Draft Lotto Tracking Final 9 Games

[nafrelio]

I'm wondering what caliber player could be available for our pick. For those who are suggesting trading the pick, who would be targets in the caliber we're looking for? And then, why would a team be looking to trade him? Can we fit salary?

I'm worried that we'll have a G. Reinhart trade all over again.

I think realistically, we can't and shouldn't trade our pick this year. We don't have the cap space to make it work until Lucic is traded (summer 2020). There's also no way we should trade our pick with the expansion draft coming. High draft picks will be too valuable. We must stay the course until summer 2020, then we can talk about trading our prospects for established players. One more year of being cap strapped and paralyzed.

 

[CupofOil]

Yup, unless we fluke out into the top-2, I am trading that pick FOR SURE if I'm the GM. Sadly, our window to win is over the next 4-5 years, while we have Drai/McD. Preferably sooner, because if this keeps up the way it is going, one of those 2 guys likely asks for a trade in the next 1-2 years. The better path would be to draft and wait, but the sad reality is that we need to win starting next year. If we can get an established top-6 forward, who is under contract for 3+ years, you have to trade the 8-10 pick that we end up with. Does that suck? Sure it does, but we don't have a choice really at this point.

Name me the last team that wasn't close to a contender that got better by trading a 1st round pick?
You know the last team that did that? The Devils who traded the #9 pick for Schneider. Now Schneider has one foot out the door of the NHL and guess who the Canucks drafted with that pick, Bo Horvat who is on his way to being an elite level #2C. You know another team that traded a high pick for a quick fix? Does Barzal or Connor or Chabot vs. G. Reinhart ring a bell? Would you have been happy trading the Bouchard pick last season?

Long story short, trading the pick would be a really REALLY dumb idea especially for a capped out team with a mediocre pipeline that is starving for young, cheap skill long term.

 

[Todd from Leduc]

Where would you guys spot in Hughes next year? Put him on the wing with Connor?