I'm open to the idea of trading Tanev, but the return would have to be fantastic because our D would be an absolute **** show without him. Tanev is 27 years old and at the peak of his career. He is under appreciated by many fans, but I think GMs recognize his value. Injuries excepted, he can probably be expected to play at this level for another 3 to 5 years. In 3 years, Stecher will be 26, Juolevi will be 22, Hutton will be 27 (and 25 year old Tyramkin's KHL contract will be completed) and 30 year old Chris Tanev will have 1 year remaining on his contract before becoming a UFA. There is a lot of value in having a calm, steady, reliable veteran like Tanev to stablize the D while our young defenders develop.
That said, if we can get a really good return in trading Tanev now, there are other ways to stabilize the D. We could dip into the free agent market for a veteran D - this isn't the best year to do so, guys like Karl Alzner, Brendan Smith, Michael Del Zotto, Michael Stone, Cody Franson etc. could be available this year. None of these are going to replace Tanev in terms of their defensive play, any would provide veteran depth to protect Stecher, Juolevi and Hutton from over exposure and to ensure that when injuries happen our D doesn't resemble Utica's. The risk with chasing UFAs, particularly those under 30 years of age, is that a) you probably have to over pay (and over term) them and b) this summer Las Vegas is going to be active in the UFA market for exactly these types of players.
Potential targets in a Tanev trade would be:
Jonathan Drouin - last year I was pretty down on Drouin. He is clearly a bit of a Diva and is likey to be a challenge to deal with any time his contract is up for extension or any time he feels he is not being utilized the way he believes he should. That said, he certainly answered any questions about his ability to produce after being sent down to Syracuse last year. He is an elite talent. He is an RFA this summer and is likely to be looking for Taylor Hall type money. The relationship with Steve Yzermann in Tampa has been a bit rocky, and there is a good chance Tampa doesn't want to pay him top dollar. But is Tampa a good fit for Tanev? They have a lot invested in their d with Hedman ($7.8M x 8 years), Garrison ($4.6M x 1 year), Stralman ($4.5M x 2 years) and Coburn ($3.7M x 2 years). And if we took Garrison back as a cap dump, how could we afford to sign Drouin ($5-6M?) and Horvat ($5M??). It would take some savvy Cap and contract movements that Benning and Co. have yet to demonstrate. But players like Drouin (age and skill set) are rarely available so it would be worth what ever machinations on the cap are needed.
Matt Duchene - Duschene is a totally "now" move, and we are probably not a "now" team. Does it make sense to trade a 27 year old top pairing, shutdown D, following one of his best seasons for a 26 year old top 6 forward coming off his worst season? Duchene's season has to be considered in the context of Colorado's season. His performance was poor, in part due to being on the worst team in the league, but Colorado's season was so poor in part due to Duchene's poor performance. This is sort of a trade where both teams would prefer someone younger coming back.
Gabriel Landskog - this is probably a better value because Landeskog is 2 years younger than Duchene and is signed for another 4 years versus 2. Coming off a disappointing season (18 goals, 33 points - Granlund like numbers) his lack of production is also both a result of and responsible for Colorado's epic poor season. Landeskog is a young power forward who could be an answer to the likes of Milan Lucic, Matt Tkachuk, Lawson Crouse, Blake Wheeler, Ryan Getzlaff, Joe Thornton, etc. in the Western Conference. But if Landeskog is on the market (as he was at the TDL) the ask will very high (as it was at the TDL).
Phily has some interesting assets and is going to get another good young player in Nico Hischier or Nolan Patrick this year (did I mention how much this pisses me off?). The Flyers have a good young defense with players like Provorov, Gostisbehere, Morin, Sanheim and Hagg - much better than the Canucks young D core. It's their veterans that suck. Andrew MacDonald is well past his best before date but has 3 years at $5M remaining on his contract. Michael Del Zotto (UFA) has been slowed by injuries and Nick Schultz has spend more time in the press box than on the ice. Would Phily give up one of its young D for a mid-career shutdown defender?
There are some bad defenders there but Hamhuis, Hainsey, Franson are all legit top-4 guys and the others can really stabilize a bottom pairing.
