I disagree to some extent. Dundon is all about maximizing performance for each dollar he spends. If he thinks the total number of dollars he's spending will deliver better performance (i.e., paying KK roughly $1 million to go away and spending the other roughly $4 million he would have had to pay him to pay someone else), he will do so.
The complicating factor there is Staal. If you had KK in that third slot and expected less offense from him, then yeah. I do think he's decent value in that role. But Kotkaniemi hasn't really stepped up his defensive game and Staal has remained relatively effective in that slot. There probably doesn't exist a world would Brind'Amour would slot KK above Staal and keep him there. Therefore, he's excess to requirements at a 4th liner and baldly not up to being a 2nd line center. Unless they convert him to checking line wing or something, I literally don't see a natural role for the guy regardless of what they're paying him.
When you consider the lack of center depth in the league as a whole I bet that there are a handful of teams that see KK as a useful piece as a 3C. With a rising cap each of the next few years his cap hit isn’t awful moving forward. I think he actually has a small bit of trade value. Is he a good fit here no, but I can see him still being useful to someone.
Going point...any team that doesn't have someone as good as Staal in the #3C role should be taking a look at KK. Our problem is that we don't need another #3C, but a sold #2C or even an upgrade at #1C (as much as I love Aho).
Well, if you posted more frequently, you’d get the hang of it.
Good wishes and prayers headed to all y’all fighting cancer.
I mean ... OK. He's defensively a non-factor at center but he's a decent puck distributor who has a streaky shot. He's out of place at center on a contender, but somebody like Chicago that needs a 2nd center to play with some offensive minded wings might talk themselves into him. For a contender, it's his versatility that gives him value. He can play all across the forward lines and move up and down in usage without being a distraction. He put in a good shift here in that kind of role, and you'd think he'd prefer to do that again to going back to a developing roster ... but hey, he's going to get an NHL job somewhere. Those 22 goals he scored here guarantees it.
