I am as big a critic of Duchene as anyone. Mainly due to the times he has been given a free pass for bad shifts/games/stretches/seasons, or unrealistic assumptions of his production, or using him as an unfair comparable.
But seriously, give the kid a break. He may be having a rough start. He may not be turning into the world beater that many assumed he would. But he is not a true zero point player either. He will get through this. It may not by the PPG season that some expect. But he will end up being a decent #2 center offensively, and maybe even defensively.
He will break out of his funk at some point, and in no way would it be better to have either of the other guys in his place. Not given the cost. Either one might be a better fit for the team at $6M AAV, but neither is making that, and RoR got a huge return as well. To keep Stastny, it would have cost nearly RoR's contract. Ideally, they trade him at his peak value, or at the draft for whatever they could get. But no way they should have paid what it would have taken to keep him. As for RoR (who many will remember I defended greatly), he brought back too much return to be worth losing all that, plus paying him what he will be getting starting next season.
Duchene is worth what he is getting paid, and having him and the RoR return is better for the team than either of the other two. In a dream world, RoR wants to stick around as Duchene's winger, and Stastny is honest about which town he is giving a discount to and we trade him there for a decent return (given what they had at the time, maybe Jackman, Paajarvi, and pick(s)?).
Bah, I added to this thread when I should be letting it die.
