Significantly Insignificant said:
So one way to look at this might be like this. If Johansen was talented enough to be a franchise center for a team, then shouldn't Columbus be better?
I'm not sure that's really a good measurement. How many years were the Islanders bad despite having Tavares? What does Anaheim's early struggles say about Getzlaf? The Flyers haven't been good in a while. Is Giroux not a legitimate franchise center?
I'm not much on this "rumour" but shouldn't the presence of Seguin on your list at least raise the possibility that top flight players are sometimes available for stupid reasons?