Oshie

I love Oshie but I'd do that deal so fast for the Caps.

a) not sure Boyle offers anything to bolster the 4th line.
b) Vrana has grown comfy on the left, let him develop on the left.
c) not Oshie...no.
d) still not Oshie. He's a heart and soul guy on a team that did not have a ton of that when he arrived. You can take Eller and groom Gersich at C...but not Oshie.

Big Oshie guy eh

Agreed - would hate to see Oshie go, but this gives more flexibility in the long run, especially with all of his injuries the last few years.

Gusev led the KHL in points last year. Like Kovalchuk the year before.

Kovalchuk got 34 pts in 64 NHL games last year. Oshie got 54 in 69. 14 of Oshie's were on the power play, as were 17 of Kovalchuk's.

Even strength points/game? Oshie=.58 Kovy=.27. So Kovy is about half as good as Oshie, at offense.

Two years back, Gusev and Kovy both played in the KHL. Kovy had one more point. Last year, Gusev improved by a third, making him about 2/3 as good as Oshie, unless league scoring just went up a lot.

Would McPhee give up a younger, potentially more talented player to get an established NHL 30 goal scorer who is obviously better right now, even if they need a big contract and have a couple question marks? That describes the last three big trades he's made, so I'm gonna go out on a limb and say yes.

I see Vegas fans on here claiming Clarkson has to be involved for Gusev, but that's in trades with scrubs and duds coming back. Oshe alone could get Gusev, Merrill, and a 2nd. Adding Clarkson gets another 2nd, or raises the pick to a 1st.