Take Roy out and it is a deal, the cost to move up 2 spots is only a late 1st + early 2nd, so the Jets 1st + Barron (also worth a late 1st) is an acceptable overpayment.

Considering how uncertain the draft order is after Celebrini, I'd be delighted if Montreal just stayed where they were, and I don't really see any scenario they'd pay that much to move up, even if they love Demidov.

Can't see the Islanders doing that either.

Soundofhockey value chart has the #2 = #5 +#27 + #44OA I would value Barron as in the neighborhood of #44OA. So for me the enticement to have the Hawks do this is them "winning" the Roy for a future (likely late) 2nd part of this. Hawks are going to have to "win" to pass on a chance for Demidov and Levshunov.

LMAO, Barron's value is in the 25-35 range and Roy's is more like 20th-32nd range

No.

Considering how highly regarded Silayev, Lindstrom and Dickinson are reported to be among scouts (to say nothing of other top draft prospects) and the lack of consensus after Celebrini, I'd be shocked if any team cared to entice Chicago into trading down.

Hell, Soundofhockey's value chart (and other charts) don't hold up every draft, it depends on how prospects are viewed. Like, I guarantee you the cost to move up in the top 4 in 2023 was much higher than average and the cost was much lower in 2022.

The premise is Montreal (over)values Demidov highly. There is a pretty strong concensus that Demidov is a clear cut #2 and if you need a forward (which Montreal appears to way more than a D) that there is a sizeable gap between him and Lindstrom who'e injury questions (a back verses a knee) are way scarier than any with Demidov. In the end, I think the Hawks would be pretty happy to draft Demidov and just tried to spell out a scenerio where they could potentially get moved off that spot.

No thank you from montreal, they're getting either demidov or lindstrom at 5 and if somehow if chicago of Anaheim or evrn Columbus don't draft a defenseman montreal will end up getting even better players like Levshunov or Silayev at 5

There isn't any reason to think Montreal values Demidov significantly higher than other guys, and looking at articles produced from polling people in front offices/scouting teams and mock drafts from insiders, there's a weaker consensus that Demidov is #2 (or really any consensus after Celebrini) than we've seen in a long, long time.

And lets not pretend that there aren't "scary" question marks with the guy who hasn't played higher than the 3rd best league in Russia and has no major international tournament experience after the Hlinka Gretzy tournament at 16. Frankly, if there's a scenario where Demidov and Lindstrom both go before 5, then Montreal's going to either be in a position to take a better D prospect or leverage the chance for another team to get a better D prospect through a trade.

And trading Roy to get a forward defeats the whole purpose of targeting forward in the draft anyways.