What a weekend in the NHL. We saw one of the biggest in-season trades in the history of the league as the Colorado Avalanche sent superstar forward Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes for a package that includes Martin Necas. Frank Seravalli, the man who broke the trade, sat down with ESPN National Hockey Writer Ryan S. Clark to break down every angle of this deal.
What led the Avalanche to the point where they felt like they had to deal one of the best forwards in the NHL? Frank gave some insight into that. Was this the right move? That was the big question that Frank and Ryan struggled with. The guys dissected the package that GM Chris MacFarland got in return and they talked about how Rantanen will fit in with the Hurricanes and whether or not they can keep him long-term.
After that, Tyler popped in for a new edition of Fill in the Blank where he asked the guys about Rantanen’s future, the chance that we see another blockbuster this season, and Alex Pietrangelo bowing out of the 4Nations Faceoff.
To wrap up the show, they talked about why the Chicago Blackhawks felt like they needed to jump in and help out. Frank gave some insight into why GM Kyle Davidson made this move.
1:00 – Breaking down the blockbuster
18:00 – What’s the next move for the Avalanche?
23:40 – Eastern Conference power rankings
27:50 – Can the Canes keep Rantanen?
33:30 – Fill in the Blank (Rantanen as a free agent, Marner’s Future, Pietrangelo’s replacement)
46:35 – Why did the Blackhawks jump in?
55:00 – The latest from Vancouver
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13 Comments
Rantanen = futur huberdeau
….or a Tesla !
Mighty Joe Sakic and Chris Mac have NEVER let us down yet….let's wait and see where this goes.
My immediate/first take was… Why did they trade Rantanen??
But thinking about it over the last few days…
– From everything I heard, Rantenan's agent was firm on 14m and the Avalanche figured they would not sign him at all; a trade for something is better than nothing.
– Necas was on pace for 80 points and Rantanen for 100 points; if Rantanen is not with MacKinnon (a top 2 player in the league) does his point projection drop and similarly if Necas is with MacKinnon does his points go up? They might both be 90 point players without an elite center.
– Rantenen would not play defense and Necas does, so even if Necas/MacKinnon is short of the production of Rantanen/MacKinnon, with the extra defense play the team might be better off in goals differential.
– Rantenen was a highly skilled power forward and Necas is a highly skill mobile player, different styles but the power play isn't doing much so changing it up is something.
– NHL Edge stats show Necas as the third fastest player in the NHL (behind McDavid and MacKinnon), to the Avalanche have gained speed, at the cost of some toughness
– Drury is a defensively sound center who is good on faceoffs. At the worst, you get a strong addition to the fourth line but possibly you upgrade your third line; your penalty kill is much stronger than it was before.
– The salary hit isn't massively different today, but Drury/Necas aren't going to want 5-6 million more than they're making today, so it is a salary cap bonus going forward.
This trade made sense becasue people see Toronto and their situation as having 3 -4 players making maximum money and not being able to build around them. This trade made sense. The cap increase is irrelevant if it doesn't catch up before your window closes like the Pens and Sid.
"We know the caps going up, but we don't know how much"
Listen to yourself, Frank. The amount of financial uncertainty you're just glossing over here is insane. How can you mention the Leafs and not understand this decision? They've been a playoff disaster and salary cap cautionary tale for 5 years straight. And that's because they put the cart before the horse, and now their Cup window might close before the cap window even begins to open.
You wait for the cap to go up, so you know EXACTLY what you can work with. You don't hope for a 110 mil cap in 3 years and start signing players to league leading contracts. I hate seeing 96 go, but they did what they had to do and this is coming from an Avs fan with Mikko jerseys in my closet.
'Deeper and cheaper' strategy , as Frank told here, can be a bad strategy for Avs . Carolina was a winner in this case, whatever way you look at it.
They got now a cheaper player, Necas. He is a good player, but he has to prove his value in coming play offs .
If he fails ( which I dont hope ) , that sets this deal in diffrent light. If they drop out in the first round , its interesting too see, how the fans react.
If Necas succeed ( makes ten points in play offs) , the management team and GM can sleep their night peacefully.
Surprised to see Frank so short-sighted, I thought we all learned never to judge/praise a trade straight away.
Who makes the most Nathan. It's an ego and money thing.
They want to Win.. that sums it up. I am an AVS fan. I want what is best for the team and I think this is it. The Power play has already found another gear and this last game is the best game running all 4 lines. CMac is the Man.
There are two big question marks for the Avalanche. They have two top liners costing them over 13M. Yes, one is on LTIR. You just gave up an over 100 point player. Time will tell.
Whether it’s better to have star power or depth is completely dependent on the quality of the star and the depth, it’s a stupid question.
That whole, “But, but, but the cap is going up” argument is straight trash. When the cap goes up, everyone commands more money. It isn’t just so the Avs have more money to pay just Mikko Rantanen. Contracts once valued at $2 million AAV will no be at a market price of $3 million.