If he’s willing to take a 3-4 year deal, I think I’m inclined to just sign him. Though he is best at center, he’s at worst our second worst wing and will be for the next two years. He, Celebrini and Wennberg give SJ a good 1-2-3 punch until Smith and Bystedt take the spots. I project Smith as a center, but it’s okay for him to take another year to grow into being a 2nd line center by playing on Granny’s wing.
However, if he wants to move on, I’d bet we’re offered a 1st. Where it gets interesting is if SJ is offered a 1st from a projected bubble team. While I’m not overly keen on the late 1st early 2nd of you can get a 15-22 pick and Ceci grabs a 2nd, you may be in position to move up and grab a Hensler/Mrtak which fills a major gap in our pipeline (we have no one who projects as a top 4 RHD, unless we get super lucky with Pohlkamp/Roberts).
Our four best D prospects are all left handed: Dickinson, Muk, Wallenius, Cagnoni. If we draft a dman with our pick it’s likely another LHD in Schaefer or Smith. 2nd pair dmen are easy enough to acquire, but still good to have at least one home grown RHD option.