Joined: Sep. 2018
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Laughton is interesting, but Columbus would only consider it if they don't think Fantilli will be the 1C in the next year or two, Sillinger and Voronkov need seasoning in the AHL, and Johnson is locked in at wing. We have a ton of middle-6 forwards, just not any developed top-line talent (aside from Gaudreau and maybe Laine).
Realistically, I don't think they make a move for Laughton because you'd have to think Jenner, Fantilli, Kuraly, Roslovic (until he's moved), and Voronkov or Sillinger can hold down the center spots in the NHL. Long term, it's probably Fantilli, Sillinger, Voronkov, and Jenner.
It's a little different from the Provorov situation because we don't have any NHL-ready prospects to fill that hole this year (Mateychuk and Svozil are probably 2 years out still from being legit 2LD options). At center, all of those long-term options are probably already NHL-ready, give or take some AHL time for adjusting. So, it doesn't make sense to trade a top prospect for another middle-6 center when he's probably just going to take time from the people that need it.
If they did trade for Laughton, I doubt you'd get a 1st and Dumais. Maybe Dumais 1-for-1, maybe the 1st if it's top-15 protected. There's definitely a market for Laughton, so the price will be high.