Guentzel had a broken finger from what I read, and practiced fully today, so he'll be back for the Canes very soon, if not next game. With that said, I am fine we didn't get him. He'll want a raise from his last deal, so to re-sign him you are looking at over a $6M cap hit, and we cannot afford that.
On Buch, I read their GM was willing to retain some cap hit, so we maybe could get him through next season for less than $5.8M.
Overall, though I tend to agree with you that Vatrano is the best target, and I like that he is signed through next season as well. I think a 1st is a bit much for him though, so ideally, I'd want the Ducks to retain some of his cap hit, and I would look at their team and see if there is a player we could get along with Vatrano.
Interesting question you raise though, would you rather deal the 1st round pick or Kakko? I still lean 1st round pick as a pick in the 20's is unlikely to be a big player, and taking Kakko off the current team is sort of counterproductive. Having him on the 3rd line with Wennberg and Cuylle is a good thing, and I don't think Vatrano is enough of a player to give up Kakko.