I feel like the sens trade is close but you probably need to add a pick to that

You sons of b words know how to sucker me in. I love Jiricek and Kent



What if the pick is like 2024 pick swaps. We get pick #4 and they get #6-7?

See that seems as fair as it can be

I would draft Lindstrom or Levshunov in that case whichever one drops to 4

i built this trade with the idea that the jackets would draft a RHD to replace jiricek (whether that's levshunov, yakeumchuk or parekh)

Tbf Parekh or Yakem will be available at pick 6-7. Lev likely doesn't even get to #4 so we'd take Lindstrom, Demidov or Levshunov whoever gets there. Montreal won't take a RD likely which means Parekh/Yakem are yours most likely even with the swap.

Pass on Kuraly

...I'd be okay with this, even with a pick swap. Severson - Gudbranson - Boqvist isn't a long-term RD core option, so we'd need a Parekh/Yakemchuk at 7OA, or Levshunov with no pick swap. Even then, we're guaranteeing not being competitive next year, possibly the year after, and hoping that Parekh/Yakemchuk/Levshunov are ready to be the 1RD in 2025-26, which is a big ask.

Maybe it's a draft floor move depending on if CBJ is 4OA and the top 3 are Celebrini - Demidov - Lindstrom/Catton/other F.

You know what? I'm sold entirely because of the prospect of a Mateychuk -> Yakemchuk -> Tkachuk goal being scored

Hahahahhaha, we had that going on too man! Katchouk, Ostapchuk, and Tkachuk.

I’m not a fan of either team but that sens trade is super interesting. Value wise it’s the best trade I’ve seen for Tkachuck on here. Does Ottawa do it? I’m not sure but man is it an interesting trade idea

as you said, would be a draft floor move. i'm not 100% convinced that the pick swap is necessary, especially if CBJ has a clear top 2-3 on their board and one of their guys is there at 4. not necessarily opposed to it, either.

if both CBJ and OTT move down in the lotto (unlikely) CBJ would be less likely to have an RHD on the board after moving back. if one or both move up in the lotto, the overall framework still works. they could find other means of balancing the value if needed, but to me it's splitting hairs at this point since i don't see another team having a better offer than johnson + jiricek straight up.



long-term, i don't think there's significant drop-off from jiricek to levshunov. and levshunov's skating + build are close to NHL ready.

short-term… boqvist could be used as a PP specialist (aligning role to skillset), or he could play with werenski (where he did well when healthy) which would push severson to the second pair (good match with mateychuk imo) and gudbranson to the third. blankenburg as a 7D would be a luxury. could also keep provorov until mateychuk establishes himself, or find a different veteran LHD than mikkola.

forward group is probably one veteran winger short of being actually good – could be a reclamation candidate (olofsson, leblanc) or someone more establshed (zucker). would probably be best to rotate them in with brindley/danforth/texier. could also juggle the lines a bit to leverage some past chemistry (i.e. gaudreau with fantilli, laine with jenner, marchenko with sillinger).

That Ottawa trade is one of those trades were five years later the GMs involved are either going to look brilliant or stupid. For Columbus, it smells dangerously much like selling low.

Both Johnson and Jiricek have failed to meet expectations thus far. Both had stints in the minors this year, their D+3 and D+2 seasons respectively and both also voiced their displeasure about how the team has handled them.

Johnson regressed to the point he was scratched before his stint in the minors but even when he came back was not great before getting injured. Jiricek has been on a yo-yo up and down to the minors while also being scratched a handful of times.

If we ignored their draft slots and just looked at what they’ve done so far then we wouldn’t even be considering them in a trade for Brady. This isn’t to say that either are bad, obviously draft slot has relevance and just based off potential they’re both likely in the top 10 prospects not established in the NHL right now, ‘24 draft excluded.

For Ottawa to be giving you a sure thing 30-40G 75-85P physical winger, one of the best power forwards in the league, who also is locked up for another 4 years at a reasonable 8m… the difference between Johnson/Jiricek and Brady can’t be made up by a pick swap that really puts Ottawa no closer to the prospects they’d be targeting.

Who do you think pushes those two out of the top 3?

Things can still change but from what I understand those two are more/less locked into those slots

there's an emerging consensus that demidov is going to go top-two.

that said… if the jackets are picking in the top two, this trade arguably makes more sense (without the pick swap obviously) because demidov then becomes an eventual laine replacement, or celebrini displaces one of sillinger/jenner (who can subsequently be moved for an RHD)

Demidov

kent johnson's 5v5 underlying numbers actually improved, while his ice time and quality of linemates went down. he still absolutely profiles as a future top line player. sillinger was in a similar situation last year (big step down in linemates/usage, big slump) and had a really strong bounce-back this year. kent is far more talented.

in terms of what he's "done so far" – he's 7th in both points and games played among his draft class, with significantly fewer games played than the guys ahead of him.

as for jiricek… he wasn't ready to be a top four defenseman on an NHL team as a 19-year-old. big whoop. still one of the best prospects in the game.



even without a pick swap, this is still by far the best package ottawa would get if they chose to listen on tkachuk. whether or not they take that step is another matter entirely.

I could get behind this but I don’t know if I would swap 1st round draft positions. I would be more apt to send a 2024 2nd CBJ to them. Remember the Provarov trade allows for the CBJ to retain that pick instead if sending the Flyers a 2025 2nd. I just think the Jackets would not want to move down in the draft.

I agree wholeheartedly, and Jiricek's skating is still a concern, but the fact of the matter is we'd be setting the timeline back at least a year from Jiricek to Levshunov, just considering one is in the NHL right now and the other just finished up his freshman year in college.



Boqvist as the QB on PP2 makes a ton of sense, and he's great with Werenski, and I do like the Mateychuk - Severson pairing in theory. Any veteran LD with Gudbranson (or really any NHL-caliber D) works on the 3rd pair, but I still think long-term we'd be looking for an upgrade at lots of those positions.

Werenski: great, 1LD for life
Severson: well...he's here for 7 more years. Might as well write his name in pen for the 2nd pair.
Mateychuk: pencil him in at 2nd-pair as soon as Provorov is gone
Provorov: as good as gone
Gudbranson: good 3RD, but not great, and already 32.
Boqvist: versatile, but undersized, not overly physical, and not an elite puck-mover. Unless he develops into something special, he's just kind of useful at most things. Not a top-pair guy, not a 3rd-pair guy.
Bean, Svozil, Blankenburg, UFA Vet: all technically options, but not ones you lock up long-term or make a franchise staple.



A veteran winger and a loooot of development from being actually good. I think we could benefit from bringing in another vet, but the kids still do need to develop into their roles. Fantilli is the obvious 1C of the future, but he's still a rookie this year. I don't think he's going to take a Hughes-like jump for another year+. Sillinger has taken huge strides, but he's still got a ways to go to be anything more than a good 3C. Marchenko, Chinakhov, Voronkov, Texier, and even Laine still need to find consistency.

I was optimistic for this season, but looking at next year, my expectations are ~18-20th in the league and finishing out of a wildcard spot, if things continue to develop.

OTT is not trading brady for 2 high risk gambles, CLB would need to add their picks this year and OTT add nothing.

nope hes not, he not even on some list of top NHL affiliated prospects.

this is poster-brained nonsense, it's like if i said "the jackets aren't trading two high-end prospects for an $8m winger, maybe ottawa should add their 2024 1st and an extended chychrun and also take elvis's contract back"



scott wheeler just published his top 75 last month and both guys were in the top 10 lollllll

LOL you do realize these lists are all opinion, Graig Button has Jiricek at 21 and Kent not even on the list (Published Feb 22, 2024 at 09:40 AM ET)

kent only isn't on button's list because he's played too much in the NHL to be considered as a prospect according to button's criteria lmao

last time kent was eligible for that list he was in the top five