See, that's just the thing though. ZAR has only played in 60 games, but the results he has given have been
extremely good across the board.
I think he should definitely be penciled into an everyday role, he deserves it just as much as Simon does IMO. The issue I have with signing Tanev without moving another player is that you're pushing out a young player who has been analytically strong in the NHL so far, whether that player is Simon or ZAR. I like the addition of Tanev, but I don't like the addition of Tanev in the context of pushing either Simon or ZAR out of the lineup. I like the addition of Tanev with also trading Rust for futures and signing Pettersson long-term. Even if those guys are better than Tanev, they won't be playing over Tanev because of the contract Tanev got.
I like the sound of Tanev too and I like having strong depth, but I feel like there's a difference between having strong depth and not managing your roster smartly. To me, this is completely good depth:
McCann-Crosby-Guentzel
Galchenyuk-Malkin-Rust
Kahun-Bjugstad-Hornqvist
ZAR-Blueger-Simon
That is extremely strong depth all around IMO, outside of maybe having some concerns with Blueger at center. Signing Tanev just pushes another good player out of your lineup, it's just...why? If Tanev was a center, I'd be changing my tune based on Blueger not being completely proven in a NHL role. But I don't believe he has played center in the NHL.
Edit: here's the best way I'll put it, we're trying to figure out how we can sign Pettersson and be cap compliant with a 22 man roster because JR signed Tanev without shipping out anyone else. To me, that's bad roster management.