Bret H wrote:Don't match the offer... way overpaid. If Kesler turns out a superstar, well... tough luck, but I would still think it was right to let him go.
Can always try to use two of our 2nd rounders to bring in someone to fill Kesler's place. Someone who is paid what he's worth.
Agreed, except that with Anaheim's and Los Angeles' picks (Carlyle compensation and Cloutier trade, iirc), we have FOUR 2nd picks.
I've always been for holding on to our picks and restocking our pipeline, but now it's getting to the point where we can have our cake (prospects) and eat it, too (make a trade at the deadline, with the accumulated $1.9 million by the deadline, and given how teams out of the playoffs are often in firesale mode, we can get something WAY better than Kes for our playoff run).
In the meantime, is Chouinard on the fourth really that big a drop off from Kesler? Santala or Rypien on the fourth is a bit iffy, but still, it is the fourth line, not sure it's worth spending $1.9 mil so that we can keep our depth, moving Kes to the right side might help a bit more in the argument to keep him, but for that money, I think we could find someone with a more offensive upside, which Kes was NEVER projected to have.