Why Trading Rafi Torres and Kyle Turris Make Sense

You never buy a stock at a high, and you never sell one at a low. Maximize your value, minimize your loss.
The same holds true for professional athletes. You never trade from a position of weakness. You give the player plenty of ice time, run him out on the power play, Let him play up a line, all in the hopes he showcases his talents and artificially inflates his worth. That is why players in the last year of their contract play hard and have career years. They are playing for their next contract and a big payday.

Well, the Coyotes have tried this with Kyle Turris since his return from a holdout. And what was his performance? 0 goals, 0 assists. 9 shots on goal. 4 penalty minutes for a -2 rating. He was going to be a valuable part of team. A first to third line center with a lightning quick release who has a nose for the goal. He was liked by the fans and his teammates. His holdout has soured the fans on him. You can only imagine what his teammates thought when they heard the crazy salary demands. As much as Ray Whitney? Equal to Vrbata’s salary? Half of Jovo’s? Alright, the last one was for comic effect to show what the last GM did to saddlebag the team with outlandish contracts. You get the point. No one is going to pay Turris what he thought his net worth to be based on the performance of the top two picks 0f the 2007 draft. The top two were Patrick Kane (check out his shootout winner Patrick Kane fakes Nik Backstrom out of his socks) and James Van Riemsdyk.

To get value in a trade for Turris, you need to sweeten the deal. The first is his contract. Affordable to most teams. Only two years, under 3 million for the two years. Getting a new coach and system for him could unlock his potential. It will at least give him peace of mind that he is getting a fresh start. Should he have been in the NHL in his rookie year. Of course not. Did the management rush him into the NHL. Of course. Did it hurt his play? Upfront, yes. Long term, we don’t know. How do we sweeten the deal? Another player. Rafi Torres. Proven goal scorer, toughness, gritty not flashy, a consistency teams crave. His numbers are below.

Throw out his rookie year (it was with the Islanders after all), and what do you have? Almost 20 goals a year, 10 assists, 80 games per year. Someone you would love to have on your team. Someone who you would love if you play the type of system he plays, which is minimized defensive role, maximized hitting and scoring potential. Unfortunately, the Coyotes play a defensive first, second, and third type system. We don’t have the offensive threats Vancouver and Buffalo had that allowed Rafi to be a force.

To make it work, it has to be salary for salary trade. Turris is making 1.4 million. Torres 1.75 million. Combined 3.15 million. Whom do you go to to offer these offensive minded players? Who has a need right now? Who can afford them? Who has a player that fits the Coyote system? Maybe a player on IR right now and his current team could use some firepower up the middle to go with a top scorer at wing? Maybe someone who has played here, is loved by the lockerroom and fans? Ladies and Gentlemen, I present