Not bad

This doesn't solve the cap situation, and this lineup is very weak up the middle.

They might consider it. Lot of people think Keller has Patrick Kane like skill so NJ might take their chances with the pick at the risk of 2 pretty good players.

If Atkinson were 6'0, he'd be way more in demand but got to face the facts. He's 5'8 and unless you have Gaudreau's skill, that is just simply unattractive for another team in all honesty even if he put op decent numbers. Yeah yeah he scored 27 goals, he's a good player but MTL fans look no further than David Desharnais who put up 60 pts not too long ago and his value is practically nothing. I think CLB fans look at the stats and think he's worth as much as a 6'0 guy but in reality, those 3-4 extra inches are paramount in the eyes of NHL GM's and lots of data does not necessarily disprove them. I like Atkinson but i think any team willing to give up high picks or prospects for him is very misguided. A general rule of thumb to be taken on a case to case basis is "Size does matter". If we're talking 5'11 and 6'0, people are willing to look the other way but 5'8 is just flat out small for hockey player standards.

Rychel is a guy i also think CLB fans are overrating just a little. The perception with him is that if he couldn't crack a bad CLB team these past couple years (minus their one playoff appearance) then how would he crack a SJ or Pit who have crazy good depth? I'm simply pointing out the concern i see other teams having. He has the skill to be a 50 pt guy next year but nothing of what he's done so far in the NHL or AHL has proven it yet. He's still in demand but i think he's a little less than many CLB fans are thinking.

Also I've come to realization that players lose their "wow factor" the minute they are drafted. Its similar to buying a new car which depreciates the minute its driven off the lot. This idea of not knowing what player that pick will be is virtually priceless in the eyes of GM's. Take this years 4th overall for example from Edm. They are holding that pick on such a pedestal but in reality that pick just simply is not worth as much as they think. Let take a look at the previous 4th picks:

Mitch Marner
Sam Bennett
Seth Jones
Griffin Reinhart
Adam Larsson

Mostly pretty good players there but by no means superstars. Larsson hasn't really panned out, Reinhart neither, Jones is looking like he's going to be a really good dman but we're still waiting, Bennett is progressing well but at this point doesn't look better than Monahan or Gaudreau, Marner is destroying the OHL but lets see how he faces 6'3 220 Lbs players who skate just as fast as he can in the NHL. (Not bashign the kid, he looks like a good one but still.

So my point is that the 11th pick has a perception of being sexy when in fact it isn't as valuable as some think. Strictly value wise, Atkinson and Rychel could and should get it done but i can see how most GM's would quickly decline.

I like and agree with much of what you are saying. On the surface, I agree with your list of guys who have/have not yet panned out. Marner is too early to be determined, and Larsson you can fault the development process under a previous coaching regime (just my opinion, but his play improved exponentially as soon as that coach was removed. 3+ years of stunted growth can definitely skew the results).

I don't think NJ goes with that trade, personally. Shero isn't moving a #1 when the main piece is an undersized 27 year old forward; the Devils are deep into a rebuild, and this doesn't solve their problems.

However, if the trade were to occur, it seems as though CBJ isn't as sold on JP as others out there (reports of them trying to trade both up and down), and the packaging of those two picks to make a run at #1 or #2 would be more likely than anything else.

Tomorrow is set up to be an interesting day to say the least.

It would be hard to give up Cam. There is a lot of value there bc of his lower salary & how high his Goals per Game is.