Now as far as Legwand goes:
Did he live up to number 2 overall slot? Maybe not but he was definitely a very good hockey player. Maybe he could have been better offensively if not thrown into a Trotz defense first system. He still had some very good seasons here and I feel he’s one of the all time franchise faces. I remember being at a leafs game, October 11 1999 and I saw him get his first ever goal against the leafs. I was even wearing a Legwand jersey because at the time being such a highly touted pick he was the only guy worth getting a jersey for then. Mind you Sullivan was my next jersey. I actually own every single preds jersey ever worn in an nhl game (home and away) some with names and some without. Got a Stamkos one already too! Anyways I am getting off topic.
If we get another player like Legwand and has a similar career as Legwand with the first we got in the askarov trade, I would highly consider that a win for us. Even if Askarov goes on to have a very successful career. I would say Legwand was a success as well. A lot of second overalls flop so at least he wasn’t that. He’s still one of our top all time players as well. I would love him back in the organization in some role but doesn’t seem to be his thing.
I have also read a lot about Edstrom and I am more and more jazzed about him the more I read. I would not rank him as high as say Kemmel and Wood but I would rank him right in that second tier with guys like Svechkov, Molendyk, L’Heureux, Lind and Matier. I think he could be a solid number 2 centre (think Ryan Oreilly). Time will tell!
I was not overly happy with how this all played out. The Saros extension essentially did us out of a very promising (our best prospect) young goalie and I also think that contrast is going to look really bad about halfway through… I guess we will deal with that then with buyouts and whatever happens. Maybe I’m wrong. Who knows. But for the way it was mishandled I would say’s trotz still recouped fairly well with a potentially high first (whether it’s sharks or Vegas pick, neither is a GREAT team) and Edstrom. I don’t expect much from Chrona but maybe he surprises me who knows. I do feel we should draft a goalie again maybe next draft. It’ll be exciting to see what we do with 3 firsts!!
This should be a very epic and memorable next couple of seasons. Strap on your belts and let’s enjoy