I agree with those a few pages back that were saying Arizona could not and should not go toe-to-toe with Colorado in a purely futures package.
Raanta really is the wildcard in this. For my money there aren’t a whole lot more than a half-dozen goalies in the world better than him. He’s got injury issues, though. No denying that. So he’s a risk.
I noticed New Jersey has given up over 40 goals in their last 10 games. Raanta alone would immediately and significantly improve this problem. So in my mind, it all comes down to how much pressure Shero is feeling to get this team back into games and competing again.
If he’s feeling a lot of pressure I could see a lot of interest in Raanta. If he’s feeling fully confident that he’s got a ton of rope left and he’ll be allowed to shepherd the team through rebuild v1.5 - then he’s probably not going to be as tempted by what Raanta immediately provides his team.
I honestly think the kind of package you see Hall return is going to be a direct reflection of Shero’s level of comfort. If Raanta is a Devil this season, it means Shero is uncomfortable.
I think this makes some sense. But we're also 3rd last in goals for so far this season and would be giving up the guy leading us in points. So even if Shero feels confident in righting the ship this season, trading Hall in a Raanta package would just, hypothetically, fill one hole only to create another massive one. Would he then need to go out and acquire another elite forward if he feels like he needs to immediately improve the team? Probably. I don't think he would or even could with the assets we have. If Shero really is feeling the pressure to make moves then I'd think he'd try to do something else to improve to team while keeping Hall.
It's also no secret that every other goalie besides Blackwood has been ECHL caliber. Blackwood has had some real rough nights, but for the most part he's okay. And he's still young. I think it's more likely, and definitely wiser, to seek out a competent backup to help shoulder some games off of Blackwood and hope the kid continues to progress/that he can eventually be a solid starter.
There's so much that's fundamentally wrong with this team. Even getting Raanta wouldn't solve things, even if we assumed someone was able to step up and start to provide more offense which won't happen. The defense is in shambles and a better goalie can't cover all the mistakes they make.
