I dont care about first rounders. Rangers are spotty with them and they can always add more picks in the summer. Im not trading Perreault for anyone realistic, and id need my socks blown off to move Othmann (not for a rental, because that always needs to be clarified). Drury should be looking to make hockey moves for roster players. Dont be afraid to trade guys off the NHL roster for upgrades. Everyone said Tampa was a soft team that would never win after Columbus swept them, then they added some smart non-rental pieces to their bottom and it made the whole roster fall into place. Colorado was in a similar situation a few years ago and then they added Lehkonen and Manson (extended both). They hardly broke the bank. Same with Vegas last year, Barbashev (extended) made their entire lineup work. We are at that point in our trajectory. Those moves are out there to be made. I hate that saying this is always construed as "Oh you want to sell the farm???"
This. And this is the reason I'd look to move Berard.
Panarin is not going anywhere. Kreider still has several good years left, and isn't the guy we should move to clear cap. Laf isn't going anywhere. Kakko likely isn't going anywhere. Cuylle has the third line locked down, and Othmann needs a spot soon. Sykora (LW) is one of our top prospects too.
That limits Berard to 4th line at best, or we're moving someone above. Berard is still young enough, and has the skills to have a shot at somebody's Top 6 IF they get him young enough to prepare him for that kind of role. If we can use that to fill holes we have right now, this year - like immediate top 6, 3C, or upgrading the D, that's a small price to pay, and it will fetch a lot more than if we throw him in a package when he's 23-24, or lose him to the waiver wire.
If we need a bottom 6 winger in the future, there are plenty of young players coming up who could slot into that role temporarily whose timeline aligns better with when the team will be moving on from guys like Panarin and Kreider (guys like Sykora), and there are plenty of serviceable young players coming through the system that may fit in those kinds of roles (guys like Rempe and Edstrom).
Ottawa is a natural trading partner because they're drowning in young centers and people who can play center, and would likely consider a package that includes Chychrun for Miller as an upgrade considering Chychrun is unlikely to re-sign but is still team controlled for another year and decidedly not a rental (unlike Hanifin). Tarasenko gives you someone who solves the Wheeler problem this year who enjoyed his time here and won't mope or get distracted by the NY lifestyle, who also thinks shoot first and would immediately become the only player on the team other than Zibanejad (who refuses to shoot) who can beat a goalie clean from the circle without needing a screen, deflection, cross-ice pass, rebound, etc.
It also allows them to have two scoring focused lines (Kreider-Greig-Taras would be 2nd line), drop Zibanejad to 3C at even strength, and turn Cuylle-Zibs-Kakko into a shutdown line.
And Chychrun is an immediate upgrade over Miller who's also still quite young (less than 2 years older than Miller).
The tradeoff for Ottawa is they need to take Goodrow with no retention to get the other two (and maybe a pick), but they're looking for veteran leadership anyway.
