His ankles have been abused, his feet no longer fit comfortably into normal or even exceptionally constructed skates, and he has a history of groin issues, and other physical breakdowns from the hard core way he plays the game.
- If you are the Flyers, do you trade him?
Yes
- What can you get for him?
About what they are asking for; a first round pick and or a decent to awesome prospect.
- Who wants him?
Everybody will consider it, but a Western team in the hunt for the playoffs with cap space - and there are several - will be the obvious contenders.
Calgary: Other Gms don't ask for Phaneuf anymore because they already know the answer. Does Matthew Lombardi + a first get you Forsberg? Maybe. Throw in Brent Krahn-G prospect? Boyd? The Flames don't have a home-run prospect, but they have several who are above average and possess grit - making them ideal trade bait in this situation (ie. Boyd could easily be a Flyer couldn't he? Can't you see Nystrom as a Flyer?) However the deal happens, the Flames would instanty become the prohibitive Cup favourites. Foppa would join fellow Swede Huselius on a slick offensive unit (The Conroy-Iginla affair is back in bloom). Calgary fans would openly plan the parade while Oiler fans would become sucidal. The battle of Alberta would be totally lopsided again, only Calgary would be the dominant driver seat team. Please Cthullu, kill me last so I can see this happen.
Anaheim: Bobby Ryan, a first + change (a defenseman, or later round pick) looks like the winning deal to me. Burke will probably balk at putting Getzlaf or Perry into the mix - but he certainly could. The overall structure will end up depending on the status of Forsberg's wheels and what else might be coming back in the deal to Anaheim (i.e. would the Flyers include Jeff Carter to get Getzlaf+Perry?!?). When all is said and done, Detroit is the obvious choice, but Anaheim is the first place I would start shopping.
Detroit: At first glance this seems obvious. It also does at second. Kronwall and a 1st? That might do it. Grigorenko, Howard, and a 1st? Stefan Liv? Throw in Dan Cleary? Detroit is home to a bunch of elite Swedes who would love to give Mo-town a post-Stevie-Y Cup celebration, and Forsberg may well have included them as one of his preferred destinations to speed things along, but there isn't an obvious deal to make the Flyer braintrust happy in terms of the prospect they are getting back.
Should the Personal Vendetta keep him as an FP?
If they are in the top 4-5 as of Saturday morning, YES. If not, no matter what his decision for next year, or thereafter, it is I think more likely than not that Forsberg is having his PV farewell tour right now.
Will the PV trade Forsberg?
No. Forsberg is simply a love object at this stage. He's below a ppg, constantly hurt, always a threat to return to Sweden, on a crap team, without elite linemates (consider Gagne's stats sans the Forsbergian one), ready to retire, or have a limb fractured. In short, why would anyone want him?
Having said all that, here are 4 possible FUNHL scenarios to contemplate:
Scenario1: Forsberg is dealt to Detroit in real life and his numbers perk up to ppg+. Elias in NJ goes down for the rest of the year, or merely continues to suck, and like last year, the Edge begin to flirt with oblivion. Here's what happens;
---> Edge: Forsberg-C Det FP, Briere-C Buf, and a warm body at left.
---> PV: Elias-L NJ FP, Corey Perry-R P2, Edge 1st PRD in 07-08
The keys here are that Forsberg becomes a shorterm massive improvement on Elias and that the Edge is in danger of taking home bad hardware. It would be the first time Elias has ever played anywhere other than for the Edge.
Scenario 2: Forsberg is dealt to Anaheim and goes nuclear. Doug might think of something like;
---> Highlanders: Forsberg-C ANA FP,
---> Personal Vendetta: Richards-C TBay FP (inj, mysterious suckitude, or simply unexpected sub-superstarness)
....and Darrel might just take it. The key is simply that Forsberg be much hotter than Richards, the natural incentives of the pool will do the rest.
Scenario 3: Injuries to vital players on the Highlanders and Bladerunners put the Great Whites back within striking distance, Forsberg is hot in Calgary, and the previously ppg+ Marleau goes cold. I don't get the sense that the Great Whites are invested heavily in Marleau, and if they felt they had a real shot at the title we could easily see something like;
---> Great Whites: Forsberg-C Cgy FP
---> PV: Marleau-C SJ FP (inj)
The stumbling blocks are that the Great Whites are slipping further away from the leaders rather than closing on them, and that Marleau is both younger and superior to Forsberg at the moment.
Scenario 4: and ultimately - the most likely trade of all;
---> Shadowmen: Forsberg-C Pha
---> PV: an FP + assorted stuff
No comments:
Post a Comment