I'd only take Jesse on condition:
- That he hits the reset and commits to and reports to the AHL Checkers indefinitely. Until he's earned otherwise.
- I wouldn't trade a 2nd round pick for him. 3rd or lower, with sweetener - sure.
- If Dougie Hamilton is going, we need more in return from Edmonton (pick (2nd?) and or prospect) The logic here is that Hamilton is still young and has term on his current contract.
- Nobody from the parent club should be involved in the trade. That being said, looking at the Checkers line-up, we would have to give SOMETHING of quality back. I'm still set on holding on to Necas (we have not seen the last of that kid)..... I don't think Edmonton would be interested in another center, and not sure if Nic Roy would be of interest to them. Besides that, perhaps a similar player in Julien Gauthier straight up for Jesse seems fair, even though Julien has shown signs this season at turning the corner and finding his game in the pros. I would NOT trade him for Fleury. That's another player who I think should be in the NHL, but because of depth and injury - is waiting. His turn will come up. Moving Hamilton in that conversation resolves is a lot and saves Carolina money, while getting that ready and organizational developed defenseman some playing time in the big leagues.
Honestly, Jesse would be at this point a reclamation project. He needs a vote of confidence but also needs to find and buy into players and management that can offer him good leadership. Yeah, he certainly doesn't have the hockey IQ of Aho, and that is not a fair comparison as Aho has extremely high IQ, if not in the top 10 in the league. Still, I think the skills he has can be easily tapped into, if put with a player who knows how to challenge and make his teammates better(enter Aho, Brind'Amour, Williams... etc. Where is that in Edmonton? Exactly)
Cheers for reading