I was resigned that the Los Angeles Kings were going to lose Rob Blake, either through trade or free agency. And everybody knows that he’ll test the market at the end of the season.
Question: Could the Kings have gotten better than what they did? I realize there are still intangibles (i.e.-first round draft pick, future considerations, etc.), and I also realize that they could’ve ended up with nothing at year’s end. And I know that it leaves room, financially, for other players. Still, Blake was a Norris Trophy winner, a natural leader and a damn fine player. Did G.M. Dave Taylor (who I loved as a player) panic?
I don’t know about that now that he’s in Colorado. If Bourque retires that will free up about $6 million, Sakic will probably leave for “greener” pastures, that will give them money to keep Blake. I don’t know if Colorado will miss Sakic that much either, they have plenty of good, young centers and they can always go after someone cheaper, like Roenick. So Blake might not leave.
From what I’ve heard those “future considerations” could be big. If Colorado re-signs Blake they’ll have to send an established player (?) or a high pick. I think there was something like that when they traded for Fleury, it was one of the reasons they didn’t re-sign him.
Didn’t he resign his captaincy?
Well the Avalanche continued the practice of making a big trade before the deadline. I don’t think Taylor panicked, if it was right at the deadline, then maybe, but he still had another three (?) weeks to get a better deal. I have a feeling that those “future considerations” must be pretty good. If they aren’t then I think the Kings did get taken to the cleaners. Deadmarsh has been hurt lately, Miller isn’t that good, can’t remember the other guy. I haven’t seen Rehnquist (the LA rookie that was dealt?) play, but it sounds like trading a fragile Deadmarsh for him was a wash. As for the pick, you can never have too many #1’s, especially in a draft like the one coming up which has a lot of potential, the problem is that if the Avalanche win the Cup then the Kings get stuck with what might as well be a second rounder. Seems like Taylor is doing a lot of gambling, and like any trade, we’ll have to wait and see. Right now though, I think the Avalanche stole Blake, the Western Conference, and the Cup.
No, no and no.
Adam Deadmarsh is a great winger and combine him with the threats of Stumple, Robitaille and Pallfy you have scoring a couple of lines deep. Aaron Miller plays the style of game not seen in LA since Eric LaCroix. Considering the paramaters, I think Mr. Taylor did alright.
IIRC, Deadmarsh is signed for two more years leaving money to sign other interests (hopefully Potvin’s debut was an abberation).
Deadmarsh always scores 20 goals and always has 100 PIM’s. That’s not bad return for a guy who was going to walk away.
But just imagine for a minute the Av’s with the Killer B’s on the Blue Line. Bourque and Blake, as a Senators fan, I am very afraid. (Afraid that we won’t make it out of the first round again, but that is another thread, probably in the pit.)
Nobody got robbed. I think it was a great trade for both teams. The thing I’m most impressed with was how it kind of came out of nowhere. Considering the T.O./Philly fiasco it’s nice to see a bit of front office professionalism.
God damn…what were the kings thinkin?!
The Blues supposedly gave em a much better offer, Turek, Nagy, and Reasoner…plus future considerations. That’s soo much better then Deadmarsh, Miller and a 1st rounder.The Blues got beat out again, same as last year with Bourque. Lacoix screwed his brother in law Pleau, once again.
Oh…and Blake does not equate Cup, not by a long shit, the Avs still have holes in their D, they lost to an extremly depleted Blues team two weeks ago.
I wouldn’t say they got robbed. Both Miller and Deadmarsh are quality players. I would have thought that they could have done better though. I was kind of surprised that they did they deal so soon. I figured that Dallas, Detroit, St.Louis, Colorado, and possibly the Rangers would have driven up the price just to keep the other teams from getting Blake cheaply. I was thinking that whatever team got him would probably end up overpaying and it would finish just before the dealline. The fact that it was done now for a modest trade, makes me wonder what the other teams have in the works.
Ah, a fellow Sens fan.
Trust me; the Sens are going places this year. Last year they were beaten by a better team and the year before was a fluke. They remind me of the Devils in the 2-3 years preceding last year - you may recall the Devils losing a first-round series to a certain upstart team from Ottawa. Third round at least. If anything about Rob Blake worries me, it’s that he’ll be sniping on Patrick Lalime in the Stanley Cup final. And that’s a good worry to have.
To answer the OP: Probably not, depending on what else was offered. Deadmarsh is a quality player who’ll benefit from a change of scenery, and he’s only 26 even though he’s been around awhile. Miller doesn’t have Blake’s offensive touch, but he’s solid as hell on the D. Both Deadmarsh and Miller are younger than Blake. It’s always better to trade a player too early than too late.
I am a Kings fan I DON’T think the Kings got value. But the main reason I think is the person everyopne seems to be overlooking, Steve Reinprecht. By throwing him into the mix, Dave Taylor made this into a bad trade. Deadmarsh and Reinprecht are almost a wash (note: I said almost).
The “future consdierations” are very important here. Next season in all liklihood Balek will not be a King (there is of course a remote possibility he coudl return). If anyone but the Avs sign him then the Kings will end up with squat (as will the Avs if they don’t win the Cup). The “future considerations” also make signing Blake a more expensive proposition for the Avs than for any other team.
So this trade is yet to be fully evaluated. But I think at this point the Avs got over.
The almost is noted. However, I want to know how you can say that they are “almost” a wash? Deadmarsh is a proven player in the NHL, granted he has never quite lived up to his potential (he never had to with the teams he has been on). Reinprecht, on the other hand, has only played in 60 or so NHL games. Is he going to get the ice time to develope with the Avs that he was getting with the Kings? I doubt it.
Another thing, I had heard was that the owners of the Kings were unhappy with the last contract offer that the team made to Blake. They didn’t want to pay him the $8-8.5 million that the team had offered, they sure didn’t want to pay the $9 million Blake wants. Also, there is no guarantee that Blake won’t go the free agent route when the season is over. Fluery left the Avs for free agency after a trade deadline deal 2 years ago.
I think that the Avs are going to do everything in their power to keep Sakic. He has kept that team afloat all season when Floppa has been out with injuries. He has been their MVP so far, by quite a bit.
Why do you think that Roenick would be cheaper? He may be but not by a lot. If it comes down to choosing between those 2 I’d take Sakic in a heartbeat.
Yes, they’ll do everything in their power to keep Sakic, but will it be enough? Remember when he signed this contract it was originally an offer sheet with (my) Rangers. I read somewhere that he wondered what NY would have been like, that he felt he owed them something for his current contract, but I might have read it out of the Post and if that’s the case then pay it no attention.
Colorado is set at center. Forsberg, Drury, and Tanguay can all play center and then they could add another through FA that would be cheaper than Sakic. I think Sakic would command more money than Roenick and it’d be enough to make a difference, that’s why I suggested him.
As for my team, the Rangers, they’re done this year (let’s hope). No doubt they’ll be bidding on just about every FA out there this summer (Sakic, LeClair, Blake, Roenick), as long as they don’t risk the future I don’t mind. The Rangers will become dominant in the 00’s with Brendl, Lundmark, and Manny!