Moving up to 7th is probably more much practical, but I would honestly give up quite a bit to move to number 3. Tampa needs D, imagine if they would take Severson/Merrill + Tallinder (maybe even Fayne? cross fingers for Volchenkov
) and the 9th pick for third overall? To me, that's absolutely worth Mackinnon or Drouin, and I would have to think long and hard about Henrique, as well. Devils have the center depth to consider upgrading from Henrique to a true game-breaking forward even if it downgrades the team in the short term.
Excellent points, but worth noting as well:
1)Tallinder has miniscule, if any, value on the trade market and is a very likely buyout candidate (as is mentioned in my column).
2)Fayne has minimal value, as well. He could be part of some deal where NJ moves up two spots with EDM, but that's about it.
3)Trading Henrique would be a mistake. He is still young, plays two ways, has proven himself in clutch situations, and still has 65-70 point upside.
I see Lamoriello looking into moving up with EDM, rather than waiting and hoping that one of Lindholm, Monahan or Nichushkin fall to #9.
I also expect him to kick the tires on TB #3 overall pick. With the draft in NJ, it would be a huge coup at the tail end of his career to acquire a young franchise talent of the caliber of Drouin (likely) or MacKinnon (possibly). With the Devils' young cache of NHL-ready mid-level D (Urbom, Gelinas, Burlon) and D prospects with top-pairing upside (Merrill, Severson), Lamoriello might have enough ammunition to make it happen, as TB is desperate for D all over their organization.