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| Colorado Avalanche will want to Trade with Toronto if They Intend to Tank |
As a result, Brian Burke acquired two 2011 1st round draft picks, Joe Colborne (age 20 - drafted 16th 2008), Jake Gardiner (age 20 - drafted 17th in 2008), Joffrey Lupul (age 27 - drafted 7th 2002), and Fabian Brunnstrom (age 25). Other than Brunnstrom, everything acquired can be used as assets for "Catching the Big Fish" trades.
As discussed in "Brian Burke's Next Trade - Part 3 - Catching the Big Fish", most of the "Big Fish" trades are done in the off-season. Teams usually try to salvage bad situations with top players by trading them during the summer. This rarely gets done at trade deadline. In fact, Brian Burke indicated he expects his next big trade to most likely occur in the summer.
Brian Burke probably has completed all of his trades to cup contenders. He does have his eye on Brayden Schenn, Los Angeles Kings top prospect. However, it is most unlikely a deal gets done. Los Angeles is a borderline playoff team. They will only consider such a trade if they were in the middle of the playoff pack. Furthermore, they "Tank Traded" Mike Cammellari in order to finish low in 2009 and draft Brayden Schenn. Los Angeles trading Brayden Schenn will be like Brian Burke trading Phil Kessel. It will only happen if the return is to big to turn down.
There might be one type of "Big Fish" trade available to Burke at trade deadline. It can be with a team wanting to "Tank Trade". By "Tank Trade", we refer to a team trading their best player who is at the height of their career with the primary purpose of finishing as low as possible to get the top draft pick. In addition, the "Big Fish" player typically is the highest salaried player on the team.
Past examples are:
- St. Louis trading Chris Pronger which resulted in having the 1st overall pick in 2006. The Blues drafted Erik Johnson.
- Boston trading Joe Thornton which resulted in having the 5th overall pick in 2006. The Bruins drafted Phil Kessel
- Tampa Bay trading Brad Richards which resulted in having the 1st overall pick in 2008. The Lightning drafted Steven Stamkos.
- Los Angeles trading Mike Cammellari wich resulted in having the 5th overall pick in 2009. The Kings drafted Brayden Schenn.
What the "Tank Traders" got in return paled in comparison to the "Big Fish" they gave up. It was strictly about shedding salary and getting the next top prospect.
In the next week, Brian Burke will be on the lookout for "Tank Traders". Who may they be? A close look at the bottom of the league standings quickly identifies the possible candidates.
| NHL Standings after 20th Feb 2011 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team | GP | W | L | T | Pts | Last 10 |
24 | Florida | 58 | 25 | 26 | 7 | 57 | 3 - 5 -2 |
25 | Colorado | 59 | 25 | 27 | 7 | 57 | 0 - 9 - 1 |
26 | Toronto | 59 | 25 | 27 | 7 | 57 | 6 - 2 - 2 |
27 | New Jersey | 59 | 25 | 30 | 4 | 54 | 9 - 0 - 1 |
28 | Islanders | 59 | 22 | 30 | 7 | 51 | 7 - 3 - 0 |
29 | Ottawa | 59 | 19 | 31 | 9 | 47 | 2 - 6 - 2 |
30 | Edmonton | 59 | 19 | 32 | 8 | 46 | 4 - 6 - 0 |
You can rule out New Jersey and New York Islanders. New Jersey has just committed to Ilya Kovalchuk in the past year. Where as the Islanders have completed their "Tank Trades" when they traded Dwayne Roloson and James Wisniewski.
Ottawa and Edmonton are weak candidates given they are already at the bottom and don't have budget issues. They seem to be more interested in getting maximum value for their players such as Jason Spezza. If Burke inquires about their tanking intentions, he will probably target Jason Spezza (age 27 - $8 mil salary this season), Dustin Penner (age 28 - $4.25 mil salary this season), and Ryan Whitney (age 27 - $5 mil salary next season).
The true "Tank Trade" candidates are Florida Panthers and Colorado Avalanche. They are borderline lottery pick teams and dropping fast. In addition, if they intend to tank, it is in their interest to help Toronto.
I expect Brian Burke to target Colorado out of the two teams. He will want Paul Stastny (age 25 - $6.6 mil salary for the next three seasons). Colorado already knows the value of tanking. In 2008-09, Colorado finished 1-7-3 in their last 11 games when Paul Statsny was out with an injury. This resulted in Colorado picking 3rd overall. Their selection was Matt Duchene.
After drafting Matt Duchene, Colorado has acquired other young high ceiling prospects: Peter Mueller (age 22, drafted 8th in 2006) and Erik Johnson (age 22, drafted 1st in 2006). They also have a conditional 2011 1st from St. Louis. Colorado has actively acquired high ceiling prospects within the age of 22 years old.
Colorado may not want to do a true "Tank Trade". Brian Burke might have to offer some 1st round draft picks to entice them into a "Tank Trade". Never the less, do not be surprised when hearing rumours about Toronto Maple Leafs being interested in Colorado Avalanche's Paul Statsny.
You might also be interested in:
You might also be interested in:
- Brian Burke's Next Trade - Part 1
- Brian Burke's Next Trade - Part 2 - Making Room for Prospects
- Brian Burke's Next Trade - Part 3 - Catching the Big Fish
- Brian Burke's Next Trade - Part 4 - Tomas Kaberle and the "Time Machine" Trade
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