working on a passing metric so why not take the opportunity to disrespect these guys for no reason in particular pic.twitter.com/amR9uudBhq

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 23, 2022

Adam Gaudette>Cole Caufield confirmed

2 isles forwards 💪🏻

Whether Calgary can re-sign the players or not is irrelevant. I’m just talking from a Panthers perspective.

The Panthers gave up the better player in a trade, while adding a #1 defenseman, a prospect, and a first round pick. And even if you argue that the Panthers are sacrificing now for a better future, that’s not exactly the type of move that a team that doesn’t have a 1st until 2026 should be doing. Just an absolutely atrocious move.

I’m sick of “power forwards” and how much people value them. They’re not better than other players just because they’re big, and being physical isn’t very helpful at offense, and is far from the most effective way to defend. The Panthers, who need to be contenders in the short term, traded their franchise player in Huberdeau (or co-franchise player at least) for a downgrade, and they gave up a #1 defenseman, a prospect, and a 1st. It’s inconceivable.

I agree that the price they paid is extremely high, but I'd also argue that in the long run this could be worth their troubles.

the fact that this is real 😭 pic.twitter.com/5h2gaYKuo5

— Nathan “Grav" (@NathanGraviteh) July 23, 2022

bruh

what a fun night this was; knight slayer

THOMAS BORDELEAU WINS THE SHOOTOUT 😤 pic.twitter.com/PnzV31a7XN

— Sharks on NBCS (@NBCSSharks) April 25, 2022

Players like Tkachuk are rare because he has the perfect mix of skill and grit. He’s better than most wingers in the game because he can do all the things a 4th line grinder does at an elite level while also being an elite goal scorer/passer etc..

Tkachuk is better than Huberdeau right now and in 2 years when Huberdeau is 31 and on a 10 mill AAV , I’m sure most rational fans would rather have the 26 YO Tkachuk at 9.5 AAV

No matter what you think of power forwards and their value (because we can agree that they don’t add enormous value like most people think, but they definitely add some value), Tkachuk is still the most valuable piece in this trade. Huberdeau is probably the best player, but he’s also like 5 years older than Tkachuk.

Now you bring up the need for Florida to be contenders on the short term: well, this trade makes them worse THIS year, but next year it gives them a player that they know will be on their team for the next 7 years, whereas Calgary might be left with only Swchwind and the 2025 first.

And is Weegar really a number 1 defenseman? He’s definitely a solid number 2, but calling him a number one seems like a bit of a stretch. I guess maybe he’s a low end number 1.

I’d say if the trade was Huberdeau and Weegar for Tkachuk it would be fair value, and the 2025 first scews it in Calgary’s favour. But maybe that’s just me.

I agree. Florida is a worse team right now, but I don’t think it will be that way much longer. They can get undervalued UFA’s to sign for cheap because Florida is a great place to live and give players an opportunity in a top 6 / top 4 role.

2/3 of Dallas' checking line from last year is on this list.

I agree with you on power forwards being overvalued - effectiveness, however it comes, is pretty much all that matters.

However I still don't mind this deal for Florida at all. At face value, not considering age or contract term and the like, yeah, this is pretty bad. But those things are legitimate factors. Both Huberdeau and Weegar are nearing 30 with only 1 year left on their deals. Tkachuk is 24 and came with a reasonable deal that carries him through the rest of his prime years. As far as the forward core is concerned this is a huge win that keeps their window open longer. Weegar's a tough loss for sure, and now they've got work to do to restructure that D-core, but it's do-able, and thanks to their forward group being fairly young and locked in, they have some runway to get it right.

I agree with most of your comment, I think the MT trade is pretty much fair for both teams for the reasons you mentioned.



But I cannot stand for this Weegar slander.
Dude is a stud, I think he actually had a slightly better season than Ekblad.
Easily top 10 D in the league for me currently.

Weegar is defensively a #1 D, but wouldn’t say he was better than Ekblad last season. He just exposed by certain teams (like Tampa) because of his skating .

The panthers currently have a Norris Caliber D (Ekblad) , a solid #2 defenseman (Forsling) and good two way 2nd pair D in Gudas. Montour is alright and Lucas Carlsson has potential. I’m not high on Kiersted.

I think Florida is going to trade for a young defenseman on an ELC or someone who’s fallen out of favor with their team.

He’s a fantastic defenseman and is easily a top pairing guy. But I don’t think he’s a true number one, and he definitely isn’t top 10. He might have had a better season then Ekblad, but I would still easily take Ekblad.

I wonder if they've checked in on de Haan. Will probably come cheap, and replaces a lot of what Weegar brought (to a lesser extent, of course). He's got the versatility, defensively responsible, bit of physicality. I like that fit.

Edit: I like Forsling, but I view him as a guy you want driving your 2nd pair. If they bring in De Haan, I could see he and Ekblad and Forsling - Gudas potentially working as a top 4.

Seeing Eakin above just about anyone automatically makes whatever that stat is useless

People actually think Weegar is better than Ekblad? Do these same people think Devon Toews is better than Makar?

Lol sounds about right.

Who’s excited for :
Dubois-Bedard-Huberdeau
Slafkovksy-Suzuki-Caufield

My top 10 right now doesn’t involve Weegar or Towes:

1 Makar

2 Josi

3 Hedman

4 Fox

5 McAvoy

6 Hamilton

7 Theodore

8 Ekblad

9 Letang

10 Carlson

Just outside: Heiskanen, Pietrangelo, Reilly, Nurse, Weegar, Toews, Chychrun, Slavin, Hughes, and Spurgeon

Montreal got to much competition now for Bedard did you see Chicago's team its a bunch of 4th liners and 2 Hall of Famers oh and Seth Jones never forget SJ

De haan could make sense, I think they should inquire about these D as well: Brannstrom, Hague, Soucy, John Merrill, Kulikov

Last time I checked De-Haan was linked to the NYI but its been so quiet over there idk what they are doing rn. Lou probs has a bunch of deals done and will release em all at once like he always does

Also has anyone seen that Johan Larsson deal yet. Wasnt it reported at the start of the offseason Pitt signed him well um where's the deal lul

I feel hes gonna be one of those guys who signs last minute with a team. But man Kadri really stalled the market didnt he. If he was signed most of these depth guys would be on teams already