Plays of the Week: February 5th, 2017

“If a team has serious aspirations of competing for the Stanley Cup, they’re going to need a superstar to get there. A Duchene or Landeskog is a step in the right direction. The easiest way to do that is taking a timeshare at the top of the draft year after year. In a world where just one year ago Ryan Johansen was traded — one where Duchene and Landeskog are likely to follow suit — it’s clear there are alternatives if the Canucks are wont to bite the bullet.”

“Gillis ran six drafts from 2008 to 2013, calling a total of 37 names. Already we can spot a problem: since 2005, there have been seven rounds in each draft, with every team receiving a pick in each round. Over the course of six drafts, that would equal 42 picks – meaning the Canucks have five fewer picks than they were given automatically, before factoring in trading away and recouping picks, or compensatory picks for coaches and unsigned draft picks. In this six-year period, only two teams (Philadelphia and the New York Rangers) made fewer selections.”

“With Horvat, Gudbranson, and Tryamkin all pending RFA – a lot of that cap space that becomes available at the end of the season will get eaten up quickly. That’s not to say there isn’t space; it’s just that the $17,900,000 can appear misleading.”

“Getting Rasmussen in the mid-to-late first round is in all likelihood still a good decision. But this business of him being in the top 10, or at fourth overall in particular, is frankly nonsense. Teams would be wise to wait a bit longer before taking a flyer on him.”