Outside the Box Trouba Trade

LA declines. Campbell's been pretty good. Has more value than a cap dump and a goalie that plays 10 games a year.

For the PIT trade, WPG loses that. You could ask a certain 1st instead of that conditional pick. Määttä and Johnson are pretty much no good while Trouba could easily be a top pair D in PIT.

That being said, I doubt PIT can actually afford to do it. They are already close to the cap limit, and adding Trouba+Perreault will cost them around $11-12M after Trouba re-signs, and they only dump around $6M to WPG.

I'm gonna have to disagree with the PIT trade. I bought out Johnson. With the 1mill retained his buyout cost is .27mill/yr, it's kind of a non factor that makes the trade look better than it is. Also assuming Trouba signs a long term extension, as you said you're looking at that trade netting the Penguins about 5-6mill in extra cap. What is a lot more likely is that Trouba goes to arbitration again and this trade ends up netting PIT 2-3mill in cap. Also they get a cheap top 6-capable LW in Mathieu Perrault, and upgrading their defense should definitely be worth it even if it is only a rental (which it may not be).

Maatta is definitely not better than Trouba, but he plays very well when he is healthy, is signed to a very reasonable contract, and his value is an all-time low. I'd at least consider the possibility of taking a gamble on him, knowing that he'll probably return closer to his average form. PIT might definitely still win the trade, but I would disagree that Winnipeg loses this trade. They clear out 2-3mill in cap, get a top 4 dman locked up, and a very good underrated center prospect from the SHL. If we can get Maatta and Hallander back and still walk away with a 1st, then that's even better.