Unlikely but creative Who says no

Anaheim surely says No. We just signed Ryan Strome; unless he tells us he wants to go elsewhere, we'll stand behind him. And we're for sure not going to sign him and then pay 50% of his salary not to have him on our team. What kind of optics would that present?

Adam Henrique is on the table for either of your 2023 firsts, with a 2023 third and 50% retention. If Blais is a cap dump to you, it won't cost you anything to include him.

Anaheim says no and probably Arizona too since they want 3 firsts without retention for 50% you probably need like 5 1sts.

Anaheim without a doubt says no

2 firsts or high prospect as a first +
Kravstov is not that.

I hear ya, but Strome hasn't exactly lit it up for Anaheim, and at half the cap hit he's attractive to NYR to play with Panarin. Plus Anaheim will be a cap floor team for a few years. 1st round pick is for the retention. Could easily substitute someone else for Blais.