SterioDesign

It's all about risk/reward. Staal is significantly better than Sutter. True, Staal was going to walk but you may be looking at another cup

Staal was not gonna make a difference against Boston, maybe if they would have won a game at least but getting swept like that. a third line center won't make a difference that big. They had Malkin, Crosby, Neal, Kunitz, Dupuis, Morrow, Iginla... thats more firepower than you'd need.

I know Jordan's defensive play is good but that was not really the problem, the Pens lost cause they couldnt score mostly

And now, a Penguins defense which is already not great and for which there are no answers on the free agent market, will get worse if they deal him.  

 

It's shrewd to do it once, but keep doing it and you get diminishing returns.  And the Devils have kept plenty of players who they've gone to the last second with.

haha for a second i thought you were saying Letang was not great....

cause obviously that can't be what you meant........ right? 

And again, that has its downsides, because the last time he did it, he got back Brandon Sutter for Jordan Staal, and Sutter sank under Staal's minutes.  I doubt he gets equal return for Letang either, which is a curious move to make when your two best players are right in their prime.

of course but it's still better to get brandon sutter than watching staal walk the year after. god knows if they would have been able to sign a center able to play staal's minutes either. Plus it has his risk of not making a move and that the players get injured after and that he eventually walk the next season so you got fvcked all the way.

all im saying basically is not necessarely to make trades or move mid season but at least get a pulse of whats going on so you can have more options and calculate the risks

There's very few instances of a playoff team asking a player mid-season if he wants to stay, then trading him at the deadline if he doesn't.  That's what I was talking about when I said no one does this.  

 

And trading players who are going UFA in a year - that doesn't happen that often, although that's more common (Burns, Cammalleri, I think Tanguay, Staal, and plenty of others).  

 

Sure seems like given the leak about Letang being dealt that they are trying to use his desire to stay in Pittsburgh as leverage.

ah well thats not what i was suggestion or referring either really, like i said its more just like what shero is doing now, if he sense that there's no hope for Letang in Pittsburgh in the future its better to know it soon enough to play your cards the right way to get maximum return without hurting your team too much immediatly if you can.

Not taking issue with you but I'd be surprised if the Predators took Nichushkin and more surprised if the Lightning also passed on Jones - they've got Kucherov, Connolly, and Johnson among their young forward corps.  D is a little less certain there.  Seems a bit far fetched.

 

The Avs saying they won't take Jones at #1 is such an obvious trade gambit - they may stay at #1 and pick someone other than Jones, but it doesn't really make sense to say that now unless you just want to put a blanket over Denver-based hype fires.

well none of that is my own predictions or guesses.  its something i took from hockey 360, just thought i'd share

i dont see the gambit of them doing this though (Avs) seems like saying you're not interested in the consensus #1 pick may give the Panthers the upper hand now since they'd have the possibility to draft the #1 guy. To me they'd be losing leverage. But i guess you can see it as them saying it as if they'd be willing to trade down but then they said they'd want Mackinnon so they can only trade down 1 or 2 spot to get him... and the panthers and Tampa doesnt really have to do anything then and might get their guy

per drosennhl

Shero would like to have an agreement in principle for an extension with Letang by the draft. He called it one of several pressure points.

just sayin'... since apparently no one does this in the NHL