Conrad

What do you guys think of the rumor on Senschirp and 6th Sens that the Blues called about Kovalev, and might want to offer Brad Boyes in return?

A few stats:

– Boyes has another year on his contract after this one at a $4M cap hit. He’s 28 years old, and his best season, in terms of point production, was 72 points (33-39…and a minus 20), two seasons ago, though the year prior to that he scored 43 goals
– He might be a suffering from a bit of the Cheechoos: After 42 and 33 goals, the year after he scored 14 and this year he’s on pace for 18
– Keep in mind, though, that his best years were with Paul Kariya, and in his down years Kariya was out with injuries. He clearly needs an elite playmaker, and this team has been trying to find someone to play with Spezza ever since Heatley ripped Spartacat’s heart out and ate in in front of his litter
– Brad Boyes is no two-way player. Now that St. Louis has some depth, he’s dropped down the chart and his effectiveness has diminished greatly. He’s the sort of player the team would need to commit to, giving him big minutes and a chance to mesh with Spezza; but he isn’t the complete package
– Also keep in mind that Kovalev is completely and totally useless
– Clearly Kovalev’s value lies in his expiring contract, and so whether or not this is a viable deal will depend mightily on what this franchise’s plans are for the offseason. If they have designs on a certain, high-priced player, they may not wish to spend that space on someone they had no interest in. On the other hand, if this team has any desire to make the playoffs this year and wants to shake up the lineup, this is a way to do it.

Personally, I would go for it. Were Foligno and Regin playing to their potential, maybe I wouldn’t, but with only one season left on his contract and lots of cap space coming up, I don’t see it as a very big risk. But of course Murray should ask whoever is going to replace him as GM if it’s okay first, so as to not muck with their plans.

Peter

Interesting, I suppose it depends on which other FA’s they’re planning on bringing back. Are they going to try and keep this “red-shirt star trek dudes ” of a team together or are they going to wipe the slate clean? I think they want Jarkko and Phillips back, which means they’d only have about 5 mil total. Are they going after one big name? (doubtful). Is Boyes worth sacrificing the depth of multiple free agent signings?

No, I’m going to pass because the sens have had issues with “rejuventation” projects. They’re currently paying two of them already. This just trades one bad contract for another. The caveat here is that if they agree to take Kuba in exchange for an UFA or a pick. Then I do this deal in a heartbeat, call up David Hale and sleep like a baby at night while my team tanks.