I had assumed that the Flames were willing to trade Jarome to whatever team he preferred as showing some kind of gratitude towards Jarome. I guess that was not their intent, and they ended screwing that part up.
I guess to judge what deal was in fact better, will have to wait for a few years. Let's see what becomes of Khokhlachev's progression as compared to what we ended up getting. Bartowski in my mind was just a 'throw in' and didn't have much upside at all, and is the kind of defencemen you can find as a UFA you can sign relatively cheap. I think Khokhlachev's upside is definitely bigger, and I was definitely intrigued by him, but not only is he short, he is also very thin. COULD bust, could become something we cry about later. Time will tell.
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