Mondi wrote:Salo > Garrison
Samuelsson > Booth
Hodgson > or = Kassian
Grabner > Ballard
Salo + Erhoff lower cap hit than --> Ballard + Garrison
Luongo Contract
Starting to come around to RD's POV?
While the above is certainly true, only Samuelsson and Salo were better than their replacements in this system with this coach.
You could trade just about anyone in our system and I bet they would perform better offensively on their new team than whatever piece(s) we got back perform here.
Salo/Garrison - well Salo has way more NHL experience and was a right handed shot, I would expect him to play better on the right side and also to be a more calming and stabilizing presence on the ice. I think you will always want the seasoned vet back over the younger player in the first year or so unless the youngster is a Karlsson or Crosby when it comes to the way they think the game. Gillis did want to retain Salo, but not at the price that Tampa paid. None of us would have been cheering over that contract.
Grabner/Ballard - different positions, forwards should put up more points. Grabner wasn't getting any more opportunities here with AV. I suspect that trade was motivated by Vigneault telling GMMG that he couldn't win without another top 4 defenseman who could skate both ways.
Hodgson/Kassian - different players completely. CoHo was a head case apparently. Hodgson wasn't producing until he was sheltered and showcased. Kassian was flying when he was receiving similar treatment to start the year. Bring Cody back and give him the same minutes that Kassian is getting and I bet he's got the worst +/- on the team and fewer points.
Samuelsson/Booth - we gave up smarts for speed and size. Sammy was a good vet to have, but he was streaky, I miss his hockey smarts, but I don't miss the question mark behind his name most nights. At least Booth brings an intensity level and speed you can count on night in and out. But Booth is never going to think the game like Samuelsson.
Letting Ehrhoff go and giving Lou that many years were the two biggest mistakes GMMG made. Lou should have been signed to a deal that ended when he was 39, not 41. Upped the cap hit by $500k but having it come off the books sooner may have made him a more manageable trade at this point if the back end had been structured similarly to the way it is now.