Seems like we “like our group.” Key takeaway seems to be he thinks we’re already good in goal, good on defense, and maybe will only trade for a top 9 forward. And of course the classic lines of not overpaying for any rentals.
Not being in the goaltender market does surprise be a tad. I really thought we might take a swing at Saros, but Martin (despite the small sample size) has probably killed that idea, along with Freddie apparently close to being back. No idea what we end up doing with Raanta… he feels like the #4 goalie at this point and not so sure he’d accept another Chicago assignment.
by l0lBarnesl3l
12 Comments
Depth defenseman and bargain bin reclamation project incoming.
Keep TDA and Lemieux. Trade a rando prospect(s) and a pick for a top 6 forward. Injuries will happen and KK needs to sit.
Shocked. Shocked I tell you!
We’ve hopefully got Freddie coming back soon-ish, and Koochie and Martin have looked good for the most part. The defense is playing well, and the pairings are top-20 in a bunch of defensive categories. We really just suck at finishing chances, and that’s been an issue for a while. I’d rather we spend assets on improving the forward core since that’s where the weakness is and has been.
Anyway we can get rid of Orlov for something of value?
I feel like we’re at the point where it’s time to take a big swing for a top 6 forward. We’re on year 4 of basically the same core and I have a hard time believing our playoff results will be any different this year unless we get extremely lucky.
Add to that the pending departure of most of our D core, let’s make a bold move this year
Y’all need to stop reading so much into what a GM says publicly lol. You think he’s going to come out and say “holy shit guys we need a goalie BAD” and then pretend to play hardball with other GMs in a trade?
That said, we know Don doesn’t like rentals, so that shouldn’t be news. Also, just because Freddie practiced does not mean he’s coming back soon or at all. He could have setbacks, or months and months of recovery – we have no clue and shouldn’t read into it unless we’re told something specifically. It could even be that he’s cleared and Don is using it literally to try to show other teams he doesn’t need a goalie to get better trade value. We just don’t know.
Now I’m all fine for armchair GM’ing this time of year, but I think it’s ridiculous to consider anything I’ve said above as a fact. Dude could be on the phone with Nashville six times a day talking about prospects Nashville wants for Saros.
Let’s take a moment to appreciate the job that team management has done in crafting a team that for going on 5 years in a row is good enough at the trade deadline to not need to make a major move in order to make the playoffs and have a real shot at the cup.
I understand wanting to go all in or make a big move to put us over the top, but getting to the playoffs every year is step 1 of being a contendor. It’s also not like we’ve ever been overmatched or looked like we had no shot with “our group” over the previous few years.
All that to say if we got a top 6 scoring forward at the deadline I’d be really excited – but even if we make no major moves I’ll also be excited and think we have a real shot to win it all.
Goaltending would be nice but not at the expense of offense. We love to dry up in the playoffs (offensively)
Surprised at Lebrun posting this with Don so reluctant to give him much of anything.
He really just reiterated his same stance like 3 or 4 times here.
I don’t think this is really a bad thing because Don never is open about exact specifics. The fact that Lebrun outed we tried and are still trying on Travis Konecny is crazy. Don is still hunting hard for difference makers and while again we haven’t been successful we are at the table and as is many parts of the job it’s a numbers game. We will land someone eventually.
Would have been nice to push him on some other topics like the fact he said news on Rod contract would be soon (said during all star break) or what’s going on with our prospects like Scott Morrow who is finishing his junior year and still does not have a contact.
Gives me a little bit of hope that if he’s not shopping our prospects there’s a good chance we sign a few.
This is the philosophy that leads to sustained success. Don’t mortgage your future on one season.
No competent GM would say anything but what Waddell gave in that interview on the record, but I get the anxiety that we’ll stand pat yet again.
I know the prospect-obsessed will downvote me to oblivion but what is the value of another first-round pick this year at this point? I agree we should have a couple of untouchable guys, but at this point most of the guys in the pipeline will never get a chance to sniff the top part of our lineup for a while. At some point you need to play for now and not 2030.