Quoting: JDavid
I completely see your point, we have so few prospects that its hard to move our best one. I guess to me it comes down to priorities, and if we are still in "win now" mode or not. Merkley can be incredible, but at the end of the day he's a prospect and is part of a future plan. If we want to win now then we cant focus on the future, and have to do whats best for us in the present and Georgiev and Strome can solve a lot of our current issues. Lemieux is just someone that could give our 4th line some identity and bring some youth to the team, but that part of the trade isn't as crucial. What return would you expect to give up for Strome and Georgiev?
Yeah all good points for sure. I'm not too keen on getting rid of Merkley, but I guess my point is that trading him would have to feel worth it. According to Doug, it sounds like we are still in 'win now mode' so I'd be inclined to believe acquiring Georgiev and Strome isn't outside the realm of possibilities.
For me, Strome and Georgiev are worth the Tampa first, our 2nd, and Gambrell. That's just straight up value wise. I've seen plenty of Ranger fans value both Strome and Georgiev as worth the 2020 2nd (SJS) so I think what I've proposed is enough for sure. Plus the Rangers get a smooth skating Center to fit into their system.
If we were considering moving Merkley, I'd propose this trade:
To SJS: Ryan Strome, Alexandar Georgiev, Brett Howden, 2020 4th (NYR)
To NYR: Ryan Merkley, 2020 2nd (SJS), Dylan Gambrell