Quoting: Jah1722
Show me the goal scoring from Jones, Ritchie, Comtois etc. Vrana fills the goal scoring need. Sometimes you have to move on from the players you’ve grown to like. Kase is one of my favorite players but if there’s a deal that brings back a top 3 D or a top 6 scorer you move him. I like Manson’s play style but if they could get Vrana for him I do it. 25 goals from a guy that fits the age of the current roster is a need of the ducks.
Jones is 21 years old man and Comtois was only 20 years old to start the season. Give them time. In Vrana's 20-21 year old season he only posted 6 pts in 21 games and spent the rest in the AHL. Comtois is well ahead of him in that sense (small sample size). In fact, Comtois 20-21 year old season was pacing (31 pts in 82 games) closer to Vrana's 21-22 year old season (27 pts in 78 games). IMO, Comtois has very high potential. I think he could be a 1st line W. He's got the frame, the skill and the skating, but just needs time to get up to the speed of the NHL. With that said, we've got Rakell and Comtois as legit top 6ers for the foreseeable future, so I don't see Vrana being a need. I admit that Ritchie isn't a significant contributor, at least in terms of scoring, and Jones doesn't look like he'll be one either, but Comtois absolutely has that upside.
If we're looking to upgrade at W, its the RW we should be improving. Silf would be better suited as a 2nd line W, Kase has injury-concerns, and I think there are some significant question marks over Terry, certainly more than at the beginning of the season. Again, Terry needs more time before we write him off and start looking for an upgrade at RW, but he's certainly more of a concern for me than Comtois.
IMO, our focus should be improving RD. I think trading Kase for a 2-way RHD with a powerful point shot would be very good for us. It's just finding the right deal.
Quoting: Jah1722
Moving Manson in the offseason makes some sense. There will be suitors for not only Manson but also more teams willing to move on from players that could either replace Manson or add the scoring the ducks need. Yes RD is a glaring need for the future but so is goal scoring. The ducks have continually been towards the bottom in goal scoring even when they were playing in the WCF.
And who replaces Manson? There is no point in adding more scorers only to give up more goals because you've got a weak D. That's basically TOR and EDM in a nutshell. Pass on being either of those teams. D wins championships. You need to be more patient with our youth players. And even if you don't believe in them, it's far easier to draft top line or even elite forwards with high draft picks than it is to find good D-men and they take far less to become impact players. I'd opt for keeping our D intact and building out the forwards through the draft. Give ourselves at least one more season of Lindholm, Fowler, Manson and Gudbranson before we decide on who to keep and who to move ahead of the Seattle draft.