Alex Edler for a Young Center (22-24)
There have obviously been a lot of Alex Edler trade proposals on here within the last year, but I don't have a specific team in mind. Instead, I have a specific position and age range in mind. I am wondering if there are any centers out there, between the 22-24 age range, that would be considered 'equal value' for Alex Edler?
As a Canucks fan, here is how I see things. This is just my opinion, but I think the Canucks' next core has some nice pieces.
Goalie: Demko
Potential #1 defenseman: Juolevi
2nd line center: Horvat
Potential "complementary" 1st line winger: Boeser
1st line defensive pairing: Juolevi-Tanev
2nd line defensive pairing: Hutton-Gudbranson
Other complementary pieces: Baertschi, Virtanen
1-2 of the following panning out: Tryamkin, Pedan, Rodin, Etem, Granlund, Gaunce, wildcard draft picks between 2013-2017 that pan out.
Bottom line - I believe that if the Canucks were to somehow land a very good center, they would have a pretty good young core moving forward.
Yesterday, I contemplated the idea of getting one of Nathan MacKinnon or Steve Stamkos. For obvious reasons however, neither of these options are overly realistic. Many of my fellow Canuck fans are supportive of another 'tank' in order to land Nolan Patrick, but tanking doesn't necessarily guarantee anything.......especially with the lottery system. As poorly as the Canucks did last season, it still wasn't enough to land Auston Matthews or Pierre Luc Dubois.
So here's another idea that I thought of today from a Canucks perspective:
1) Re-sign Dan Hamhuis. That way, when you trade Alex Edler for said *mysterious young 22-24 year old Center of equivalent value*, the depth on the Canucks defense doesn't take too much of a hit, and the young Canucks' defense (and team in general) wouldn't be overwhelmed with responsibilities that they are too green to hand.
2) Trade Alex Edler, and perhaps a draft pick or a prospect for said 22-24 year old Center.
Canucks' "next core" line-up (circa 2020?)
###-Horvat-Boeser
Baertschi-AlexEdlerTrade-###
###-Sutter-Virtanen
###-Cassels-###
Juolevi-Tanev
Hutton-Gudbranson
###-###
Demko
###
I'm not exactly sure what the 22-24 year old Center Alex Edler equivalent is, but if I had to guess, he'd be a top 6 center. I'm cautiously optimistic to say Ryan Nugent Hopkins or Brayden Schenn, but the value likely isn't that high (or is it?).
Anyways - what I'm thinking is this:
-The Canucks pull off that Alex Edler for 22-24 year old Center trade
-The Canucks struggle for a few more years, accumulate picks, and fill in those gaps with said picks and UFA signings.
With Horvat, Sutter, and 'AlexEdlerCenter', the Canucks wouldn't have that top flight franchise center, but they'd have three #2's......and perhaps depth in other areas (wings, defense) via picks can compensate for this.
Thoughts?
What type of center does Alex Edler get you? (in that 22-24 age range). I want to think Ryan Nugent Hopkins, Brayden Schenn, or Sean Couturier, but I'm likely not even close. If that's the case, would adding in a 2nd get the job done?