Do not understand this line of reasoning at all. We aren't a competitive team right now. We have maybe one 1st line forward and our D is already bad. We all acknowledge this. So why would we ever focus on positional need over value?
Necas is 25 and looking for a bigger role and a long-term extension. Rasmus is 28 in his prime right now with two years left. As a retooling team, why would we not go for the younger player with similar value? If the situation was reversed and we had the opportunity to move an older forward for a younger dman, we should do that as well. It should be all about value, not about position at this stage.
And then I don’t understand the “if we actually trade Andersson it should be for actual futures” argument either. We should trade him for the most value, period. Why would you prefer a 1st in the 12-17 range and a 2nd over a proven top-6 forward at age 25 looking for a bigger role? The package of actual futures is way riskier than the proven commodity. And if we still aren’t competitive when Necas is 28-29, we can easily move him for that package.
Bottom line is, why would we focus on position or “actual futures” when we’re a retooling team. Our sole focus should be maximizing the value of our assets. If there was a package of futures on the table for Rasmus that was clearly better value than Necas, we should do that. But I don’t see any such package unless a top-5 pick is on the table. Short of that, this is along the lines of the maximum return we could get for Andersson imo. So I’d take it and address the D later with our plethora of picks and D prospects and cap space that we’ve already accumulated.
So if the Flames aren't competitive, why exactly would they make deals that are just spinning the wheels? How does decimating the defence for a winger the Flames don't need and throwing Wolf to the wolves help in anyway?
Andersson for Necas neither makes the Flames better or adds more value. I know there's that constant 'what have you done for me lately" mentality that plagues fans endlessly and it's probably pointless to argue with but in reality, Andersson's a RH top pairing defenceman signed for another 2 years at a bargain cap hit. Bad season or not, that's worth considerably more than a top six, or even top line RFA winger.
It's plain silly to say it's a choice between trading Andersson for a mid to low first or Necas. That's not maximizing value in the slightest - it's just more of the Flames' usual thickheadedness in constantly adding unneeded wingers when the need is defence and center. If you can't get actual good value for Andersson, i.e., a top ten pick, then you don't trade him. No matter how shiny the new piece of grass is that caught your eye.
The Flames already have waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many NHL calibre wingers
Huberdeau
Kuzmenko
Sharangovich
Pospisil/Zary
Coleman
Mangiapane
Coronato
Pelletier
Duehr
Hunt
Greer
Klapka
That's 12 bodies for 8 spots. It's at a point where barring trades, you're already forced to play one or both of Coronato and Pelletier on the 4th line just to get them into the NHL lineup. And you really think the best way to maximize value is to trade one of the Flames' most valuable assets for yet another winger?