E.L. wrote:
Which leads me to think they'll concede this year's pick at the last possible second. A brutal decision to make, but if you're committed to dealing Hoffman and Karlsson, you might as well strip it all down now.
That will be mind-blowing if if happens. Friedman on his 31 Thoughts podcast said he thinks they should do just that. Sam Cosentino was on and he said they should keep it. I've been waffling on what they should do from Dorion's perspective.
On one hand, they keep the pick, they end up with a really good player, possibly Zadina, Hughes, Bouchard, whoever. The chances the 2019 pick ends up being a better player than any of those guys is slim, even as good as 2019 is supposedly going to be (I'm told this is the draft you target a d-man, next year is all about the forwards). Given the new lottery rules they could tank it like crazy next year and STILL end up with the 4th overall pick, just like the Avs did last in 2017.
On the OTHER hand...if that pick ends up being Jack Hughes...hoo boy. That will cast a pall over the organization for at least a generation if Hughes ends up being as good as they say he will be. But if that really enough to walk away from the 4th-best pick in this year's draft!? Also...you concede this pick, you are sending a clear signal to the fans...it's tank all the way. I suppose they'd be okay with that but still...to go from draft day to draft day knowing full well there won't be a glimmer of hope until 2019. I can't even imagine, and I had to sit through a team with Landeskog, Duchene, Johnson, Barrie, MacKinnon, Rantanen, and Varlamov muddle through a 48-point campaign that looked even worse than that number would indicate.
It's like trying to choose between being stabbed in the gut or the chest. There's no good way out of this situation.