Quoting: GreatWhiteNorth
While the idea might have merit, the proposal just isn’t enough for Zadorov. Any deal for him starts with a 1st round pick (you can argue Firstov’s value in any talks but I don’t see it as the same value of a 1st). His trade comparables would be Ben Chairot and David Savard and both of them got a 1st in return. Add in the fact that multiple teams will try to acquire him at the deadline and the bidding war has to start at a 1st.
Assuming Calgary is then looking to rebuild or retool, and Merrill doesn’t really have any value to them as they already have multiple defence that are trying to get into the lineup and they can sign a veteran for the bottom pair if they felt they needed to.
Because of all that, this just doesn’t make sense for Calgary.
Quoting: jnowariak
Interesting. I’m not sure how to value Z and I’d probably start with a 1st as the ask too, Firstov looks like you could plug him in a mid 6 role with PP time right now. He’s also a weird valuation.
But I’d be fine with adding another piece or 2 from the Wild POV. I’ll be interested to see if the Flames move Z or Hanafin first and how each return shapes the other.
I'm not paying a 1st for a 6th/7th Dman, that's absolutely too rich.
Savard was at the time of his last two trades at minimum was a serviceable 2nd pairing option. So a 1st for him is/was entirely justifiable. Chiarot was almost a beneficiary of a small Dman market at the time of his trade so his price was inflated a bit because of that. He's also been playing 2nd pairing minutes since going to Detroit, so one could also argue they paid 2nd pairing Dman prices.
Zadorov, meanwhile, has been a consistent 3rd pairing Dman for several years in Calgary. As well as a current healthy scratch. He's absolutely a improvement for Minnesota's bottom pair, but let's not jump the gun, shall we?
Asking for a 1st for him is a significant stretch in my opinion. I could maybe stomach a 2nd, more or less due to the retention involved. But that's kinda where I would draw the line.
Taking Merrill in this trade is the price paid for keeping both teams cap compliant as well as roster compliant too. Minnesota already has 8 D, given that 2 of them are currently on LTIR, a Dman
needs to go out in order to fit Zadorov on the roster anyway.
That part is non-negotiable.
I'm not moving Peart, but O'Rourke is certainly an option if another piece is necessary. Besides, given how good Firstov looks in the KHL right now, the Flames would highly be likely to come out ahead on this trade. A potential top-six talent for a 3rd pairing defenseman is almost criminal. Even if Firstov tops out as only a middle-six guy, that's still a win for Calgary.