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My Red Wings Christmas list - defense edition |
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With a deep sense of shame, I have to admit that I still love the NHL franchise for PlayStation. In a previous post, most of the regular commenters described a high level of disgust for the GM feature and the post was pretty much a bust. This “wish list” was inspired by, but not taken directly from, the current NHL20. For those who don’t know, I have chronic headaches from a closed head injury. Distraction of any type is a blessing. My favorites are watching anything with my wife (hallmark Christmas movies during this season), playing guitar and writing music, and playing NHL20. When I can’t stand the “movement” of the players, I just delve into mock trades, as I did last night.
I’ve decided on a few parameters to proceed. Last time, I was a bit too strict with cap numbers and it turned more than a few people away. This time, just do your level best to try and guess value. What I’m looking at are defensemen that are near the same age as the core (23 - 25, but 26 is fine too). Building toward the future and establishing players that want to win together feels important. What I’m basing most trades on are asset management. With 20 contracts coming due not much has happened. I wrote yesterday that Mlive.com intimated that Athanasiou may not be part of the Wings future. With Rasmussen and Svechnikov also grinding it out in the AHL, they seem to be potentially fair game as well. My only “untouchables” would be Larkin, Mantha, Bertuzzi and Hronek at this point. I’d like to include Fabbri in there, just not sure if he wants to extend yet.
And so, let’s have some fun.
For the past few years, I’ve been fascinated by the development of Dougie Hamilton. He is off to an incredible start this year, and would be difficult to pry from Carolina. Carolina is blessed with defensive players, including prospect Jake Bean. This trade may need to wait until the end of Carolina’s (I’m assuming) playoff run. With one year remaining at 5.75 million, the club may not want to give Hamilton the raise that he’s due. Ownership has shown a bit of a penchant for being thrifty at times, and may be happy to bring in assets. I believe this acquisition would be costly. My offering is this: Athanasiou (pending an extension) and Svechnikov. The allure of brothers Andre and Evgeni is surely not lost on the Canes. Athanasiou could provide some speed.
My next favorite trade would be for Darnell Nurse. This may be near impossible, but I love the player. He’s going to be an RFA due a raise from his 3.2 million. I love Nurse’s skating abilities, and think he would pair well with Hronek or Seider. Ken Holland surely has players he is still keen on from his tenure in Detroit. Again, Athanasiou would be the starting price with Rasmussen coming along for the ride. There were murmurs that Yzerman wasn’t as high as Rasmussen as Holland is, so this may be a good fit. However, Holland will want a defenseman back in this deal. It may also cost Detroit Cholowski. A 3 assets for 1 deal, with Detroit possibly having to eat salary on a player coming back, possibly James Neal. Neal had a fantastic start but may end the year on a bit of a sour note. If that player came back, I would expect a possible buyout or waiver.
Sticking with Edmonton is a player I’d hoped the Wings would have drafted in Evan Bouchard. There is an “untouchable” type vibe to Bouchard, though I’d fully expected him to stick with the main club this year. He’s a big right shot D man, only 19, and could be a nice complement behind Moritz Seider in the system. The cost for Bouchard could be a Joe Veleno or Jonatan Berggren as well as Athanasiou. Holland may want some depth at center.
My final, and most likely to get me booed out of this forum, is Rasmus Ristolainen out of Buffalo. Though his play is a bit “hot and cold”, I still feel this young D man is worth bringing on board. He’s 25 with 3 more years at 5.4 million. The ask is difficult to gauge. Before the season, there was an appetite to move the young D man. However, with injuries and as the season goes, there seems to be less overall talk. Buffalo has often been searching for scoring. Again, Athanasiou is the first part of this deal. Buffalo may want a Cholowski or a Veleno as well or instead. Some combination of those three may well get the deal done with conditional draft picks included.
Well there you have it. My musings from a long night of head trauma related gaming. I’d love to hear your picks and prices as well. Let’s have some fun with this!
Thanks to everyone who stops by to read and to comment. Keep it coming!
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