Yesterday after the Board of Governors meeting broke up in Buffalo, the NHL burst into life and everyone traded their first-round pick.

That Sharks trade made some sense of this that I'd seen earlier:

And Insider Trading built on that:

- TSN
TSN’s Hockey Insiders have the latest on the Sharks listening on their first round picks, interest in the Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck, the Leafs and Brandon Carlo, Jason Robertson, the Devils’ plans, and pending UFA Patrik Laine.
TSN

There's no way the Sharks GM is being so open about getting offers unless he wants more offers. And now he has two top-10 picks.

Also in that segment Chris Johnston put some brakes on the idea of a Morgan Rielly trade, saying everything is status quo and a trade isn't imminent, and also that the Leafs are shopping Brandon Carlo. Note that Darren Dreger was sitting right there.

And then he said this:

Which is clearly direct from the agent. This is also not new information. This four teams in the Western Conference list has been known for, well it feels like a month, but maybe a couple of days? And at the time it was first reported, Barry deflected it by telling some other reporter about the NMC Rielly has like it might be news.

This feels a bit like the Knies situation where there's almost duelling statements being made via various reporters that aren't actually contradictory but seem like it superficially. I don't see any reason for Barry to confirm publicly something he deflected a few days ago unless he's goading John Chayka to act.

It is entirely possible we have not fully considered that Rielly himself may well want this trade more than the Leafs need to make it.

And re the trade of Simon Nemec to the Flames. If they're keen to move up from six, then they might be one of the teams offering the Sharks something:

Now, what does all this mean? The discourse is going to land right on "weak draft class" but last summer was the first offseason with a rising cap, and... it was a bust. Teams re-signed their own players, nobody made trades, you couldn't add players beyond the $4 million mark to any extent and the result was a season of more than half the teams hovering at the average mark – many of them to the bitter end (looking at you, St. Louis). And the bunch that made it in, all got kicked out of the playoffs pretty easily.

Recency bias is always the answer to what is going on in the NHL. GMs don't want to be stuck in the middle with you and you and you over there, and the Flames because they're always there and... They're being aggressive because the circumstances have aligned to make that the safe move from a keeping your job perspective.

The Chicago trade is not getting a lot of accolades, and I think for some it's because they can't process how little a fourth overall is to a team with too many prospects and no one to play on the team now.

I think the player is the issue. But you can't just place an order for a top line winger, so if you have to pivot to defence, you do it.

There is an aspect to the debate about drafting for need vs best player available that misses the mark. When a team drafts for need, the need is in the balance of their prospect pool not their NHL team. What Chicago did was choose to not draft at all because the need is in the NHL.

If you're in the kitchen making a sandwich and you need a pickle, you don't get in your car, go to the garden centre and buy a cucumber plant. Chicago just went and got a pickle. Maybe not exactly the kind of pickle they need most, but it's crunchy.

You can't measure Byram vs a fourth overall, you have to measure Byram at 25 vs some teenager they'd take with the pick. They bought time with that pick, and that's one of the many reasons why picks don't have static values and trades can't be financially balanced like stock trading.

Speaking of the draft and teenagers and what they might bring now:

The development camp is moving:

Ottawa Senators to host September Prospect Challenge in Gatineau, QC
Top prospects Carter Yakemchuk and Lucas Beckman will play in the tournament taking place at Centre Slush Puppie.
Ottawa CitizenCallum Fraser
The full schedule
Saturday, Sept. 12 at 1 p.m. — Winnipeg Jets vs. Montreal Canadiens
Saturday, Sept. 12 at 6 p.m. — Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Ottawa Senators
Sunday, Sept. 13 at 1 p.m. — Winnipeg Jets vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
Sunday, Sept. 13 at 6 p.m. — Montreal Canadiens vs. Ottawa Senators

Emma Maltais is moving:

The Black Bears are a lacrosse team. The Charge have been in an ongoing but contentious negotiation with the City of Ottawa over proposed rebuilding of the arena that they consider to be too small for them.

The NHL is talking expansion seriously now.

The Texas Stars, AHL affiliate of Dallas, are in a suburb of Austin and would not appreciate being stepped on by a new team, I wouldn't think. Seems like Houston is the natural location.

Hoffmann Family Receives Unanimous NHL Approval to Acquire Pittsburgh Penguins | Pittsburgh Penguins
Family-Owned Firm Officially Adding Iconic NHL Franchise to Growing Portfolio
PPGPittsburgh Penguins

And that is it (I hope) for today. How many trades today, which rumoured deal will happen? Who knows because the very nature of speculating and reporting on things in the process of happening is that the future is actually unknown. It's a feature not a bug of this time of the year.

You know there's going to be people out there redoing those mock drafts of theirs. Good luck with that!

From The Branches