Leaf fans and possibly Leaf management dream about landing a major young talent from another team. Rick Nash because he might be tired on playing in a NHL backwater. Bobby Ryan because of cap issues. And even Jeff Carter due to the same cap issues. However in each case the player ends up in with a long-term with his original team.
The most recent case was Jeff Carter who has been subject to trade rumours with the Leafs going back to when Cliff Fletcher tried to move Tomas Kaberle for Carter and a draft pick. Well the Flyers have signed Carter to am 11-year, $58 million contract so he's obviously not going any where.
In the post-lockout era teams are not trading away their top draft picks and locking in these players long term. There are exceptions such as the Kessel deal where the Leafs were willing to over pay for a player that the Bruins weren't totally sold on. There are a few top players who refuse to sign with their original teams despite being tabled excellent long term deals - most recently Ilya Kovalchuk and Jay Bouwmeester.
The fact that top players are rarely available underscores the importance of hanging on to draft picks.
No comments:
Post a Comment