Ballard trade didn't gut anything though. We lost a chance at a late 1st. Big whoop. Grabner was as good as gone. Yeah it would have been nice to add a Justin Faulk, Tyler Toffoli or a Charlie Coyle, but at the time Ballard was a highly sought after legit top 4 defensman under team control for a few years at 27 years old (generally regarded as entering the prime age for defensman).
I agree with you. The only one that really, really chaps my ass is the Roy deal. Everyone and their dog knew last years team wasn't a Derek Roy away from winning the cup....why even make the deal? Not a big fan of K-Conn, so that loss wasn't that bad...but look what San Jose did, they sold high and bought low....I though we should have done the same.
I'm a big prospect fan, so looking at the players we could have had with that 2nd, knowing we weren't a Roy away from anything just upsets me...same as the two players selected with the 4th's for Pahlsson.