Quoting: Bf3351
You are clueless at best. You just aren't smart enough to figure out how it makes your team better.
I am the clueless one. Okay.
Let me tell you something: The Dcore we are about to roll into the season with is 99.99% the best Dcore the Lightning have EVER had. You got skills, you got puck moving Dmen, you got grit and kg. You got it all.
You think Martinez is the missing piece? Why? He's a good Dman, but definitely not someone I'd overpay for in order to then let Shattenkirk sit.
You may not be aware of this, but puck moving Dmen is what we need in order to beat what got us swept. The talk of the Lightning being pushed around during the playoffs were missleading and anyone that watched that series should know (hit count is there to show).
So no, then, explain to me the benefit of having Toffoli instead of Gourde in the top 6? None. You are trying to add pieces without thinking it trough to a team that is one of the deepest in the league. Don't even get me started on Lewis, WHAT IS THE NEED OF THAT.
The only addition that makes sense is Kreider, but other than that you are not making this team better than what it already is.
Also, do you even take into consideration that adding 4 players at the deadline, that are not used to the Lightning system, is fastest road to failure? Add one guy - it's okay. He catches up and the system stays the same with no problems. Add four - it's chaos, all the mechanism that the team have worked on for the past 5 months go down the toilet, you gotta start again as if it was day one. Same for on and off the ice chemistry.
And, on top of all this, you are mortgaging our future for what, having Toffoli on the top 6? Do you know why Tampa is able and could be able to go through this cap crunch that they are currently facing? Because of the players you are giving away for peanuts here. Volkov - low AAV for at least 4 years. ABB - cost certainty till 2021 and the couple of years after that shouldn't be hard on the cap.
In the NHL there is no guaranteed outcome in winning the playoffs. And even then, that move doesn't improve the roster by a significant margin.
Your best bet to win is to keep your window open as much as possible. Your move there takes that window and ****s on it.
If a GM would ever do something like that LAK trade, he should be hunt down and shot.