Re-booted SKYO approved pipe dreams and trade ideas

[Cousin Strawberry]

What I think nixes the deal is Mr Aquilini picking up Ryan Ellis' contract.

No can do...

Mr Aquilini would have Hronek’s 7.25 for multiple years off the books and add Ellis’ 6.25 for one season.
Strictly money speaking, that should be doable.

It's the principle of paying someone not to play, Cherries. Mr Aquilini has struggled with it before.

No deal!

Grass, gas or ass...nobody parks for free

[Megaterio Llamas]

[Megaterio Llamas]

What I think nixes the deal is Mr Aquilini picking up Ryan Ellis' contract.

No can do...

Mr Aquilini would have Hronek’s 7.25 for multiple years off the books and add Ellis’ 6.25 for one season.
Strictly money speaking, that should be doable.

It's the principle of paying someone not to play, Cherries. Mr Aquilini has struggled with it before.

No deal!

Grass, gas or ass...nobody parks for free

I'm waiting for Rick Dhaliwal to come along now and angrily shoot this rumor down like paying Ryan Ellis' $6.25 was coming out of his own pocket.

Mr Aquilini has no fiercer, more loyal defender than Rick Dhaliwal. Well, other than yours truly, perhaps.

[donlever]

Yo Megs.

Yeah leves.

Be nice to trade EP40 yeah.

Fukin' A leves.

Ok...so the Canes want to keep dominating and need a 2nd C behind Aho to allow for a few more Cup runs & have been in on Scooter in the past.

Yeah makes sense lever.

So how about a first and Nadeu for EP40 no retention.

Yeah the Canes have some space but also need maneuvering $$ so we may have to retain.

Hmmm...yeah...you are right...so how about a first, Nadeu and an NHL capable roster player for EP40 with 2.6 retained.

Getting closer leves, Canes will want more like they want to dump Kotkaniemi.

Yeah...we don't want that slug but we also don't want our slug and his shitty deal. Ok....a first, a second, Nadeu, roster player, mid teir prospect & Kotkaniemi for EP40, 2.6 retained and Mancini.

Worth a conversation lever.

Yeah Megs...post it on X and we have a rumour that will run wildfire throughout the industry....

[Megaterio Llamas]

Donnie, I'm feeling a strange sense of deja vu just now for some reason...

Heading over to X.

[donlever]

Lol indeed.

A lesson on how click bait trade rumours are generated.

Hypothetical conversations between Marek, Dreger, Freidperson, Seravelli (whomever) with some dude they know who works with or close to the team becomes "inside info" even though they started the fucking conversation as a "what if" over a plate of pasta and a glass of red wine.

And these guys state this shit with suggested credence and a straight face.

Chiclets has greater credibility than all these donkeys put together.

[BoS]

It would make more sense for Ellis’ contract to go to Chicago, seeing as they’re the ones that need to reach the cap floor.

Regarding Ellis, would his contract not be mostly covered by insurance?

[donlever]

Chicago currently owns his contract BoS...

I guess you mean "stay with"....

...and yes to the insurance statement.

[Megaterio Llamas]

If the Ellis contract is indeed insured, that would certainly serve to assuage Mr Aquilini's (and Rick Dhaliwal's) concerns about paying dead cap money.

That would be a different conversation in the war room in those cicrcumstances. Anyway, I like the rumored deal.

[Megaterio Llamas]

Turns out this isn't even a rumor, it's just Jeff Marek on the pipe.

[donlever]

Which was the point of my post to you earlier.

[UWSaint]

$6.5M for a swan song farewell tour

LOL

Continuing this from the other thread.

Flames paid a first to get rid of Monahan and his $6.35 M salary. Montreal was the buyer in a rebuild in a cap flat era. Similarly, the leaves dumped Marleau with a first. Carolina was the buyer. Marleau was making $6.25M and had a year left. That pick turned out to be 13th overall (Seth Jarvis) because the 2019-20 season had the 24 team playoff and the leaves bowed out in the play in round -- but I think it was fair to say the teams making the trade presumed it would be a mid to late first round pick. So I think that's probably the "market" to add a mid to late round first -- pick up a guy not useful to a team who lacks any trade value (*Monahan would recover his game and Montreal ended up getting even more for him when they flipped him, but at the time, the Flames could have sent him through waivers and he would have gone unclaimed); if the owner takes on that salary, the return is a first.

To be sure, there was greater cap pressures 4 years ago and Monahan is a better player, and Montreal needs to feel a need to spend to the cap next year to improve their team while the iron is hot, and Gallagher is an impediment to adding anything of real significance if Dach is retained. But I can see a world where they'd rather start with the upgrade team at the beginning of the season -- the Atlantic isn't easy -- and I would think that they would be willing to use first rounders to have a better chance at the cup, whether its offseason trades or in deadline deals.

Its not my money -- I don't know if Aqua would spend that for what should be a later round first. And I don't know if Montreal would see freeing up $6.5M in salary for a year as being worth that first. (And to HW's suggestion about a second, its not my money, but if Aqua would pay $6.5 M for a 2d and its the best deal on the table, I'm not going to complain about a guy of Gallagher's make up being part of this developing group for a season).

But I think a first is at least worth exploring because there's precedent for this exact deal.

Also, I mentioned EP40 in the other thread as being the kind of player who might fill out Montreal (and I think he can be), but I am NOT suggesting the Canucks move EP40 for Gallagher to get rid of the long term EP40 deal. I've mentioned it before -- a bad contract on a team who is not competing and not spending to the cap means very little to anyone other than the owner cutting the check. You GET bad contracts when you are the Canucks, you don't purge them and lose asset value in the process. The entire short term goal of this franchise should be to add shots at core players and develop the players they have -- if moving EP40 tomorrow doesn't advance that, then wait until you find a move that can.

BUT while Montreal might not pay the sweetener just to get rid of Gallagher, it might entertain moving a first (the market price for a $6.5 million anchor), the anchor, and a prospect for a bad contract/but good fit and good player (EP40). That move improves their team now. Its an easier sell to fans: we moved a first, but we are getting a guy who posted 103 and 88 points four and three years ago and is only 28.

And this is the model of the OEL move -- the Canucks offloaded $13M in guy, a first, and a second for a good player on a comparatively bad long term contract (OEL, who was more like a $6M player and not $9M or whatever it was), a decent player who wasn't going to be part of their next gen and didn't have "value" anymore because of RFA arb status (Garland). That first was higher than what one might have expected from salary dumps -- but it was a weak draft (the Coyotes/Mammoth just happened to get a guy who seems like he'll end up being a top 3 player from that draft) and Benning got worked because he got fixated on the player and not the purpose of the deal.

[BoS]

‘26 1st (28th) Pick, Gallagher, Arber Xhekaj

For

DeBrusk, Elias Pettersson (D)

[UWSaint]

‘26 1st (28th) Pick, Gallagher, Arber Xhekaj

For

DeBrusk, Elias Pettersson (D)

Why trade EP25? To make room for Xhekaj?

I'm skeptical that EP25 (or Xhakaj) will ever be more than a 3rd pairing guy (but he's still quite young and has 4-5 or maybe even top 4 potential). But today he is as good of a hockey player as Xhekaj and he makes the opposition play with their head up. I get that Xhekaj add something more than that in the "head up" category, but I think the Canucks are better adding to the group of physical players rather than subbing them in and out.

I also don't think DeBrusk fits what the Canadiens needs to get to the next tier (I think they need something down the middle), but DeBrusk for a late first and one year of a bad contract is the kind of value that may work for competitive teams looking to add a wing and PP net front presence.

[Meds]

‘26 1st (28th) Pick, Gallagher, Arber Xhekaj

For

DeBrusk, Elias Pettersson (D)

Why trade EP25? To make room for Xhekaj?

I'm skeptical that EP25 (or Xhakaj) will ever be more than a 3rd pairing guy (but he's still quite young and has 4-5 or maybe even top 4 potential). But today he is as good of a hockey player as Xhekaj and he makes the opposition play with their head up. I get that Xhekaj add something more than that in the "head up" category, but I think the Canucks are better adding to the group of physical players rather than subbing them in and out.

I also don't think DeBrusk fits what the Canadiens needs to get to the next tier (I think they need something down the middle), but DeBrusk for a late first and one year of a bad contract is the kind of value that may work for competitive teams looking to add a wing and PP net front presence.

To counter this point for the sake of discussion…..


There was a shift in the team when Douglas was signed and he told, I believe it was Buium, “if anyone touches you, dead”.

That is the more complete “head up factor” that the Canucks often miss. D-Pete doesn’t bring that to the same level. I think it’s possible that having that level of head up factor gives the kids with talent a little bit more confidence.

I am not advocating that this trade should happen.

On DeBrusk, I do think he is the type of player that Montreal could use. It felt like Montreal never had that guy who simply chased the puck down, pass it off and then went to the net and was just a pain in the ass to cover. They’re passing was off a lot of the time in the offensive zone, regardless of whether they were playing it even strength or had the man advantage. It felt like they were trying to make the perfect play for the perfect look every time they went down the ice. Having four guys shift around and move the puck while one guy’s only responsibility is to simply park himself for deflections and rebounds brings a bit more structure.

Jake also brings a lot of playoff experience from his time in Boston.

Again, not advocating that this trade should be something that the Canucks pursue.