They went bridge for a reason. They’re not paying to move backes until the off season.

They should still do it though, bring in some help on the right wing. This team looks better than one where you keep backes and pay 6 mil to keep him in the press box.

They should not do it at the expense of a first round pick. What they should be doing is playing Backes very sparingly. Lots of nights in the press box. Maybe a demotion to providence. Make him want to get his signing bonus and retire or LTIRetire.

Admittedly, I don't think they need much help at RW rn, and if they do it should be an established 2nd or 1st liner... But @bcarlo25 is right, the whole point in the bridge deal was to get McAvoy and Carlo signed without needing to move Backes at all... They will probably just ride the contract out at this point because they can

They have options to help the #2RW.

Henien and Bjork could both slide up with Bergy and not be out of place. This would allow Pastrnak to move down for depth.

It's not worth the asset in a deep draft. They will be able to move or buyout next season without having to give up much.

The Right wing will be fine. If it's not, they can make a deal at the deadline.

Bjork, Kuhlman and Steen will be in the mix.

Bjork has started last two seasons with 63 and 37. That should tell you what they think of him. Staying healthy is another thing... Kuhlman has shown he can do it and Steen looks like he was a Tampa draft pick that showed up to the wrong locker room and nobody told him.

My guess is they wait and go internally because they have options. If that doesn't work, they did something similar to what they did last year with Johansson/Coyle. OR if they know they aren't going to re-sign Krug and the younger Dmen have stepped up, they could make an actual hockey trade.