Still need another Center. In particular one that can win a face off. There is a significant deficiency of anybody that can be relied on to win a draw. Geekie is the best hope there is on the team so far and has only taken 160 NHL draws, so beware small sample size and all that. Kreijci and Cizikas are among the few UFA centers decent on the dot left. I could see Francis signing a washed up vet center to be a sacrificial lamb on the top line (Eric Staal maybe?). Someone that knows the job even if they can't still do it at a "top line" level. Someone that can teach it, and model it, until another option on the team is ready to take it. It will be tough to fill the needed center slot through trade. Maybe you can find a team squeezed by the cap with some depth down the middle, but I doubt it comes easy, or cheap, or without the long term costs Francis has been trying to avoid so far. See what the Coyotes want for Dvorak? I don't know, trade market seems bleak.
I do think Francis should trade some LHD depth for RHD depth, then auction off an additional LHD (or 2) for picks after the dust has settled on free agency a bit and teams are still looking for help. I would check with Florida on Nutivaara and Gudas to see if they would move one straight up for a LHD on the Kraken. Free agent options are already pretty dry. Maybe Hakanpaa or Gudbranson? Need some sort of back up plan if Borgen or Cale Fleury aren't ready for regular NHL minutes. Likely to have one RD playing his offhand, should avoid having two.
After today it certainly looks more like an NHL team. Wennberg, Schwartz, and Grubauer are solid signings. I'm excited to see it evolve further.
