I think moving any of our top-3 picks from last year draft is not something I want to get behind. Obviously Beniers is as close to untouchable as there is for the Kraken but Evans is our only legit top-4 two-way D-man for the future right now. With Gio gone it would be good to give Dunn some help in that aspect.
There are multiple ways we can acquire good assets between now and next season.
1) UFA. Go big or go home. I agree that medium level players is not going to cut it for us. We already have enough of that.
2) Flip assets acquired this TDL and see what you can get.
3) Flip our own picks.
3 is pretty much a no-go because we could end up being a lottery team again. But if a chance presents to flip our 2023 or 2024 pick in a package for a LEGIT player who fits both our our age requirements (under 25), is signed long-term or expires as an RFA I would consider it. The pick would need to be top-10 lottery protected.
1 is possible since we have cap space but presents 2 issues. The first being that players may not want to sign with a bottom-dwelling expansion team. The second being the age not being a fit/match for our team. Eg: Giroux, Pavelski, Letang, etc. Hertl, Forsberg and Gaudreau are slightly older but could immediately make the team better and are likely to contribute through the majority of their careers. That is pretty much a risk for any team that signs them but in todays age, GM's sometime need to make moves like that and worry about the future later. Or they may not even have a job if team continues to play poorly.
2, I feel, is the best option we have. If GMRF does a good job moving out some of our excess picks from this TDL and expansion draft, he could 'help' cap strapped teams by taking off some of their expensive contracts. Like others have pointed out, it is a buyers market so I don't expect all our expiring contracts get moved out, but Gio + Jarnkrok + M Jo + Fleury/Lauzon could give us enough picks that can be added to the current extra picks we have 2nd rounder 2023 and 4th rounders 2022 and 2023 to make atleast one legit acquisition.
I take everything GM's say with a grain of salt but based on the Seattle Times article, its hard to imagine that Francis would be okay with us being a bottom-5 pick next season. I would not be surprised at all if he makes a big splash this offseason in FA.
I understand the frustration and the impatience of this fan base not wanting to suffer through the same thing again next season, but I am still going to push the patience narrative here.
Successful drafting teams tend to prioritize quantity over quality outside of the top tier of a draft.
Given how last year's draft results are looking, I feel it would be counterproductive to limit the picks this management group can make given that drafting seems to be their strongest attribute.
Realistically, any young top 6/top paring talent that Francis would target is going to cost substantially more than a large sum of mid-round picks, and likely more than an uncertain 1st in a draft that is a couple of years away.
The team may be better off just using the picks to grow the farm with solid prospects, and the likelihood of one of those prospects hitting and becoming an allstar is not bad with the more picks you make.
This plan is dull, requires suffering through a few seasons of losing, and does not really get anyone excited, but it is proven and the most likely path to lead to long term success.
I understand the motives to try to cheat the long build timeline and make a splash early, but that rarely turns out well for the GMs that try it.
