Oh stop. Kravtsov had completely proven himself to be a bust.
Kakko got what he’s worth. His value was a 2nd which they pretty much got.
Andersson did next to nothing and they still got a 2nd rounder back - which turned in WC.
Blame the drafting. Blame the mental evaluation of a couple of these guys. Blame them for holding onto them for too long perhaps.
None of these guys will accomplish anymore than they already have in the league - except maybe KK by a small margin - this has zero to do with “dirty laundry.” Their on ice play dictated their value.
Kakko speaking up about being scratched once or twice is a long way from a clown show.
I'm blaming Drury & Co. for not maximizing the values of Andersson/Krav/KK/etc because all of this stuff - all the gripes and dissatisfaction of the way things are ran in NY and player fallouts - gets leaked to the media. I couldn't give a shit less what the outcome of any of their careers are. What I do care about is that Drury has minimized the values of 3 former top10 picks because there was some needless public spat between the player and management that ruined each situation.
I'm saying Drury could have chosen to move on from each player way, WAY earlier. In Krav's situation before he ran away 7 times and all the other noise, when his value was at its peak. Billed as a young dynamic offensive player. Instead, Drury held on and held on until things reached critical mass and threw Krav to Vancouver for a 7th rounder and some minor league fodder.
In Andersson's situation, Drury could have spun him as being a hard-nosed young player with leadership traits. Instead, Drury again held on and held on until things reached critical mass and we managed to get a single 2nd round pick for him.
Kakko could have been billed as just a guy who needed a change of scenery and chance at a bigger role. Instead, Drury just keeps him around I guess in the hopes that he would have popped off? But again, Drury waited and waited until things reached critical mass and we got some shitty defenseman, a 3rd and a 6th. Color me unimpressed.
For reference, Kirby Dach (3rd OA in Kakko's draft) netted Chicago a 1st (13th OA) and a 3rd. Traded in 2022. Bowen Byram (4th OA in Kakko's draft) was moved at the end of last season and Colorado got Casey Middlestadt (a former 8th OA pick) straight up. Byram is already rumored to be on the move again and Colorado got themselves a solid player. Colorado also moved Alex Newhook (16th OA in Kakko's draft) for a 1st and 2nd round pick. Peyton Krebs (17th OA in Kakko's draft) was part of the trade package that Vegas sent to Buffalo for Eichel.
All 3 of our former guys could have been dressed up as blue chip prospects/players that could have been parts of larger trades that should have happened to get higher end talent like an Eichel. Instead we get some mid/late-round picks at best for our 1st rounders a few years after drafting them.
