Quoting: ChiHawk
No way should the Hawks trade Kubalik...bad move. He netted 30 goals in his rookie year, on pace for 36 goals in a 82 game season....how many rookies have done that? I didn't respond to the last AGM because it makes zero sense to move a guy like Kubalik right now.
Forget that Marner trade, Hawks don't need to take on another huge contract right now given the cap space and are better off with a 1st rounder and Nylander. Murphy and Saad could be moveable.
Keith is a lock to play 2nd line; he's still strong just not as a first liner anymore. No need to acquire both Lindholm and Brodin, one or the other. I would NEVER consider trading the #1 pick for Lindholm, Alexis is a franchise potentially generational player...Lindholm is not.
Seabs and Shaw are not on LITR...well maybe Shaw in another year, and definitely not Keith...no offense but this idea is crazy given the all important cap space to account for.
Thanks for the feedback. I can understand the thinking in not wanting to trade Kubalik because he was one of the best even-strength goal scorers this season & will only get better. If you are to keep both Kubalik & Lafreniere, then there would be no need for Marner & you can roll something like Kubalik-Toews-Kane, Lafreniere-Strome-Cat, Kurahsev-Dach-Nylander which is still quite lethal.
To your point about Keith. Indeed, he was the best defenceman in the league during his prime. However, his performance over the last 2 seasons has declined significantly. He's still decent at generating offence, but his even-strength defensive play is poor as he is near the bottom of the league in ability to prevent scoring chances & zone entries. He doesn't add a lot of value to special teams either.
Obviously it would help for him to not play on the top pair, but IDK if he's going to be effective on the second pairing either. Maybe, but based on his results, he is a negative impact player overall, so it only seems ideal for him to sheltered on the third pair. This is why I traded Kubalik/Lafreniere for another high caliber LHD (Lindholm/Toews) & brought in 9 million dollar Marner to replace one of those forwards.
I guess they can just keep De Haan & either resign him or sign someone solid at free agency. He's a very solid shutdown defender, but there is a lot of uncertainty because of his injuries.