No I think we could trade that pick for sure. But we sure as hell should get something great in return as it seems to be a top-5 pick at least.
I agree obviously. This team could fill
MULTIPLE holes with that pick. Even if the target is a top pair LHD. Also, if the target is a top 4 LHD, that just adds value to what other pieces would come back.
This team is young but have the core top players in place to build a winner around.
Current---------1996------------2001
Center
Duchene--------Sakic-----------Sakic
Stastny---------Forsberg-------Forsberg
O'Reilly---------Ricci------------Yelle
LW
Landeskog-----Kamenski------Tanguay
_________-----Keene----------Drury(?)
McGinn----------Rychel---------Nieminen/Messier (?)
RW
Parenteau------Lemeiux--------Hejduk
Downie---------Deadmarsh-----Reid
Jones-----------Young-----------Podein
D
Johnson--------Foote------------Foote
________------Lefebvre--------Borque
Barrie-----------Ozolinsh--------Blake
Hejda-----------Gusarov--------Klemm
G
Varlamov--------Roy------------Roy
Can talent get upgraded? ---sure, but the team is not missing the "franchise" player, just have some holes that need filled with some "good-very good" players.
Time to find a coach, fill a couple holes, and start filling the building with Avalanche fans by being competitive again.
before flaming me about the list, it is not based on talent level, but merely top 3/4 players at positions. 1996 & 2001 are just best as I recall and may be off a bit.