Quoting: XBestOneYetX
Vlad 1st line center??? Think you meant to flop him with Zibanejad. If anyone other than Chytil isn't 2nd line center it will be Strome or someone who is not currently on the team.
Quoting: XBestOneYetX
Vlad 1st line center??? Think you meant to flop him with Zibanejad. If anyone other than Chytil isn't 2nd line center it will be Strome or someone who is not currently on the team.
No, I have him there for a reason. When Vlad was playing with Stamkos and Kucherov he was in the midst of one of his best seasons. He's been a tad unlucky with a PDO under 99, but besides that I really do think he is one of the best plug-n-play players we have (as he can play any role requested). With Panarin and Buchnevich, we have three highly skilled russians on one line-- yes this is more of a 1b line than a 1a line (at least on paper). The purpose of this is that there is a reason Namestnikov hasn't been traded yet, his value is so low that the rangers want to get a better return on their investment into him. What better way to boost his value than to put him in a situation where he can succeed. As we saw with Kevin Hayes, Duchene, etc, teams will overpay for a player that they think will help them win a cup. Do I think a team will pony up a 1st rounder-- he11 no, but a 2nd rounder isn't out of reach if Namestnikov has a solid season. Just look at what Ottawa got for Dzingel who produced on an expanded role in Ottawa after they tanked the last two years, back to back 56 point seasons (they got two 2nds and Duclair). Maybe swap lines one and two and it's more realistic. I think Kreider, Namestnikov, Strome and Fast are gone at the deadline anyway.
Post deadline lines:
Panarin-Zibanejad-(Buchnevich/Kakko/Kravtsov)
(Buch/Kakko/Kravtsov)-Chytil-Buch/Kakko
Lemieux-Andersson-TBD
Nieves-Howden-TBD
For Kreider, I can see a return of various picks (meaning different rounds, not multiple) and Puljujarvi or Tolvanen or another decent prospect that can fill a 3rd line role right now with potential for more.
For Strome/Namestnikov/Fast I can see a return of picks varying from 2nd round through 4th round depending on the season they are having.