Quoting: Steven_Stamkos
I'm not deluding myself nor anyone else. Let's consider this hypothetical scenario. Jeannot's injury is serious. Or, his injury isn't serious. Tampa resigns him this summer and next year he has another poor statistical season. Because of injury or not, doesn't matter. Tampa can't afford to keep someone who doesn't contribute or JBB decides he isn't helping the team as much as he is hurting it. THIS doesn't make him a bad player worth no value. The amount of NHL players who have fallen so far off a cliff that their current team has to PAY another team to take them is a very small percentage. If Jeannot fell off a cliff and became a much worse player than what some teams see him as currently or being in the future, teams would still be interested in taking him. He hasn't even hypothetically reached that point in his career. I said in my original comment that in the worst case scenario for Tampa, they could still get something back in return. By worst case scenario I'm saying this. Jeannot doesn't score 20+ goals every year. He's not a home run on the trade. He doesn't come up clutch when he's needed. He's invisible most of the games he plays. There are a lot of ways you could look at this trade being a "loss" for Tampa. But even if all fails, it's not like he's going to quit playing hockey tomorrow and Tampa loses all those assets for nothing. Could they get back the amount of stuff they paid to get him? Certainly no. That doesn't mean he couldn't be traded for a prospect JBB likes, or a player to make a calculated chess move. You can't possibly judge a trade this early on. Tampa care's none about draft picks. It's the same argument as always. By the time a player drafted next year or in 2025 comes into his own in the NHL and is a contributor to the team, you could have wasted several years of contention. You could have traded for a Gaudreau, Coleman, Hagel etc. rather than waiting and gambling on a player drafted in the second half of the first round+. In conclusion, it's another trade in the bucket of "you get what you pay for". If you want quality, you pay for it. It doesn't work 100% of the time obviously. And we have yet to see how this one will play out. But anyone in their right mind couldn't sit there and tell me that JBB makes dumb moves. He has never made a move that derailed or totally hurt the franchise. And, the amount of times he has hit on a trade is a lot. When he swings, he connects.
1. There's only one way you can look at this trade being a loss for Tampa.
Tampa paid too much.
It's that simple.
2. If Tampa didn't care about draft picks, then why would they ask for Top 10 protection on their 1st round pick?
You're not being totally honest.
3. Nobody knows what will happen to the 1st round pick in 2025.
Or whether Tampa will still be a Cup Contender in 2025.
Most people thought that after San Jose traded for Karlsson in 2018, the 1st round pick would be 32nd overall after the Sharks win the Cup.
It didn't take long for everything to crash and burn.
4. It's another trade in the bucket of "you get less than what you pay for".
Just because someone has an asking price doesn't mean you have to pay it.
5. Anyone in their right mind couldn't sit there and tell anyone that JBB is a genius mastermind that is never wrong and whose decisions should never be questioned.
Most of the trades he has made have been overpayments.
If JBB spent all of Tampa's remaining draft picks on another 4th line player like Jeannot, you would still be spinning that trade to fit your narrative like you are doing with this one.
The truth will set you free.