I wouldn't offer sheet Laf, but I am curious what Drury is actually willing to accept. I'd give up quite a bit.

What would you give up?

I guess it all depends on who you think he is as a player. I still think he's a really good player. I don't hold it against him that Drury's messing up his development.

2024 TBL 1st, Colton Dach, Taylor Raddysh come to mind. It's adjustable for sure. Obviously, a 1st is required. TRad can enter into the fold immediately and provide a great contract. Colton Dach is Bowman's draft pick...I could see him being shipped out. I would consider adding another minor piece if needed too.

Interesting. I probably wouldn't do that, but it is certainly interesting. Personally, I think I'd rather see what Dach and that 1st become than trade them for Laf. However, I do feel like Raddysh was always going to be a trade chip, and was never really in CHI's future plans. I know Dach was a Bowman pick, but so were Vlasic, Kaiser, and Reichel, among others. I'm not sure how involved Davidson was with Bowman's decision making process, but I'm sure he was in some capacity. So, technically, Bowman guys are still Davidson guys, too. We'll see though.

Regardless, CHI isn't anywhere close to being a serious contender and there will always be more targets down the road that we don't even know about right now. Guys that could provide the same amount of production and could have a lower trade value because their current team doesn't have a 1st overall pick invested in them. I don't look at Laf and think "I must have this player." So, why go spending NOW?

All great stuff to consider. I'd be willing to do it for a few reasons. A.) Most importantly, I think his game translates to a playoff power forward game. He's just 21, scores most of his goals infront of the net. 100+ hits the last two seasons despite limited ice time...not that hits are all that great, just highlighting his willingness to be physical. B.) He hasn't had the chance for real PP time thats hes capable of. His stats in my mind are deflated vs mostt guys on Capfriendly trying to pump Victor Olofsson type guys. C.) IF you're trading for him...you better keep him a while. So he's part of your long term players. IF we trade for him now... lock him up to a "reasonable" 8 year. I don't think its nearly as big a risk as others. We know his floor. He can easily be a #3LW. We know the NYR are trying to low ball him right now. Give him some extra money now while we have tons of it...take some in year 6-8, when we'll likely need the cap. And since he's just 21...he's going to get to be a UFA at some point anyway. It's not like we'd be locking him up until he's 34.

Very true. If we did that and he gets top PP and top line minutes and all of a sudden becomes what everyone thought he would be as a 1st overall pick, it would be an absolute win. Might be a risk worth taking, and if KD made that move it might make me a little nervous but I wouldn't be upset at all. To put it more simply, I'm just not tripping over myself when I think of acquiring Laf, but I'd be fine with it.

To you're point. I didn't see that Debrincat trade until recently. That TBL 1st could be another good one. DET is certainly getting better.

For sure. I don't know how far TBL will fall, but I certainly don't see them being better than this past season. And the RHD in the 2024 draft are plentiful and significantly more skilled than the defensemen from the 2023 draft.