Part of the problem with that is you need to target teams that have those role players but are light on depth, teams like Boston, Pittsburgh, Vegas, NYI, NYR, etc. ho look at the rankings for best prospects systems in the league then look at the bottom 10.

And keep in mind, you'll be getting older players, not young guys like Mercer.

But if you want to give Laine away, Anaheim will take him.

I don’t think ANH would take him!

Mercer was a reach but a good target if the CLB 1st is on the table!

Chinakhov is good, is he up for trade?

I’m not a Jackets fan.

I’m just frustrated from afar that they are trying to develop so many pieces that it results in those pieces not being able to develop.

Develop KJ. You’ve got Gaudreau. That’s plenty of left shot top six wingers. I’d much rather develop Sillinger on the third line and Chinakov is a bad fit there. I’m saying he’s expendable if Jackets management actually targets their teams talent for specific roles.

Not a fan at all of trading Chinakhov. He's still very raw and only just got a taste of being given a larger role on the team this year and thrived with it. The chemistry between Chinakhov-Voronkov-Marchenko is huge too and if PV can get his head out of his ass it will be a solid line for a long time.

I'd also prefer keeping the top 5 1st and Laine around than hoping Mercer can bounce back.

Zero chance Mercer lands a top five pick, let alone the other good pieces of that trade, and what a waste of the resources to weigh them down with the Elvis boat anchor. Awful trade.

I’ll let someone else discuss the other trade because it’s worse.

Almost absolutely not, don't get any ideas haha

ha got me thinking

I mean, the idea is there even if the values/targets are off. Trim the fat, add by subtracting in places, and commit to a core of guys Columbus believes in.

The biggest problem: this team is so young, that you're likely to get burned by trading guys like Chinakhov, Texier, Boqvist, and yes, even Laine. They're old enough to be NHLers, but not young enough to have that shroud of mystery potential that bumps up their value, and also not established enough to be extremely valuable NHLers. They're depth pieces that have shown glimpses of the ability to break out in the right situation, and that's a perfect storm of factors that leads to a team losing that trade.

I don't think the team needs to add significantly, or make a quantity-for-quality trade for an upgrade yet. Let the kids develop and guarantee them a roster spot once they prove they can at least beat out guys like Bean, Gudbranson, Gaunce, Meyer, etc. Trade one or two you don't see being part of the future, and commit to the kids.

Commit to these guys, please: Fantilli, Jiricek, Johnson, Sillinger, Chinakhov, Voronkov, Marchenko
Hold these guys obviously: Werenski, Gaudreau, Jenner, Gudbranson, Severson
Move these guys for the love of all things good: Elvis, Provorov
Give them a legit NHL chance: Greaves, Tarasov, Texier, Mateychuk, Nylander
Let them hold down the 4th line: Kuraly, Danforth, Olivier

Suddenly there's 13 forwards, 5 defensemen, and 2 goaltenders. No one under the age of 27 is playing 4th-line minutes or bottom-pair minutes. Sign some vets to plug the gaps in the short term, and just let the core develop, gain some chemistry, and have some certainty that they'll get a fair chance at an NHL position. And hope they can stay somewhat healthy.

The mystery here is Laine.

Tks for all the responses. Not sure what to think of all the Chinakov love but I like the passion.

Is Sillinger possibly an odd player out?

I like Marchenkov.

Anyways if you keep them all, it slows down the rebuild, but will make the success more exciting!