I’m not saying it’s true, but if you’re correct that he can’t motivate himself because he’s not being gift wrapped PP time then he should be dealt. It’s not like he’s up in the press box or riding the bus in the minors. Start making plays and he’ll get more opportunities.
There's a couple reasons top 3 picks get thrown right into the mix on top lines in all situations, even when it looks like they are (initially) way over their heads. Reason #1 is to get the reps in and adjust to NHL speed. Force-feeding them minutes speeds up that process. Reason #2 is more important, and it's all about role and mentality. Laf, Kakko, and to a lesser extent Chytil have been developing as support players because they've been PLAYED as support players. Playing on the top line, being the guys the rest of the team
rely on to get the goals and drive play is a different kind of hockey than "don't f*** up, try to play defense, and defer to the big guns whenever you get a 4 or 5 game stint in the top 6). Top 3 picks, just to even GET to that point, are used to that kind of pressure, and smart teams don't take that pressure away from them (since they've already proven, by dint of being a top 3 guy, that they can handle it).
We need to get Laf and Kakko into those big roles because they are developing like support players. The team needs to remind them who the f*** they really are, and hope it's not too late to get them back to that and develop properly.