I like the idea of Skjei as a partner for Spurg. Cost is better than we could get elsewhere and the term is nice. IDK if they want to move him? He’s a decent sized cap hit and maybe that’s incentive for CAR to move him? Add in some other pieces and that makes some sense.

Whoops I flubbed the defenseman pairings. Meant to put him with Spurgeon. Yeah this is more the base of a deal, feels like Carolina might want more given how highly Necas is regarded. Just not sure what we'd be adding.

IF Necas does get moved, its pretty fair value. I just can't see it. But if the reports of the Canes wanting to sign Kotkaniemi to 8 years is true, then I could very well see it. Fiala to the 2LW spot would be insane

It really depends if this were to be done in the off-season or not. If not, and it’s a deadline move, absolutely not. Chychrun would be an upgrade over Skjei, but that could only happen if they are willing to play ball. Canes payed a first for Skjei, and that was when his play was down in the dumps. Now that his play has gotten so much better, you could argue he is worth 2 firsts equivalents and a mid round pick. At that point, it could just be Skjei for Fiala with picks to balance it out. A good comparable for this trade could be the Larsson/Hall trade. Necas would require a lot more to the trade, with pieces that Minny would absolutely not want to give up.

I don’t see Necas moving, I think it’s probably worth thinking that way too. Let’s say the base of the deal is Fiala for Skjei and Suzuki. Does CAR need to add there?

You’ve got to get a young forward in any Fiala deal IMO.

I’m not sure the Hall for Larsson trade is a reasonable comp for anything other than highway robbery. But I do agree with you that Skjei is valuable.

This is an offseason move. I don't think any GM is dumb enough to repeat the Hall/Larsson trade. But I hear you, Skjei has been solid in Carolina.

That’s a lot of cap youre adding tho

Correct. But if you manage to replace Fiala with Skjei and an ELC, that’s not the worst thing in the world. I think you can make it through next year with him and then get to decide what happens to Dumba. And once Skjei is up, you need to rely on Brods and Lambos to be your top 4 guys.

Agreed, it’s not perfect. But it’s a decent idea to think about.

It is, but if Fiala is the piece being moved and we also get another cheap, talented forward to play on the roster in addition to Skjei then we can afford it. Fiala at $7M+ is a difficult pill to swallow since it also gives us a hole in our top 4 (I don't think we're re-signing Goligoski), but if we acquired Skjei and a player like Necas (or more likely Suzuki), that fills 2 holes on our roster for around $7M (give or take $1M or so). The cap is definitely tight, but I think we could make it work.

I can’t see Necas getting less than 4.5 on a bridge or less than 6 mill on a 5-6 year deal

He's only on pace for 45 points this season, what warrants 4.5 on a bridge deal? Greenway was on a near identical pace last season and just signed for 3x3, I imagine Waddell (or Guerin in this scenario) would point at the Greenway contract for Necas. Necas has also been given time with a much more offensively gifted center then Greenway.

@csick beat me to it. I just can’t imagine Necas signing a bridge for that little. IF he would…this is a complete no-brainer for the Wild…and an, “I’ll have to think about it” for the Canes.

But what warrants much more than what Greenway got on a bridge? Greenway had nearly identical point production last season to the pace Necas is on this season, and Necas has been given better linemates. Necas is a year younger than Greenway was last season and I know points aren't everything, but I still think Waddell will point to that 3x3 contract in negotiations.

Yeah, I think this is a firm no. Necas is only 22. Fiala didn't take that next step in his career until he was 23/24. Buying low on a Necas bridge is WAY better of an idea than moving him for Fiala. Skjei could be on the move to Minnesota, and some Wild fans like that. Carolina is rumored to be looking at moving him. But Necas is just a no. For Necas to go the other way, you're going to be coughing up some prospects and picks you really don't want to. Either Boldy+++ or like Necas as the centerpiece of a package for Krill. Either way, I think that's a no.

I’m not here for value. What is the thought of moving Fiala for Necas and Skjei? I thought Merrill was doing really well. Plus y’all need cap space.

Merrill is playing well, but he doesn't belong in the top 4 and I don't think we'll re-sign Goligoski so we will need a D partner for Spurgeon next year. The idea is that we also probably can't afford Fiala at the $7M+ contract I think he deserves, especially with that hole on the blue line, but if we move him we'd ideally need a young, cheapish forward coming back given how talented Fiala is and subtracting him would be a big hit to our offensive production. We need a LD that is big, physical, skates well, and can move the puck and Skjei ticks all of those boxes other than maybe the physical one. His contract is a bit too much in my opinion, but it's probably quite a bit better than what we could find in free agency if we just moved Fiala for futures. Necas is having a bit of a down year, but there's a lot of talent there and I've always felt he has the toolkit to play center (which we desperately need, even with Rossi in the pipeline) and even if his production is 60-75% of what Fiala brought, we still have Rossi to help make up for losing Fiala. Even if Necas didn't stick at center, then that's fine because, well, we just traded away a winger and we could use another right shot forward in the top 6.

Basically it comes down to this:
We have a hole on the blue line next season and can't afford to fill that hole in addition to paying Fiala, so moving Fiala to fill that hole and not destroy our offense by getting a young, cheap player while the total of those two player's cap hits are around what we'd have to pay for Fiala is arguably better than just paying Fiala.

All fair points. What about offer sheeting a guy like Hague from Vegas at 4 million a year? Kulikov in the top 4?

If not, what about adding one of Merrill or Kulikov to the trade, subtracting Peart, to give you the cap space needed to bridge Necas?

Hague is intriguing although I don't know what young forward Vegas could give us that fills that need since trading Fiala would more be about getting a talented young forward and a stop-gap LD in our top 4 while Lambos develops than getting a long-term solution in the top 4 and a stop-gap forward. At one time Vegas had a lot of good young forwards (Suzuki, Glass, and Krebs), but that is no longer really the case. I also don't see any way Vegas can afford to extend Fiala, so the fit there isn't great.

As for Merrill or Kulikov, I would be surprised if we traded Merrill since he was just extended to a 3 year deal about a month or two ago. I don't mind moving Merrill, but it would just surprise me if we did. I'm fine with moving Kulikov, but he definitely doesn't have the value that Peart does.

What is the offer for Necas and Skjei with Fiala and Kulikov coming back?

It takes about 5 seconds to see how Necas’ ceiling is a mile higher than Greenway’s!

That’s because Fiala had a horrible leg break to recover from!

You are absolutely right, but if you're the GM you are pointing to comparables and Greenway's is pretty close. Necas also regressed quite a bit this year, so that's something to consider. Obviously the player and agent will try to get more, but ultimately I'd be pretty surprised if he's signed to a bridge deal over $4M.

Injuries happen, freak or not. It's a contact sport... if you play in this league for a long time, odds are you're going to suffer a broken bone or multiple.

That’s not my point at all…