CapFriendly Rule #1: you can't trade Tyler Benson.

But seriously, if (God forbid) something happens to Hyman, Nugent-Hopkins, Puljujarvi or Yamamoto (whom I consider your top-6 wingers), I can see you getting Rakell for a second and Raphael Lavoie.

Damn i missed that rule is it forbidden to ask why?

I see Nuge struggling to produce in second line minutes so moving him to 3rd line center would be ideal IMO gives us some of the best center depth in the NHL and legit middle six

It's a running joke of mine. Benson is from Edmonton. Rule #1: You can't trade a hometown boy away from his hometown team. It creates karmic injustice. (My Rule #2 is: If you can't spell him [in the title or a comment], you can't have him.)

Fair, Oilers just let all the Edmonton boys leave in free agency. (Oilers legends such as Benning, Brule, Strudwick)

Keep the Kassassin for playoffs!

Matt Benning > Ethan Bear & Cody Ceci never should've let him go

Pittsburgh doesn't have cap for that, it also makes zero sense for them.

Why would Rakell even be a target? His play has dropped off in recent years and he hasn't been a good playoff performer over his career.

That's a massive overpay for sending Kassian out. You do realize that he has scored more 5v5 goals than Rakell has over the past 3 years, right? Despite playing 21 fewer games.

Ricard (Nine Goal) Rakell isn't worth Lavoie + a 2nd unless he turns back the clock 5 years or so.

On a terrible Anaheim team & Kassian was getting ice time with MCDAVID! Rakells performance last year would be Kassians 3rd best year ever and in a full season he would have produced more than his best year. Kassian is not effective his contract is absolutely one of the worst in the NHL.

Also did you say something about play off performance???? Kassian 29GP 4G 1A 5P -3 Rakell 46GP 11G 8A 19P +1 With only $500,000 difference in salary its not even close in my opinion on who I want on the team.

Lol, sure. He's paid like a 3rd liner and performs better than that when healthy.


Where did I say anything about Kassian's playoff performance? Oh, that's right, I didn't. The fact is that you are targeting a guy for the playoffs who isn't very good in the playoffs. Why not look for a rental with proven playoff acumen?

The whole thread you have been defending Kassian and attacking Rakell so thats why I thought you were comparing the two but anyways open to suggestions, Who do you think will be available at TDL with proven playoff acumen on a team that wont be in the playoff picture? Obviously Cap hit will be important.

Retention would be required (or cap going back) for some of these guys, but here are a few suggestions:

Kessel
Forsberg
Brown
Hertl
Getzlaf
Johansson

Kessel would be a great option but would have to be Money in/Money out (Kassian & Koskinen plus package)
Forsberg would likely cost to much as Nashville hasn't committed to a full rebuild yet and may be in a wild card battle
Brown hasnt produced in the playoffs since 13 so that's a tough bet and same money in/money out situation
Hertl would be amazing and hands down best option but again package would be very expensive
Getzlaf is a depth piece I guess... I personally wouldn't target him but brings tons of experience so i understand why
Johansson Is an option i guess but has declined and produced at a rate similar to Rakell with less upside cause he is older IMO

This whole list is basically players that are getting paid almost twice what Rakell is making them incredibly difficult to fit into our cap scenario. With that said Forsberg/Hertl would be on my top target list if they would be available. I think Rakell comes in as a realistic cheaper option.

He's just not a very good player though. If you were getting 2016 Rakell I'd understand targeting him, but you're not. He hasn't been the same guy for 3 seasons now - there's a clear drop off after 2017-18.

https://naturalstattrick.com

Every player you listed has been falling off since 17-18 tho... other than I guess Hertl and Forsberg have been consistent i guess? I think Rakell could be a very serviceable rental and would get great return on him at the right price.