I’d happily trade Hjalmarsson for Murphy. So how is it disingenuous to add him?
I wouldn't assign a guy that has been drafted and developed well prior to a GM's arrival a pick value and then include it in a tally for optics value. Murphy has never been better than Hjalmarsson. He was an okay use of a late first. Martinook never became the player he was drafted to be but has had a nice career as a solid bottom six guy. These are replacement level players and the trades did not represent a catastrophic misuse of players or assets. They represent an opportunity cost of not drafting someone better but that's not really Chayka's problem.
If you pursued all asset flips to their conclusion, you would need to account for things like the Kuemper trade and Demers for McGinn. Trading the 2017 picks looks prudent at this moment, given the weakness of the draft and POJ not really taking that next step (but also not busting). Even Martinook was eventually turned into Hinostroza, Oesterle, and the very necessary at the time Hossa contract. A 2nd round pick terminating into just Oesterle
8 years later is not a super useful observation.
And if we're talking about completely capturing a GM's ability to spend assets to find talent, you would also have to factor in his draft picks, which have been pretty solid. The list looks less offensive with Keller and Chychrun on it. Garland too, since he was directly responsible for that pick.
He left the organization in worse shape for a variety of reasons but the roster is more talented I'd say. His churn was okay overall. They're not at all positioned like a young team should be but the mandate may have simply been to make the playoffs and go for it ASAP. If Soderstrom, Hayton, Maccelli, Jenik etc... pan out then I think he gets another job, depending on how teams feel about the Meruelo Coyotes and his exit.
I’d happily trade Kessel, Stepan or Raanta for Martinook. Hell, I’d trade all three of them for Martinook.
These are some of Chayka’s most major acquisitions and I prefer a single 4th liner he traded to any of them, and all of them.
That would make the team worse now and in the past. Raanta has been a very good goalie, Stepan has been a solid all around center, sometimes even good. This is an emotional argument that really only makes any sort of sense for Kessel but we've beaten the shit out of that dead horse.
