This could be a blessing in disguise. Getting one of Drysdale, Raymond, Rossi. I see you guys, youll be coming soon

@csick Hopefully. Those are all good players and would love to have them.

yup on top of Zegras, Steel, Comtois, Terry and company. They need 2 guys tbh, getting someone like Raymond this year. And then getting a top Dman in next year's draft and i think theyre ready to roll

Okay, I am open to moving Rakell in the right deal because I am big believer in Comtois and I think good wingers can be picked up later in the draft i.e. how we got Rakell. However, I have no idea why you are desperate to trade our only top line D? Who we have no replacement for and is only 26 years old might I add. How do we replace Lindholm? We aren't getting a top 10 pick for him because the teams that get those don't need Lindholm, they need to draft, just like we do. So you're looking at later 1st round picks, later 1st round prospects, and maybe a roster player. Do you really think the solution for this team is to continue to draft more and more good, but not elite talent? I don't. Even if we did get a high pick, D-men are difficult to predict. Even if we draft one high, they may not end up as good as Lindholm. Seriously, trading Lindholm does nothing but makes us even worse. I don't see that as a good thing for young players trying to develop. That is literally EDM and it took a generational talent in McDavid + Drai to get them out of that bad habit... and I'm not even convinced they're out of it.

I appreciate that the draft lottery was a bit of a disappointment, but doesn't it also demonstrate that the way to turning things around isn't just tanking. DET just got screwed. Meanwhile, last year's NYR/CHI and, to some degree, LA this season are a good example of how teams are able to get better without jeopardising a good draft choice. Our route out of this decline is absolutely through the draft, but a secondary to that is making smart deals and that allow the kids we do bring in to grow in an environment with veterans that have been their, had the experience and are capable of guiding them through new challenges. Trading anyone over the age of 25 with any value goes against that and means we're essentially sending out our prospects to be eaten alive by other teams. That doesn't sound like a recipe for success.

P.S. The Silf deal is fine. In any event, you're assuming BM had good offers on the table. If the best offer he had was a 2nd + B prospect, would you take it? I wouldn't. Not to mention that Silf is a great playoff performer. He's going to be an excellent leader once we do make it back into the playoffs.