Fogghorn wrote:
And tCL, did you mean to imply Lind makes the team before Hoglander? If so I hope you're right, but I'm doubtful.
That's basically what came out of JB's mouth, but bear in mind, that could also be him trying to distract other teams from targeting Hoglander in a trade. There're rumours that the OEL acquisition cost included Demko and one of Hoglander, Podkolzin of Juolevi. IMO, Hoglander is at least one or two seasons away from cracking the lineup. I hope he surprises all of us an proves me wrong - Hoglander would make for a nice LE replacement...
Fogghorn wrote:
It doesn't bode well for teams looking to dump salary if Schmidt only gets a 3rd rounder. I can't imagine what it might cost to get rid of LE when opportunities like this come up. If I was a team like Detroit I'd just sit back and keep my cap space until next years trade agency deadline and see what mana falls from heaven for me.
Drancer had a nice piece in the Atlantic about the back office intrigue around Schmidt. Apparently, VGK targeted Vancouver as their preferred trading destination knowing that: VAN had OEL aspirations, cap room, and need (losing Tanev and Stecher). Other teams had griped afterwards that they didn't get a chance to outbid VAN, and the article left the question as to why would VGK help a divisional rival get better? Apparently, in their estimation, VAN was the only team willing to absorb Schmidt's entire salary for a mid-round pick. But I find that a little hard to swallow whole because another team could easily offer a second rounder or a third and more while still taking the entire salary.
My guess is they saw the teams in the Pacific get a little better; CGY gets Markstrom, Tanev, and Domingue; EDM adds Barrie, and Turris; ANA adds Shattenkirk; and meanwhile VAN is clearly weaker... Sending Schmidt there makes VAN better but not likely enough to hurt VGK, but it levels the ice wrt to other teams in the division, while consuming enough cap space that VAN now cannot bring back a Toffoli or round out their d with a mid-range RD. It forces VAN to really give their D kids a chance and maybe that's something VGK can expose later.
Nevertheless, JB has always been one to hit the so-called secondary market and tap into those inefficiencies (he has a handful himself). I'm still annoyed that he missed out on Toffoli who sounds like he was looking forward to finishing his career in VAN.