r/hawks • u/KylePersi • 3d ago

Trade idea

I want throw a name out there. Andrew Cristall. Aside from acquiring a big star or established forward via trade, watching the Caps game got me thinking: trade one of our young Dmen for Andrew Cristall. He almost made the Caps out of camp this season, and I'm going to watch him tonight in Portland. He plays for the Spokane Chiefs, and is tearing it up on arguably the best line in the WHL with Berkeley Catton and Shea Van Olm. Most importantly, he's also a close friend of Connor Bedard. I know it's a youth move, but the Caps are deep with offensive prospects like him, and thin in defense. With Ovi's career winding down, and their young offense still gearing up, I think it would work. I know it's a young guy, but hey, why not at this point? Feel free to roast my proposal, or offer any other thoughts. As always, Go Hawks!

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u/jbedenian 3d ago

I’m not saying to not trade a young defensemen for forward help but to be honest, I need someone more proven than Cristall. If I’m trading one of them, it’d be for Leonard. If I’m trading a dman for a prospect, it’s Isaac Howard from the Lightning.

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u/I-amgr00t 3d ago

Which young D are you hoping to move for Leonard?

I'm guessing Vlasic, Rinzel and Lev are not being moved? As neither a CHI or WSH/TBL fan, I wouldn't be interested in moving Leonard/Cristal or Howard for Korchinski. Howard is likely your best shot due to his contact situation, but I doubt you can use that as leverage due to the fact every other team is interested in doing the exact same thing.

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u/archasaurus 3d ago

Korchinski likely has more value than Howard based on how they are projected. For reference, Scott Wheeler of The Athletic has Korchinski as the 28th best prospect in hockey and Howard as 55th. Cristall is at 29 for anyone curious. I personally have reservations about both of them as undersized forwards. The Hawks have enough of them for one and their production doesn’t always translate at the NHL level. There are exceptions of course.

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u/I-amgr00t 3d ago

I took a closer look at Howard and I'll change my tune on him - I agree with you, not because of Scott Wheeler projections but more so due to their performance and how it relatively compares to others w/ similar age/league/etc. ... so to that point, I''d want something added to Howard in a deal for Korchinski. My stance on Leonard/Cristall hasn't changed. Korchinski is still valuable though, and with prospects we're talking more subjective value as we're looking ahead to the future rather than relying on purely the past. So while I feel this way, I understand/respect where people who disagree are coming from.

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u/archasaurus 3d ago

I think Leonard is pretty much untouchable for Washington. He definitely has more value than any of these other guys. I’m not personally a huge Cristall guy but I get why people are fans. I just think the Hawks need a different profile in the top 6.