Quote (Hizkuntza @ 20 Jul 2021 06:34)
our 3rd line should be our 4th line... Podz and Lind will have to hit the ground running.
nevermind the D, with Edler gone we're uncontested bottom 5 in the blueline and we have little cap room as it stands. pray that Seattle takes Holtby and pray Benning finds a value backup because it's unlikely DiPietro will be ready.
we're in a really awkward spot because clearly we're not ready for a deep run (unlike MTL we can neither play defense nor we have any depth) yet with Hughes and Pettersson due fat paydays we'll lose either Boeser or Miller by next season with no one close to replacing what either brings.
the bubble run was a glimpse of what this core COULD have achieved if it wasn't crippled by horrible contracts. Bo captain, Demko sicko mode, Hughes flying up and down, Miller doing everything... yet the complete lack of depth won't let teams get anywhere. textbook example as to why GMs should NEVER EVER pad cap space with contracts that look middling from the get go, because they WILL cripple the team years in the future.
Even if seattle doesn't take Holtby, I think he will still be gone through a trade. Although I still think Seattle would take Holtby just to flip him to get more value than drafting 4th liners from the Canucks like macewen or highmore. Drafting lind wouldnt make sense cuz he requires waivers to be sent down and he's not proven yet to play in the bottom 6. Especially when Seattle will have like 4 lines consisting of 2nd/3rd line skill. Canucks can just claim him back through waivers lol.
I wonder if seattle is crafty enough to make a side deal with the Canucks, like they draft macewen/highmore whoever they want instead of Holtby. With a promise that they'll trade like a 4th for holtby with 1m retained. Seattle can then trade Holtby to another team again with 50% retained which will make him a 1.6m. The teams that were interested in him when the Canucks had him on would give Seattle a call, if not more. Seattle would come out with a 4th liner + whatever value they get for holtby. Or they can just draft Holtby and retain 50% which makes him a 2.2m goalie, less enticing than 1.6m but yeah
Also edler isn't 100% gone like Hamonic, he wants to see what's out there for him. Door isn't completely closed based on what edlers agent said
I suspect Benning already has a deal in place with Hughes and Petey, but haven't signed them yet because they wanna figure out what's gonna happen around the league and what's available with the set of moves they could do after Seattle's draft. Last report was that they're gonna be signing bridge deals so it'll be around 13m-14m range for both. Lock up Dickinson for around 2.5m for few yrs. Bury Roussel and Eriksson, buyout virtnanen. Trade Holtby. Should be tight but enough to sign couple dmen to fill holes back there.