RE Lyub. Don’t love it, don’t hate it. It’s fine for depth and cost peanuts.
Pros:
- RHD
- Stylistic fit
- Benefits the PK
- Chemistry/familiarity is already there
Cons:
- Another bottom pair D
- Rental
All in all, he’ll kill cycles, block shots at a high rate, and destroy people at the blueline. We know what he is - a bottom pair D, who if overused will be exposed. The cost reflects that.
The retention scares me a bit. Having to retain 75% to get him below league min suggests that Tre wants to use the full ~4m available cap in a separate trade.
I do not want to trade the 1st rd pick unless a bonafide long-term solution on D is coming back. Not rentals like Tanev, mid options like Walker/Dumba, or ancient guys like Jensen/Savard. We are going to have 0 picks next year. Need to retool the pool this draft and be a big player in UFA for an appropriate aged #2-3D.