Right now, the Isles have a unique opportunity: Boychuk and Leddy are both playing respectably well. Their value is higher than it'd usually be. But for reasons I will eventually point out, I think we should trade both of them as soon as possible.
1st Reason: RFA Cliff this coming summer
The emergence of Barzal and Pulock as #1s in their respective positions on our depth charts and the gaudy point totals Toews is putting up suggests that the Isles will need more cap space they have. Assuming the Isles let Brassard, Martin, Kuhnhackl and Greiss walk next offseason, the Isles will have 14 million in cap space. If I had to guess, the impending RFAs this offseason will make...
Barzal: 11m aav over 7 years
Pulock: 6m aav over 6 years
Toews: 5m aav over 7 years
So we'll have 14m in cap space come this July, and we'll need around 22m to re sign all of these RFAs. And I doubt the Isles can reasonably consider just letting one of these players now critical to our roster just walk. At least one move will have to be made.
2nd Reason: The Isles still desperately need offense
Even in light of next year's RFA cap demands, the Isles still can't sit still in UFA or the trade market. The Isles need an upgrade to their offense, and while I still think Wahlstrom will be a great forward for us in the long term, he's certainly not Top 6 material yet, and likely won't be for another two or three years. Talent will need to be imported. Granted, we don't have to go out and sign Taylor Hall (though that'd sure be nice), we just need a 2nd line winger to give our team some depth while we wait for Holmstrom, Wahlstrom, Koivula, Durandea, whatever other dark horse prospect I can't think of, to ascend to the Top 6 as a legitimate scorer. Assuming we get a decent short term signing at, say, 4m aav, that'd add to our RFA cliff demands. So now we have 14m in cap space to cover 26m in signings. At least two moves will need to be made.
3rd Reason: Thankfully, we have young defensemen that competently fill Leddy's and Boychuk's spots.
Dobson, though he hasn't seen much skating time, looks like an NHL defenseman with speed and creativity, while frequently being in the right place at the right time defensively. He's not even close to being a star yet, but he's definitely looked good enough to at least cover a bottom pairing spot on the right side. Toews, on the other hand, is tearing it up right now. 8 points in 11 games, looking fantastic on the 1st Power Play Unit, all while playing good, defensively sound hockey on a team-first Trotz team. He might even usurp Pulock as our best defenseman by the end of the year. If this weren't his first full year, he could probably ask for a lot more money, but given his relatively late emergence and his smaller sample size, we can probably sign him now for a team-friendly deal (credit to Isles777 for this observation).
I thank Boychuk and Leddy for admirable tenures. I'll always have fond memories of their first year at the Coli, and they were instrumental in getting their last two playoff series wins. But I am confident that Toews and Pulock are more than capable of taking their place and frankly, the cap space they take up just isn't worth it anymore.
Trades
1.
NYI
2020 2nd round pick (ANA)
2020 3rd round pick (ANA)
2021 2nd round pick (ANA)
Additional Details:
To the highest bidding team.
Leddy is off to a good start this year and has always had value as an offensive defenseman. He won't get a huge fortune of picks, but we'll need the cap space this next July and Toews should sufficiently replace him.
To whichever team is willing to get heavily bribed and/or to whichever team he'll approve a trade to.
It's a fortune to give up, but Boychuk's contract is so bad, it's normally unusable. But Boychuk is playing good, physical, ageless hockey right now. You could convince a GM to take him on in exchange for a massive return and the hope that he'll still be a good defenseman this year and the next. But considering the RFA cliff we have this coming summer, we NEED to find a way to get rid of his contract.
Speaking of Dobson, I feel like he looked stronger last game. He was throwing his body pretty well. His xGF% is 65 , the best on the team, although it is a small sample size
Speaking of Dobson, I feel like he looked stronger last game. He was throwing his body pretty well. His xGF% is 65 , the best on the team, although it is a small sample size
Like I said, we're at a point where we can unload Leddy and Boychuk and still field a good defensive corps. Might as well move them while their value is high and their replacements look ready.
Like I said, we're at a point where we can unload Leddy and Boychuk and still field a good defensive corps. Might as well move them while their value is high and their replacements look ready.
Speak it into existence lol - I would love to see that come to fruition
I dont know if player values are as much as a power ranking as people on this site believes. a couple of good games doesnt make them more valuable than they were in the summer
Right idea, but that is an obscene amount to get rid of Boychuk. I don't think it'll be that steep in reality
I agree it’s obscene, but he’s got a NTC with no conditions, so we can’t just trade him to a bottom feeder; it has to be a team Boychuk would want to play for. And most playoff eligible teams would never accept the contract of a 6m aav past-his-prime defenseman unless they offer was just too good to turn down. Though if we could get it done for less, we should.
I agree it’s obscene, but he’s got a NTC with no conditions, so we can’t just trade him to a bottom feeder; it has to be a team Boychuk would want to play for. And most playoff eligible teams would never accept the contract of a 6m aav past-his-prime defenseman unless they offer was just too good to turn down. Though if we could get it done for less, we should.
He has an 8 team "yes" list he has to submit now. So we know it'll be possible to move. Could he strategically pick teams that would be bad trade partners? Sure. But I think he'd want to put himself in the best situation for the twilight of his career
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