Spending premium assets on Jiricek doesn't make sense to me. If we send them McG I imagine we still have to add a lot.
This is our first actual tank season in decades so our 1st should be off limits, protected or not.
Why don't we actually start selling players. Can we squeeze Lekkerimaki out of Vancouver for Petts? Is there a Sullivan-free future where this guy makes sense on the Pens?
I would be patient with McGroarty. One full AHL season under his belt before arriving at any conclusions. There's no rush to trade him. He's 20. You can just as well trade him at 21. There'll be other prospects teams are looking to deal then.
He's got good playmaking, size and hockey sense. Pretty decent shot. Some defensive conscience. The foundation is there for us to expect him to get better. This is a sell low point most likely.
We don't know enough yet.
I don't really mind if they take longer to sell guys, as long as they get a healthy amount done before the deadline. They're losing enough that it's not a problem.
But yeah, it's so hard to tell if dealing a 1st for Jiricek would be the right move. We have no idea what he's gonna turn out to be. People's opinions have changed on him in a matter of months.
And our 1st could turn out to be complete trash too. I know I certainly wouldn't deal a 2026 1st. That has to be off-limits with McKenna coming.