I think Chicago would accept. They should imo.

Anaheim and Chicago both decline. Not nearly enough to get Zegras. And I'm not sure the Hawks would take Boqvist back if Columbus attached that 3rd to move Boqvist.

Why would ANA do that?

Huh? Your takes on here are usually pretty solid. This one baffles me. What possible reason would the Hawks have to give up a 3rd for Boqvist? Still can't play D. Still injury prone. I just don't see it.

Hawks trade is the only one the jackets would accept. Rest are really bad for the jackets

Because it makes CBj better for cheap, duh

I'm having a hard time believing any team is willing to just take on Laine's contract. 2.5 years at $8.7M is something only 5 teams can take on right now, and one of them is Columbus.

I wouldn't even consider signing Boqvist if he were a free agent. But, I think there could be a team that bites on him for a 3rd or later pick. Low risk, but high reward, if he develops into a better player and stops getting hurt all the time.

That's all it takes to get Laine? I need to make a Pittsburgh perspective.

RHD stopgap until prospects get here? If they do that it would tell me they plan on moving Murphy which I dont see happening. I doubt the hawks have any interest in giving up picks or prospects for him.

For that package you get Frankie Vatrano, not Trevor Zegras.

I don't think the Sabres should be shopping for left shot d, but I would think that even as a one year rental, that's pretty reasonable, somebody will take him for that.

First, thanks for the kind words about my takes in general. I usually look for a few key guys who's opinions I respect to see what their thoughts are and you're one of those guys.

My take on Boqvist for a 3rd has to do with a couple of things. First, he's only 23 and has played in almost 200 NHL games. In that time, he's scored at nearly .5 points per game. There's a chance he still has a long and healthy career, but there's no guarantee. Then there's the fact that he's a RD and this team needs RD. As far as his defense goes, I'm willing to bet a 3rd round pick that Richardson can help him. He's made Zaitsev look like a competent defender. The chances of the 3rd turning into a legit NHL'ER are fairly slim but Boqvost can play. He can score. He fills a need and his age fits the timeline and he's under team control for a bit. Had he been 3 years older I'd pass but I have a hard time passing on a 23 year old that could put up 40 points each year if healthy.

Worst case turn him into a right shot winger, take the defensive responsibility away from him, and then maybe let him take a typical defenders spot on the power play to quarterback it. I would imagine he's then at least a halfway decent defensively winger.

I said the same exact thing about Duncan Keith early in his pro career. His defense sucked. I'm glad I was wrong and it shows my lack of player evaluation sometimes.

Both good points

I wouldn’t even do that honestly

Thanks for the props as well. I get what your saying about Boqvist. But I just don't see it working out. He's undersized and has no physicality to his game. Both things the Hawks want to move away from on their blue line. And Boqvist likely would get minimal to no power play time, so what's probably his best skill doesn't get used. Maybe Richardson can teach him to be better defensively (great point on Zaitsev) but that seems like a longshot to me. He's shown no inclination in that part of the game up to now. Guess we differ regarding Boq. Which is fine. Good discussion!

One thing I would say about Zaitsev is, sure Richardson has given his career a little life, but is it also possible that OTT and DJ Smith are what made him look so bad? Because he looked much better almost immediately after coming over to CHI, and he looked great in TOR before he was in OTT. OTT has been horribly mismanaged and coached improperly for a quite a few years now, and he spent most of his time there within a rebuild. Players always look worse during a rebuild as it is, too.