[CliffFletcher]

When you look at the big RFAs being talked about - Marner, Point, Rantanen, Laine*, Aho - those guys are elite difference-makers. They can make a line go by themselves. They make the players around them better.

I'm not sure you can say the same about Tkachuk. I love him as a player, and what he brings to the team. But he's more of a support player than a dynamic centerpiece. He has the hockey IQ and the hands to play with elite players, but he hasn't show he can generate offence at a high level playing with less talented linemates. He hasn't been able to turn the Backlund line into a dangerous scoring threat playing with guys like Frolik, Bennett, and Neal at RW.

So I see him somewhere between that upper echelon of RFAs and a Connor, Meier, or Boeser. A young core piece with good skills and production, but who isn't a centerpiece who drives play.

* Actually, you could make an argument (and Jets management certainly will) that Laine is a pretty one-dimensional player and doesn't deserve to be paid like a Rantanen or Point.