Fair points. As a Sens fan I'm not sure how thrilled I'd be if Ottawa traded Thomas Chabot, Logan Brown, Brady Tkachuk and a 2019 first round pick (if they had one) for Drew Doughty.
The thing is you guys have a deeper prospect pool and in house roster players that could step up with the right guidance.
Unless the reports are wrong, Vegas are losing Perron and Neal next week. Tuch has become more important to the team than ever. If Tatar can finally buy into Gallant's system it won't be too bad but we can count on at least 15 goals and 30 points from the second line out of Tuch (but probably more). Haula has shown that when the chips are down he can't cut it as a 2C and will either become dead weight or will need replacing.. That means, given that we seem to be out on Tavares, Glass' value with the Knights has shot up big time. Assuming for a moment we do trade Glass, next in line is Suzuki. Personally I feel his game is better suited for the wing as centers like Tyler Johnson are rare and that's closer to the style Suzuki plays than someone like Schiefele, Little, Toews, etc. which is more of the mold Glass finds himself in. Glass may not join the team this next coming season but the plan is for him to jump right into the top 6, probably behind Karlsson to start. And one way or another he will be there. I cannot fathom anything short of a career ending injury changing the fact that his floor is a solid 2C. Suzuki may be able to directly replace Glass but he's less of a sure thing.
Past that we have Gusev who needs to be convinced to come to North America after the Shipachyov situation and behind him its a small handful of projects and long shots. Sure thing youth is an absolute premium. Now with Neal and Perron out Vegas, a team with a thin pipeline, now has much thinner forward depth overall.
If McDavid can't make the team around him better as arguably the best player in the league...with respect, Ottawa fans can talk to me until they're blue in the face about how much better Karlsson is than Glass, Tuch, and Theodore combined. It won't matter if Vegas cripples their own team to get him.
If Dorion has to move EK to get
something for him before he hits free agency, and Vegas is the best suitor in a deal that requires unloading Ryan's contract so they can keep Glass and Tuch then that's the preferable route for Vegas. I know Ottawa fans don't give two shits about the best case scenario for Vegas and I don't blame them.
Understandably, in making a trade to really kick off a full rebuild they want the most proven/guaranteed assets Vegas has. But Vegas is in probably the weakest position to offset their most guaranteed futures save for Theodore who they have replacements for.
To sort of explain my own proposal that I think is ideal for both sides:
Theodore (it's not like trading Theo isn't some loss for Vegas. Though it's a pure upgrade when getting Karlsson. And they have Brannstrom and Hague. One is a very promising Swedish prospect, albeit undersized. And Hague absolutely smashed in juniors this year, though his footspeed and agility are a concern. The issue with these two is they're unproven and do have some bust potential. Less than others in the system but it's there. What Theodore is now is a very fast and smart defender. He is one of the best puck distributors on the Golden Knights and his defense has come a long way. He's pretty much guaranteed to be good for 30 points a year. Yes that's half of what Karlsson produces in an "off year" but that's not all Ottawa is getting in my proposal and Theo could easily develop into a 50 point guy with how he plays.)
Hague or Brannstrom (this is where the gamble element comes in for any rebuilding team with an asset like this. Brannstrom to me would be a crushing loss. I watched him in person in development camp and was blown away at his speed, vision, tenacity, and natural skill. I also observed Vatanen's development and to me Brannstrom strikes me as a similar player in size and play style. But it's my opinion that Brannstrom has the overall toolkit to become a better player. If size doesn't end up being an issue for him, with him AND Theodore you're looking at two very good offensive defensemen that move the puck well. With Hague his footspeed and agility was a concern to me in prospect camp and from what I heard it was still kind of a problem in juniors. However that can be improved to a passable degree and if it is, he also has a high amount of talent. A duo of Theo and Hague or Brannstrom could be a great get for any team)
Suzuki (I keep saying his playing style is a concern for me but I say this in the sense that it makes sense that he was a mid round pick. He is fast, dynamic, and smart and for my money if his development and adaptation to the NHL game go well he's the kind of guy that can put up 70-80 points from the first line. Basically in my view he has the upside to be better than Glass and anyone on Vegas' first line right now. But the problem is he does shy away from contact and at times tries to be too cute with the puck. I had the same concern with Rakell (in terms of being too creative for his own good). The difference there was Rakell is less afraid of contact generally or is at least better at avoiding it naturally and is stronger at possessing the puck under pressure. Granted that's where Rakell, drafted in 2011 is
now. Suzuki's dynamic play style could work to his advantage if he learns how to adapt to defensive pressure in the NHL. But it could work to his disadvantage if it doesn't. In any case I'll get an in person look at Glass, Suzuki, Brannstrom, and Hague Friday so I'll get to see how they progressed (for what it's worth I was more impressed with Brannstrom and Glass than I was with Tuch last summer just as an example of where I'm coming from with all this))
2019 first and other picks (not much to say here other than the first likely won't be a lottery pick but we know that even lower picks can pay off or be used in packages.)
In my biased view, my proposal allows Ottawa to get a lot of value in exchange for getting Ryan's contract off the books. Personally I think it's still a great potential move to juice up Ottawa's rebuild but it does leave Vegas with their biggest guaranteed assets so that their forward core isn't crippled and focused entirely on one line.