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I have to make a correction on something talked about earlier. As Philadelphia has commanded a first round pick for Ristolainen, the phone isn’t ringing. It seemed like that signaled a market that would shift. Apparently, it hasn’t yet.
In a PHR write up about Scott Laughlin a trade strategy was talked about. Respected veterans with no trade protection are, more and more, given options as clubs seek to create a positive vibe. It’s an interesting read. As for Ristolainen:
(From the PHR article linked above)
The age-old question is whether a veteran player carries more value to a rebuilding club in their on-ice play and leadership or in the form of assets to build for the future. Now past the crux of their rebuild and with young names like Matvei Michkov in the system, the answer for Laughton is the latter. That’s led to consistently sky-high asking prices on the trade market for his services by Flyers’ leadership, something Kurz reports hasn’t changed. Darren Dreger of TSN said earlier this month that Philly still won’t part with him for anything less than a first-round pick. They’ve employed the same strategy regarding defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen’s availability, which has led to an unexpected lack of calls less than two weeks ahead of deadline day.
If Philly won’t part with Risto for less than a first, asking prices that haven’t been revealed have to be enormous. The deal Colorado made to move out Rantanen who is rumored to be reluctant to ink an extension seems similar to the haul for Duchene many years ago. Sakic seemed to know what the next ask was going to be and got ahead of the issue. For what would help Detroit (center, defense etc) I shudder to think of the ask as it stands now. Rumors of who is available may not mean much if the market ask is that high as age goes down and talent goes up. The whole league passed on Wahlstrom while a press release came that Washington is looking for bottom 6 options. This may be a case where TDL day is incredibly busy as teams don’t want to see a player gone with nothing in return.
In the world of injuries, it seems like several surgeries have opened spots in the market or put teams into a different mindset:
Copp (Detroit) pectoral surgery, out for the season
Dach(Montreal) knee surgery, out for the season
Juulsen(Vancouver) unnamed surgery, out 3 months
Sillinger (Columbus) out with UBI
Bunting (appendix) out “indefinitely”
Frederic (LBI) out “week to week”
Kreider (UBI) out day to day
It seems like more are on the way as teams joust for post season positioning. It seems like Philadelphia are holding out for something unrealistic, but if someone pays a 1st for Risto I just hope it isn’t Detroit.
We are in new territory in the trade realm. We’ve talked ad nauseam about it, but half of the league will not make the post season. The teams expected to make deep runs may pay premium prices and go all in. (They may also have that convenient LTIR space that probably needs to be looked at). In reality, 16 teams see their season done and have a long summer ahead. There can be those close races to the end in terms of wild card, but there are owners who have already accepted a less than ideal outcome.
Finally, Detroit’s stadium series game against Columbus actually carries some weight. The rivalry seems to be in a good place and the teams are fighting for spots. Detroit has to do a lot more defensively and show a lot more energy than what they did in the 4-2 loss on Thursday. Add to that the “unknown” of the outdoor game. The ice can get “glitchy”, wind, weather etc. This is a bigger game for both teams than may have been originally thought and that’s a great sign for the fan bases.
Let me know your thoughts on trades. If market prices stay high, should Detroit just stand pat? More and more it seems like managers want to save face on a deal so it may be more difficult to get something done. It will all shake out soon. As always, let me know your thoughts in the comments.
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