Yeah sorry I should have specified, I was thinking that trade would be great to essentially replace Eller as the 3C for somebody with better point production and FO%, plus clear the path for some of our young LHD while also clearing cap space.

orlov and eller

for

Danault and JUULSEN?

So much this.

1) Who cares. Kuz is a fantastic player. This is so minor.

2) Agreed. This is where "generational" gets thrown around too much. IMHO, Crosby, Ovi, and McDavid are the only "generational" players in the league at this present moment (it's difficult to tell with goalies). However, I think Ovi is the best of them. He's an all-time great. One of the best to ever play the game. Laine, Matthews, Hughes, Eichel, Kakko, etc., just aren't anywhere the same league and I don't think Laine develops into anything close to what Ovi brings. Maybe he becomes at 50 goal scorer, even a multi-season 50 goals scorer, but Ovi is a 5 x 50 goal scorer and a 65 goal scorer. Just insane given the era of hockey in which he plays.

I would throw malkin into that list.

But Matthews Laine.....ect and nothing but Stamkos 2.0. That’s still really good but far from generational.

Maybe? I'm not super familiar with their farm system but I'd almost rather trade for forward prospects or picks. We're pretty solid at defensive depth for the next several years - I know a lot are LHD but some of them can play the right side on the 3rd pairing, assuming Jensen can handle 2nd pairing duties.

PP1: Hagelin Backstrom Oshie Ovechkin Carlson

PP2: Vrana Danault Wilson Laine Honka (claimed on waivers, just to give Laine someone to talk to)

Wilson is top line. His pick retrieval is 2nd to none

Wilson's awesome. Vrana and Laine aren't bad either. You said to make two great power plays, not one great one and some leftovers who wait on the bench like last year.

If PP1 needs puck retrieval more than speed, try Hathaway?

Ovi is already the greatest goal scorer in history, and adjusted for era is #1 ever. He's a once in a century player that probably won't ever be replicated, even if hockey goes on for another 300 years as it currently is played.

Laine is good, but he's within the normal parameters of good, like the next 4 goal scorers below Ovi the last 5 years. Ovi, the last 5 years, into his 30s, is over 50 goals ahead of the next closest in goals to him, and the ones below him are all within a handful of goals of each other.

It's just not even a competition when it comes to actually potting goals. Ovi, Ovi and Ovi. He could have taken over a year off from hockey and still be #1 over the last 5 years. He's playing out of this world and doesn't appear to be slowing down any time soon.

/Fanboy off

Backstrom actually passes blindly toward the smell of Snickers bars and sodas. If Laine gets too close, Ovi will cross check him into submission. I don't see a problem.

either way, it will be entertaining then, because I will pay to see both.

Danault>Laine, for a team looking to win right away. More even strength offense. Better on defense. Good on faceoffs. Kills penalties. Laine should improve quickly, at his age, but defense can take years.

Ovechkin-Backstrom-Wilson
Kuznetsov-Eller-Oshie
Vrana-Danault-Panik
Hagelin-Dowd-Hathaway

There's a forward group that wins faceoffs, kills penalties, backchecks, forechecks, and still scores a bunch of points.

If MTL is serious about rebuilding, they don't want 28 year old Dimitry Orlov for 26 year old Danault, even though Orlov is a better two way hockey player and should get them to the playoffs this year. They want a heap of picks and prospects. But Danault doesn't offer anything that Zacha or Faksa doesn't, and the Caps have until the deadline to see what team gives a good deal on a checking center, in a way that works with the Caps' cap. In the meantime, maybe try out McMichael on line two or three? Followed by Boyd, Gersich, Phinho, or Sgarbossa? Nothing to lose, and it might help their development.