OEL vs Markov

[jayz16]

I can get Ekman-Larsson for Markov. Should I make this trade? I'm in a salary cap keepr league (team and cats in sig). I'm looking for next year on, what do you see both going forward?

Thanks

[ericdaoust]

Short term Markov wins big even if he's injury prone. Markov could put up 35-40 points in a 50-game season while OEL won't touch that in a full season for a couple years. But Markov will surely get a high salary and if there are easy ways to fill in the free cap space you can swing this deal and then look elsewhere to fill the gap.

[fungchen3]

jayz, eric is right here. As a fellow Markov owner though, I have some serious concerns. For one, his knee is in bad shape, and he is no longer 24 years old. As for his future, there have been no negotiations between his camp and the Canadiens. In fact, there is talk Montreal is very interested in re-upping Wisniewski. I just have some deep reservations that we will see the REAL Markov again.

Of course though, if Markov returns at least 90% healthy, he will indeed outpoint OEL for the next season or two. But I have a squeamish feeling if Markov comes back he will be one of those guys who are never the same and face constant injury.

As for OEL, I still think the world of this kid long-term. Is this one of those situations where you gobble up OEL and bail on an injured Markov even though you could regret it for a year or two? That's your call buddy. I will say this much - if OEL keeps progressing, he will not be available for too much longer because his potential is awesome.