Quoting: Rangsey
Dont care about the pick. I care about losing Katchouk for nothing.
Idk the fwd prospect core is already pretty tight. There's basically a waiting list, I honestly think one of them needs to go at some point or they're gonna end of leaving later for nothing or they're gonna stay in Syracuse for way longer than they needed to.
If we trade Cally this off-season:
Roster fwds locked up for next season: Stamkos, Kuch, Miller, Gourde, Johnson, Palat, Killorn, Cirelli, Joseph. (9 fwds)
RFA roster fwds this off-season: Point, Paquette, Erne, Martel. (4 fwds)
If we resign all 4 RFAs, we're already at 13 fwds, so at least 1 more year before Katchouk could reserve his NHL spot (unless TBL injuries lead to a call up).
But if we assume Pointer is the only RFA that resigns, that leaves us w 10/12 NHL fwds. In this case, if I'm ranking the AHL fwds in "NHL-readiness", I've got Barre-Boulet as the clear #1, Mitchell Stephens #2, Raddysh #3, Volkov #4, Yan #5, Katchouk #6. And if Verhaeghe resigns, he'd take over #2.
If we assume Point, Paquette, Erne, Volkov, Stephens all resign by 2020-21, the locked up fwds would be Stammer, Kuch, Pointer, Johnson, Killorn, Palat, Gourde, Miller, Barre-Boulet, Raddysh, Stephens, Erne, Paquette, Volkov. (14 fwds).
Katchouk would crack the lineup in 2020-21 if Pointer is the only RFA fwd that resigns (unlikely). All it takes is a breakout AHL year for things to change, but as of now, losing Katchouk to shed Cally isn't something I'd lose sleep over, but quite the opposite.