As a Yotes fan, I believe OEL and the Coyotes are very close on a contract extension but if it doesn't get done, I don't this being the kind of deal he's traded in. Ideally it'd be for another top pairing defenseman who will either resign in Arizona or is coming with some term left on his deal. Overall, I think the trade is kinda meh for the Coyotes. Merkley is one of the only RHS forward prospects we have so it'd be tough to give him up and although O'Reilly is a hell of a player, the rest of the players/picks are kinda meh. OEL most likely resigns so that pick becomes the latter of the two as there's no chance Buffalo will give up the higher (maybe theirs a deal where OEL gets moved and if he resigns, Buffalo is forced to give up the higher pick).

So, the best linemate McDavid has ever had, Edmonton's most promising right handed defenceman prospect, and a draft pick for a very bad defensive but okay offensive Ristolainen and a bottom six grinder.....lol

Five stars for trading O'Reilly.
The OEL for ROR is a good trade.
To the Edmonton trade, thank you for your comments:
Larsson >=< 3rd more or less the same value, maybe a 3rd is too much for Larsson. He plays with an edge and up to this year displayed the ability to score a few goals and he wins about 55% of his face-offs.
Ristolainen > Nugent-Hopkins considering that as a defenseman Ristolainen has out scored Nugent-Hopkins (127 v 125) over the past 3 years, I think this is very difficult to dispute
So Bear or another prospect is added to make up the difference
TBH I would not make this trade, IMO Botterill could do better than this.

Thanks for making a post, great conversation
I like that Rask trade, he is a bit over paid, but he wins more face-offs than Larsson, so Buffalo would have a pair of really good bottom 6 centers.
The OEL for ROR is fair, I think Montreal may be interested with an O'Reilly for Weber trade.
I think it would be great to get Rust for what you are offering but IMO Buffalo is set at RW for the next year.
I guess your goal is to dump Beaulieu, Girgensons and Fasching. I guess that is OK as well.
Good job, I gave you five stars

You guys desperately need an offensive defenceman on the right side who can also throw his wait around. Risto is not someone I was actively looking to move but with the acquisition of OEL and the need to improve 2nd line center until Casey is ready (After O'Reilly trade) I decided to pull the trigger on the Risto deal. You get a top right shot guy and a bottom six grinder. We get a 2nd line center and a D prospect back. Was considering at first throwing Matt Benning in there instead of Bear but decided this was more fair.

Rask could also play LW and he's fast. I don't like trading with Montreal. Putting O'Reilly in the division and getting a 32 year old defenceman at a huge cap hit for another 7 plus years. He's on the decline. Still very good for maybe another year or two but not worth it.
Rust is a way to give us a true solid 3rd line RW. Pommer can be 4th line/plug in guy. Especially could use him in the playoffs. Don't think Baptiste is ready for 3rd line yet.
Other guys needed new homes and we needed fresh starts without them.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I agree with your assessment of Baptiste but I think Bailey could be ready but you traded him. NP not wanting O'Reilly to Montreal.