I'm still not entirely comfortable with Donny making any trades. As DJ Bean
pointed out, Sweeney should play to his strengths and keep the picks. Trading has not been his strong point, although he deserves points for the Drew Stafford trade. I think the only viable candidate is Brodin in Minnesota, as he fits their desire for a LD, but I am not enamored with him and wonder how redundant he will be in two years when Lauzon or Zboril may be ready to step in.
I don't think they make any trades unless Landeskog's price comes waaaaaay down. One of the Millers is likely gone in the expansion draft, so that leaves them with:
Marchand-Bergeron-Backes
XXXX - Krejci-Pastrnak
XXX-XXX-XXX
Schaller-Kuraly-Acciari (or something close, and Riley Nash fits in here somewhere)
Chara-McAvoy
Krug-Carlo
Miller/Miller-McQuaid
For the 2nd line LW spot we have - Bjork as a good candidate, or likely a trade.
For the 3rd line - we have Spooner (who should absolutely be traded yesterday or dumped, I want him gone), JFK, Hayes (buyout candidate), Belesky (I think he stays), Vatrano (potential rebound season coming), and then the Heinen/DeBrusk/Czarnik candidates.
Landeskog might be a fit, but I don't think they meet the demand or even close to it. His cap hit isn't ideal, and his production is mediocre for what he should be doing. I like his all-around game, but don't see it. They would also have to find a way to send money back in the form of McQuaid or Belesky, and I don't see that happening.
If I were to guess, I think Bjork makes the 2nd line, Spooner gets shot into the sun, and we have something like Vatrano-Nash-Heinen to start, or something close on the 3rd, with JFK pushing for minutes by the end of the year. I expect JFK to start the year and spend most (if not all) in Providence.
FWIW, I think people are sleeping on Vatrano a bit. His conditioning is integral, IMO, to his success, and his foot injury set that pretty far back and he never recovered. If he works his ass off in the summer, I could see him on the 2nd line, leaving Bjork a little more time to develop on the 3rd. I could be wrong, but my gut tells me he could rebound with a 15-20 goal season if he stays healthy.