Joined: May 2018
Posts: 19,108
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A couple of things and I'm ignoring the contracts because these will be guesswork.
The expansion draft pick, I understand the logic to taking Fast, but Skjei will be the best defenseman exposed. It's either him or Bean. Whether Skjei is protected or not is a different kettle of fish, but if he is exempt, Francis will take the best player avaliable. It's not like they have cap issues, and his value has increased dramatically after that Nashville series.
Going to the trade, I like parts of this. I like the idea of acquiring Rakell, but Manson at this point, is injury prone. He's way too big of a question mark and would probably spend much of the season on LTIR with Gardiner. I think at that point, you lower the price. If you want a defenseman from Anaheim, target Lindholm or Fowler (yes, I know both are LD). Manson just has too many questionmarks for my liking.