Many of us have "strong feelings" about who should be taken 4th overall in this years' draft or what we should do with the pick in certain situations. I figured it would be nice to make a FanPost for all of us to discuss certain scenarios and ideas.
Personally, I would only take Ryan Murray with this pick. If he is off the boards within the top 3 picks, I would hope that Garth would trade down to the 6-8 spot and select Griffin Reinhart.
We are in need of a defenseman with size, like Reinhart, and Murray is predicted to be a game changer. These are the only two defensemen I would want in the first round of this draft. All of the others are "projects" and are 1-3 years aways from any NHL time.
Another scenario I would propose if Murray is not available at #4 is to trade the pick for an established player. A team like the Coyotes who are in the other Conference and are stacked with defensive propspects may be willing to move David Rundblad and Oliver Ekman-Larsson with the right trade. They could utilize the #4 pick to pick up one of the top offensive prospects remaining.
Another team to look at would be Toronto, as we could make a move for Cody Franson with this pick.
The third team I would look at would be Calgary, as the are obviously in need of young talent for a rebuild that is much needed.
Another option would be to work a sign-and-trade with Nashville for either Weber or Suter. Get Suter signed to 6 years, $6.5m and offer 2012 1st round pick, 2012 2nd round pick, Nino Niederreiter and Anders Lee for Suter.
My general consensus: draft Murray at #4 if he's available. If not available, 1). trade down and select Reinhart or 2). trade the pick + others picks/prospects for an established defenseman.