This. Aside from a pick there are only a handful of things that might make sense for us in exchange for Koekkoek:
- A defensive prospect with solid NHL potential that we can use to restock the farm. The problem is there are very few scenarios in which a team would offer up such a prospect for the waiver-eligible Koekkoek where the prospect in question wouldn’t be a clear downgrade from Slater. One possibility would be a team that’s loaded at RD and in need of a LD; another would be a team that needs an NHL LD now and can’t wait for their prospect to develop. But barring one of those scenarios it’s probable that whatever prospect we might be offered would be less likely to become an effective NHL player than the guy we already have, so in that case we might as well just hold onto him.
- A bottom pairing LD on an expiring deal who would be a clear step up from either Koekkoek or Coburn; the idea is that we get better this season and the other team gets a younger player with more control and future potential.
- A veteran bottom pairing LD on a cheap deal with one more year after this one. The idea here is to get someone who can carry the bottom pairing for a year after Girardi and Coburn both walk at the end of this season. Hedman-Cernak and McDonagh-Stralman should be a fine top four in 2019 but we’ll need somebody to play opposite Foote on the bottom pairing; it may be difficult to find a suitable UFA willing to take a one-year deal so trading for a player whose contract expires in 2020 might be the best way for us to bridge the gap. The motivation for our trade partner would be the same as in the previous scenario; the primary difference would be the extra year of control and the requirement for a cheaper cap hit as we’ll be entering our tight cap years at that point.
- Finally if we were to trade Koekkoek for a forward, whether an NHL player or a prospect with NHL potential, the main things we’d be looking for are size (along with the willingness to use it) and defensive ability. We’re loaded with forwards but we’re short on size and physicality. I also say defensive ability because nobody is going to offer up a prospect with top six potential for Koekkoek so we’d need somebody well suited for bottom six duty (in other words not one of those one-dimensional offensive tweeners who isn’t good enough for a scoring line at the NHL level but whose game doesn’t fit a defensive or energy line.)
So maybe there’s a hockey trade that makes sense for both sides, but barring that we’ll probably end up taking the best pick we can get for him or keeping him and trading Coburn instead.
