The picks we could have acquired would have to have been well outside the area Grigorenko, Faksa et all were taken. Those spots were occupied by teams out of the playoffs.
Since these offers were most likely from play-off bound teams, any first-rounders we could have potentially acquired would not have been high enough to select the players people are clamouring for, with the possible exception of Subban.
All in all, the OP's points seem rather moot when considered logically.
there is still a chance this season to load up on picks for the 2013 draft at the trade deadline
The East is not going to be any easier to crack the top 8 - I don't think Toronto makes the playoffs so why not look to move the following guys and get a good return like Florida and Ottawa did:
Steckel - 2nd or 3rd rounder?
Cmac - late 1st
Kulemin - 1st
Connolly - last yr of his contract - maybe a 2nd?
Komi - maybe a mid round pick
I believe the goal for this coming season will be to replace the stop gaps with younger players. It won't all have to happen before our 1st game, but by Feb 1st.
Connolly for Colborne
MacA for Kadri
Lombardi for D'Amigo
Holzer for Komo
Blacker for Liles (OK, that may be a year or 2 away)
All those picks were 15 and worse and one was conditional so it was really 3. Chances are they don't turn out to be as good as Grabo, Kulemin or Schenn. How many games have these guys played?
It's not even about panning out so much as stocking the system with the kind of players we lack. If we had added Grigorenko and Girgensons or something, and one of them pans out, you're still doing better than having a weak 20 goal scorer on your roster who doesn't contribute to winning at all. Also better than waiting on marginal prospects like Sam Carrick to emerge as NHLers.
So you want to completely deplete the current roster in the hopes that a few picks can turn OK in 3 or 4 years?
It didn't make sense this year at all. Moving Grabs, Schenn, or Reimer for any of the prospects in the middle of the first this year would have been poor asset management.
there is still a chance this season to load up on picks for the 2013 draft at the trade deadline
The East is not going to be any easier to crack the top 8 - I don't think Toronto makes the playoffs so why not look to move the following guys and get a good return like Florida and Ottawa did:
Steckel - 2nd or 3rd rounder?
Cmac - late 1st
Kulemin - 1st
Connolly - last yr of his contract - maybe a 2nd?
Komi - maybe a mid round pick
You think Cmac will get a first, Steckel a 2nd or 3rd and Connolly a 2nd?
Yes but we didn't move on.......Draft is a crap shoot....Maybe good maybe not. We have to deal with the guys we got. No such thing as a armchair GM. All we know is what what see or read. We don`t know what`s behind the scene. If you were Russian wouldn`t you love to play where you where born close to all your family and friends? There is no need to come the NHL anymore with the KHL.
You think Cmac will get a first, Steckel a 2nd or 3rd and Connolly a 2nd?
Why would we deal Kulemin?
Yeah that's no gonna happen. I think we gave NJ a 5th rounder for Steckel. Some maybe a 6th rounder for Steckel, 2nd or 3rd for CMac, Connolly maybe a 3rd or 4th. The problem is no one wants these guys.
If we had done this, we would have lost our best defensive forward, we wouldn't have JVR, we would be going into next season with a center group of Bozak-Connolly-Lombardi-Steckel, (if you believe the Reimer rumours as well, we would be going into the season with Scrivens as the #1 goalie), and we would have been throwing the white towel in the ring while we were winning the fight last year.
All so we could get a chance to pick prospects that we could hope become the players we just traded, that slid for a reason in a relatively weak draft. We now have the option to keep them and not trade away positions of need, or trade them like we did Schenn for a lot more value than a late first round pick.
I find it hilarious how people on this board think they know better than the collective minds of all NHL GMs and scouts.
The negative effect is still in the dressing room. Versteeg did not take his BS.
There is every indication that this is a very tight group of young hockey players who all want to grow and develop together. You running thread to thread with some Phaneuf vandetta, is hogwash.
I'm glad Burke stood pat and didn't dismantle the team. Trading 4 players for first rounders would have set us back more than forward. Given the first round picks offered, my guess is it likely included Grabo/Kulemin/Macarthur/Schenn/Gunnarsson/Bozak . These players can still be traded in the future just as easily, probably in packages that would return greater than late firsts individually. Also, it didnt totally destroy our chances of making the playoffs next year.
Not to mention, hindsight sure is great. If i recall, at the deadline, we had just slipped out of 8th spot. There was plenty of time to turn it around. and how can any one possibly say they didn't want them to? Its easy to look back and say we should have done such and such, but at the time a tough call had to be made, the right call. Try and make the playoffs.
Have you forgotten what teams give up at the deadline in the past for non-star players?
did you happen to not read the '?' or 'maybe' - they indicate questions - not statements
Ya but you seem to forget that Cmac is a 3rd liner on a playoff team, Steckel a 4th liner and Connolly a 3rd liner. Connolly was horrendous so far with us. These guys aren't getting you top picks.
In an extremely weak draft they have a chance to get close to that kind of value but if this draft remains close to the hype, no chance.
Kulemin shouldn't be dealt period.
Also worth noting, if we are close to the playoffs at the deadline we won't be sellers. Burkes job is on the line, if we miss hes gone. We haven't made it since 2004.
