Bender, the future isn't written. As much as it may seem like it, you can't actually predict the future with any reliability. We could trade Nuke for a lesser player, and the result is Nuke goes beast mode for his new team and the guy we get ends up on IR. It's an easy example, but yeah, I point to Kadri as a perfect case of someone with a narrative surrounding him that he had "screwed over" his team in the playoffs two seasons in a row. He was traded explicitly because of that narrative, and it was a mistake. It's honestly when I finally decided once and for all that Kyle Dubas is a bad GM. You don't let narratives drive your decision-making. You make cool, calculated decisions based on facts.
Also, I know it's a gospel narrative around these parts, but we really should stop with the idea that he is responsible for the Avs last two playoff exits. He's a great player, but he's not the sole difference between winning and losing those series. Yes, you could argue the team was shaken by the circumstances of his loss, but to me that speaks way more to a lack of character and leadership on the team than anything Nuke did. Any player can be dropped by an injury at any moment - do you just fall apart as a team when that happens? Or do you have a "next man up" mentality? The whole reason you have depth and leadership is so you can still succeed when the top guys are playing poorly or are out of the lineup. The problem with the Avs the past two seasons is they didn't have what it takes to overcome a loss like Nuke.
I'll take this as the counter to my point above that Kadri is a great example of why not to trade Nuke. Yes, damage was done, but that's what leadership and team culture is for. You rebuild the trust and the damaged relationships, and you instill a professional attitude. Also, indeed Tavares was penciled in to be their 2C. So? Kadri was on a cheap cost-controlled contract and provided that team with insane center depth. That's three scoring lines, and someone who can easily slot in to the first or second line in a pinch. That team could have easily put Tavares, Matthews or Kadri on the wing at times to load up. And as we saw, as Tavares ages, it would likely have been beneficial to put him on the wing, and in that case you would have had Kadri right there to step in. He would have also provided them the depth they need to be able to withstand a Marner or Nylander trade, which was the actual correct move to balance out the team better. They could have been patient with it too, and moved Marner/Nylander for their ideal defense target as they bacame available. Instead they sold low on Kadri and got the exact opposite kind of defenseman they needed in Barrie, and a 3rd line center who was a huge step down from Kadri in Kerfoot.
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To me, it's quite simple. I don't think it will improve the team in the long or short term to trade Nuke. Yes, keeping him is a risk, but I think the odds of him getting suspended again are actually less than the odds that trading him hurts the team.
