2024 pick is top 3 protected.

If it's not just bs and they're actually considering Michkov over Bedard then absolutely. Otherwise not a chance.

So you want the Hawks to trade # 1 OA in 2023 (Bedard) and then have the audacity to say CBJ’s 2024 1st should be top three lottery protected… what a joke!

You also take out Foudy and Ceulemans and replace them with Johnson and Jiricek, generational talents don’t come cheap.

You don’t really know they are a generational talent until the player plays a season or 2 in the NHL. Lafrenière was supposed to be this big talent but he isn’t. What’s to say Bedard doesnt turn out to be a bust.

Also the hawks are looking to rebuild. I think these assets help the hawks rebuild quicker.

Lafreniere was not hyped anywhere near the level of Bedard. The only two other players who were close in the cap era were Crosby and McDavid.

When you're trading 4 assets with less of a chance of panning out than Bedard, the argument that assets might not pan out isn't a good one. If this was a scenario like NJD offering Hughes for the pick, I would agree that the argument would have some weight because Hughes is now a known product. But the offer is a bunch of picks and young NHLers.

The reality is there is no package anybody could give for Bedard that would make sense. Whatever value would be required would be too much, and Chicago isn't moving him for anything but an overpayment.

The only situation that would remotely make sense is if Chicago thinks Michkov is the better player but will only pass on Bedard in a trade down scenario. Then Columbus finds a way to move up to 2. Michkov isn't going second due to his contract issues, but Chicago wouldn't trade down to 3 because then they could risk losing out on Michkov. (Same reason teams rarely trade down in the top 5 or so when they go off the board)

.. and yet, Chicago is unmoved.

There has only ever been two prospects to receive more hype than Bedard; Crosby and McDavid; and they have both turned out to be pretty damn good.

When you consider the year Bedard just had, not only in the WHL where he averaged over a goal a game and close to two and a half points per game but also at the World Juniors where he was dominant as one of the youngest players in the tournament going up against the best of his peers… well, only a fool would bet against him.

Lafreniere was highly thought of coming out of junior but nobody had him rated in the same stratosphere as Bedard, just go read the posts by all the prospect “insiders/experts”, they all sing his praises and refer to him as generational.

At the end of the day, I’m not telling you anything you don’t know… let’s face it, that’s why you’re on here as a Blue Jackets fan proposing trades that have Columbus acquiring the right to draft him for of fraction of what it will actually cost.

Do you know what the hardest part of any rebuild is? Let me help you… finding high end skill. Bedard fills that need better than anyone over the past drafts dating back to McDavid and for the foreseeable future.

The Hawks have stockpiled a s**t load of picks, including nine 1st round selections between 2022-2025 and have catapulted into the 10 ten prospects pools in the NHL.

Add to that the fact they have over $30m in cap space to utilize for additional asset acquisition and I think it is safe to say they don’t need to trade away the opportunity to draft a potential generational talent in order to expedite their rebuild.

You need to accept the fact the lottery balls didn’t bounces the Blue Jackets way and move on.