I want to choose option C, "none of the above/something else", personally. Obviously i have no way of knowing how the details of it all shook out, and what was actually feasible with players, agents, preferred destinations, etc. But specifically, that Buchnevich trade looks tasty, and is something i would've preferred over either of Garland or Reinhart. Obviously the logistics of that would've been extremely complicated because of the integration with the OEL package...but if we're living in a fantasy world where a Reinhart deal was available in that context, i would've clearly preferred Buchnevich as the target in that similar/arguably more comparable "value range", over either of Garland/Reinhart.
As it stands in this question though, all things considered...i like Garland as the better fit. Reinhart is going to come in heavy on the $$$, and is not at all the type of forward we really needed. A soft, offensive minutes and powerplay padding "luxury winger" ain't what this team needed to fill out the Top-6, and there's zero point to acquiring a guy like Reinhart to play Center here. He'd have been clearly behind Pete and Bo, and not at all suited to a role playing down the lineup like that.
Garland, i'm not as high on as a lot of people seem to be...but he is at least the right type of player to potentially fit in as a guy who won't get prime top-line/#1PP Unit time fed to him in heaps. He has a lot more jam to his game, and at least potentially could be the type to be productive in less than prime "2nd line" type minutes, and probably working a bit on his own with a 2nd PP Unit that isn't going to see huge minutes or particularly talented linemates around him. And at a lower cost, especially after you consider whatever the difference in sticker prices ends up looking like, in the context of "Vancouver vs Florida taxes".
