David Poile went on the record today for the City Paper, saying he wanted to make a big trade yet was pessimistic at the fact that there are few true “sellers” at this juncture of the season.
Opening up a little more in detail about what goes on in these final weeks coming up to the trade deadline, Poile give us a chance to see why being a General Manger in the NHL during the months of January and February can is more stressful than anything we could possibly imagine.
David Boclair over at the City Paper had this in his article:
“The problem, Poile believes, is that the vast majority of the league’s other 29 teams feel as if they will be there too. As of the start of play Monday, the difference between seventh place and 12th place in the Western Conference was six points and the difference between seventh and 11th in the Eastern Conference was 10 points.
“In the next two weeks, if nothing changes – meaning if everybody plays approximately .500 – who are the sellers?” he said. “There usually are a lot more sellers at the trade deadline than there currently are and than currently looks to be on Feb. 27. How many teams are going to be sellers on Feb. 27?”
Arguably the best deals in franchise history have been made weeks in advance of the trade deadline rather than in the final hours. Center Mike Fisher was added last year on Feb. 10, and left wing Steve Sullivan was acquired on Feb. 16, 2004.
Now in that same window of opportunity, Poile is working the phones.
“Today, when you make a call, I’m one of 20 teams that’s calling one of four or five teams and we’re all calling about the same player,” Poile said. “So it’s clearly a seller’s market.
“It means that there’s not going to be the high-end players available. It means that the price for whatever you’re going to do … you’re going to have to pay an outrageous, inflated value to get a player whether he’s a rental or he’s a signed player.””
Though the “four or five” teams clearly isn’t mentioned in the article, one could assume those would at least include Columbus, Anaheim, and Edmonton from the Western Conference and perhaps Carolina/Montreal from the East.
Boclair continues on in the article with this very interesting tidbit:
“Still, he insists he is prepared to make a deal, even one on the scale of the trade that brought Peter Forsberg to town for the final two months of the 2006-07 season
“If that opportunity presents itself we will do that,” Poile said. “But, is that big trade going to be available to the Nashville Predators or – for that matter – anybody else?
“… I’m always open to doing that. I want to do that.””
I believe this is the first time Poile has ever come on the record as saying he has wanted to make a big deal. Now, he does preface it with “if the opportunity presents itself” and “I’m always open to doing that”, but the real key was the “I want to do that”.
Partaking in the NHL national past time of “Couch GM”, I hearby present to you some of the big named players (in my opinion) that currently play on teams potentially becoming sellers in the next 7-10 days:
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ANAHEIM
Bobby Ryan: $5.1mil per year, signed through 2015 – 19g, 12a in 51 games
*Ryan Getzlaf: $5.3mil per year, signed through 2013 – 8g, 27a in 51 games
BUFFALO
Thomas Vanek: $7.1mil per year, signed through 2014 – 19g, 22a in 50 games
*Derek Roy: $4mil per year, signed through 2013 – 10g, 16a in 50 games
Drew Stafford: $4mil per year, signed through 2015 – 8g, 16a in 50 games
CAROLINA
*Tuomo Ruutu: $3.8mil per year, upcoming UFA – 16g, 11a in 54 games
Jussi Jokinen: $3mil per year, signed through 2014 – 7g, 21a in 51 games
Chad LaRose: $1.7mil per year, signed through 2013 – 11g, 10a in 46 games
COLUMBUS
Rick Nash: $7.8mil per year, signed through 2018 – 17g, 17a in 52 games
Vinny Prospal: $2.5mil per year, upcoming UFA – 9g, 23a in 52 games
RJ Umberger: $4.6mil per year, signed through 2017 – 7g, 13a in 47 games
*Jeff Carter: $5.3mil per year, signed through 2021 (!?!?) – 11g, 7a in 31 games
EDMONTON
Ales Hemsky: $4.1mil per year, upcoming UFA – 4g, 18a in 39 games
MONTREAL
Andrei Kostitsyn: $3.25mil per year, upcoming UFA – 12g, 11a in 43 games
Travis Moen: $1.5mil per year, upcoming UFA – 9g, 7a in 46 games
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
Matt Moulson: $3.1mil per year, signed through 2014 – 23g, 23a in 51 games
TAMPA BAY
Teddy Purcell: $2.4mil per year, signed through 2013 – 13g, 15a in 50 games
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Any player with a star plays the position of Center, a position that the Predators are currently stacked with.
Now, looking at the players listed above, there is at least one player that sticks out as a sore thumb in the “No Way in Hell” category (Rick Nash, CBJ) and at least one that doesn’t seem like it would be possible to pick up the crazy salary of (Thomas Vanek, BUF), however there are some very plausible ideas in this list.
One idea I can go ahead and pretty much shut down is Jeff Carter to Nashville. Although most already know this has a VERY slim chance of happening anyways, a source of mine that is extremely close to the Blue Jackets and the Jeff Carter situation itself told me that the odds of Carter being traded to Nashville was “less than 1%”, noting that anything is possible “but if anything were to happen, it would most likely be with the Los Angeles Kings”
No, I’m not Eklund and I’m not Creasy and I’m not going to spout off silly rumors, but after a lengthy discussion with him [my source], it seems like the #BarterForCarter Twitter petition may fall up short….extremely short.
Could Nashville pick up a Bobby Ryan from Anaheim? Giving them a consistent 30-goal scorer for the next few years?
Could Nashville pick up a Chad LaRose from Carolina? A 6 year veteran including a Stanley Cup win with the Hurricanes.
Could Nashville pick up a Andrei Kostitsyn from Montreal? Marking a re-union with his brother Sergei, Nashville would gain a player averaging 20+ goals a year over the past 4 years.
What’s your thoughts on this? I could be dead on, I could be way off, either way who knows. Regardless, at least you have some food for thought in preparation of this very nerve-racking upcoming trade deadline.
I’m afraid that the price for anyone that may be available on the folks that you discussed will be driven so high by the wild spending GM’s that it wouldn’t make economic sense to get involved. I think the Predator faithful should prepare themselves for a role player or extra D-man at best. The “big” move will be to not trade Suter before the deadline. If we gave up a couple of first round picks to have a player like him as a rental, folks would be ecstatic. If we don’t trade him, we keep our picks and his services too. Fans should be very pleased with that if David Poile does nothing else.
I doubt we’ll do anything than what we normally do every year, however the fact that Poile comes out and says he wants to get a big deal done is news nonetheless.
Will there be a deal that can be done without emptying the cupboard? Probably not, and you’re exactly right. However, there could be enough out there in a couple of weeks to where it’s a slight possibility to grab a fairly good player that can help down the stretch.
Either way? I’d be happy if the Predators didn’t trade a big piece away, but either way Nashville would survive if they did (how far? That’s the real question)
Getzlaf would be interesting seeing as how every time we play them he seems to whine about Toots lol
No way we’re getting Carter and Nash. I’m not sure I’d want them. They may be part of the problem in Columbus. Same with Andrei Kostitsyn. What about Parise? New Jersey does not appear to be willing to resign him when his contract expires this year and I think he would fit in well with our team.
What we really need is a Steve Sullivan type. Fast wheels that finds himself open in front of the net 3 times in his first game with the Preds!
Martin St. Louis. They need defense and goalie. We need goals. Signed for a couple more years at a reasonable salary.
noooooo, gawwwd nooooo!!! Please, no “big” trades. Thats not the Predators system. I still lament the Forsberg trade which sent Parent and Upshall away. Not that they were great players but they could have thrived in our system of solid D and fast skaters. And if you wanna get technical that trade also indirectly led to the loss of Timonen and Hartnell (I know its a bit of a stretch, as it was more the Balsillie fiasco andresulting fire sale but I still blame the Forsberg trade on losing my two favorite Preds).
Chad La Rose would be perfect. Maybe Ruutu , but definitely not a Carter or Ryan. We need to save the cap for Suter this summer. Trotz and co. have made a living on taking young low profile or under producing journeymen and turning them into quality players that act as a cohesive team.
i just dont want to us to turn into the St. Louis Blues of 20 years ago where they traded away good prospects and most of their 1st round draft picks for a “big” star at the trade deadline. It destroys the team dynamic and sets the franchise up for long dark seasons ahead. The Blues did make the playoffs 25 years in a row but never once even made it to the Stanley Cup Final.
He hasn’t been talked about much, but I really like Matt Moulson from the Islanders. He’s been quietly consistent in scoring. I mean the Islanders could trade for another goalie, right? Ha.
I think Moulson would be a HUGE pick-up for the Preds, maybe we can give them Hillen back…
I agree, Molson would be the best pick up of the bunch listed. You are getting a guy that has a reasonable contract, is scoring almost a point a game playing for the Isles no less. I think he’d be worth a Blum, I dont think they would take back Hillen
Hahaha, Hillen was a joke, but Blum plus a high pick/current player wouldn’t be a bad deal for NYI. Would love to get Molson
PA Parenteau…A JP Dumont entering his prime…just sayin’