Trade with NYR

that would be a really stupid trade

Hahahahahahahaha

Is it that bad or that far off ?

It's that lack of direction would be the best word to describe it.

The probable best comparisons to Lafreniere right now outside of teammate Kakko and former draft mate Dach would probably be the Flames and Coyotes former letdowns Sam Bennett and Dylan Strome. They aren't busts clearly but both definitely had their share of early career struggles considering their draft pedigree

Now it's entirely possible that in a change of scenery Lafreniere becomes something like a 70-80 point player when given a more defined role, however that is a massive risk especially when you are trading your teams arguably 2 best players from this season. Making a move like this both eliminates the Flames chances of competing next year while also preventing them from trying to rebuild properly through the draft. Whether that be a full rebuild (unlikely with last summers extensions) or a partial rebuild (like LA where they did it pretty successfully with a 31 year old Kopitar and a 29 year old Doughty).

Well, I'm in.

Why would the Pens trade for a worse version of DeSmith who costs more?