but you see, that's what differentiates a GM from a good GM. being able to trade a valuable asset, from a positon of strength, to land another valuable asset.
right now makfi holds all the cards with semin, the only X factor being him potentially jetting back to the motherland. its what he does with those cards, anything from re-signing to sending him packing to letting another team put in an offersheet and taking the picks, that will determine if he gets good value in return.
i wouldnt trade semin for kovalchuk straight up, much less with a first and another player, unless i felt the team had everything in place to make a run for the cup this season.
But the other GM has to be confident in Semin as a lead player. And that's where I'm not sure some other GM would bite and say for argument, trade a Chara/Phanuef level player for Semin +. Cause to me if we're trading him for a Volchencov/Kaberle level player, I'll be pissed no matter how highly we need him. I think you need to trade our quality AND quantity (Semin + assets) for a top top top type player on D or why bother.
I can't remember who said it on these boards but I wholeheatedly agree that Semin is more valuable here than elsewhere.
backstrom's contract is going to dictate what happens with semin. i'm 100% confident his deal will be done first, and thats when we'll know where semin stands in terms of his future with this team. at quick glance the contracts of sedin and kopitar's appear to be the measuring sticks, with anze's 6.8 per the high end.
IF backstrom gets kopitar money ( or stephen peat forbid more ) semin is not in their plans, book it, he's gone.
if he gets sedin $$, or a little less, then makfi will be trying to get them both locked up. dumb if you ask me, just dont see how that will work with all the roster turnover the next two seasons and the all but imminent cap reduction. but oh well.
I can't remember who said it on these boards but I wholeheatedly agree that Semin is more valuable here than elsewhere.
Probably so...but he's also somewhat redundant if he's asking for $6M+. I'd be inclined to keep a pretty open mind on offers for him, though unfortunately I doubt he alone would bring back a player of equal impact. Nonetheless, the right offer could make for a team-wide improvement.
Bettman said recently there's a good chance the cap remains the same next season, likely assuming the NHLPA invokes the inflator once again. It's early but the league seems optimistic at this point. Either way, though, the Caps need to be much more shrewd from this point forward in handing out contracts (both in term & dollar).
backstrom's contract is going to dictate what happens with semin. i'm 100% confident his deal will be done first,
I would be 100% certain of anything from this org. But I think we all agree we'd prefer Backstrom first and longest.
You never know though. Semin could just roll over and take a relative bargin quickly to get it over with. I personally thought the 4.6M he took for 2 yrs leaving him in this RFa status was a home run for the Caps. I wouldn't be too shocked if we woke up tomorrow to a 5 yr-5.5 to 6.0M deal for Alex.
But if this all goes to how I think it will ie Backstrom getting his first and longest, then perhaps he's gone this offseason. Even 3 or 4 firsts (+ his cap room) could be a great return in this day and age of draft pick importance. That strategy is roulette though and I think that GMGM would trade him for roster players before that.
My fear is that Lt Dyke trades him alone for quantity.
Probably so...but he's also somewhat redundant if he's asking for $6M+. I'd be inclined to keep a pretty open mind on offers for him, though unfortunately I doubt he alone would bring back a player of equal impact. Nonetheless, the right offer could make for a team-wide improvement.
Bettman said recently there's a good chance the cap remains the same next season, likely assuming the NHLPA invokes the inflator once again. It's early but the league seems optimistic at this point. Either way, though, the Caps need to be much more shrewd from this point forward in handing out contracts (both in term & dollar).
Well there you go. I've been made redundant. After it was me who stood up for all of you.
On Topic: interesting about the Cap. Huge IMHO. Thanks for posting!
FWIW, Aucoin actually has an even lower cap hit than Kane. Precautionary for Gordon or they may be planning to sit Gordon whether he feels ready to play or not. As Langway noted, only need is for the roster slot via someone on IR (Erskine, as noted).
