Quoting: BDeRousse89
I completely agree with your assessment. I think Fabbri is a good starting point then if it takes one of Bokk/Kostin plus a pick, as much as I want to see what Kostin can do for us, I think Bokk has more upside. Plus it would seem since Kostin is closer to the NHL he would fit in the short term plans better for you guys. If we want to repeat, I definitely think we have to make a move and for you to see that is a true testament to your knowledge. Kreider would be the perfect guy to add with his experience over a guy like Gusev. It looks like we’d need to trade Edmundson first though cuz we wouldn’t be able to fit Kreider on top of Eddy and Barbashev. From the Blues perspective, GMDA has said he’d like 1.5-2 mil in cap space entering the season so if that’s the case, it would seem the writing is on the wall for Eddy to get moved. If that happens and Kreider is still with the Rangers, It would seem more plausible of a reality. It would be yet another brilliant offseason by Doug Armstrong and maybe after we win back to back Cups then he’ll get the award for best GM that belonged to him this year.
I'm not sure I'd compare Kostin to Bokk at all. It seems unclear whether Kostin will be an NHL contributer at all... Just to compare him to our Lias Andersson who many people feel is a "bad" prospect. 20 points in 36 games.... Kostin with 24 points in
66 games in AHL. He put up very similar numbers last year. Which is concerning for someone like Kostin who's supposed to be this big 6-3 scoring threat as opposed to a 2way guy like Lias.
But in terms of team planning, I'm not sure if you guys should be trying to deal from defense, given the uncertainty next year of Pietrangelo's deal and the barren options in the prospect pool. I'd figure the best move would be to unload Bozak for a pick or 2 since you have plenty of forwards who can fill middle 6 roles, then slide Thomas over to 2C/3C and put Kreider on the wing. The Bozak money let's you afford all that + Eddy + Barb
I appreciate you understanding the value of Kreider. Bokk is amazing and is the perfect starting chip as far as compensation goes. This is a very make or break year for Kostin, if he puts up a performance like the last 2 seasons, his probability of being anything more than a bottom 6 NHL guy goes WAYYY down.