If you haven't seen Greg Logan's chat from today, it's a good, quick read (for Isles fans). Funny enough, I'm not sure I "learned" anything new, but I confirmed some suspicions (or quasi-confirmed ... I guess I get a lot of info from his reporting, so no surprise there).
Anyway, not a suspicion, but I found this bit interesting:
There will be some consideration of at least re-signing Weight. There's also the idea that a GM can't get a reputation as s soft touch by just giving guys away for nothing. If they don't bring back picks in the second-fourth rounds, depending on the number of picks in the deal, why give charity to an NHL competitor?
This "GM reputation" angle is an interesting, unexplored concept. I personally think and have argued at a previous blog that part of the Ryan Smyth deal was Snow showing he could play with the big boys -- that he could land a big catch, with no shortness of guts. Considering the stakes (making a playoff push with a bubble squad vs. losing prospects he wasn't high on), it was a defensible but gutsy move.
If you don't think this is a legit concept, you might be right. But remember that -- was it Botta? (can't find the link now) who said sources said Snow gained a lot of peers' respect with his frank talk about goalie equipment at one of those fancy GM meetings at one of those top hotels my boss calls in from. The NHL GMs are an Old Boys Club, yes, but there is some alpha-dog gamesmanship running through their funky interpersonal politics, too -- as Brian Burke's (hello, aren't you TORONTO's GM now?!) comments on Chris Pronger's trade value indicate.
Anyway, somewhere in between "get whatever you can for the vets" and "don't get fleeced" is the line Snow will have to tread. If there's not much demand for a player, and another GM wants to fleece him, maybe he directs his sights toward re-signing a guy who can stick around and be productive -- rather than send a sign that he can be had if you wait him out. It's a thought.