If we could get a first rounder back for Gus I'd forget all the bad trades and signings Stan has made.

I think it'd be easy to get a 1st for Gus, I'd be willing to throw in some extra depth players (Hayden, Kruger, Kunitz, Anisimov) to get more in return. Won't be much more but why not?

We got a first + more for Hartman last year, we should be able to get a first for Gus

I'm all for it trust me! I just hope another team is

This brings up an interesting conversation. Watching the preds knights game last night, Edzo mentioned Nashville needs a scorer. Their PP is also one of the worst in the league, would you move Saad and Gustafsson to Nashville? I'd strongly consider it for the right package.

It would hurt to see Saad is Nashville but with a guy like Tolvanen coming back I'm sure I could cope.

I'm not. At $1.2m the guy has been outstanding. He single handily turned our powerplay into a strength. He's also a better player then Forlsling, Dahlstrom or Koekk hands down which is are only other options on the left this season. Next season, I highly doubt Beaudin or Krys are ready which leaves us with the hope that Forsling, next best comparison to Gus, can be better and stay off of IR. Otherwise we are relegated to moving Murphy to the Left assuming Boqvist and or Mitchell comes up.

Hawks logjam of defense is starting to shake itself out. Ideally, you want players playing on the natural sides and you want a offensive guy teamed up with defensive guy. With Keith and Seabs declining, I though Gus and Murphy would make a great 2nd line pairing for the remainder of this season and next, but doesn't look like it's going to pan out this way.

New pairings will likely be;

Keith - Murphy (Seabs)
Dahlstrom - Jokiharju
Forsling - Seabs (Murphy)

....and I don't like it without Gus in the lineup.

Next year

Keith -Jokiharju
Murphy - Boqvist
Forsling/Dahlstrom - Seabs

Hawks have a ton of defensemen in the system looking for spots next year. It's going to come down to trading Gustafsson or Murphy.

I see what you're saying. I just think Gus is a guy we could easily part with for the right package, and a 1st round pick looks very attractive in my opinion. He's been beyond solid but he's definitely expendable. I could see the Hawks rolling out next year with those pairings you listed and if they are in the playoff hunt, possibly moving Forsling or Dahlstrom for a top 4 LHD rental.

It would have to be significant. Hawks already are already hurting for a top 2 line winger or two. Leaving another gap at that position would be fine if Panarin is a lock, and they someone get lucky with Kaako in the draft. The reality is, Kahun and Cags are not 1st liners. Debrincat, due to his size, get's overpowered on the first line more often then not. You just can't count on those 3 IMO as locks in the 1st line if this team wants to be a playoff team.

Don't get me wrong, I've been saying to the fanbase getting back Saad was a huge mistake as I didn't care for his game in the 1st stint with the Hawks. His hockey IQ has never been great, his puck handling isn't the best either, and he's surprisingly weak given his size...none of these things have matured since his first stint with the Hawks and arguably are worse.

Hawks offense really isn't that bad... Hawks have more 20 goal scorers than Washington right now and Saad isn't even one of them. Saad would bring a huge return and we can use that money on Stone/Duchene/Panarin

Well if we can pick up 2 out of those 3, I'm all for it. Stone, Duchene and Panarin would all be huge upgrades IMO over Saad. Even Dzingel IMO is an upgrade over Saad. So say Panarin ($9.5M) and Duchene ($8.5M) plus grabbing Kaapo in the draft? That would be a unreal front 3 lines rivaling anything I've seen from the Hawks in my lifetime.

Cags - Toews - Kaapo
Panarin - Duchene - Kane
Kahun - Strome - Debrincat

Even though Cags is the weak spot on the 1st line still, but nonetheless, the rest make up for it.

SIGN ME UP...c'mon Nick...let's see a AGM team.

Any of the 1st round picks we get back will be late 1st rounders. Keep in mind, only 33% of 1st round picks historically end up on a NHL line full time. Given that it's likely the 25th pick or later, that risk is substantially higher and we are giving up a guy with a low cap hit that single handily turned our powerplay into an asset. I think Gus may be worth more then just a late 1st or at least for me to feel good about it.

Doubt Toronto wants him because he is basically a Jake Gardiner clone, but I could see interest from Montreal and some others.

Was thinking Colorado also and just made that change based on your comment as I think you are right and they have 2 1st rounders.

Take a look, just posted.