that's the point. it isn't just as simple as "trade down." other teams are going to value players differently. stop using models, use your brain.

It really is as simple as that. Draft picks are easy to trade. If you specifically don’t like what’s available at 17, it is quite easy to trade that down into pieces you prefer to a team who does like what’s available at 17.

what if teams don't want to trade the picks? i can't believe i'm having this conversation. are you trolling me? you've seemed competent previously, but this is criminally stupid.

In the incredibly unlikely scenario every single team in the NHL doesn’t like what’s available at 17, tell you what, NJD will trade for that pick back.

not the point again - you know that.

lets put this in just the simplest form possible:
lets say the bruins like two players, one that they think will be available at 25, and one that they think will be available at 39.

they get 17. how many teams are going to have both a pick between lets say 23-26, and 35-40?
there might not be any. if there are, are they interested in 17? what if they aren't. what if they like where they're at, and have a player targeted they think will be there? what if they really want that 37th pick because theres a d man that they rate higher than most, and they can nab him there? This is not, "hey, i'll give you two 10s for a 20." these are subjective matters when we're this close to the draft, because amateur scouts have identified human beings, not numbers.

the models are stupid.

Alright but A)

There is no evidence that the bruins don’t like what’s at 17 and do like what is at 25.

What if they really like a guy at 17. It’s a lot easier to trade down than trade up.

Teams in those ranges to trade down with?

Ottawa, Montreal, Calgary, Anaheim, etc. or you can simply make multiple trades.

It’s not even like I’m suggesting a trade for picks Boston owns.

And again, who’s to say Boston doesn’t have a guy they really like in the 17 range. Going into the draft, it is a lot easier to navigate down than it is to navigate up.

If a guy falls to 17 and Boston doesn’t have that pick, they have to convince 1 of 1 team.

If Boston has 17 and doesn’t like the slot, they have to convince 1 of 31 teams to trade for it. And even if they don’t get the exact perfect hypothetical picks that you want (you haven’t even mentioned which prospects you think would be at 17, 25 or 39), you can still make further trades. Picks are incredibly liquid

i read the first sentence and stopped. that's not the discussion.

And 1 day later clearly evidenced that you'd be able to trade down.

17 --> 20+61 could have certainly been done. And then if you wanted to go down again to the mid 20s would have been able to pick up another 2nd with ease

i never said it couldn't happen, i said there are a ton of variables and its not as simple as pick x equals pick y and z