LeBrun projects NHL trade deadline outlook

Pierre LeBrun was on TSN 1050 Tuesday morning.

As part of a general discussion on the playoff races across the league:

“The big picture impact though... of the fact that whether you believe it or not, that there is optically that level of parity where basically 29 teams think they’re still in it and only one doesn’t, is that it’s delaying a lot of decisions that will eventually be made before the March deadline.

“I mean, there are too many teams that I’ve talked to, and I’m waiting for these teams to say, ‘All right, this guy’s for sale. That guy’s for sale.’ What they’re saying is, ‘Oh, no. We’re still in this. Check back with me in a couple of months.’ That’s the problem.”

On what he gets out of Leafs management as far as a long-term game plan:

“I think they’re still very much in wait and see mode right now. I still think they’re trying to get a true sense – especially because it’s Brendan Shanahan’s first year as president. I don’t see any knee-jerk stuff happening here. He’s in data gathering mode right now. And until I think he feels he’s got a total grasp on what this thing’s about, I don’t think you’re going to see a whole lot from them.

“But to give you an example – I think the question you’re asking is whether a team, especially in the East, I would argue, realizes there’s a chance to pick up an asset for not much because it’s so wide-open.

“I’ll give you Montreal as an example, last year. They pick up Vanek for basically nothing from the Islanders. Now there’s a back story to that, and I think we’ve talked about it. But nevertheless, they got him for basically nothing from the Islanders.

“That wasn’t Marc Bergevin’s plan heading into the deadline. They were not going to add a rental. They had a meeting, as a staff, and weren’t going to add a rental because Bergevin since Day One has always been about long-term with that team, which is why guys like Gionta, Gorges, and Briere were let go this summer. But, they changed mid-direction in the middle of that day because they realized how low a price Vanek was available for. And they said, ‘Heck, we got one of the best second-half records in a mediocre conference. Let’s add a piece that doesn’t hurt our long-term vision.’

“That’s the kind of thing I think you’re going to see on a number of fronts from other teams this year is that I think if the price is low enough, that they do add a piece because it doesn’t really damage anything else. That’s the kind of trade deadline I think you might see again.”

Source: TSN 1050/ Transcript: Nichols on Hockey

Nichols on Hockey

Nichols on Hockey

Worth Reading

Nichols on Hockey

Nichols on Hockey