Soshnikov traded to the Blues

[sickbeast]

For you guys complaining about this deal, the Leafs had their backs against the wall and were in a roster crunch.  Soshnikov was saying he was going to go back to Russia if the Leafs didn't play him.  In fact I think he was pretty patient and even waited longer than he initially said he would.  The other teams knew the Leafs were in this situation and they acted accordingly.

Is a fourth round draft pick enough of a return for Soshnikov?  Probably not.  Ideally they would have gotten at least a third rounder for him.  But when you look at it from the standpoint that they could have lost him to Russia for nothing, the Leafs came out okay, and they gave the player a nice opportunity in another organization.

I liked the intensity Soshnikov played with, he reminded me a lot of Zach Hyman.  However he was too low on the depth chart and I'm happy we at least got something for him.

It's going to be interesting to see what happens to Leivo now.

I actually only remember seeing Sosh say the opposite. Do you have a quote?

Have a look here:

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/leafs-recall-soshnikov-avoid-russian-loophole-1.4401340

Soshnikov was very patient.  That article is from November.  I'm glad things worked out for him, and that the Leafs at least got something for him.

All of that being said, Soshnikov never directly said he would go back to Russia.  It was simply a clause in his contract.  This is what he actually said:

?I have conversations with most of my players on a daily basis so we discuss the different possibilities, but Nikita wants to play in the NHL. He came to North America a few years back fully understanding and knowing it would not be easy, it would be hard,? Milstein said. ?He gave up his KHL career and came here to try and play for the Toronto Maple Leafs and go through the American Hockey League system.

?He?s a true warrior. If he wanted to go back to Russia he could have, but there?s a reason he?s been working so hard here.?

From here:

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/soshnikovs-agent-nikita-earned-right-nhl/

He handled it like a true professional.  Anyhow that's probably where the confusion comes from.

 

[herman]

Yeah that?s the quote I recall. Which says the opposite of what was bolded.

 

[bustaheims]

Wow! I had expected a little more than a 4th.

Me too!  Why do our Leafs always get screwed when trading with the Blues?  Why???

What did you expect for an oft injured soon to be 25 year old winger with 14 points in 70 career NHL games? The Leafs were never getting more than a 4th for him. That's exactly what his value on the trade market was.

 

[Highlander]

package him with Polak for a 3rd

 

[bustaheims]

package him with Polak for a 3rd

Polak lowers the trade value.

 

[ZBBM]

Wow! I had expected a little more than a 4th.

Me too!  Why do our Leafs always get screwed when trading with the Blues?  Why???

What did you expect for an oft injured soon to be 25 year old winger with 14 points in 70 career NHL games? The Leafs were never getting more than a 4th for him. That's exactly what his value on the trade market was.

Unless they had waited until deadline day ? then all kinds of circumstances might drive up the price.  Why trade him before then? 

 

[Highlander]

Could have been a league issue or the 50 man mission cap

 

[sickbeast]

Wow! I had expected a little more than a 4th.

Me too!  Why do our Leafs always get screwed when trading with the Blues?  Why???

What did you expect for an oft injured soon to be 25 year old winger with 14 points in 70 career NHL games? The Leafs were never getting more than a 4th for him. That's exactly what his value on the trade market was.

Unless they had waited until deadline day ? then all kinds of circumstances might drive up the price.  Why trade him before then?

I thought this had been quite clear already.  Soshnikov had it in his contract that he had to be playing at the NHL level by a certain date, otherwise he could return to Russia.  That date had already passed.  The only thing the Leafs could have done would have been to demote Kapanen but they didn't want to do that for obvious reasons.  So their hands were tied.  They had no choice but to trade Soshnikov, and the other teams knew that.  Actually the fourth rounder is a pretty good return in light of all that.

 

[bustaheims]

Unless they had waited until deadline day ? then all kinds of circumstances might drive up the price.  Why trade him before then?

The Leafs had a roster crunch. That meant they had a day or two to decide that either a player who deserves to be in the NHL lineup goes to the Marlies until some team meets the Leafs' price, they risk losing someone with value for free on waivers, or they make the trade when they did. Of the three options, the one they chose was best balance of risk and reward - especially when the reality is that it's extremely unlikely they get more than a 4th even on deadline day. The only real difference might have been that they get the pick in 2018 instead of 2019.

 

[ZBBM]

Unless they had waited until deadline day ? then all kinds of circumstances might drive up the price.  Why trade him before then?

The Leafs had a roster crunch. That meant they had a day or two to decide that either a player who deserves to be in the NHL lineup goes to the Marlies until some team meets the Leafs' price, they risk losing someone with value for free on waivers, or they make the trade when they did. Of the three options, the one they chose was best balance of risk and reward - especially when the reality is that it's extremely unlikely they get more than a 4th even on deadline day. The only real difference might have been that they get the pick in 2018 instead of 2019.

*shrugs* not that the debate is all that huge but I don't know how you can say it's "extremely unlikely" that they couldn't have gotten more on or closer to the deadline.  That's when prices are highest.

 

[bustaheims]

*shrugs* not that the debate is all that huge but I don't know how you can say it's "extremely unlikely" that they couldn't have gotten more on or closer to the deadline.  That's when prices are highest.

For more experienced players and/or guys that a large number of teams are bidding on. Not convinced that's the case for Soshnikov. Either way, waiting until the deadline meant Dermott or Kapanen play with the Marlies for more than two weeks or they risk losing Leivo or someone else on waivers. Without trading someone else (which I have to imagine is a path they explored), those were the realistic scenarios - and, you also have to imagine Lou and Co. had a pretty good measure of what teams were willing to offer up for Soshnikov. I'm confident in saying there wasn't going to be more value out there - at least, not enough to take one of the kids out of the lineup for 2+ weeks or risk losing another piece for nothing.

Also, when you look at the trades from the last couple deadlines, player values didn't really go up like they had in previous years. There may be a concentrated burst of deadlines around the deadline, but the values haven't been increasing like they did in the past. More experienced and more desirable players went for 3rd and 4th round picks over the last couple years. a 4th for Soshnikov is basically maxing out value in a straight deal.

 

[Kin]

*shrugs* not that the debate is all that huge but I don't know how you can say it's "extremely unlikely" that they couldn't have gotten more on or closer to the deadline.  That's when prices are highest.

Even if that's so, realistically how much further does the price get driven up at the deadline?

 

[ZBBM]

Like I say, we're debating thin margins but parking Dermott and/or Kapanen with the Marlies for 2 weeks isn't going to make much if any difference in our playoff position.  Soshnikov is an NHL-caliber player and the chance of getting another with a 4th rounder is small.  Even if all you get is a 3rd that's a higher likelihood of turning into a success. 

 

[Kin]

Like I say, we're debating thin margins but parking Dermott and/or Kapanen with the Marlies for 2 weeks isn't going to make much if any difference in our playoff position.  Soshnikov is an NHL-caliber player and the chance of getting another with a 4th rounder is small.  Even if all you get is a 3rd that's a higher likelihood of turning into a success.

It seems at that point like the criticism becomes whether it's wise to trade a very slightly increased possibility at drafting a NHL player vs. a very slight possibility of negatively affecting the team's playoff position. Considering the very real possibility that Kap/Dermott play real roles for the team in the future dropping them to the minors when they're playing well seems to have way more potential impact than either of those things.

 

[Highlander]

Is the Sosh playing for the Blues right now?

 

[Boston Leaf]

Is the Sosh playing for the Blues right now?

I don't believe so. there were visa issues so i don't think he has joined the team yet. should be this week I believe.. (I could be wrong but I know that was holding things up with him reporting)

 

[Coco-puffs]

Is the Sosh playing for the Blues right now?

Since the trade the Blues have only played one game which happened the day after the trade.  Sosh would have to get a work visa sorted out etc so he would have had little chance of getting it done that quickly- plus the team doctors probably want to asses him too.

Looks like the Visa hasn't been granted yet:

The Blues continue to wait on newly acquired winger Nikita Soshnikov getting his U.S. work visa and joining the team. ?I'm hoping for the end of the week,? Yeo said.

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/hockey/professional/morning-skate/blues-lines-get-another-new-look-as-team-tries-to/article_07813fdc-7f3a-5d5b-8f6c-c53823468346.html

 

[Highlander]

Is the Sosh playing for the Blues right now?

Since the trade the Blues have only played one game which happened the day after the trade.  Sosh would have to get a work visa sorted out etc so he would have had little chance of getting it done that quickly- plus the team doctors probably want to asses him too.

Looks like the Visa hasn't been granted yet:

The Blues continue to wait on newly acquired winger Nikita Soshnikov getting his U.S. work visa and joining the team. ?I'm hoping for the end of the week,? Yeo said.

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/hockey/professional/morning-skate/blues-lines-get-another-new-look-as-team-tries-to/article_07813fdc-7f3a-5d5b-8f6c-c53823468346.html

Trump at work again!!!

 

[louisstamos]

Is the Sosh playing for the Blues right now?

Since the trade the Blues have only played one game which happened the day after the trade.  Sosh would have to get a work visa sorted out etc so he would have had little chance of getting it done that quickly- plus the team doctors probably want to asses him too.

Looks like the Visa hasn't been granted yet:

The Blues continue to wait on newly acquired winger Nikita Soshnikov getting his U.S. work visa and joining the team. ?I'm hoping for the end of the week,? Yeo said.

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/hockey/professional/morning-skate/blues-lines-get-another-new-look-as-team-tries-to/article_07813fdc-7f3a-5d5b-8f6c-c53823468346.html

Trump at work again!!!

He's Russian, though.  He should have a free pass.

 

[Highlander]

I am staying in quite a large community complex in Arizona.  Last year they had servers from Ireland and around the world for there Resto's, really great staff. Because of Trumps policies none of them are back. My son is a Le Corden Bleu chef and they wanted him but can't have him because of the new restrictions in place (he is Canadian),  yet they can't fill the position he applied for. The community is in North Scottsdale and they just can't get workers to come out this far.
So the solution, close one of the 6 restaurants in here cause they can't get staff.
Insane!