I think most of my posts I mention that I prefer a tougher team & players like Abramov & Brannstrom & others are way too soft for my liking & I don't care how skilled they are. I like Brad Marchand & Gallagher but I don't see Abramov or Balcers being that kind of player at all, nor most of our small players with the exception of Pageau. Most small players are skilled perimeter players & I don't like perimeter players. I can't stand Nylander for example, IMO he's a perimeter figure skater & I'm told all the time how skilled he is but I don't want that kind of player on my team. Others have different preferences & I understand that, but that's not what I like in a hockey player & I have been quite consistent on this point.
I like guys who get their nose dirty, who separate players from the puck who have both size & skill, what's great about bigger players is that they already have NHL size. Smaller players than need to be much more skilled to make it & become one dimensional. I see very little value in a player like Abramov so I don't mind getting rid of them if that results in getting a player I want. It's great if someone else values them higher that's an advantage for us. I hope we won't be a small team, but I would also like to have a much tougher team & a number of out bigger players unfortunately are a little too soft given their size.
Your entire team doesn't need to be like that though. Brannstrom is so skilled, you can surround him with a bunch of bruisers if you want, but you don't just dump him to get more of them. You need at least a little bit of variety in your team. See Torey Krug on Boston.