NHL Draft 2013: Which Top Three Team Trades Down?
The 2003 NHL Draft is highly regarded as the best draft of all-time. With players like Eric Staal, Ryan Getzlaf, Zach Parise, and Ryan Suter among those taken in the first round, it’s obvious why the 2003 Draft was unlike any other: it was star-studded.
The 2013 NHL draft class doesn’t nearly have as many top prospects as the 2003 class did, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t great talent available.
Defenseman Seth Jones and forwards Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin are the top three prospects in this year’s draft class. Jones and MacKinnon are even viewed as sure-fire, can’t-miss stars for whatever team drafts them. It has a lot of general managers, rightfully so, trying to make calls to get their team up into the top three of the draft.
The 2013 NHL Draft is June 30th and the Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers, and Tampa Bay Lightning currently hold the first, second, and third overall picks, respectively, in the draft. But with so much interest in the top three talents on the board this year, what team could be most likely to trade out of its current position come draft day in Newark, New Jersey?
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING:
Tampa Bay is the wild card of the bunch. It won’t be the team that makes calls to others about trading down, but that doesn’t mean that GM Steve Yzerman won’t field calls if they should happen to come through to his office.
They are a team that is two years removed from being a game away from the Stanley Cup Finals, and really don’t need much in terms of upgrades to the roster. Hell, one could argue that if they were to just find a stable and reliable number one goaltender then they wouldn’t even be near the top of the draft.
Tampa is a team that could very well trade out of the third spot because the return would be tremendous. However, they could also just decide to take the best player available and make their offensive juggernaut of a team that much stronger with the addition of Drouin — he would likely be the one remaining of the top three prospects.
Odds of Tampa Bay trading No. 3 pick: 50%
FLORIDA PANTHERS:
The Florida Panthers went from being the third overall seed in the Eastern Conference in 2012 to last place in 2013. They are a team in clear need of fire power and a marquee name. Whether it’s Jones or MacKinnon who is available at number two, the Panthers would be wise to stay in that spot and select the player.
They could either get a future Norris Trophy candidate in Jones, or a future Art Ross contender in MacKinnon. Either way, the Cats find themselves in a can’t miss situation. But, just because they have a likely future All-Star sitting in their laps for the taking doesn’t mean they won’t entertain the idea of moving down. In fact, they could likely get a lot for that second pick.
Based on what the Avalanche do, a team that covets either MacKinnon or Jones could very well throw the book at Florida GM Dave Tallon in order to get that pick. It could land the Panthers quite a hefty return that you may have to be a fool to turn down.
Odds of Florida trading the No. 2 pick: 40%
COLORADO AVALANCHE:
The Avalanche are in a perfect, yet at the same time imperfect, position. What they choose to do, likely, influences the draft plan for every other team in the league.
They are a team that needs help in the worst way on the blueline which makes Jones an obvious choice at number one. Be that as it may, when a player with the offensive skill like MacKinnon comes around it can be very hard to pass up that talent. Then there is what Patrick Roy said on May 29 when he was introduced as the new head coach of the Avs: he will have discussions with team Vice President of Hockey Operations, and former teammate, Joe Sakic about trading the number one pick.
Colorado could demand a top prospect, or two; multiple high draft picks; a top roster player for the number one pick. It’s a move that, if done properly, could make the Avalanche a team ready to compete for a playoff spot immediately.
That being said, it takes two to tango, and it’s very questionable if any team will likely be willing to give up what the Avs will likely ask for in order to acquire the number one pick. Then again, it only takes one crazy man to say yes.
Odds of Colorado trading the No. 1 pick: 33%
Michael Straw is a sportswriter who lives in Buffalo, NY, and has covered the Buffalo Sabres and the NHL for three years. His work has been featured on Yahoo’s Puck Daddy blog and WGR550-AM Buffalo.
For NHL, and other sports news, follow Michael on Twitter @MikeStrawQCS.