Quoting: BlindMilwaukee
Thanks for your replies, in your own opinions would swapping Brannstrom for a 2021 1st rounder do anything for Ottawa? I think you guys are right though. This is likely a no from both teams haha.
Ottawa likes Brannstrom, and can use Brannstrom, but might move on from him in the next 1-2 years. They have five defencemen drafted in the 1st rounds that are 23 or younger.
Chabot, 2015 #18 overall
Brannstrom 2017 #15 overall
Bernard-Docker, 2018 #26 overall
Lassi Thomson, 2019 #19 overall
Jake Sanderson 2020/#5 overall
The thing is, they also have #4OA Tkachuk and #3OA Stutzle on the left side, and people can argue where Stutzle will end up, but at $6.75MM, Gaudreau needs to be playing top line minutes. That's a lot of left hand shots, and Ottawa's most promising right shot, Batherson, is going the other way.
I think Gaudreau is just a bit old for this team, as a top line player. The top lines need to be the younger, dynamic guys that are entering their prime when Ottawa begins to compete. Teams with older top line guys aren't coming out of a rebuild.