What would you do with the Defense?

[NeverForget06]

Probably just wait another year for one of Jones, Bouchard, Lagesson or Persson to be ready....

It would be amazing to get a legitimate top 2 defender, but those are very tough to come by.

I have no idea what the upcoming draft is like, would if be worth moving our first for a dman if we weren't in the top 5?

 

[MettleMcOiler]

Try to find actual puck movers that know how to make an outlet pass instead of banking it up the ice and forcing our forwards to work extra hard to get the puck back.

 

[ThreeOfAPerfectPair]

Ideally upgrade Klefbom and Larsson with smaller assets, add age and cap for an upgrade in quality if that's what it takes. This team desperately needs a #1 and #2.

Jettison Benning to make room for Jones, keep Sekera to help stabilize 3rd pairing.

Doubt a suitable trade for Russell materializes.

Keep Bouchard/Samorukov in AHL.

19/20
Klef/XXX - Larsson/YYY
Nurse - Russell
Jones - Sekera

 

[lakai17]

We move up the draft to get Bowen Byram. Build around McDavid and Byram.

 

[Oscar Acosta]

Reverse paper clip idea. Slowly trade down in salary and use any and all analytics for cheaper stop gaps. Russell is a lot to swallow to a team at 4 million but is he to take on a 3.25 million player. 3.25 million down to a 2.5, etc. Chip away. Takes time but doable.

Hire the first GM to step in and say "I've seen what the Tampa Bay Rays are doing...." stop right there, you're hired. There's no longer a such thing as a starter and backup. You got 2 goalies on the cheap, one that's consistently great early in games, one that shuts it down. Switch them out. You see a log jam on another team at RD, you rob them on a trade to break their logjam. You suck at development? Then you look at D on the Milwaukee Admirals (Nashville) and trade for their next above average but not blue chip D man. Frederic Allard? Step up buddy, you're a 6'1" RD that is in top ten in team scoring and not a defensive minus? Development done and no more roadblocks to the NHL in Nashville.

Let the other teams do the work our front office hasn't until we catch up.