I understand Heiskanen is one of the top prospects out there, but ROR fetched 5 assets, and he's not arguably the best player at his position.
I'm not a Sens fan nor do I love Karlsson, but return for arguably the best right shot defender, I would think you have get quite a bit more than a blue chip prospect, third line center, and a b prospect.

ROR didnt publically state he wasnt going back to buffalo, Karlsson isn't returning to Ottawa next year and publically asked for a trade and turned down ottawas extension. Dallas is close to getting Karlsson for their 1st, heiskenan and shore, which is barely anything

Umm no there's been no report of him asking for a trade, in fact he said a few times he wished to remain in Ottawa but would not sign for anything less than what he was worth.

There are at least 5 teams trying to trade for him. If Ottawa can't get the teams to compete for value that returns as much or more than the Ryan O'Reilly trade returned then their GM should be fired as soon as the trade happens.

Honestly, If someone wants Karlsson, probably one of the top 3 at his position, they should just send over a blank sheet of paper telling teams to write down a 1st and a their top 3 prospects in their respective systems.
Then work from there.

Look dude I dont see them getting what ROR got, I'm reading what the "insiders" are saying and it doesnt look good for Ottawa, unless someone come out of nowhere and offers them a great deal it's going to be something along the lines of a roster player 1st rd and prospect, which is what the GM asked for, for Karlsson

They're letting teams sort out contracts, so they aren't giving off a rental. They're trading away one of the best defencemen in the league.
If all they get is a roster player, prospect and pick the GM should be fired, Unless that roster player is Klingberg, the pick is a first rounder, and the prospect is Heiskanen.

Don't know where your getting this info from lmao, the price you said was for EK without an extension, now that they're allowing to negotiate with him they will get a much larger return. 1st Heiskanen Shore wasn't reported anywhere don't know what you're talking about, and Karlsson has not requested a trade in fact he would still sign in Ottawa IF Melnyk wanted to put money in to signing him.

I understand what you want for him, but as soon as the player says he wants out of a city his value goes down, look at Dany heatly

Can you find the report that he says he wants out of Ottawa, or asked for a trade?
I'm not a Sens fan, or a Karlsson fan, just a fan of the game, and fairness.
If you're getting the best player in the world at his position, then do it with honor without trying to scam someone.
These teams all have built up a lot of assets and can find a way to make it work for each other.

ROR got 5 assets but a lottery protected 1st, a 2nd rounder, a decent but not a top prospects, and 2 cap dumps of a 2nd and 3rd liner 30+ year old players. Its not like ROR brought in a giant slew of prime assets. They got a nice haul for them but it was quantity over quality

With the situation Ott put themselves in, I dont see them getting 1 or 2 prime prospects+ for him. Its wild how bad they have burned themselves over the last calendar year

Yeah, Buffalo had a load of holes in their lineup, and the Blues found a way to help them out and put them in a position where they are better balanced and will have more of an NHL roster now.
Big guys usually take longer to develop so if Thompson ends up being a Nick Bjustad type of player then I think the Sabres have done pretty well on this trade.
Ottawa is in a somewhat similar situation to Buffalo, if they can't find a way to fill a couple holes and add potential top prospects or picks then they're going to be awful a long time.

He has made it clear he isn't coming back... otherwise nobody would be talking about him right now, I will look for you though.
Fairness doesnt win you Stanley cups my friend, greed is the name of the game

Yes, but there is also a code where you treat people with respect so others will work with you in the future.

Its not a useless package at all, it fills needs. Just isnt the mega package that some trades on this site were showing for him. I think people need to temper their expectations on the return of big name players now. Teams are les and less likely to part with their A+ Prospects and assets and are more willing to add quantity over quality.

Did I say it was a useless package?

I was agreeing with you, that was me saying its not a useless package bc I agree Thompson has chops to develop.

nope, but Botterill publicly stated that he the want to pay that 7.5M bonus