They are going to need to find another Dman somewhere. Kakko, who there is no way that they can pay this summer unless Igor leaves, is probably their best tool to do that. It’s simply asset management
I’ve been saying trade Igor for 3 years but here we are. Still think Igor deal gets done, but then other guys are going to get sacrificed. It’s inevitable, and we have no internal solutions on defense to replace Lindgren and Trouba who are both gone; and they might need to lose Jones too if they can’t bridge him. The NEED to find a Dman that isn’t breaking the bank in 2025-26
yes we need an LD upgrade but dealing Kakko there is not productive b'c remember, bread is buh bye AT LEAST end of his term, if not before [to avoid a visual mess]
KK deal is not huge bucks more, don't need to overreact and Lilj at 3.5 cap wise is NG, also you are dealing youth for vet
WHICH USUALLY SHORTENS YOUR WINDOW
Emery projects well but we just drafted him
Fortescue ditto but has been marinating. If lucky, he competes next training camp; if not then 2 yrs instead of 1
point being a good add at right price = yes
but
what we need is a stopgap
per the main board, Leaf fan makes case to move Lilj for a mid pick b'c they have close to zero cap and are ok on backliners
KK worth more than a mid pick in a vacuum and more to us than that for reason noted, plus like I said and now being proven, kid line has chemistry and works so don't screw w/it
Do my 2 deals
get RD Nemic - a 2OA guy + another stud D prospect +
for
bread retained + Trouba retained+
costs dolan dollars and short term cap retention we jettison Trouba now for younger cheaper if not better soon enuf
helps w/D
then flip Shesty + zib +
for
Nylander + Knies + including Palat
flip older mo expensive Palat for a D upgrade