Well, Brad Richards is ours. When I look at this team, I see a good mix of vets and developing young players. I also see a lot of leadership and toughness. This team finally has an identity, something we have been lacking for years.

When I look at the forwards, this is what I see.

??? - Richards - Gaborik

Dubinsky - Anisimov - Callahan

???  - Stepan - ???

??? Boyle - Prust

Those question marks can be filled with a lot of different guys, such as:

Wolski, Fedotenko, Avery, Rupp, Zucs, Christensen, Thomas, Hagelin, and Weise

Now, every team wishes they could trade their "spare parts" for legit roster players, potentially even first liners. The Rangers however are in a unique position to do this. Guys like Wolski, Zucs, and Boyle all have value, and to be truthful, would not be that missed if we traded them for a 1st liner. Guys like Eriksson, Lucic, Clowe, Sharp, even Kulemin to name a few.

So imagine the scenario.. We trade those 3, or some combination + prospects for a legit first line LW. By doing that, we clog of the excess amount of depth, and bring in a guy who can play with Richards and Gaborik.

By doing that our roster could be...

Left Winger - Richards - Gaborik

Dubinsky - Anisimov - Callahan

Prospal - Stepan - Hagelin/Thomas

Feds - Rupp - Prust

For me, the healthy scratches are Avery and Christensen, with Hagelin and Thomas fighting for that last roster spot. If we make this trade, I would love to bring in Prospal for 1 more year. It might slow down the youth movement for a year, but I think he is worth it. At the minimum, he provides more leadership and a great locker room presence. At best, he can be a solid 3rd line contributing player, who could play with Stepan and even take some crucial faceoffs for him. And if we don't bring him back, we always have a lot of other options to look at, such as Weise, keeping both Thomas and Hagelin, or just shifting up Feds and putting Avery on the 4th line.

Thoughts??