They won’t do this but I still rly think they should trade Ekholm

Edit: also, I think PIT would be a great landing spot for Haula

They could get such a haul for Ekholm, man. I'd trade him

But they're in a playoff spot/race now

😐

Topsy turvy season

Craziest microscosm statistic:

Saros first 10 games .882 sv%

Saros last 12 games .960 sv%

Dunno if that has ever happened honestly

Last season Saros started out cold too and then was one of the top goalies again after New Year's.

Oct-Dec (20 games) = .887%
Jan-March (20 games)= .934%

I guess he just starts out cold and then heats up.

Granlund will be a tough sell, Hynes loves him, leads forwards in ice-time most nights, can play any situation/position.

Will he resign? I would assume Poile has already talked to him, if hes not going to resign it be smart to trade him with the knowledge of Forsberg/Duchene coming back. For a 2nd and a 5th I'd rather keep him. Weak draft class, late second round pick doesnt hold much value. I would hope NSH prefers prospects over picks this season. Trade for a forward prospect with offensive upside.

I assume if Poile got his ask from some of these teams (e.g. 1st + Heinola from WPG) then Ekholm would be gone already. If we aren't getting those kinds of offers, I could see how Poile views it as a win-win to keep him. Let's us stay competitive this year and potentially make it to the playoffs (helps ownership financially). We can easily go 4-4-1 in expansion without sweating it (some teams may be unwilling to give up a ton of assets to get him if they will lose another D). Can trade him in the offseason or at next years deadline and still get a great haul. Gives Farrance/Davies more time to develop before they get thrust into that Top 4 role. And finally, it won't look like he's giving up on this team that has fought really hard the last few weeks.

I really go back and forth on resigning Granlund. Personally like him a lot but where does he slot into the lineup if we keep Joey/Duchene? 3rd line center? That would be awesome but if it takes $6M to sign him its not worth it. Thats top 6 wing money but we already have Fil/Arvy/Tolvy/Kunin and Tomasino coming up. Plus Jarnkrok/Grimaldi as 2nd/3rd line wings. It also means we have to protect him in expansion. Which could work if we were okay exposing BOTH Joey/Duchene.

It be a legit Top 9 but there are too many obstacles:
Fil-Duchene-Kunin
Tolvy-Joey-Arvy
Jarny-Granlund-Tomasino

I would ONLY resign Granlund if Joey or Duchene leave in expansion. Sign him after draft so you dont have to worry about protecting him. I personally prefer RyJo over Duchene (before the season, I preferred Duchene, recency bias i guess) I just see Johansen as a better all around player. Younger with less term as well. If they dont produce offensive they need to at least bring some defensive ability. Johansen's Dzone and face-off ability make him more valuable than Duchene.
End of the day, you can't have two 8million dollar centers who aren't producing. NSH might have to expose both of them and let Seattle take their pick.
I would get rid of Grimaldi, 2 million for an average bottom6 winger, he has limited offensive upside, I would prefer a prospect like (Novak, Pitlick, Jeannot) getting those minutes

Regardless, you protect Fil-Arvy-Kunin and the top4 D (barring a trade).

Forsberg - Johansen/Granlund - Tolvanen
Jarnkrok - Duchene/Granlund - Tomasino
Cousins - Kunin - Arvidsson
Trenin - Sissons - Olivier
*Could swap Arvy/Jarny but I like the way Jarnkrok plays with Granlund.

Preds need to open up a spot for Tomasino, which in-turn would push Kunin/Arvidsson/Jarnkrok down the lineup