Not even close. Bunch of spare parts for a franchise centre?

They wouldn't trade a generational player for that package lol. It's not even worth a Franchise player or possibly a 1st line player. From my team; I wouldn't trade David Pastrnak for that package so it's probably the weakest offer they'd receive for a generational talent like Hughes.

I don't necessarily think so either, but calling Hughes "generational" and "Franchise player" is a bit over the top. Every draft #1 isn't that

All of the above. Going to have to start bumping the Cally offers up by a good prospect also. C prospects even themselves out, and that 2nd is not even close for a 5.8m 12/13 forward when cap will go towards Bread +.

considering he broke Matthews and Kanes UD Development scoring records when he was only 16. He has the potential to being a very special talent

Avs wouldnt do that. Only way they would be interested in doing that would be getting their hands on Point. Tampa won't do it, and Avs no incentive to move the pick unless they are getting unless they are getting the exact player they want. They are more than happy to sit tight and pick the elite talent.

A collection of stuff isnt going to get that pick

Well it was the same ppg pace in 3 more games, and being very good at 16 does not equal being good at 20. I still think he will be good, and he could very well be better than Matthews long term for all I know, the issue for me is just assuming a linear developmental curve. There are no guarantees.

the point is that he has bee labeled as an elite talent for quite some time. Is he the next Patrick Kane? Matthews or Eichel? He could be or he could be a Nico hischier. Right now the pedigree is saying he will be up wit the rest of the top American players but yes they are prospects and no guarantees. But when a draft class is headlined by the same 15-16 year old as one you want keep your draft pick for. Might be a very special talent when its all over

So the package at hand doesn't really make sense, but when people are arguing "Colorado can't trade that pick, Hughes could be the next Matthews" in general I think they are wrong. First off the chances of that pick becoming the #1 is still small, even if Ottawa finishes in last place. Then secondly is back to my old point about not assuming development in prospects. If they could've gotten Mark Stone for that pick I'd rather have taken that, cause you get something you know is great, and something that lines up with the ages and contracts currently on your team. That would give you a chance to win from this season until MacKinnon's contract is up basically. But people love the mystery box. Also there's some idea of zero-risk bias in keeping your picks and prospects that teams seem to suffer from, in regards to trading away assets currently on your team. Not trading that pick is as much of a risk as trading that pick is.

it doesnt have to be Hughes. Kakko, the WHL Cs or the Russian RWer. I think regardless of who they get in the top 5, they are more than happy. Its a pretty loaded draft this year, deeper than last year in the Top 10. Avs are already big winners from the Duchene trade, whatever the Ott pick turns into. 1st or 4th overall, its just a cherry on top of a cherry on their already trade sundae.

Send would never have gotten their own pick back in a Stone deal. They had 0 leverage in any deal with the Avs.

I mean I disagree. I think both Hughes and Kakko have about the same value to them as Svechnikov last year. They're not close to Dahlin, and I'd rather have most in last year's top 10 than this one. I feel like the current draft almost always gets overhyped.

That might be the case, but that's still the trade I think the Avs should have tried to make. Stone, especially with an extension, is likely to be more valuable for the MacKinnon contract than anyone in the draft. And there's still best case scenario only a 50/50 to get Hughes/Kakko

Lmao "bunch of spare parts" ... 1. Gourde would've ranked 5th (may finish the yr @ 4th) among Avalanche forwards this year. 2. Stephens is a very promising prospect... You'd need at least a couple of paragraphs to cover all of his career achievements (8x Champion of AAA or better, 2017-18 AHL All-Star, etc). And he's been Captain of 3 teams (including Saginaw Spirit & Team Canada U18). 3. Ingram, who's 21, has a great shot at winning the AHL Best Goalie Award. Very curious how ANY of them sound like "spare parts" lmao. 4. Hughes is a 17 yr old prospect, who apparently (after reading everyone's comments) isn't even as hyped up as previous #1 ranked draft prospects. He's got a lot of work cut out for him before he's considered a "franchise centre".



Pastrnak has proven 3 years in a row now, that he's a 35 goal & ppg player. Hughes has yet to play his 1st NHL game. At this point in time, if someone's getting labeled "Franchise or 1st line player", it'd be Pastrnak, not Hughes... Tampa wouldn't trade this package for Pastrnak either lmao. Why would Boston want this package in the first place? Maybe if Pastrnak started licking Marchand lmaooo. Tampa needs to clear cap space & this trade makes sense for us for multiple reasons. We have an abundance of quality, expendable assets in our organization, which allows us the flexibility to make these kind of trades that improve our roster and help our cap problem.



1. He's only a 12/13 fwd for Tampa... That's a fact, idk any other team that has 12 fwds better than Cally... 2. He's only got 1 year left on his deal. Any team with cap space that knows they're not fit for a cup run in 2019-20 would be all ears for a free draft pick and/or prospect... 3. I can understand wanting more than a 2nd rd pick to absorb Callahan's final yr @ 5.8. I simply disagree, I think a 2nd would git-r-done. If not, we have plenty more assets to offer. Regardless, only time will tell on the "price" for absorbing Cally's $. NYR fans are at least some incentive to bring back Cally, they'd approve of bringing him back.



It completely depends on if Colorado wants Hughes, or the best trade offered.

I agree that the Avs might prefer to be on the receiving end of the "presumed" (anyone could be a bust) best player in the trade. But like the Lightning, most teams have that same mindset. And not everyone can get what they want... Tampa does have a cap problem, but they do not have to trade Point to solve it. Tampa is capable of making an offer excluding 21 / 86 / 91 / 77 / 88 that the Avs can't, or at least shouldn't, refuse. Colorado still has the luxury to say no & draft Hughes if they think that highly of him. But I think the Avs consider the package because 1. It immediately guarantees a 1st line fwd talent (statistical fact), who truly will have more ppg on a team with higher role for him. 2. Avs get Stephens, a proven prospect who's ready for his NHL debut. 3. Ingram leapfrogs every Avs goalie prospect, especially in NHL readiness. 4. Not only does a 2019 2nd rd pick come back their way, they also get a 2020 1st & 2021 2nd. Even if Hughes turns out amazing, that's a whole lot of ways for this Avs to win this trade in the long run. And on the flip side, (on paper) if Hughes never reaches 64 pts in a NHL season, that's all it'd take for Tampa to completely lose this trade.

The package I suggested realistically could tip the scale for COL against Hughes, and I think it strongly competes with the return in the Karlsson trade. It definitely out-values the return in the Duchene, Stone, O'Reilly, Kessel trades. And I literally could've offered 2-3x the value and still left TB with a solid prospect farm... But I don't think that's necessary.

Why would Tampa offer this package? High risk, high reward plan to save cap. The risk? Gourde, 2 blue chip prospects, a 1st rd pick & two 2nd rd picks. Chances of Hughes being a bust? Very slim.
Why would Colorado accept? It makes them better now, and for the future. It guarantees a better roster for 2019-20, better farm, & extra 1st and 2nd round picks. Smartest & safest option in their eyes.

This is all assuming Colorado ends up with the 1st pick. As far as projecting Hughes goes, @coga16 pretty much said it all. Hughes completely SHATTERED Matthews & Kane's USHL records. He's both taller & heavier than Johnny Gaudreau, and he's still growing. Hughes looks exceptionally promising.