Because here's the top comment from Lowetide's blog entry on dealing Ladislav "First Ballot Hall of Famer" Smid:
Smid has value, but unless he becomes a more physical force, he won't be in our top 4 anytime soon....I like him as a package for someone like Sharp in Chicago. They need cheap options going forward and need to shed salary....He's a 30-goal scorer with an edge, and does not kill our cap like Heatley. Not to mention he kills penalties and is a leader in the room.
To even waste time looking up the numbers on those two guys would be like Bryan Hall giving two minutes of air to whatever doofus would phone up on Sunday night and propose the Oilers trade Curt Brackenbury for Real Cloutier. Or Bruce Lemmerman for Tom Clements.
To quote Hallsie: "Are you insane, man?!"
That might not even be the biggest Oiler-related fantasy I read on that site today. From LT's blog entry on Grebeshkov, another guy chimes in with this beauty:
Penner, Cogliano, Smid
for Kessel and the damaged Bergeron works for both teams.
Essentially
Penner for Bergeron,
and Cogliano/Smid for Kessel
- The Bruins already have a plethora of beatable Dmen; they don't need Smid.
- Besides his massive overpay, Penner doesn't fit on a Julien team that is surprisingly fleet of foot when they're aren't playing kitty-bar-the-door.
- The only reason to sell Bergeron so low (given his recent health issues) is to dump salary, which is at least a plausible Bruins need right now.
- If you give Bergeron away you don't also need to trade Kessel.
A look at the numbers:
Andrew Cogliano 82GP 18G 20A 22PM
Phil Kessel 70GP 36G 24A 16PM
In addition to the glaring difference in production, Kessel is two inches taller, 15 pounds heavier and drafted 20 spots higher.
Bruins finished first in the East; Oilers finished 16th or 17th in the West, can't recall. The world is not beating a path to the door of a franchise full of 3rd liners.
Now Staios for Bergeron might make some sense: Bruins shed some coin and a redundant Centre but get a guy that helps ensure Shane Hnidy remains ensconsed in the press box. Oilers lose one of their ill-advised post-SCF overpays and gain a guy who, while health is an issue, can reliably dish the puck to Hemmer, which seems to be what everybody in River City is lusting for.
If Bergeron regains his health and plays another 10 years, while Staios retires and opens a fishing lodge in the Muskokas, you can erect a statue to Steve Tambellini in Churchill Square.
Not saying that's a hockey trade I'd be happy with if my Bruins ginch are properly adjusted, but in the salary cap era it's at least plausible.
2 comments:
- I don't know why the Bruins (or anyone else) would want Staios. It was obvious to most hockey observers that he went significantly downhill last season, and that he doesn't have that big a hill to go downwards.
- Don't worry about keeping Shane Hnidy in the press box; he signed a min-wage deal with Minnesota. Looks like the Bruins will get a full year of Attila the Hunwick trying to play defence next season.
- I fear that the Lowetide comments site has become the Net's version of John Short's call-in show. Almost daily someone writes they're a "first-time commenter, longtime reader." Throw in the ridiculous trade proposals and you start to wonder if Oilers' fans are getting the bad franchise management from their team that they deserve.
Hnidy is gone-dy? I don't even need summer holidays to feel good, if that's the case.
I avert my eyes the few times a year the Oilers appear on television so I'll have to take your word for it on Staios. Still don't want Smid. Or Penner. Or Andrew "Surefire Hall of Famer" Cogliano.
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