From an asset management perspective, I think the Habs should leverage their deep prospect pool / depth of the wings in order to pry disgruntled RFAs who would fit with the team's dynamic and bolster their lineup as soon as next season to build on last year's Cup run's momentum.
In that spirit, Andrew Copp recently filed for arbitration with Winnipeg. The Jets have around 7M remaining with Copp, Pionk and Stanley still looking for contracts. Maybe a package centered around Poehling+ would enticed the Jets to part with Copp? The latter would be an excellent fit for sharing middle-6 duties with Kotkaniemi, and would likely be more cost-efficient option (4,5M AAV?) that if the Habs had re-signed Danault... (As for the "+", it could be picks since Winnipeg has already traded away their 2nd and 4th round picks in the next draft ; I guess Lekhonen could also be a worthwhile trading bait option if Drouin does indeed return this fall...)
Also, the Kraken has yet to come to terms with Vince Dunn, who also filed for arbitration this week. Maybe a package centered around Harris+ would be enticing enough for Francis to trade away Dunn? Dunn would be a good complementary partner for Chiarot, be re-signed around 3,5M AAV?, be an option for the PP's second wave and would also enable a Romanov/Savard third pairing. I highly value Harris, but since he decided to go back to college next year, he might be considering signing his ELC with an American team after all... (As for the "+", it could obviously be pick(s) since Seattle is building it's franchise from scratch ; I guess Kulak could also be offered as a cost-efficient third pairing for the short term, but Lekhonen appears to have the best trading value, especially since he'll remain RFA next offseason.)
