Two cheap(ish) trades to consider...
Kevin Hayes for a 2nd Rd Pick and JFK.
Brassard was dealt for a 3rd last year and Lars Eller went for two 2nd's two years ago so I'm thinking Hayes is somewhere in that range.
He's a career 45 point center with size, decent on draws and sound defensively so your classic 3c. He's also a moose in front of the net and would provide that LH shot, net front screener they've been looking for since Nash left.
Bobby Ryan (50% retained) for Jakub Zboril.
I think Ryan and Krejci would be dyno-mite together. His contract is bad, even at 50% retained ($3.6 cap hit) it's bad because of the term (4 years). But if he doesn't produce in a couple years you could buy out the last two years and with the money retained it would only cost about $900k on a cap that is expected to go up and up. I would think Ottawa is desperate to free up some part of the money tied up in Ryan to give it to Duchene and Stone. He could also give the PP a boost, playing the bumper role on the second unit with Krejci, DeBrusk and Backes in front.
Marchy - Bergy - Pasta
DeBrusk - Krejci - Ryan
Heinen - Hayes - Donato
Nords - Kuraly - Backes
They're not the super sexy additions we all pine for, but that lineup looks deep and balanced. They're both producing at a 50 point pace on their current teams.
Last year we definitely got pushed around by Tampa in the second round and these two additions would make us a lot bigger though the middle6, with Ryan at 6'2" and Hayes at 6'5". Bobby Ryan is the more physical of the two, averaging about a 100 hits a year, and while Hayes isn't a big hitter, he is a battler, averaging over 50 takeaways a year.
