I'd definitely be on the phone with Benning. At the very least, we should be able to sell off a player we don't need for more than fair value with that guy on the other side of the phone.
I'm not sure they're blowing things up though. He's making changes, but if he wants to be a playoff team next season, I'm not sure Hansen on his steal of a contract is a guy I move unless I'm bringing in a better player. We don't have one to spare from my view of it. I do like the player though and the contract.
Who else do you like around the league that fits the mold of support player we should be looking for (Hagelin/PH type)? I really like Frolik as a possibility with Calgary likely to be after MAF this offseason. He gives you some dishing ability to play with star players as well rather than more of a blunt tool like Dupuis.
I've liked Trochek as an under the radar guy for years (I was baffled when he was sent to the AHL two years ago), but it looks like he's not under the radar anymore and if he's negotiating a six year extension, that's not going to be in the cards.
Obviously a lot of the guys the Rangers are "listening on" could help us, but in their shoes, I would not trade inside the division unless I thought I was putting the screws to the other team. At least not until the NHL changes the playoff format. Right now, in-division trades are zero sum games. Every bit another team in your division gets better makes your life more miserable.
To me, "what do we do at forward next year?" is less of a pressing question than "if Fleury asks out, what do we want back for him and who is our backup goalie?" We can field a forward roster that's potentially better than the one we have now doing nothing more than trading Kunitz for a 2nd or 3rd rounder and nontendering Bennett. There's no guarantee that subbing Wilson, Simon, Sprong (etc) in for #14 makes you a better team, but it's not out of the realm of possibility (or even all that unlikely) that next year's the year where Kunitz backslides enough and Wilson/Simon/Sprong takes enough steps that that's how it works out. Or we could just dress the exact same forward lineup that's already working for us.
If Frolik were involved in some sort of trade involving Fleury, I could probably get on board with that. I mean, we could do a lot worse. The obvious guy on Dallas would be Nichushkin, but who knows if they're willing to part with him or if he'd even fit here. Eakin and maybe Roussel would help us, but I don't see why they would move one of those guys .