If anybody in our management team even contemplates trading MacKinnon, they need to be fired immediately. Not up for discussion. MacK, Landy, EJ, and Varlamov are complete untouchables.
I'd trade Duchene for OEL, but how do you justify that on personal level to the players?
Duchene took a very team friendly contract, loves the City/Fans/Organization. You keep O'Reilly, but trade Duchene, and you set a culture that seems to be business first.
Are the players better off never quite feeling secure on the team?
Which one is better? (Below)
Landeskog, O'Reilly, MacKinnon
OEL, EJ
Varlamov
vs
Duchene, Landeskog, O'Reilly, MacKinnon
EJ
Varlamov
I guess you have a better chance of finding a top 6 winger or center (depends on MacK) than a #1/2 defender eh? However do you really need someone of OELs level next to EJ? I'd argue you don't even though it looks more balanced.
Edit: The two lists above seem to highlight the fact that we're missing one more core player as the roster sits today.