They really aren't expendable though. We don't have other players like them in the system and there aren't a lot of players around the league like them. There are other physical players around the league or in the organization but there aren't a lot of open ice hitters that can hit the way Boucher and Kleven do. There are also a lot of physical players but not that many that can skate and have the speed of Boucher and Kleven. Both players also have some nice raw skill that is rare for physical players.
The Sens are building a team around a physical identity and while we have a lot of players who are willing to play physically we only have a few truly elite players in terms of physicality. Tkachuk is that primary guy in Ottawa currently and the other players we have at that level internally are Boucher, Kleven and Greig.
I don't know whether Crouse is the guy to target or not. I get your rationale of trading similar style prospects for similar style players. I don't know why we would trade our two most physical players though. But to be clear my argument is more focused on the value of Boucher and Kleven than the idea of trading for Crouse.
But even if we did trade for Crouse there are other assets we could part with as having Crouse as well as Boucher and Kleven would more fully embody the identity the Sens are trying to build.
I do understand the concept the team is trying to build, that's why Crouse is a good target. That's who replaces Boucher. If you read my previous post, I specifically said Crouse is what you hope Boucher becomes.
But I do disagree that we don't have prospects that are physical in the pipeline. I mean the whole past draft was mostly physical prospects (Roger, Romeo, Ostapchuk) as well as others in the system (Sokolov, Greig, etc), yeah maybe they are not as physical but still physical.
So who would you trade for Crouse? cause I hear a lot of whining and not much other input.
It's White & Brannstrom that are expendable not Kleven or Boucher. Ottawa already has Chabot & Sanderson who are both left shots, bigger & better players so they don't need Brannstrom who continues to be a defensive liability. They also don't need White since they have Norris, Stutzle & Pinto at centre & it would be helpful to rid themselves of his contract.
Acquiring Crouse would be to replace Watson who only has another yr on his contract & given that Crouse is bigger, tougher & better than Watson is an upgrade on the 4th line. Kleven is a Holden replacement & has nothing to do with Crouse given they play different positions. I also suspect that Boucher being a 1st rd pick will likely play on the 2nd or 3rd line RW probably eventually replacing C. Brown. So no they are not expendable Brannstrom & White are.
Yeah, you're not getting Crouse for White and Brannstrom. As you already made the point that we have Chabot and Sanderson on the LD, so Kleven is playing bottom pairing minutes. Boucher is trending to be a bust and we already have Batherson, Brown and Joseph on the RW. They are exactly expendable if you are getting Crouse. In any case the expendable argument is not that important. What is important that you are not getting Crouse for a 2nd, cap dump, and a former mid first rounder that hasn't panned out.
BTW, you are not getting Crouse to play on your 4th line. First of all he's a LW while Watson is a RW. Not ideal to move Crouse on the RW. Secondly, why are we spending all these assets for a fourth liner. Thirdly, he makes too much to be a 4th liner. He's a RFA which will most likely get 3M+ per year next year.
