I still think Chychrun may be the single biggest upgrade they could realistically make given the flimsiness of their Carlson partners. But he's got definite durability issues and the cost will be significant. LD overall I'd say in playoff circumstances may be the weakest link but I doubt Edmundson or Gavrikov are the solution. They could be defensively but I think you'd want more overall upside to make it worth it.
5v5 scoring is a structural issue that I don't know they can address via trade all that easily. Does Meier or Kane really change the look of them 5v5? Kane would be interesting. Toews even would be interesting from an IQ standpoint, ignoring center logjam concerns. But I don't know that there's a final piece available. Their style is what it is. Whoever they add will more likely conform to it than singularly control the pace of play. It's an awfully high bar to find that sort of difference maker. O'Reilly has the two-way sense--again ignoring center logjam concerns--but probably not the pace. Horvat's having a hell of a year but altogether isn't a game-changer. It's a short list of forwards that would bring that level of dynamism to the table.
Maybe they don't need that all that. But there's not an obvious target IMO, particularly if they do need to attach Mantha to make it happen. They mainly just need to invest in what they've got, Mantha in particular, and see how far it takes them. NYI/NYR/DET/FLA could up the ante on them and force them to consider upgrades but if they're in a solid playoff spot I wonder if they'll just let it ride.
I agree re Chychrun. Maybe a package including one of CMM/Iorio+ would be a starting point. If they’re committed to the continued short term “win now” attitude through the rest of Ovi’s contract, then finding a legit LD partner for Carlson may make the biggest impact in the playoffs. Lavi’s system is predicated so much on D activating - so let Carlson jump up in the o-zone, with a partner that can more than make up for his deficiencies.
These youngsters, that should be graduating in the next couple years, likely won’t be impact playoff-ready players in time, so screw it: get Ovi help now. And by clearly upgrading 1LD, we can more easily let one of of Orlov/Jensen walk (preferably Jensen, with TvR moving up).
As far as generating more 5v5 offense, I think our biggest hope is just that Kuzy somehow gets his head together and plays like a 1C. Maybe Wilson returning to his line will help, since he’s been spending half the game complaining to the refs that he’s being hooked/slashed. TW may give him the space he needs to work. Moreover, if Mantha continues to play well, and gets moved up - then maybe he gets hot and lives up to his potential.
