Mid season trade period

[Captain Obvious]

Thoughts on what the Cats might do at the midseason trade period?

They are currently 8th overall and on pace for 80 points. They have a solid core of 17-18 year olds so we can say next year is likely a better go for it year. OA's Labelle Barbashev and Beaudoin will be big losses but the scoring depth appears to be there with a potential new Euro plus the ability to add one maybe two OA's(Daniel & Darcy remain) and Lounsbury/Smith/Mercier/Taibel/Mueller growing into more offense & bigger roles. Goaltending has been ok so far, may or may not need to add.


Options:

1-sell guys like Barbashev Labelle & Beaudoin if the value is there to make those moves for high picks or top young players.

2-mostly stand pat and tinker on the fringes, maybe a "hockey trade".

3-buy a depth player plus maybe a top 19 year old who will return in 23-24.

4-buy all out and add 3-4 veterans to try and win now.

I think we will see a mix of #2 and 3. Hopefully not trade either of their 2023 1st rounders.

[livinthedream]

IMO the Cats have potential to make a run next year or the year after, they don't need to decide that until end of season. Gatineau, Drummondville and Halifax are all poised for next year. Maybe the year after there is less teams on the same cycle? Hypothetically two years from now any combination of the 2004 crop could be effective 20 year olds in the league. Having any 3 of Filion, Loshing, Auger, Iasenza and Mueller would be strong 20's in this league. 19's you got Mercier, Lounsbury, Bishop, McPhee Morin, Grenier and Smith/Fortier Gendron will be impact players at 18.

Either way, short term Barbashev & Beaudoin fetch best value and could help bring assets to help either strategy. If they are truly key pieces of the future then Mercier & Lounsbury in particular need more minutes after Christmas to measure their potential. It is evident they bring more offensive upside then some of the middle 6. Taibel is already playing 20 minutes a night and Mueller and Bishop are already getting quality minutes. On the backend Grenier needs to play everyday. I would ride out the goaltending duo this year and adjust at the draft if need be.

[Captain Obvious]

Nov 10, 2022 13:23:52 GMT -4 livinthedream said:

IMO the Cats have potential to make a run next year or the year after, they don't need to decide that until end of season. Gatineau, Drummondville and Halifax are all poised for next year. Maybe the year after there is less teams on the same cycle? Hypothetically two years from now any combination of the 2004 crop could be effective 20 year olds in the league. Having any 3 of Filion, Loshing, Auger, Iasenza and Mueller would be strong 20's in this league. 19's you got Mercier, Lounsbury, Bishop, McPhee Morin, Grenier and Smith/Fortier Gendron will be impact players at 18.

Either way, short term Barbashev & Beaudoin fetch best value and could help bring assets to help either strategy. If they are truly key pieces of the future then Mercier & Lounsbury in particular need more minutes after Christmas to measure their potential. It is evident they bring more offensive upside then some of the middle 6. Taibel is already playing 20 minutes a night and Mueller and Bishop are already getting quality minutes. On the backend Grenier needs to play everyday. I would ride out the goaltending duo this year and adjust at the draft if need be.

I can't see RKI waiting 2 more years to contend. They may not go all in next year and still be strong in 24-25, but I think they will add for next year for sure.

[Citris]

My opinion would be to go for option #2. You only trade your Vets if you get very good value for them, like 1st round picks or good prospects/futures.

The wildcats have been drafting really well of late and I think just allowing the scouting staff to do its job and keep building would be the safest and most flexible option going forward.

I think it's probably a bit shortsighted to buy, considering how strong Quebec and Sherbrooke are, and Halifax is going to probably at least upgrade by filling that 3rd hole with their overage situation. Gatineau is going to pick it up too when healthy, you'd have to imagine.

I think the Wildcats can mostly stand pat and expect 2 rounds of playoff hockey, which can be a really nice boost for the young guys on the team.

[lirette]

I don't think they should do anything crazy. At this point I think they should play for home ice in round 1. They aren't going to pass Quebec or Halifax, but 3rd in the conference is attainable.

They haven't had a weekend playoff game at Avenir Centre since March 29th, 2019. So 4 years by the time the playoffs roll around. Hard to believe.

There isn't many obvious moves to make. Perhaps they have 1 too many defenseman once Darcy's back and you find a home for a guy like Ballantyne somewhere else. It'd be nice if you could see how Darcy looks before Christmas. In theory he should fill the void of a top 4 guy.

I wouldn't be opposed to moving Barbashev since he's an expiring asset but only if you can get at least a 2nd rounder+, or a future 19 who can play for 2 years. Someone like Johnathan Fauchon out of Blainville (assuming that Blainville decides to buy). He'd be a big loss for the team though, he does just about everything on the ice and his stats make him under appreciated. If they want to keep him I wouldn't take issue with it. He's a guy you want to have in the playoffs and come playoff time I'd be glad they kept him.

I don't think you can worry about what other teams cycles are. The last few seasons Halifax has done some bizarre things like not moving Desnoyers. So who knows if they will ever go "all in". There's always going to be 2-3 top teams. The way the roster is built right now they could have some playoff success in each of the next 3 seasons.

The Wildcats have depth at nearly every position right now and a nice mix of youth and veterans. If they have a chance to perhaps move 2 players and get 1 high quality player back you do it, but I don't know what's really out there. Quebec is probably the only team in the conference who will be a major buyer. Halifax maybe adds 1 or 2 guys, and Baie Comeau is in a similar position to Moncton.

[blueeagle]

A mix of #1 and #2 is the way to go I think.

Barbashev, Beaudoin, and Labelle should all be available if any teams are willing to overpay for them. Otherwise, keep them and let them help this team build a winning habit going into next year.

There will be interest in all three but it might be hard to get value for them this year, there is no shortage of top-end forwards available this year. Barbashev's game could definitely appeal to a contender but there are only so many Euro spots available and there are a couple other options for guys available if you're looking to upgrade there.

No need to sell those guys cheap. Stand pat unless you get offers you have to accept.

[Deleted]

Here is the biggest challenge with teams trying to unload this year...you basically have Quebec, Sherbrooke who are 100% all in this year. Gatineau/Blainville/Halifax will have to make some tough decisions at Christmas. Blainville is underperforming big time and would need to add several pieces in order to be a major contender.

With that said, there are just too many sellers and not enough buyers for teams to unload at good value. Beaudoin is the only real piece that I see moving, unless the Cats take less then market value for the others.

When has RI ever been patient and truly built a contender via the draft, while waiting 3-4 years for those prospects to pan out.

I say you could see a hybrid of option 2 and 3 happening. Get as deep as you can this year..giving the team some valued play-off experience..and then go all in next year.

[blueeagle]

You hit the nail on the head in your second paragraph.

Barbashev is competing with Brabanec, Ivan, Canonica, and possibly Bednar and Satny if any other team is looking to upgrade. I can't see more than 2 teams looking to upgrade their Euro's

Labelle is a good player going at more than a PPG, but we already know Robidas is going to Quebec and that Kidney will be going to another contender. After that there are a bunch of players arguably on Labelle's level that will still be available. We're only looking at 3 or 4 teams that might be willing to pay to go all in, tops. Halifax won't. Blainville shouldn't, but might be susceptible to sunk cost fallacy now. Similar with Beaudoin.

I can't see there being enough value on the market for the type of player Moncton would have available - essentially a half season of a middle six player on a contender.