Florida trades Bolland and Crouse to Arizona

[CarltonTheBear]

Elliotte Friedman ‏@FriedgeHNIC
ARIZ/FLA working on a deal that will send David Bolland and Lawson Crouse to the Coyotes for a second and third pick...

Wowzers.

Bolland has 3 years remaining on his deal at $5.5mil, and his health status/playing future is in limbo right now. Having to give up Crouse seems like a huge price to pay to get rid of that contract.

 

[TBLeafer]

Hefty price indeed for a cap dump.  At least Florida does have a 2nd rounder going back the other way.  The third is basically meaningless.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Thankfully Florida saved the Leafs from signing Bolland.

 

[TBLeafer]

Just to lose both him and Crouse. 

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Per Craig Custance, the 2nd round pick is conditional on Crouse playing 10 games in the NHL this season. If the Coyotes send him back to the OHL before that it becomes a 3rd. Probably a decent chance that happens.

 

[herman]

Did new (analytics heavy) Florida management even want Crouse?

The scouting staff and GM that picked Crouse have all been fired or shifted out. Barzal and Konecny and Ek-Eriksson were all still on the board at Florida's pick.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Did new Florida management even want Crouse?

The scouting staff and GM that picked Crouse have all been fired or shifted out. Barzal and Konecny and Ek-Eriksson were all still on the board at Florida's pick.

Well the interesting thing is that the two analytics bloggers that the Panthers hired awhile back (and then promoted after the recent purge) actually seemed to like Crouse based on their measures:

http://canucksarmy.com/2015/6/22/nation-network-prospect-profiles-17-lawson-crouse

 

[CarltonTheBear]

CapFriendly ‏@CapFriendly  4 minutes ago
Hard to believe that #Coyotes were sitting at $34.43M on June 21 & are now at $70.65M. Team added $36M in cap dollars in just over 2 months!

 

[cabber24]

I believe insurance pays Bolland's salary if he doesn't play thus increasing PHX's payroll without paying out of pocket. So PHX picks up cap hit towards the floor? Is this one of the reasons the trade was made?

11M in cap hit without paying out of pocket tied up in Datsyuk and Bolland. Chris Pronger is also on their payroll.

I believe the NHL insurance policy covers 80% of a players salary for any single injury that results in a 30 games injury. I believe Bolland would qualify and I am guessing this is big part of the reason PHX was willing take on the contract.

 

[herman]

Well the interesting thing is that the two analytics bloggers that the Panthers hired awhile back (and then promoted after the recent purge) actually seemed to like Crouse based on their measures:

http://canucksarmy.com/2015/6/22/nation-network-prospect-profiles-17-lawson-crouse

Nice find.

I don't have a full grasp of the stats they used, or the PCS% method yet, but it still strikes me as a bit of a stretch read for a pick in that range.

I found this in follow up:
http://canucksarmy.com/2015/2/21/is-lawson-crouse-a-top-10-prospect

Money Puck: So, is Crouse really a top 10 pick? It's actually difficult to say, but his average upside is nearly identical to a group of players ranked a handful of picks below him. History also tells us that Crouse has the largest bust potential of the players I looked at too, with around 75% of CHL players that produce in a similar manner and who are of a similar size missing the NHL. His well-rounded game arguably gives him a greater than ~25% shot at becoming an NHLer, however it's tough to say how much this increases his chances as we have seen solid defensive projections amount to absolutely nothing before.

With the Canucks unlikely to pick in the top ten, and players like Barzal, Merkley, Sprong, and Konecny likely to slide as a result, I sure hope Crouse is taken in the top-10 though!

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Yeah I think "not top-10 but somewhere close afterward" was roughly my thought on Crouse too that draft. It should also be noted that the Canucks picked 23rd that year, so a Canucks blog doing a profile on Crouse might have looked at him a little differently than a say a Panthers blog.

 

[herman]

This looks like a win-win trade. Arizona is where cap hits go to retire, for the low price of Crouse. Arizona's prospect pool has the depth to let Crouse develop his game at the pace he requires (he seems to need to be surrounded by creative talent).

Right now he's at the Biosteel Camp with Strome and Domi (among others), so that'll be an interesting wrinkle.

 

[Frank E]

Yeah I think "not top-10 but somewhere close afterward" was roughly my thought on Crouse too that draft. It should also be noted that the Canucks picked 23rd that year, so a Canucks blog doing a profile on Crouse might have looked at him a little differently than a say a Panthers blog.

Well, since Arizona's GM is supposed to be a super duper analytics dude, I would image that Crouse is the player they wanted, and not Bolland.

 

[bustaheims]

Jeebus. I'm not that high on Crouse, but that's still a big payment for Florida, as he's probably their top prospect not on their NHL roster.

 

[bustaheims]

Well, since Arizona's GM is supposed to be a super duper analytics dude, I would image that Crouse is the player they wanted, and not Bolland.

Definitely. He obviously felt there was good value in picking him up for what's likely to be a pair of 3rd picks and some cap space/cash.

 

[herman]

FLA IN:
2016 2nd
2016 4th
2017 3rd
2018 2nd
McCann
Black
Thompson

FLA OUT:
Savard
2016 5th
Gudbranson
Bolland
Crouse
2018 2nd

$0 retained

? Steve Dangle Glynn (@Steve_Dangle) August 25, 2016

Also:

Mitchell, Kulikov, and Campbell are all out.
Demers, Yandle, Kindl are all in.
by The Constant Gardiner on Aug 25, 2016

I think they'll be okay.

 

[dappleganger]

Well, since Arizona's GM is supposed to be a super duper analytics dude, I would image that Crouse is the player they wanted, and not Bolland.

Definitely. He obviously felt there was good value in picking him up for what's likely to be a pair of 3rd picks and some cap space/cash.

If Florida felt that Crouse topped out as a bottom 6 forward or fringe NHL'er, they might feel they're just as good with two 3rd round picks. I dunno.

I'd say Crouse's stock has fallen since his draft year. Time will tell.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Well, since Arizona's GM is supposed to be a super duper analytics dude, I would image that Crouse is the player they wanted, and not Bolland.

Oh, they're probably praying that Bolland doesn't play a single game for them. If all he is is dead cap space, it really isn't a problem because his contract expires right when they'll need it. But if he actually resumes playing then having to pay him $5.5mil per year is going to sting as a budget team.

 

[herman]

Well, since Arizona's GM is supposed to be a super duper analytics dude, I would image that Crouse is the player they wanted, and not Bolland.

Oh, they're probably praying that Bolland doesn't play a single game for them. If all he is is dead cap space, it really isn't a problem because his contract expires right when they'll need it. But if he actually resumes playing then having to pay him $5.5mil per year is going to sting as a budget team.

What other teams are willing to take cap dumps if Bolland rebounds into playing?

Leafs next year =) Shanny loves Bolland.

I'm ready for Bolland + Dvorak/Chychrun/Dineen for Lupul (assuming injured) + 2/3/4th rd pick or something like that.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

What other teams are willing to take cap dumps if Bolland rebounds into playing?

They would certainly be hoping he might get some attention in the expansion draft in that case.