Sounds like we'd be better off trading the coach than trading his favourite toys.5M salary, 6.5M cap hit for a 30 pt. player. I don't give a damn about years past, I'm talking about last year and this year. Why does he have to play a 1C role? He is a 2C at best, probably more a 3C on a good team. He still gets the most minutes of any forward. Get's 1 PP time.Think of that for a second. He does not deserve that kind of TOI. I would trade his ass at the first chance I could. I'm not saying he is a bad player, just not worth what he brings, and if you add in his cap hit, worth alot less.
I agree that Stepan is a 2nd/3rd line C. Problem is, we don't have a top line C that deserves his minutes. Dvorak is pretty much a younger Stepan and while Soderberg might go about his business in a different way, he's generally about as effective. Next season will be great when Hayton gets Richardson's spot. We'll have 4 2/3 C's instead of just 3 of them.