Even that 2020 pick. How high do you expect that pick to be if Zuccarello was re-signed ? Pretty much all the contributung roster players are signed beyond next season and not that old. The worst is something in the teens .
I don't expect this pick to find its way to the Rangers but its not like the roster will change that much and the Stars only had one really high pick since Modano and we really lucked into that one not because the team was so terrible.
Well that's just it.
The team with Zucc is still a Borderline Playoff team., who knows what moves we make this offseason, we'll have to see what the new Regime does.
Lets say they dump Hanzal, Cogliano, Nichushkin and Comeau, add Duchene and Panarin and Resign Zucc Somehow.
Giving us a roster of
Panarin-Seguin-Zucc
Benn-Duchene-Radulov
Janmark-Faksa-Pitlick
Robertson-Hintz-Gurianov
Lindell-Klingberg
Heiskanen-Some Loser
Some Loser(Oleksiak)-Some Loser
Bishop
Khudobin
Minus the weak defense
thats a pretty damn good roster, so that pick is likely in the 20-30 range as that roster shouldn't have any issues making PO provided Bishop and Khudobin don't fall off.
Yeah that is a nothing pick
But far more likely to happen is
We resign Janmark, Dickinson, one of the many losers on our blue line and roll with largely the same roster we have now
Well that is a borderline playoff team even with Zucc.
So a couple of major injuries and we firmly miss out on the playoffs, but lets say we finish 9th, even by 1p.
If the first is unprotected, it could still end up being a #1 oa pick.
Zucc is good, but we need a 2nd line next season and at 32 next season, Zucc isn't someone we should be ponying up a 1st-15 oa pick for.
Especially since there is a very high likelihood of a new regime coming in and that person making changes to the scouting department, where that Pick may actually have value to us.