The Milano thing is just speculation. There's been chatter of him to the OHL for months and although he decided to sign with CBJ (like he wouldn't), Columbus decided on Plymouth for him. So I'm just going to look at it for what it actually is; 2 2nds and a 3rd for Campagna, which is never "pennies", unless the return is a guy like Tavares.
No denying the kid's talent, just a lot to give up for an OA on a team that still has a long way to go. If I thought the Whalers were legit contenders before the trade and that this move put them over the top, I wouldn't complain about price, clearly that's not the case but it is just my opinion. The Whalers didn't give up much more to acquire Trocheck 2 years ago and that team WAS a contender. And no offense to Matthew but Trocheck was a much better player.
At the end of the day I don't think it puts the Whalers in the final round so I think it's a bad move. To me it's trading 3-4 years of 3 good/great guys for a guy who will get you to the second round instead of just the first. The kid is a great player, but he can't do everything by himself, and doesn't have the best supporting players. I hope I'm wrong and he does help them win a cup, but as I said before as long as the team is back in Plymouth next year, I will like the trade.
Also I doubt "shootout specialist" adds much value to a team in the OHL... Certainly not much to the Whalers.
