Be careful, though. Getzlaf is a cut above the rest of these players. He's not just a power forward; he's a terrific playmaker. When he's on his game, he's one of the top 10 players in the league. Guys like him and Lindros are the ultimate power forward.
Power forwards are terrific assets to have, but the problem with most of them is they tend to be inefficient. A lot of shots, a lot of penalty minutes. PFs have drawbacks, and no team is going to win if their best players are these guys (unless you're talking about the elite playmaking type, like Getz and Lindros).
Most power forwards are ideally your complimentary players. Your #2 or #3 options on offense. If you sacrifice a lot to get a power forward through salary or trade (like, say the Rangers overpaid to get Nash, who is surely one of the best power forwards in the league, but he's not on the level of a Getzlaf), you have a problem. Eric Staal is overpaid, IMO. I know he's having a great season, but he's not a consistent superstar, yet he's paid like he's one of the best. Rick Nash, same thing. You put yourself in a less than desirable position sacrificing a large portion of your cap to players who ultimately are not the most important piece of the puzzle. Your top line playmaker (usually center) has to be the number one offensive player on your team, even if he isn't the top pointgetter.
In many ways, power forwards are about as valuable as one-dimensional snipers like Gaborik. They can't be the guy on your team that carries the puck the most.
The Rangers will go as far as Brad Richards' play ultimately takes them. It's imperative for him to start playing better, as it's unrealistic to expect Stepan to maintain his current form for the rest of the season (hopefully he does, though). Richards has to be the key, because Nash and/or Gaborik are a lot better depending on how well Richards plays.
The thing about all this trade talk is that it doesn't mean diddly squat unless Richards picks up his game. It'd be nice to fill the holes on the blueline and bottom 6, but that won't take this team to the Finals. What matters far more is Richards playing better, which will make Gaborik play better, and that is more valuable than anything we can acquire in a trade.
That's why I think it's foolish to move Gaborik now unless you're getting a really good return. If Richards and him don't start playing better, the team isn't going to get that far this season, anyway. We already have a great power forward in Nash, who eats up a ton of cap space. We also have Callahan, who plays like a power forward, and is far more efficient and better at everything other than scoring than virtually every big name power forward in the league. He keeps getting better and better offensively, too.
