Spending 9.5m on a winger is a terrible decision when our weakest positions are center and RD

Wood just transferred colleges so he isnt going to sign a contract this offseason.

As far as Guentzel, I'm not opposed but at that point Trotz would need to figure out a way to turn the surplus wingers like Tomasino into a defensive upgrade. We have so many wing prospects and with Forsberg, Guentzel, and Evangelista really solidifing 3 of the top 6 spots it doesnt leave much room for advancement for the Tomasino, Kemell, L'Heureux, Wood, Fink, Schaefer group. Granted Schaefer and Wood on 3rd line with Parssinen in the future might be good that still leaves 1 spot for 4 wingers to compete over. It's self cannibalizing.

C is understandable but there's no fixing that this offseason that would have to happen during the draft. Between Carrier and Fabbro the RD core seems pretty strong to me?? The Guentzel trade is more so looking 2-3 years in the future, Nyquist and O'Reilly will either want big time raises or not be at the same level anymore. Guentzel can provide that offensive firepower for Nashville with all their young pieces. They also free up around 10-12 million in cap during that time which provides relief for them

As an Oilers fan Schaefer seems like a bust. I was shocked Nashville took him over Bourgault in the Ekholm trade but here we are, Tomasino, Kemell, L'Heureux and Wood all seem to be good though. I don't know enough about Fink but he seems to be tearing it up in the NCAA so I would slot him in for a middle 6 spot in 2-3 years time. Wood plays C so I would expect him to take that 2/3 C spot rather than a winger spot but I understand why they would want to try him on the wing.

Steps up a top 9 of

Forsberg - Wood - JG
Fink - Novak - Evagelista
L' Heureux - Parssienen - Kemell

Tomasino is the odd man out who can be moved for a d-core upgrade in the future essentially

Schaefer took a LONG time to get going in the AHL. But he's been about 0.5 PPG over the last 24 games or so. He's looking alot better. Think he will be a decent 3rd line option in the long run. I think we went with him because we decided to trade Jeannot and we wanted that big body, grit, with some offensive flair back into the pipeline.

Only thing that worries me about fink is his size. NCAA tends to have these wingers of smaller stature that can create offense that never translates to the NHL. Though watching some of his highlights, he is a playdriver and not a passenger so he may be able to make the jump just fine

Yeah but Guentzel is primarily a LW, and spending 9.5 on someone to play behind forsberg isn’t wise. We don’t have to spend that much on a center this offseason, but i’d prefer to keep that money free down the road. Guentzel isn’t really a need