So, the Connor Bedard 2023 Draft hype will soon reach a fever pitch as the NHL regular season wraps up and the eliminated teams begin their lottery watch. 

For this week’s Roundtable, we tackle a ridiculous but fun hypothetical question. Let’s say every player in the league was fair game to be traded. If you could wave a magic wand: who is the BEST player you’d be willing to trade, straight up, for Connor Bedard? This is not to insinuate a trade is on the table; the goal here is to appraise just how high we value him right now.

MATT LARKIN: I’ll start with Nikita Kucherov. I’m confident enough in Bedard’s generational talent that I’m willing to give up a current 100-point superstar – but one who will turn 30 this June and has a history of injury troubles. I’m not willing to surrender a prime-year star in his early to mid 20s in the vein of a Jason Robertson. I think Bedard’s floor is to be a top-10 player in the league, but it’s not the same as knowing it. Am I playing it too safe?