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Goodbye Victor - Rask Traded

I suspect the Wild and Canes have been talking for a while about this trade. Doubt this is an in-your-face move regarding Ferland. However, it is also a very prudent move if early recognition of the inevitable is that we will be shopping him prior to the trade deadline, particularly if he's headed for free agency to test market value (which is perhaps his best career move).

Clearly we knew Niederreiter well from our 2010 draft scouting and our LW depth is shallow. Good team chemistry guy, and that's important in a room that's in the midst of a culture change and riding playoff chase emotions.

He's a scorer and we need scorers. He's a three-zone player and all teams need those. He skates well and can keep up with a team with speed. He's big (6'2" 218 lbs.) and not afraid to use it. Can play anywhere in our top nine. May be capable of skating top line minutes with the Finns.

Picking up a #5OA with Victor Rask and no other assets at all, including futures? It's a good day to be a Canes fan. I'm pleased.
 
Not much to add here. All positive from my perspective as the Canes just upgraded the talent on the roster. I like the trade.
 
andyt said:
Yeah, I saw that he’s looking for closer to Evander Kane money, which is 7 years/$49 million. Kane has averaged 27 goals per 82 games over a 602 game career. Ferland...has not.
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If that is actually true, Ferland looking for Kane money, the better trade him and get some assets. There is NO WAY the Canes should pay anything close to that. He is a very poor mans version of Evander Kane. Ferland isn't even as good as Niederreiter.
 
CarolinaPen said:
If that is actually true, Ferland looking for Kane money, the better trade him and get some assets. There is NO WAY the Canes should pay anything close to that. He is a very poor mans version of Evander Kane. Ferland isn't even as good as Niederreiter.
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The Ferland saga seems to have a ton of NHL fans and media in a real lather over both his next contract and what he may be worth in a trade. This all started with the ridiculous money given to Tom Wilson last year by the Caps fresh off the Cup win. You could argue contending teams in the East still have to go through Washington so they need a player to balance Wilson and his antics, Ferland is one of the few that can do that. I agree with CP that if Ferland is looking for an Evander Kane or Tom Wilson type contract it simply won’t be here in Carolina. I wish I had more confidence in Waddell pulling off a stealth trade for Ferland that includes a first round pick or young center coming back but I doubt that happens.
 
Elsker said:
I suspect the Wild and Canes have been talking for a while about this trade.
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Its possible that the trade was done a bit ago but the Canes wouldn't pull the trigger until we got healthier at center. Dundon was interviewed by XM several days ago and made some comment about what kind of trades they were looking at. Made some comment about players needing a change of scenery so the trade would benefit both teams. In retrospect, I wouldn't be surprised if he was referencing this trade.
 
On Ferland, if mgmt feels they have to trade him because we are being cheap, then that sucks. If his demands are out of line with value (Kane), then I agree with a trade. While I think he is an important piece, not sure he is a guy you significantly overpay. Overpay Aho, overpay a center.

Make a competitive offer to Ferland. step a little beyond your upper bound if necessary, but don't go nuts.
 
The argument for Ferland getting Tom Wilson money is shaky enough. In addition to that intimidation factor out there and the fact that Wilson had a very good regular season plus a ton of playoff production (playoff production is a factor Ferland, sorry to inform you of that), Tom Wilson is also a regular penalty killer for the Caps. Ferland, well, he is a PITA for other teams and can play on top lines apparently and might be good for 25 goals, but he isn't better than Tom Wilson. He definitely is not anywhere near Evander Kane's level, not even remotely close. Maybe he gets there some day, but no one is forking over huge scratch for Micheal Ferland.

What really would worry me is that I'm not 100% sure if Micheal Ferland is sort of Tom Wilson light or if he is really Matt Beleskey and will turn back into a pumpkin once he gets paid. I would say that risk is worth it to the Canes at 5 years, maybe $23.75 Million ($4.75 AAV), mostly because this is the guy we have been missing forever. Anything above Tom Wilson money is completely nuts. This guy has had 2 good seasons now playing with top level players. That doesn't suddenly make him an established high value asset. He's good, I would love to keep him, but crap man, you are not THAT good Ferland! Not enough body of work Ferland for you to be trusted to get huge contract.
 
I thought we'd be stuck with Rask so an even a trade for a guy, who by the way is heavier than Rask, who may be also in a rut, is a good move. Shake it up. Also, glad to see some kind, any kind, of attempt to improve the team.
 
Last night I said to my wife, "You know that guy I'm always yelling at to 'do something' when we go to the games? The Canes traded him today."

Her response: "At least I don't have to listen to you yelling at him anymore!"
 
andyt said:
I fear you’re right. But the glass half full in me says this is in lieu of Tarasenko?
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Yeah, no. That one is firmly parked in the believe it when I see it box. Plus, continuing to load up on the wing with nobody to play center for all these guys would continue to bother me. And can you REALLY see the Canes pulling off a deadline deal for Tarasenko AND a center? Because I cannot.
 
cmaleski2 said:
The argument for Ferland getting Tom Wilson money is shaky enough. In addition to that intimidation factor out there and the fact that Wilson had a very good regular season plus a ton of playoff production (playoff production is a factor Ferland, sorry to inform you of that), Tom Wilson is also a regular penalty killer for the Caps. Ferland, well, he is a PITA for other teams and can play on top lines apparently and might be good for 25 goals, but he isn't better than Tom Wilson. He definitely is not anywhere near Evander Kane's level, not even remotely close. Maybe he gets there some day, but no one is forking over huge scratch for Micheal Ferland.

What really would worry me is that I'm not 100% sure if Micheal Ferland is sort of Tom Wilson light or if he is really Matt Beleskey and will turn back into a pumpkin once he gets paid. I would say that risk is worth it to the Canes at 5 years, maybe $23.75 Million ($4.75 AAV), mostly because this is the guy we have been missing forever. Anything above Tom Wilson money is completely nuts. This guy has had 2 good seasons now playing with top level players. That doesn't suddenly make him an established high value asset. He's good, I would love to keep him, but crap man, you are not THAT good Ferland! Not enough body of work Ferland for you to be trusted to get huge contract.
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Ferland may be as valuable as Kane or Wilson soon. Ferland is still trending up and its not hard to see him getting there soon statistically. However, when Kane and Wilson signed, they had track records to prove they could sustain what they were being signed to do. Ferland doesn't. He's just potential at this point. Ferland should be getting what Kane and Wilson got in their previous deals. For Kane that was 5.25M and for Wilson it was 1.3M. He can take a short-term prove-it deal, but if he wants more term based on the forecast that his potential is higher and that he'll reach it and sustain, then we might have problems. I'm sure this team is going to be gun shy having to dig ourselves out from the Darling disaster and the Rask contract.
 
It may well be that Ferland's strategy is to go to the open market on July 1 and he is therefore not a candidate to be extended by us prior to that date. We are, of course, welcome to bid for him at that time. But some GM with a short timeline of interest will undoubtedly give him all the money and term he wants for performance now. The later seasons can just be some other GM's problem, not theirs. And that won't be us.

He's First Nation and comes from a background where money was definitely an issue. He's been on very affordable contracts to date, doing arguably $5M work for $1.7M salary the past couple of seasons. Had two (maybe more?) concussion incidents to date. Has a daughter and a family that supported his entry into hockey when they probably couldn't really afford it. This next contract could be it for him.

So hard to blame him for seeking to maximize its total value, both on a per season basis and on length of term. Going to UFA on July 1 just might be the best career decision for him to pursue.

If so, it's not us, it's him. And I can understand his position if that's the path he has chosen.

Good to know, if true, so that we can make appropriate trade deadline decisions, both outgoing and incoming.
 
Without Ferland in the line up, we will play a smaller game again. That's no match for the players and team we will see multiple times each season in the east-- Washington with Ovechkin and Wilson, Boston's style of play, Brian Boyle, etc. A player like Ferland gives time and space on the top line and the heavy play is more distributed. Jordan Staal, Ferland, Martinook and McGinn give that physical play on all lines.
 
I think the recent resurgence by the Blues has likely complicated things for a number of teams interested in him.
jeffbear said:
Yeah, no. That one is firmly parked in the believe it when I see it box. Plus, continuing to load up on the wing with nobody to play center for all these guys would continue to bother me. And can you REALLY see the Canes pulling off a deadline deal for Tarasenko AND a center? Because I cannot.
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Although many Wild fans seemed to be down on Niederreiter for his sub-par performance in '17-'18 and this season to date after the big contract season, I saw some vague references by some to him not being quite the same since the injuries.

So that made me look around a bit to find out just what happened and I found this end-of-the-season article for Niederreiter's '17-'18 season: Injuries Lead to a Turbulent Year for Nino Niederreiter

High ankle sprain during the third game of the season sidelined him for a bit and they are really tough from which to recover. Even when you think you are fine, you're not, and can subconsciously favor it for quite a while afterward, even when it starts to feel better. Think this is what happened with Faulk's big swoon after the practice incident with Malone.

Then he gets hit with a puck, comes back from that, only to discover later that he had fractured his fibula (the smaller of the two calf bones).

So the 63-game '17-'18 season with 18-14-32 instead of the 25-32-57 82-game season that preceded it becomes a bit more understandable.

Also he was buried on the current Wild LW depth chart at #4 after Parise, Zucker, and Greenway and certainly overpaid for a 4LW. They had also tried him on the right side without success. So the move to trade him for a 3C (which is where Rask will slot) on their thin center depth makes sense. That center depth might even get thinner if they trade Eric Staal at the deadline.

Fourth line minutes and skating with fourth-line talent can't help your numbers. We may well see a return to his 40-50 point seasons by giving him better line mates, more minutes, and hopefully less injuries.
 
SlapShots said:
Without Ferland in the line up, we will play a smaller game again. That's no match for the players and team we will see multiple times each season in the east-- Washington with Ovechkin and Wilson, Boston's style of play, Brian Boyle, etc. A player like Ferland gives time and space on the top line and the heavy play is more distributed. Jordan Staal, Ferland, Martinook and McGinn give that physical play on all lines.
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I agree on the time and space that Ferland provides his top players currently and that's the real hurt the Canes will feel if they have to trade Ferland away. Having said that, I have quietly this season enjoyed the bigger bodies that play a physical game for the Canes like Martinook, Foegele, Metalaanen and now hopefully Nino...so maybe that physical, banging style can still be an important part of this team. Also if Gauthier could ever show he is ready to contribute, that would be a nice add from a size and physical standpoint on the wing.
 
I guess I don't follow the Wild closely enough to realize that Nino had become a reclamation project... but at first I was amazed that we got him for Rask. Wow.
 
CanadaCanes said:
I agree on the time and space that Ferland provides his top players currently and that's the real hurt the Canes will feel if they have to trade Ferland away. Having said that, I have quietly this season enjoyed the bigger bodies that play a physical game for the Canes like Martinook, Foegele, Metalaanen and now hopefully Nino...so maybe that physical, banging style can still be an important part of this team. Also if Gauthier could ever show he is ready to contribute, that would be a nice add from a size and physical standpoint on the wing.
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What Ferland adds that the other big bodies on the roster don't is actual menace. Martinook can kinda, sorta give you a bit of that but he's mostly just a giant puppy at heart. But the other big boys ... Maenalanen, Staal, Foegele, Nino, and go ahead and add deHaan and McGinn since they play a fairly physical game ... don't give that snarl that you get from Ferland. That physical menace is something the Canes have missed even longer than they've missed a decent power forward who can score. Guys who play a nasty game are an NHL staple ... seemingly everywhere but here. And they make a difference. I'm not talking about all that "he plays a heavy game" BS. I'm talking about a guy who plays a MEAN game.
 
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