Regarding Celebrini offers at the draft, I honestly think I’d have turned down Nikishin, Necas, and Jarvis, let alone Necas, Nikishin, and two Kate firsts. Those are three tremendous assets, all three first line/first pair and young, but none is Celebrini.
For SJ- or any team rebuilding- there’s not a more valuable asset in the league (McDavid, McKinnon will almost certainly have better careers but Celebrini is so much younger). A Franchise center is the most valuable piece you can have. At 18 he’s a 1C, he can play any system- it doesn’t need to be built around his flaws- is going to be elite defensively while getting to the hard areas offensively. Equal parts playmaker and scorer, gritty yet quite fast. Dude has it all.
#2 and Chicago’s unprotected first. You might end up with Schaefer, Misa, and Demidov/Lev, but it could also be Martone, Desnoyers/Hagens/Frondell, with 2024 2OA.
Think I’d rather have one MVP caliber player than two or three all-stars. Also, with the Carolina deal we’d probably acquire less futures as three now assets means the rebuild must be accelerated.
Great podcast, even at 1.7 speed.