Quoting: Salzy
But retaining doesnt hinder us at all, and maximizing the return on tradeable assets takes precedence. Sharangovich is a nice player, but we have a chance to get more than a "nice player". Not knocking Yegor at all but he doesnt hold the same value as a first (to ANA) in my opinion.
How much of that production is Hughes though? Trading our most valuable trade chip for someone who at best is a mid-six forward seems like poor asset management to me. Sure its unlikely a late first becomes a star but adding role players like Yegor doesnt accomplish anything for us, especially someone who would probably be seeking a similar contract to Mikheyev and that would be bad for us, or he could insist on a one year deal and walk after next season.
I think this season is a clear indication we are more than a year and some role players away from competing in a meaningful way. Trading Rico to get a worse asset just because they'll be ready sooner is a very Bob Murray-esque move that has held us back for years and put us in the spot we are in now.
We arent winning the cup in the next 3 years, Yegor will be 27 going on 28 and more likely than not declining at that point, while that 2023 1st round pick could be entering his prime alongside Zegras, Mintyukov, Drysdale, our 2023 1st rounder, McTavish and so on
If we arent fighting for 32nd place and say we're more around 20th I might be more for it, but the position we're in, a 2023 1st is much more valuable than Yegor in my eyes
By that logic, we should move Terry, because by the time we are competing, he will be 28 going on 29 and he will more likely than not be in decline. Secondly, I don't think a 23 1st is in the cards for Rico, someone would need to be desperate to do that move for a 2/3 C. Maybe the Penguins would do it, maybe the Leafs, maybe Colorado but there are other options available on the trade market skewing the supply demand ratio (Toews, ROR, etc) Rico may be the cream of that crop, but if all those guys are going for 2nds, a team would need to have a very specific set of circumstances for the 1st to maek sense. More than likely, Rico is with us to start the season next year, if for no other reason than we don't have many LWers, and because while we on CF may see no problem with retaining 1.5 seasons of a guy, the Samueli's and Verbeek may not feel the same way.
The only comparable trade that you mention above was the Foligno trade, all the others were for rental 27/28 year olds about to hit the UFA market for the first time. Rico is having a great year, but just as you point out with Sharangovich being a product of Hughes, how much is Henrique a product of Zegras/Terry? Sharangovich's possession metrics are no where near what Rico's are, but the offensive capability is there to be a complimentary player on our top line, including where he scores goals, which is from right in front of the net. He is younger than Terry, plays a power forward game, has the size/strength to defend his line mates. He in a lot of ways plays like Henrique, he is just younger and more raw as a result of less experience (their age 24 seasons are very comparable on advanced stats), the only real difference is that Sharangovich kind of sucks at faceoffs, but we need to let Zegras/McTavish start doing that more consistently.
I'm not saying its a huge win of a trade, and maybe we ask NJ to add something small back like a 3rd round pick, but I think its a fair deal that works for both sides, but I don't think the player we would get with that late first is going to be any better than Sharangovich is, only benefit we would get is younger.