Well. Bully for you, I guess. Neither Kakko nor Kravtsov did anything (in fact, both of them did FAR less than Chytil) to prove that they should get a run as top six RWs, but because of cap realities, the team cleared the deck to give them that opportunity. The cap is going to be tight. The money just isn't there to retain Strome or bring in a long-term replacement (barring a trade for a younger player, but young, cost-controlled C's don't often become available). Chytil has also played well in just about every situation where he's had top six minutes thus far (his recent stint on the RW, his injury fill ins for Mika), AND he's played well with Kakko and Kreider in the past (I said Bread in my previous post, but brain fried--I'd put Bread/Mika/Laf as line 1 and Kreider/Chytil/Kakko as line 2). Get an insurance policy, sure. But it would be stupid to eject Chytil without ever giving him an extended shot there. Particularly since the team won't be able to afford an upgrade for the next couple of years anyway. I also think Blais/Copp/Goodrow would be an amazing third line.
I don't want this team to make the same kind of mistake Philly made with Justin Williams or that they made back in the 90s with Marc Savard. You get to a point with a player, you need to just give them rope and see what they can do with it. It's that time for Chytil.
And this whole "wasting Igor's cheap years" doesn't work as a narrative. Play Chytil there or not, we still won't have the cap space for an upgrade that will be here longer than a year and change. This is less about Chytil and more about whether you would rather sacrifice the long term future to try and win the Cup this year or next. You fall in the group that would gleefully make that sacrifice. I am in the group that thinks that the team isn't quite ready to be a contender due to lack of playoff experience. The only way this team wins the Cup this year or next is if Shesterkin drags them to one. The 2C isn't going to change that. So I'd rather see the team ride out the cap crunch for the next two years, see what they have in players who have been blocked/brought along slowly, and get that playoff experience so that when the cap does go up, we'll be ready to seriously contend year in and year out.
