Quoting: Saskleaf
I disagree that's it's the smart thing to do. I think it's short sighted and not being able to look ahead. In the short term, you lose a 3rd pairing defenseman.
Then, depending on what you do, you could gain a top 4 defenseman at the trade deadline, thereby increasing the jets chance at the cup.
If you can't find a good deadline trade, do an offseason one. Of if worse comes to worse, you've got yourself a nice prospect.
My point is when you can get a first for a 23 year old 3rd pairing defenseman, you should do it, regardless of whether or not you're contending. Unfortunately GM's don't realize this strategy very often. The only time I can remember a team flipping their first at the deadline is TB with Coleman.
I disagree with you there. Fans for the most part massively overrate the value of picks and incredibly underrate the value of current players actually playing in the NHL. Stanley may be a bottom pairing guy now, but looks to have the tools to become a top 4 guy in the future, so saying that the Jets are only giving up a bottom pairing guy is disingenuous.
The Jets wouldn't likely be getting a top 10 pick, so they'd probably be getting another player like Stanley that will take 3 or 4 years to develop properly and that's if they get a pick that doesn't bust like many do.
I know the shiny, new toy is always most attractive to fans because fans ONLY see a pick reaching its absolute maximum potential, with no warts or negative drawbacks. While they view any current player as a finished product, no matter their age, with their warts exaggerated. A "grass is always greener"situation.
So, while I agree that to a fan the smart thing to do is always go after the picks as they are the new great thing. An NHL GM realizes that collecting talent doesn't get you anywhere, eventually you have to assemble a team that you can try to win with.
Right now a solid, contributing roster player is and should be worth more to the Jets than a pick as the player helps the Jets win now more than a pick does.
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