Benoit Pouliot Trade

[nutznboltz]

Saw this on prohockeytalk.com about Pouliot

As for the fit, the deal makes sense given Pouliot’s ties to the Lightning. He briefly played under head coach Guy Boucher with Montreal’s AHL affiliate in Hamilton, along with Lightning forwards J.T. Wyman and Tom Pyatt.

[pete]

And his agent's name is Philippe Lecavalier. Look it up.

[Goboltz56]

So we trade a draft pick for pouliot and then don't qualify him? I'm confused.

[ChaseSpace]

Originally Posted by Goboltz56

So we trade a draft pick for pouliot and then don't qualify him? I'm confused.

Avoids arbitration, Yzerman confident he can sign him

[jason_haas]

Originally Posted by ChaseSpace

Avoids arbitration, Yzerman confident he can sign him

Yzerman is confident and so is Pouliot's agent. He'll be signing.

[nhljohnson]

Originally Posted by Goboltz56

So we trade a draft pick for pouliot and then don't qualify him? I'm confused.

Don't be. The Lightning are confident they can sign Pouliot before July 1. Pouliot had arbitration rights and may have exercised them if he had been qualified. In short, they're making an educated gamble that Pouliot will recognize the quality opportunity awaiting him here and be willing to sign a reasonable deal in a timely manner.

[uf1910]

I really really like this move. He should slot into our 3rd line with the ability to pot +/-15 goals. If all the inconsistent effort reports are true, this could turn out even better if he follows the Purcell path in Tampa. Bottom line is Boston had to dump him and he is a solid NHLer with offensive potential that we got for basically nothing.

Now just sign him after we didn't extend qualifying offer

[timothy]

Not qualifying is basically Yzerman's way of saying let's get the deal done quickly. He's saying if you don't want to sign in the next few days, then I'm moving on and all I've lost is a 5th round pick.

The other thing it avoids a minimum $1.1M salary offer. If Yzerman qualified him, then the QO would have to be for a minimum of what Pouliot made last season playing for Boston -- $1.1M. By not qualifying him, he would be able to negotiate a salary with the league minimum as the contract floor. By talking a flyer on an enigmatic player like Pouliot, not qualifying him reduces Yzerman's salary investment, not just on the league minimum, but in case the player decides to go nuts and take the club to arbitration.

On the contrary, I was slightly surprised that Evan Oberg received a qualifying offer. Oberg's salary last season for an undrafted tweener defenseman, thanks to the Vancouver Canucks, was $875k. Per the CBA, Yzerman was required to qualify him at +10% raise. A ~$960k contract offer for a player slotted no better than 6/7 on the NHL roster I thought might be a little steep for Yzerman. I half expected the same thing happen to Oberg that happened to Pouliot. The fact he was qualified at that salary should reveal the interest the team has in Oberg as more than likely a top defenseman in Syracuse than in regular roster player in Tampa.

[KyleFreadrich43]

Maybe it's the weather affecting my thinking, but didn't they trade 07-08 TBL version of Pouliot for Pouliot?

Still a waste. If you want "depth", fill out the top lines, then other players become "depth".

[thefly]

good move by steve. pens did the same last year with tyler kennedy. by the way thsi would be a great pick up