To me this breaks down as such:
Radulov:
pros: the most talented player of the bunch, in prime of his career, has game-breaking talent, can takeover games, terrific playmaker
cons: how will his game translate to NHL, is he willing to sign a short term contract (3 years max) and at what cap hit, has quite a bit of a temper, while he's not a deterrent defensively his defensive game isn't better than average and we need more two-way players in our top 6
Ladd:
pros: great two way player, would round up the top 6 quite nicely, plays bigger then he is, which is something we lack, good goal scorer
cons: he'll get overpaid, will he hold up through the years, if he gets 6 years term those final years could look really ugly, not as skilled as Radulov
Eriksson:
pros: plays a sound defensive game, is a good skater, might come in on a slightly cheaper deal than the rest because of his recent struggles
cons: injury history, his play has fallen off a bit since he got rocked by Scott, is he just missused in Beantown or is that the best you can get out of him
Backes:
pros: can play both wing and centre equally effective, adds size and two way ability to our forwards ranks which is something we lack, gives you ability to match lines and to move him up and down the line-up, wouldn't be asked to play on the topl line like in St Louis
cons: he's getting up there in age and players that play his type of game don't age gracefully, won't put up tonne of points, just like Ladd, has a habit of being MIA when the going gets tough, could get overpaid
Boedker:
cons: skilled, fast, could be a great addition to Duchene's wing, can play both wings, could have untapped offensive potential, could be had for cheaper than the rest of the guys on the list and he is much younger then them fitting right in with the rest of our core
cons: still hasn't put it all together, which of course might be because he is playing for the 'Yotes, you would be paying for potential and not production
