Which teams should do some Black Friday shopping?
As we hit the American Thanksgiving checkpoint, it’s time to look at what teams might start being movers and shakers this holiday season to bolster their rosters.
Many cite late November and early December as the time for teams to determine whether they are Stanley Cup Playoff contenders or pretenders. While there are the big clubs in the Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers that have a lot of talent already on their roster, there are a few teams that are waiting in the weeds that could go out and take big swings to improve their lineups to make an honest run at the postseason.
On Friday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton give their thoughts on what general managers could do some Black Friday shopping.
Carter Hutton: I honestly think it’s the Anaheim Ducks. I think about Pat Verbeek and what he’s done, what they’ve built there. This is a team that has a lot of cap space, and they can make some significant moves here to try to strengthen their club. And again, they’re not really tied to anybody, right? They’re not locked in long-term when you look at the deals that they have. Jacob Trouba on the back end, making $8 million, but he’s up this year, so he’s a good piece. He’s a veteran guy, and he might be a guy that just takes a friendly deal for the foreseeable future because he wants to stay in Anaheim and live out his days playing in the NHL in the sunlight and being at the beach in Newport Beach, which is a beautiful area to play. So, that’s an important factor.
[Jackson] Lacombe is locked up. His deal kicks in next year. Then, you look up front, there’s a lot of really good talent in where they’re at. And they have a lot of pieces, all under $7 million…This is a good time, I think, for Pat Verbeek. He sat pretty quiet for a long time. This might be his time to shine.
Tyler Yaremchuk: I’m going with Kyle Davidson for my pick. I think a lot of people might go, well, you’re the [Chicago Blackhawks]. This is kind of found money this year…Don’t turn down an opportunity to win some playoff games. Don’t just get in. Get in and try to win. Don’t just sit there and go, ‘You know what, if we finish as the ninth seed, at least we can say we were close this year.’ Look at this forward group already playing in their top six. Oliver Moore, Ryan Greene, Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar. So many of these pieces are establishing themselves in the NHL. You don’t need all your first-round picks going forward. You don’t need all your second and third-round picks. They have a bonus first-rounder from Florida from the Seth Jones trade last year. Do something. Move a piece.
Go give this team some help. I also think that sends a message like, ‘Hey, Connor Bedard, you’re having a great start to the year. We believe in you. We don’t think you’re going to be good two, three years from now. We think you guys are good enough right now.’
You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…