Not to "derail", but it would be awesome to have a "prime" Zherdev in the "current" NHL, or on a team like the current CBJ team. Him and Panarin would/could be something special. I think he is/was used as a scapegoat for just truly how bad some earlier teams were. Its clear he wasn't a perfect player, and who knows just how much of an actual "diva" he really was, but its also clear what type of player he was, at what level he could perform at, and what he could do to help an NHL team win hockey games. Its interesting to see how "offensive" players get a pass on their overall game nowadays when they are putting up points, but lacking in defensive effort or efficiency. Although the trade "worked out", it also seems/seemed like we moved him as he was just putting it together. Should have kept him and Hitch for at least a few more years than we did. I don't claim to have ANY insight on how he was "as a person" or how hard it was for him to come over here at such a young age, but I think he could be seen as 1 of the NHL's biggest "what-ifs" in a pretty big recent time frame. He was ridiculously skilled offensively, and could do things that a very small percentage of guys could do in the NHL, not just at the time, but in general. While its overlooked just how young he was at the time, and he did have issues with consistency ("unknown" injuries?), he also showed flashes when he was "on" or when angry, that he could be a somewhat "dominating" player on both ends of the rink. The issue was getting him to "turn it on" or play more aggressive consistently, however I can see where the lack of motivation could come from.
Looking back at all these guys, and going down the hockeydb rabbit hole, you quickly realize just how bad this team was built for a long time, and how much bad drafting and development clearly affected it.