Look, can't be mad about Johnny Gaudreau going to Columbus. But assuming that JG was one of the Islanders' top targets, they have to go back to the drawing board. Trying to get information out of a Lou Lamoriello organization is like getting blood out of a damn stone, so my guess is as good as yours. Let's try and have some fun with this.
TRADES
-I still believe that Lou probably just hangs on to Varlamov, but he's probably the best "depth" guy on this team (ie, not starting goalie/top 6/top 4) and therefore their most valuable trade chip. Most of the goalie-necessary teams made the moves they need to but there's one team that needs an upgrade that hasn't: Nashville.
Hear me out.
Juuse Saros is an undisputed good goalie, I don't think it's a stretch to call him top 10. But he faded big time in the second half last season because they rode him incredibly hard - 67 starts by the end of the year. Through the All-Star Break, he was 24-11-3 with a .927 SV% and a 2.34 GAA - those are numbers that get you in the Vezina convo. After the ASB, though? 14-14-0, .905 SV%, 3.04 GAA. Maybe Toronto likes a goalie like that, but it's a big reason that Nashville slipped in the second half - he got tired!
And why wouldn't he get tired after 67 games? The Preds rode him hard because the options were David Rittich (yuck) and Connor Ingram hasn't proven himself yet (7 career NHL games to date). Yaroslav Askarov -just- turned 20 and has all of 16 KHL games under his belt. He's going to need some seasoning before he's ready for prime time. And if you look at UFA right now, you see Braden Holtby and then a ton of guys you don't want.
Enter Varly - he's only signed for 1 year so you don't need to worry about blocking Askarov if he makes the leap in the AHL this year. He's got tons of playoff experience, which makes sense for a team that is making the moves a contender would want to make (Forsberg signing, McDonagh trade - they're all in). They send back a 3rd and a pick from the top 15 of their prospect pool to massively upgrade their backup position and keep Saros fresh.
-Isles need a goalie. Vegas needs cap. Vegas sends Brossoit over with a pick as a thank you for eating his $2.325M in cap space. Isles send Bode Wilde over to give Vegas potentially another ELC if they can put up with him.
-Chicago is stocking up on guys with 1 year deals to flip for picks at the deadline, it looks like. Panik is cheap, already retained by Detroit, and can be retained again down to $688K. Give him some bottom 6 minutes to rebuild some value and see if you can get another lottery ticket for this rebuild you're going through.
SIGNINGS
-Let's get a forward that has some upside and speed and is young. I like the idea of him and Beau causing havoc on the same line, so there you go. The fact that he's a Massapequa boy is the icing on the cake. I'm happy with it.
Hawks have had Dick Panik before and were more then willing to walk away from him, sure as hell not giving up anything now to get him back.
Panik kind of fits the "any team" designation for me, I think he can be a decent bottom 6 on a rebuilding team who can flip him out with minimal retention and get something back for him (like I said in the description, you can retain him down to a $688K cap hit - similar to what the Avs did with Andrew Cogliano this year). I picked Chicago because it feels like they're signing guys like Domi and Athanasiou to one year deals to flip them at the deadline, and this gives them another guy to do that with. But again, he can go anywhere that has a bottom 6 spot for him to rebuild value and potentially get a return on.
eh, you're getting a former 2nd rounder that Lou actively hates in the deal too. Plus, you just had to add to a point per game winger in a deal where you literally gave him away - you're going to have to add to the .895 SV% goalie if you're trying to move his deal. And seeing as how Vegas is still over the cap with only 18 guys signed (and no RFA deals for Hague or Roy yet), they need to shed whatever they can - Brossoit is one of the only guys signed that has a playable depth option behind him in Logan Thompson, so clearing him out is an easy decision.
Also I think the return on the Varlamov deal is definitely something you can play around with - and I like the idea of being able to double dip by getting assets back from trading Varlamov, and getting something from Vegas for eating the Brossoit contract.
The other concern I have is that if they're in the mix at the deadline, they won't move Varlamov - there's no one else in the org I'd be happy filling in (unless Skarek takes a HUUUUUGE leap in Bridgeport this season.) Even if you get a slightly better asset at the deadline moving Varly, I think you either have to spend another getting a decent backup goalie or roll the dice on Sorokin/Skarek as a tandem. Doing this might lessen the return on Varlamov, but I think if you get an asset back for Brossoit it sort of evens out.
Hockeypal a aimé ceci.
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