The cost?
If this trade were to go through and Drury were able to magically find a way to make the financial impact negligible, who would be lost in trade? Kaapo Kakko is the primary name floated about social media. Would the 2023 first round pick need to be included, leaving the team without a first round pick for two straight season’s? How about one or several of the organizations young defenseman prospects? The question really is, how much is too much? Surrendering young cost controlled players for a young, but no longer cost controlled player is not a recipe for success under a hard salary cap.
The impact in the organization goes a little further as well. Not only would the team be at risk of breaking up the ‘kid line’ which showed so much promise during the playoffs, but they would force players to move up or down the depth chart before or after they are ready. Moving Kakko would almost ensure that Vitali Kravtsov, Sammy Blais or both get top six assignments. If Chytil were not lost in trade, he would then be relegated to third line center for the foreseeable future. None of this aids, in a positive way, the development of the team’s youth.
Being thrust into a role they are not ready for will destroy players’ confidence and stunt their growth. Conversely, leaving a player who appears finally ready to break out in a lesser role does not provide that player the opportunity to spread their wings. Rangers fans have learned that player development is not always a linear path, but disrupting the players individual path is certainly not helpful.
What is the answer?
It is no secret that the New York Rangers, whichever their line combinations, require a second line center. Dubois may be an available and quick option, but he is also a complicated option. In general, in house solutions, when available, are the simplest and best options. In this case, it would be better for the Rangers to pass on Dubois and focus on elevating Chytil.
Are their concerns with the the Chytil option? Yes. But there were concerns when Strome was promoted to center Panarin too. Strome, in his previous three seasons, two with the Edmonton Oilers and one with the Rangers, had averaged just 1.55 points per sixty even strength minutes in a bottom six role. Ironically, that is the exact per sixty minutes points total at even strength that Chytil produced this past season. Top six minutes and playing with a top ten offensive player did wonders for Strome’s overall game, why not Chytil’s too?