Except packaging 7 with (insert plus here Zucc, late 1st, etc) gets you closer to Top-3 right? That's what I would like and I know it's a pipe dream.
I don't care how we do it but we NEED ELITE on this team. Badly. And by that I don't mean going crazy over Tavares or Karlsson.
Nobody is going to trade a top-3 pick and nobody is going to trade a lottery pick before the lottery. The Rangers have to win the lottery with THEIR pick or it isn't happening. The only exception to that is if someone like Florida or Calgary win the lottery and want to leverage that high pick to improve their chances for next season.
Moving up in the draft from number 10, unless it's into the top-3, which as I said, isn't likely to happen, isn't going to increase your chance at elite talent. In the 20 years between 1991 and 2011, out of 140 draft choices 4-10 overall, THIRTEEN players have either finished top 10 in points, goals, or points among D during a season. 9%. That's it and that's a super low bar. Corey Stillman and Jeff O'Neill are among those 13. As many have done it as the 7th pick as the 4th. More have done it as the 5th pick than any other slot and no one at 8 or 10. And honestly, picking 3rd isn't any better, but since it's a lottery pick I didn't include that.
And that doesn't even get into the slight gambler's fallacy about any of this. None of those "probabilities" apply to individual players.
The point is... let's not make a trade to move up. It isn't really worth it. The real key to the draft, in my opinion, is quantity of picks. I'm not interested in any trades that reduce the number of picks we have except in one situation. That situation would be where someone wants to trade us a high quality 21-23 year old for a veteran and a later first. Something like Pesce or Hanifin for Zuccarello and Boston's 1st. Otherwise, keep the picks we have an add to them.