So if the Caps finally make the ECF and get by the Pens, it will be a 2nd rounder (I will assume Shatty plays 1/2 the Caps playoff games). If they resign him it will be a 2nd rounder. But if they get bounced in round 2 again then it could be a 7th or maybe a 6th or 5th if the Caps deal his rights for a 4th or 3rd rounder.
So yeah good haul for the Blues, but not a mega haul like Zona got for Hanzal. And if they are bounced by the Pens it won't be a 2nd, it will be a 3rd or 4th I'd think since I'd expect the Caps to deal his rights for a 5th or 6th before July 1.
Great move by the Caps to deal a pick in the later 20's and maybe a mid-round pick for him. And if they do finally make the long run, they will have zero issues dealing a most likely second 1/2 of the 2nd round pick in 2019 along with the late 1st in 2017.
Love it for them. I have to think this puts pressure on the Pens to add someone prior to the DL just to keep up.
Also tells me no shot we deal out 1st this year. For us it would have been a 1st and 2nd to match the Caps because Shatty would have resigned here this July, which is another reason I didn't see us getting him now given how these conditional picks usually work, it was never going to be a tough condition for us to meet and bump the pick up, on top of the fact that there had to be a guaranteed 1st included.
So at days end I cannot kill Gorton, he made the right smart decision, for passing on a 1st in 2017 and a 2nd in 2019 (again we would have met the condition as soon as he resigned here in July) for Shatty.
Sucks that we have to play him game 1, sucks that the Caps look even better now, also puts some pressure on Gorton to add a dman prior to the DL, unless he says forget it we are not top 3 or 4 close, we'll wait until next year.
My take is he has to add someone on D so at the very least we have a pretty good shot of making it through the Atlantic. Then you let the chips fall where they may against the Caps/Pens in the ECF.
I do think we should be able to sign Shatty in July though because the Caps have a tough cap situation, but if he falls in love with DC and they make a nice run, he may want to stay there. Not far from the true Northeast.