It makes no logical sense to trade AA or Mantha for anything other than a young top pairing defenseman or young top line player.
It's not that Mantha or AA are worth a top pairing young defender (they aren't), it's that trading them for anything less than that is simply a lateral move at best and it makes more sense to simply hold onto them and gamble on them taking their games to the next level if a team isn't going to blow you away with an offer.
Completely agree with this.
Both AA and Mantha are young, full of potential, and producing at a rate that exceeds the average production of 2nd round picks. If you're not getting a 1st rounder or better back, it makes no sense to trade them.
It'd be one thing if they were 30. If they're 30 they're not going to stick around when we're done with our rebuild so trade them now for picks, sure. But that's not the case.
And as you said, they might well find another level in which case they'll either be an integral part of the team's future core or be worth far far more than some middling pick or prospect.
Guys I want on the trading block:
Smith, Vanek, Green, Helm, Abby, Howard, Jurco, Sheahan, Nielsen, Kronwall, Ericsson.
All completely expendable to me. Either they have no spot on the team, or they're old and might bring a good return, or they're old and bad.