offering them multi-year extensions worth millions of dollars.

Saying that everybody just stays in Carolina out of the goodness of their heart is laughable.



2. The trade for Drouin would be made at the deadline with the focus being on the playoffs instead of the regular season.

When Domi was with Columbus, he was more of a liability than anything else.

There was no guarantee he would have helped the Canes in the playoffs.

Drouin had 2 solid playoff runs in his career while Domi had 0 before coming to Carolina.

You wouldn't know if Drouin was a good fit until you actually acquired him.

Classic case of the endowment effect.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endowment_effect





3. You say it's a gambler's game.

Well ...

Carolina wasted a 6 million dollar offer sheet, an 8 year multi-million dollar extension and a 1st round pick on Kotkaniemi.

But you wouldn't even consider spending just one mid-tier prospect on Drouin as a rental for the playoffs.

Your priorities don't make any sense.