[Speculation] Gaborik to LA?

Michael Russo was on local Minnesota radio today talking about the Gaborik situation.

Here is what he had to say (taken from another board):

"the team I keep hearing is Los Angeles...he's interested in playing with a center like Kopitar, his trainers are out there, his agent is out there, he's an LA kind of guy..."

LA definitely would have the assets to make a deal like this (provided they could lock up Gabby long term).

Frolov straight up would work, or a collecton of prospects.

interesting... Where there is smoke there is fire.

wow, can you imagine gabby and kopitar? perfect blend of speed and size, that would be deadly

That would certainly be interesting (and great for me). Wonder if there's any chance O'Sully might be part of the trade goin' back to Minny?

frolov for gabby straight up? i dont think so.

doubt O'Sullivan would like that given Minny traded him in the first place

Damn you O'Sullivan, I don't see the holdout helping my fantasy team

praba wrote:
frolov for gabby straight up? i dont think so.
you'd be surprised what might be considered fair value. frolov is cheaper, healthier, and plays a smart, strong, defensively sound game.

granted, minny isn't in dire need of cap space right now (~50M). their only significant FA's next year are gabby, backstrom, pouliot (RFA), harding (RFA.. cheap) and some crappy dmen.

of course, and now i'm really stretching... but maybe they figure the cap will go down or stay the same for 09/10 due to the economic climate, therefore making it all but impossible to sign gaborik. in which case getting a single player of frolov's calibre back would be pretty smooth.

So being a Gabby owner and prematurely getting a huge woody at this thought, is LA still below the cap minimum?

yes they are. Not sure of what amount, haven't checked since the Stoll/Richardson signings.

Also, Doughty's cap hit is around 3 mill or so (since bonuses count towards it).

Is this the same Gaborik that has averaged 63.75 games per season the past four seasons? If so, I think he'd fit in nice with LA's legacy of injury-prone superstars...

Good points Angus, I could definitely see him going to LA...and he's young enough that he could hit his prime and be a leader when the young 'uns are hitting their stride.

Thanks for this Angus. I wonder how this would affect O'Sully's production playing on an defensive team like Minny. It would be surprising to see that happen though since they traded him a while back , but it wouldn't be the first time that happened. Maybe a three team deal is in the works ?