The Battle of Alberta: Trade Phaneuf

by Quisp on Nov 20, 2009 11:08 AM PST

The link is to The Battle of Alberta blog. The short version: Calgary needs an elite forward and has Phaneuf to spare now that they have "Jay-Bo." So...

Frolov for Phaneuf?

Or is the reasonable version of that Frolov and Johnson for Phaneuf? Or Frolov and Hickey. Or Frolov and Purcell and Drewiske.

What would the Kings do with Phaneuf?

Phaneuf/Doughty

Johnson/Scuderi

Drewiske/Greene

Jones? SOD?

Maybe it's a bad idea. And $6.5MM is a big bad cap hit. I guess maybe if you make it Frolov and Johnson for Phaneuf, it's both fair (since Frolov is UFA next summer) and it works for the Kings, as an upgrade over JJ. So then it would be:

Phaneuf/Doughty

Jones/Scuderi

Drewiske/Greene

SOD

And up front:

Smyth/Kopitar/Williams

Moller/Stoll/Brown

Parse/Handzus/Simmonds

Ivanans/Richardson/Harrold

Yeah, okay, I would do it. That's a better team. And maybe it's a pipedream since we would essentially be trading our two most problematic players (albeit potential stars) for one big monster defenseman.

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Comments

Phaneuf is overrated. Sure, he can deliver some big body checks. But is he otherwise especially effective as a defenseman and tough to play against? Not really. 6.5m for a few highlight reel hits doesn’t add up. In fact, it would be a waste. We can get a better return if we address more pressing needs ~~- i.e. first~~ & second-line scoring. I wouldn’t mind parting with JJ and Fro (did I just write that?) if a reliable, youngish elite scorer were to come our way. Phaneuf? No thanks.

by falmer on Nov 20, 2009 1:14 PM PST reply actions

Wouldn’t the Kings’ net cap hit on such a trade only be $2 mil? My recollection is that Frolov is making $2.5 mil and JJ $2 mil. So subtracting them and adding Phaneuf would add $2.5 mil net?

That being said, I agree that the Kings would be better off trading for secondary scoring.

Or, as Plan B, I would rather trade Fro for draft picks, even 2-3 years down the line. Now that the Kings are clearly improving, I think their biggest challenge will be maintaining organizational depth once they reach the point where they are no longer drafting in the top 5.

by DougS on Nov 20, 2009 1:23 PM PST reply actions

Yeah, I’m not exactly sure I agree with myself on this one. It sort of assumes that Frolov is going to test the UFA market regardless (and so his trade value is diminished) as well as assuming that Phaneuf is an upgrade over Johnson, which I think is probably true but might not be. Johnson is our talented beast with huge upside and problems, and Phaneuf is theirs.

by quisp on Nov 20, 2009 7:35 PM PST reply actions