I was out of town last week, so I don’t know if the news of Angelo Esposito’s torn ACL made it into the blog. Poor guy…gust when it seemed he was turning it around after the WJC’s.

I don’t think you’re going to get a 1st-rounder out of a bubble team, but injuries have a way of putting guys in “panic mode”. Honestly, I’d rather see Havelid moved for a top prospect than anything else. I’ll give that on talent alone he’s not going to bring back a 1st round pick, but like I said, think about the buyer. If one of your horses goes down, you want a proven guy who isn’t going to disrupt your dressing room. Example: Who’s the best AVAILABLE option for Chiarelli if big Chara goes down? Jovonoski? Sorry he’s got a NTC. Pronger? Too much $ for a guy that might just poison the room. Bieksa? Vancouver’s going to want that same high-quality pick, plus he’s still prone to making boneheaded plays.

I challenge you to find havelid out of position. He may not be a game-changer, but he most certainly isn’t a guy that’s going to cost you by making a dumb play. A lot of times it’s not the flashy guy who makes the big play to keep your team on the road to The Cup (see Darren McCarty for example), it’s the guy who’s in the right position and makes the high-percentage play instead of trying to do too much (see Havelid).

Let’s also be honest. I’m biased. I want a king;s ransom for my guys, but I’m also realistic enough to say that I’d take a prospect and 2nd or 3rd round pick (depending on the prospect) for Reasoner.

Both Reasoner and Havelid are known to be good teammates (in Marty’s case some will tell you that the Oil misses him in the room even more than they miss Smyth on the ice), and solid pros with demonstrable skill of the type that wins championships. Reasoner’s lifetime faceoff % is nasty, and anybody that tells you that the draw isn’t hyper-critical in the playoffs is a rube.

My favorite silly rumor lately is that we’d trade Kovalchuk for Antropov and Tlusty with Toronto throwing in a later round pick.

And yall get on me for dreaming big!

Why would you accept a freeze on STH prices? You can get tix to a game any night for 1/4th face value.

I cannot see ANYONE offering a 1st rounder for Havelid. Let’s be realistic. He’s a solid D man, but no GM in their right mind would offer that high of a draft pick for him.