Puck moving D

What about elite puck moving defensemen Andy Greene?

Blues cannot protect Dunn and have no leverage before the expansion draft. Trading Bolduc is not a good move.
If you want a strong puck-moving d man - I know Trotz and Lou liked Alex Goligoski in the past. He is certainly getting on in years, but he would cost only money - certainly south of 3m and only for a year before Salo and Bolduc are ready to take over. Plus, you get to keep Bellows, the 2nd, and Bolduc.

Confused as to why you are buying out Komarov (1.66 cap hit) instead of burying him; the buyout only saves the team 200 K and then tacks on another .660K next season to the cap. This is poor cap mgmt. Might make more sense to just bury him and find a cheaper alternative at the 4C than overpaying for Derek Ryan @ 1.75! ... Ryan is lucky he'll get a 1m on the open market - he's in Nate Thompson and Trevor Lewis territory. Ryan was brutal this year for Calgary.

Salo and Golyshev being handed starting roles is also something I strongly disagree with - might make more sense to have them in the AHL since they are waiver exempt to at least get used to the North American style and rink and they provide depth and cover when injury happens.

Don't think the team needs to attach Aho for Seattle to take Leddy. I think they take him - if they don't so be it.

And did you waive Ross the Boss? Oof that's a bad move, especially when he'd get claimed by the Rangers and then haunts our dreams. You never waive your goon - the lessons of Karl Racki!

It depends on how many teams are interested in Dunn. He provided top pairing value in 2 of the last 3 seasons - the isles tanked bellows value by playing guys like komarov over him and burying him for long stretches . Bolduc is a decent prospect but he is extremely overrated by isles fans. I watched a lot of his games this season and he has solid physical tools, but he doesnt think the game at a high level and he’s not a good puck mover/ creative with the puck. It looks like he’ll be a 3rd pairing defensive defenseman in the NHL.

It was reported komarov agreed to go back to the KHL if the isles buy him out.

Salo was dominant in one of the best professional leagues in the world and he turns 23 in October. Many scouts believe he was NHL ready last season - and he can alternate with Ben Hutton to start. Golyshev is already 26 and will likely sign a 1 way deal this summer, apparently he was looking for a house on LI - if he isn’t given a fair shot he’ll probably go back to Russia. He probably doesn’t want to play in the AHL, just like sorokin.

Ross johnston would look out of place in the ECHL. Did you see the players that went unclaimed on waivers this past season? No one would claim Ross , isles would have to give a pick to get rid of him.

Derek Ryan had a great season - he’s one of the best defensive forwards in the NHL and he is one of the best forecheckers. He’s a lot better than Trevor Lewis

By the way, we believe you can acquire Taylor Hall for 1st round pick or player like Derek Ryan for 3rd round draft pick for example. pic.twitter.com/3C1hmOvW2D

— Andy & Rono 📊 (@HockeyStatsCZ) April 11, 2021

Where was this reported? And why do the Isles care if he goes back to the KHL - why would that be an incentive for the team?

You also realize Bolduc was playing as 21 year old a season after he got drafted and is learning the pro game.

I doubt Ryan gets that much next season - good job backing it up with the analytics.

Golyshev should be in the AHL to start the season - he might be a diamond in the rough, but he can also flame out like Petrov.

Why would the team need to add a pick to trade Ross? That doesn't make any sense. I am a Ross fan and teams still need enforcers and ones that can keep up with the game.

I like Salo a lot - just a bit risky to give him a starting spot right from camp.

It was reported by a Finnish news account on twitter that if the isles buy him out he has an agreement in place with a KHL team.

Bolduc had a solid season, my point is there's not much upside with him. He's definitely an NHLer , but its highly unlikely he'll be anything more than a 3rd pair D. If you can trade him for a much better defenseman who's still pretty young, it makes sense.

It depends if that's what he wants to do. Golyshev has leverage, he has to agree to go to the AHL, he's much different than Petrov. Golyshev is a line driver, Petrov was more of a complimentary player.

Because there are contract limits and most teams wouldn't even think of giving a roster spot to Ross Johnston who does not have many NHL qualities, he's protected by Trotz system. Ross seems like a good guy but he is not an NHL caliber player.

I never said they should give him a spot. Salo is good enough to earn the spot. He's a two way D that can move the puck, he's not a 20 year old kid.