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Official 2016 NHL Draft Thread

TheBigKahuna said:
Well crap, Leafs win, Jets 2nd, Jackets 3rd. At least Edmonton didn't win! Again!
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That certainly expedites the Leaf rebuild or Shanaplan! Matthews is a great player, Laine may be just as good but most scouts say when equal pick the center over the winger.
 
The Canes' press release on the draft shows that the Kings' pick is 21st. Not sure how they figured that. Kings finished 23d worst overall. All of of the Division winners were better than that, so that doesn't affect the pick. The only thing that should affect it is if a team worse than the Kings wins the Cup, in which case that team picks last and the Kings move up to 22nd.

Previously I thought the Kings pick was 19th. If Google is pulling up the most recent hockey ops rules - and it is not clear that it is - then the NHL has scrapped the Detroit Rule (which allowed teams that did well in the regular season but exiting early in the playoffs to have a better pick). So a team no longer moves up in the draft when a worse team does better in the playoffs.

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I'm pretty sure the current rules are the 4 teams that make the conference finals end up with the bottom 4 draft positions. Everyone else remains in the order of their regular season points.

So if the Kings were the 23rd worst team in the league then:

1) the Pens Caps winner doesn't matter, both teams finished with more points than the Kings so no impact to draft position
2) the Shark - Preds winner doesn't matter, both teams finished with less points than the Kings. Kings draft position already improved by 1 spot
3) the Isles-Bolts winner doesn't matter, both teams finished with less points than the Kings. Kings draft position already improved by 1 spot
4) Stars - Blues winner doesn't matter, both teams finished with more points than the Kings, so no impact to draft position.

That leaves the Kings (Canes) 100% locked into the 21st pick already. Makes no difference at all how these remaining playoff series go.

Your draft position is NOT penalized just because you got to round 2. Only the 4 playoff finalists potentially can 'lose' draft position relative to how they finished the regular season.
 
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I think you are correct. So let's run with it ...

Canes pick 13th and 21st in the first round, barring any trade movement involving those picks. I like to look at it this way ... if the Canes take a selection with both picks, you basically double your chances of getting a "hit" with the first round of this summer. Anything else you get ... well, you thank the Kings and smile.
 
I'm perfectly happy with a 13th and 21st pick in Round 1. We should get two quality players, but likely not ready to play for the next season. Here's a question: Are there any players in this draft for picks 3-5 that are worth trading our two slotted picks for?

As for Versteeg, I'd love to see him return for a 2-3 year contract. Yeah, he's getting up there in age, but I think he proved his worth as veteran leader on this year's team.
 
ThinIce said:
I'm perfectly happy with a 13th and 21st pick in Round 1. We should get two quality players, but likely not ready to play for the next season. Here's a question: Are there any players in this draft for picks 3-5 that are worth trading our two slotted picks for?

As for Versteeg, I'd love to see him return for a 2-3 year contract. Yeah, he's getting up there in age, but I think he proved his worth as veteran leader on this year's team.
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Maybe at the 3rd spot to get one of the Fins...other than that probably not. Another creative idea would be to pair both 1st rounders and see if you can get Tampa to bite for Drouin. The way he has played since coming back he looks to be legit.....which probably means he isn't going anywhere.
 
Hard to imagine any org turning loose of one of the first tier of three presumed NHL-ready players and I would argue that making the two first-round picks would be of greater value than the net damage done trading up to even the number 3 slot for Aho's linemate. That's particularly true when the #3 is held by a Finnish GM. I suspect they want that player.

Besides, we're right where we need to be at #13. After the top three, there's a tier of three or four forwards and three D-men, and then a tier of four or five fairly equal centers.

We should be able to snag a center prospect if those tiers hold up through the pending Worlds games, and maybe have our pick of two of those centers if someone goes off board prior to our pick.

Hard to predict the fate of that second first-rounder. Could be payment for something proven. But, if taken, the talent runs deep enough to also score a future NHL'er there.
 
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Elsker said:
Hard to imagine any org turning loose of one of the first tier of three presumed NHL-ready players and I would argue that making the two first-round picks would be of greater value than the net damage done trading up to even the number 3 slot for Aho's linemate. That's particularly true when the #3 is held by a Finnish GM. I suspect they want that player.

Besides, we're right where we need to be at #13. After the top three, there's a tier of three or four forwards and three D-men, and then a tier of four or five fairly equal centers.

We should be able to snag a center prospect if those tiers hold up through the pending Worlds games, and maybe have our pick of two of those centers if someone goes off board prior to our pick.

Hard to predict the fate of that second first-rounder. Could be payment for something proven. But, if taken, the talent runs deep enough to also score a future NHL'er there.
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I agree, two first round picks with good drafting and scouting leads to a deeper system overall for the future to shore up real needs for this team. The Canes are almost certainly going to have a decent center there at 13...one of Jost/McLeod/Brown/Keller will be there...however Keller scares me because he seems tiny and we all know the past history with this org of drafting small guys.

A perfect draft for the Canes in round 1 would be one of the big centers in Logan Brown, Tyson Jost or Michael McLeod at 13 and one of the big wingers in Julian Guathier, Max Jones or Riley Tufte at 21.

Add that Swedish stud goaltender Filip Gustavsson at 43rd overall and that's a slam dunk for your first three picks!
 
If we elect to trade one of our first round picks it HAS to be for a top 6 under 25 year old forward OR for an almost slam dunk younger goalie buried behind an elite goalie (ie the Martin Jones situation last year). Based on how this past season just finished, this franchise is on the cusp of making the playoffs again, but they need to proceed as Ronnie has outlined and continue to build a long term plan via the draft and smart use of picks as assets. Suddenly we have riches galore on the blueline but are still seriously wanting at forward at the NHL level (with a lot of hope for Roy, Aho, Saarela, McGinn and maybe still Tolchinsky).

This will be an offseason for both building hopefully a team that gets over the playoff hump as soon as next year AND building the base for the future regular playoff contender that Ronnie envisions us being going forward. We are getting there. This is going to be a darn exciting and interesting offseason with all of these draft picks, whatever happens with Aho, and all of this Cap room to fill.
 
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Well ... there are plenty of options.

You could package the two picks to move up in the first round with one selection, but I suspect that the Canes will pass on that option. We need forward prospects in bulk and there's really no better place to get those than the first round of the draft, even in the low middle of the round.

More interesting is what you could do with a package of one of those two picks plus one of our young defensive prospects. Now that we've earned a rep of having ready to rock D prospects in the pipeline, born out mostly in fact, the Canes could potentially take advantage. Example ... Laine and Puljujarvi have got to be tempting for the Oilers at 2, but how many bloody forwards can they draft without seriously building a defense corps? And free agents famously aren't really an option up there unless they come with a million caveats. With Fleury and McKeown presumably ready to make the leap to pro, MAYBE the Canes give some thought to offering up the 13th pick and one of their proven young D ... Slavin or Pesce, NOT Hanifin. Both of those guys are freakishly mature and ready to step in and play Top 4 minutes right out of the box ... and still early into their rookies deals and thus the kind of guy the Oilers could tie up for 7 or 8 years. That's always a big deal for them.

Look ... there are no givens and there's not going to be any word out of Canes camp that they're even thinking about putting a package together to move up. Not with Ron Francis in charge. But if either Edmonton or Vancouver would take a phone call on the subject I think you have to explore. Both Laine and Puljujarvi provide the kind of offensive skill up front that this franchise sorely lacks. And both are likely to be ready to play in the NHL right away. I mean, would it be worth it to trade 2 first rounders AND one of our young D to get a guy like Laine or Puljujarvi? I mean, yeah ... it might just be worth it. Both have size and know how to use it. Both have bigtime finishing skills. Both have played multiple years against the big boys in the Finnish league. You know I love those Finns.
 
As CM mentions, there are plenty of other ways to skin the cat as well.

Package up some extra picks for a young skilled forward. Package up a pick or two for young goaltender ... or an older one on the verge of being priced out of a job, as has been rumored with Bishop, for example. PLENTY of options.

I think he's right about patience too. No need to make the one homerun swing unless you are absolutely convinced that it would be the single move to make the puzzle pieces fit. Personally, I view our problems in the forward lines as way too complex and varied to be solved merely by obtaining a top line center at a hefty price. I think we're going to see a blended approach from Ronnie, mostly because that seems to be how his character as a GM is developing.
 
jeffbear said:
Well ... there are plenty of options.

You could package the two picks to move up in the first round with one selection, but I suspect that the Canes will pass on that option. We need forward prospects in bulk and there's really no better place to get those than the first round of the draft, even in the low middle of the round.

More interesting is what you could do with a package of one of those two picks plus one of our young defensive prospects. Now that we've earned a rep of having ready to rock D prospects in the pipeline, born out mostly in fact, the Canes could potentially take advantage. Example ... Laine and Puljujarvi have got to be tempting for the Oilers at 2, but how many bloody forwards can they draft without seriously building a defense corps? And free agents famously aren't really an option up there unless they come with a million caveats. With Fleury and McKeown presumably ready to make the leap to pro, MAYBE the Canes give some thought to offering up the 13th pick and one of their proven young D ... Slavin or Pesce, NOT Hanifin. Both of those guys are freakishly mature and ready to step in and play Top 4 minutes right out of the box ... and still early into their rookies deals and thus the kind of guy the Oilers could tie up for 7 or 8 years. That's always a big deal for them.

Look ... there are no givens and there's not going to be any word out of Canes camp that they're even thinking about putting a package together to move up. Not with Ron Francis in charge. But if either Edmonton or Vancouver would take a phone call on the subject I think you have to explore. Both Laine and Puljujarvi provide the kind of offensive skill up front that this franchise sorely lacks. And both are likely to be ready to play in the NHL right away. I mean, would it be worth it to trade 2 first rounders AND one of our young D to get a guy like Laine or Puljujarvi? I mean, yeah ... it might just be worth it. Both have size and know how to use it. Both have bigtime finishing skills. Both have played multiple years against the big boys in the Finnish league. You know I love those Finns.
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You mean Winnipeg or Columbus, right? I could see Columbus making a move and continuing to strengthen their D (like they did in adding Seth Jones)
 
I don't see Carolina getting that serious about anything you could get at draft slots outside the top 3. MAYBE you fall in love with the Tkachuk kid at 4 or maybe one of the Finns fall, but I doubt it.

Based on the scouting I've read, you're pretty well certain of getting a quality center in the 10-15 range and as badly as Carolina needs that, I don't see them making a move unless it's for somebody special. A real deal starting goaltender or one of those top 3 forwards.
 
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Its actually unfortunate that Edmonton didn't end up 2nd or 3rd because you are 100% right JB, what the heck would they do with ANOTHER young potential superstar forward? Drafting one of the Finns wouldn't have made any sense for them. They likely would have been a great trade candidate for the Canes if we wanted to trade up and grab one of the Finns.

But with Edmonton at #4, I'm not quite sure I'm willing to make a big trade to grab Matthew Tkachuk. Edmonton would be right to ask for Slavin and at least one of our 1st rounders in return (if not both of them). You have to pay a price to move up that much, but are we really THAT desperate that we would sacrifice what looks like a definite top 4 young Dman?

Edmonton is definitely going to be shopping that 4th overall pick, it will be interesting to see what the price is.
 
cmaleski2 said:
Its actually unfortunate that Edmonton didn't end up 2nd or 3rd because you are 100% right JB, what the heck would they do with ANOTHER young potential superstar forward? Drafting one of the Finns wouldn't have made any sense for them. They likely would have been a great trade candidate for the Canes if we wanted to trade up and grab one of the Finns.

But with Edmonton at #4, I'm not quite sure I'm willing to make a big trade to grab Matthew Tkachuk. Edmonton would be right to ask for Slavin and at least one of our 1st rounders in return (if not both of them). You have to pay a price to move up that much, but are we really THAT desperate that we would sacrifice what looks like a definite top 4 young Dman?

Edmonton is definitely going to be shopping that 4th overall pick, it will be interesting to see what the price is.
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Yup ... I looked at my jumbled up post it note draft order and probably allowed wishful thinking to take over. I think we definitely have a good fit to trade with the Oilers, but something would have to give to get us to move up to something lower than 1-3, IMO.

Columbus ... who knows? Their D is still terrible even with Jones joining Johnson in the group and they seem pretty set in their top 6 forward group. But game changers like those two Finn wingers are tough to find. If it was me, I'd stick and pick if I was the Jackets. IMO Winnipeg needs offense even more than we do, so I don't see them moving out of the top 3.
 
There is no way the canes should trade to anyone in slot 3 or above. The canes are having great success developing youth, let it continue. One player I'd like back is Liles. He really jelled with the kids.
 
If Liles wants to come back on a 1 year $1 million deal to be a 7th DMan here I would take him back. I suspect he has no desire at all to sign such a contract for such a role. With his pretty steady play for the Canes this past season, Liles should be able to find a #5/6 Dman role somewhere else that is begging for blueline help (ie Edmonton and Columbus) so long as he and his agent don't get nutty with term and dollar demands.
 
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