Quote:
Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814
Disagree - sans Ekholm, they still have two Norris threats and Ryan Ellis. You don't need four insanely good defensemen, you need one or two. Past a certain point, the money is better spent on forwards and goalies.
The problem with too many elite D is that you can't put any more than two on the ice at the end of the game when your season is on the line. Ekholm isn't replacing a forward, he's not going out ahead of Subban or Josi, and even if he was, he'd be 90 feet away from the net.
Nylander immediately becomes one of the four best forwards on the Predators, and Ekholm immediately become one of the two best defensemen on the Leafs.
I would do Nylander for Ekholm straight across if I were both teams. Each player fills a glaring need.
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Nashville has made the SCF and then won a president's trophy with their top 4 D. Ekholm-Subban is probably the best D pairing in the NHL, or at least right there with Vlasic-Karlsson. They will find other avenues to improve their forward core without messing with the one thing on their team that is working.