Edited Sep. 12, 2019 at 9:37 p.m.
Quoting: papishark
You arent objective. I never argued for Honka but the arguement is that he is young and has potential. Djoos has topped out as a solid 6th/7th D man which the sharks do not need at all, especially when he makes what he makes and provides what he provides. Why doesnt washington need him?
No one is objective, but we all try to be, when we are our best selves.
Washington has five guys who played top four roles last year, between three different teams. They brought back their own top pair, in Carlson and Kempny, who can average 26 and 19 minutes They brought back their backup #1 defenseman, in Orlov, who is basically a younger, cheaper, more skilled Vlasic, and is solid at 22 or 23 minutes a night. They added Detroit's #4 defenseman at the deadline, in Jensen (19 minutes). They added Philly's #4 defenseman over the summer, Gudas (19 minutes). Ovechkin plays five minutes a night of left point on the top power play. That adds up to 110 minutes. That leaves 10 minutes a night for Djoos or a different young player to develop, unless they go to overtime. Since Djoos has played up to 18 minutes some nights, averaging just 10 or 12 would be a huge step backwards for his development.
I think Djoos is ready to play a #4 role, and it isn't available in Washington. The Caps also have a really great talent pool at LHD. Their team got ranked 30th in prospect depth by some ESPN writer, this summer, but they beat 8th-ranked Carolina in a prospect tournament game by a score of 10-3, with two of their left defensemen putting up two goals apiece to lead the way--Fehervary and Nardella. They have two other LHD prospects who are recent first round picks. Djoos has a higher ceiling than Honka, but not than Alexeyev, and it's anybody's guess whether he'll stay better than Johansen (edit: because people talk up Johansen's defensive play--offensively, Djoos should be better, but there aren't many stats to measure defense at the AHL level).
But the Caps' forward prospect ranks are not too deep. So they should look to trade DJoos for a good forward prospect, and develop one of their defensive prospects in the tiny ice time available in the NHL this season. Siegenthaler was okay playing a dozen minutes a night last year. Siegenthaler hits a bunch more than Djoos and could be better suited to a #6 role on a pair that won't be relied on for offense. Siegenthaler and Gudas could be a really mean third pair, could kill some penalties together. Djoos needs a chance to score some points.
If you read through Djoos' and Honka's stats, and you think Honka does more to get the Sharks to the playoffs this year, get Honka. If you read through the numbers, and watch a few highlights, and think Djoos is going to push for a top four role sooner, if not immediately, then he might be a better trade target.