If you're interested in any of my players and/or you're thinking of how to structure potential offers, please take the time to think about my blueprint and what I'm trying to achieve - aka READ THIS NOW AND DON'T COMPLAIN LATER:
* We only have 14 protects. I've got more assets than that. I can deal with that now, I can deal with that in the off-season, or I can do a bit of both. The options, as always are: Consolidate multiple players for fewer, more establish players; Trade players for picks; Some combination of those two.
* I currently have 9 players on my team not playing in the NHL (Stankoven's latest trip to the minors might just be on paper). I want to protect all of them because they're all very good prospects and the future of my team, but that means I would only have space for 5 veterans if I did that. Those 5 veterans wouldn't be very old. The two oldest guys on my team are Sorokin at 28 and Sanheim at 27. The rest are all in their early 20's.
* Because I have so few active NHL players, I would need veteran players coming back. Not going to beat around the bush here: I would need man games. It's just a fact. This is asset management, but it's also about my future. I'm not going to jeopardize draft position to make a move now that I could just make in the summer, so structure your offers accordingly. Motivate me to make a deal now rather than later.
* I'm loaded up on prospects, this next draft should hopefully be the last one where I'm looking to the future and not just filling in depth, so consider that when making offers. Would I trade two of my lesser prospects for your better prospect? Yep. Maybe you are starting a rebuild yourself and just want to get ahead of the game and give yourself more shots at guys panning out, I dunno. If you're going on a run but also want to try and upgrade with one of my young guys, I'm going to need picks and man games back.
*Nobody's really untouchable per se, but there are guys that just don't make sense for me to move unless there's a really compelling reason for me to do so. Want to trade me Bedard for Michkov? I can do that. Otherwise, he's not going anywhere.
Got all that? If you have questions about it, just ask me. Don't read this and assume it means I won't trade this guy or that guy. That's just silly. I will tell you "no" if you offer me something I don't like, but it's probably worth asking.
Okay so here's a few of the offerings:
He's on a 65 point pace for the year, yep, but he's been even hotter since the coaching change. He and Chief didn't see eye to eye and he's been a bit of a new man since the tears were flowing. He's got 44 points in his last 50 games, that's a 72 point pace. And he's only 25 and with that contract he's surely going to keep getting a bunch of ice for the Blues. He's probably a core piece for me, so I'm not actively looking to move him, but teams have already been asking about him and if the offer is good enough I would do it.
Another guy on a long contract his team has committed to and he's rewarding that faith with a nice season. It's not always easy to earn Tortorella's trust, but Sanheim's got it. He's only 27 years old - a young pup of a d-man - and he's on pace for 50 points. Fifty point d-men don't grow on trees. He's currently 19th in NHL d-man scoring. We're a 20 team league. That means he's a number one d-man. If you want him, you're going to have to entice me and I'm going to need at least a bum back that plays games.
For years I put up with "Mittelfat" or pictures of Casey trying to do a pull-up at the draft combine when he was suffering from a shoulder injury... those days are ever. This kid is no bust, he's got offensive talent and whether it's with the talented cast in Buffalo, or somewhere else if the Sabres move him - you're getting a 25 year old with great pedigree. He ripped it up in the development program and he's showing that the talent never left him.
Do you like gingers? Do you like the Flyers? Is there anyone other than Darall I'm talking to here? This dude is a fucking shot machine - he just shoots, shoots, shoots (multiple times this year he's put up 10+ shots a game) and even if your shooting percentage sucks, more shots will equal more points. As the Flyers get better and better, Tippett's totals will see going up and up. This could be a nice young stud who could help you now and in the future and he's just locked himself into the Flyers for the long-term. They've liked what they've seen and maybe you do too.
Is your HR department telling you that your team really needs a bit of diversity? Well how about a 24 year old who has already been putting up fine numbers with the Rangers? Sure, he's not Adam Fox, but there's room for more than one d-man stud on a team and the Rangers are fun to watch and like scoring. This guy was a great find and will be a mainstay with that team for years to come.
