Honestly, I just threw out a bunch of names of young, very talented LW, not specifically a trade fit.
I like Raffl, but this board tends to fall in love with certain guys and overvalue them. Call it Jason Akeson disease. I was trying to present a more realistic argument that Raffl is a good role player who can move up/down in the lineup.
At the end of the day, if Raffl was as great of a player as everyone was suggesting, they wouldn't trade him straight up for any of those guys.
- TheGreat28
Jason Akeson was an AHL player who was able to play well in a small role for a short spurt. Raffl is a player who developed great chemistry with our 2 best players, is a possession machine, and is a very good player away from the puck. Not the same type of player (I know you weren't making a direct comparison).
Like you said, he's a good player who can move up/down the lineup, but you also have to consider that he's also a proven player away from the puck and has shown that he can handle both the mental and physical aspect of the game. I wouldn't call him a "great" or "star" player, simply a very good NHL player who can play in any spot in the lineup with any situation. And no, I would not trade him for those kids.
