Still no superstar forward, still not making the playoffs. Vegas, San Jose, Calgary, and even Vancouver are all ahead of Arizona.

The first thing I wouldn’t do is go over Arizona’s budget. You need to trim 6-7m.

You could argue that Clayton Keller is their superstar, with a supporting cast around him he will flourish and I believe that he will eclipse 80 points, or something close to that.

WSH says no. Vrana's too important to be given away.

I personally like this move. It could benefit both teams. Still I feel like WSH is not willing to do it.

Also I don't think you really need to acquire Åberg. You have players like Archibald or Garland available for that role.

Plus MIN would probably just match that offer.

You really can't yet, he's been compared to Kane, and Kane did take some time to become elite as well, but Keller is not a game breaker yet.
Keller's first two seasons: 65 points and then 47
Kane's first two seasons: 72 points and then 70

Keller is just not a star with those numbers, yet.

That was my concern, yes, that WSH would still not be willing to give Vrana up. It would have to be a king's ransom to pry him away, however is he wasn't so important I think this trade would get it done. Yes MIN would probably match that offer, but you never know. I feel like Åberg has really proven himself to at least be a middle six forward but he's just been passed around a lot last year for no apparent reason.

I see that argument. He hasn't really proven himself all the way, but with this lineup I've assembled I feel like that could change next year, in a big way.

Aberg just is not very good. He can play a scoring threat from the 4th line role, and play up in the lineup if there is a short term injury. He can score against the bottom of other teams lineups, but is useless against better competition.

I think Burakovsky could be an interesting fit for the Coyotes instead of Vrana. Burakovsky has shown flashes of his high level potential, and ended up with 10 goals with a smaller role on the Caps after starting off horrible. The package to get him wouldn't be nearly as expensive, but you could also wait for the Caps to non-tender him and sign him as an UFA.

Our center corps is also pretty set with Kuznetsov, Backstrom, Eller, and Dowd. I think Richardson is a clear upgrade over Dowd, but his cap hit is pretty high for a cap ceiling team's 4C. I think the Caps are going to be in the market for a veteran LD on an expiring contract this off-season, unless we think Alexeyev or Johansen can make the NHL next year.

Vancouver is not ahead of the Coyotes