Bottom Six Veteran Forward
With players like Brendan Lemieux and Jack Roslovic’s play improving rapidly, this need is currently up for debate. It could go one way or another. Although Roslovic isn’t on the fourth line just because of Ehlers’ injury, he has proven himself worthy of more ice time. Brendan Lemieux and Andrew Copp are on the rise as well. The Jets have a decision on whether trading for another depth player is really necessary or not.
I think this is a deal which needs to be done for two reasons. The first, if we start accumulating injuries the season could very well end up cutting short in the playoffs. Reason number two, if that solid play was just a fluke, we need some backup.
Some of the top available players to fit this role are Michael Ferland, Brian Boyle, Jakub Silfverberg, Kevin Hayes, Charlie Coyle, and Andreas Johnsson.
Michael Ferland would be a prime example of a solid veteran to bolster our bottom six, but Carolina has a whopping 1st round pick as a price tag set on him. He has 27 points in 43 games.
A cheaper choice would be someone like Washington’s Andre Burakovsky. Burakovsky has really struggled this year in Washington, being a healthy scratch numerous times. He’ll be an RFA at the end of the year, so he could be someone to take a chance on for this season, and sign for next season.