Not a bad offer. But we will give you Yandle instead of OEL. Thanks.
Coots is an amazing prospect and would fit this Dave Tippett team like a glove, but will he ever be a first line center? Or is he destined to be more of a Martin Hanzal type? Tough to give up a guy like Yandle for someone who's ultimate upside is so unclear. While his ability to PK and play tight defensive hockey from the center position is amazing for a kid his age, we've got PK, and shut down centers already.
I wouldn't give up Yandle for upside anyway. If this team were in a full rebuild I might though.
I saw this as a sarcastic reply somewhere in the last few days but it actually made me pause. Alex Galchenyuk, Scott Gomez, Morgan Ellis for Keith Yandle. Galchenyuk was first on our draft list. I've never seen him play outside of highlights but he's all upside. Gomez helps with cap and has negative value, but does have a slight chance of being a decent addition (he's surprisingly young) and Morgan Ellis is a really impressive young D prospect who paired with Gormley for Shawinigan. The value is completely unproven players. But damn is there some upside there.
Yea I'm pretty sure we wont see OEL or Yandle traded for a few years at least. Yandle loves playing for this team and is a big part of our clubs success. You don't move guys like that without a pretty chunky overpayment, especially not a team that needs both his cap hit and leadership. OEL has too great of an upside to be moved. While he looks proven he has only spent one full season in the NHL, he needs a few of those to begin to see his true colors and frankly he could be even more valuable than what many teams might offer. The kids a crazy talent and could very well be the next lidstrom. Like Doan (should he resign, and assuming none of the 3 ever ask for a trade) they are untouchable. 2 years from now? Maybe, more likely definitely, but not right now.
Made the thread on both boards, a clear no from both sides. My conclusion is that fans are really sold on their young guys with a high upside.
OEL's play last season was way better than just upside though. He has a legit case to be considered the #1 on this team already. The same can't be said for Couturier despite a very good season from him as well. A huge portion of Couturier's value is based on a projected increase in offensive totals. And I suspect you at least agree with that to some extent as you included the first going back to PHX.
