I wouldn't pay anything more than the 2nd for that guy

Interesting thoughts. Care to share them more in detail?

I’d pay 2 firsts+ if I had to. Luckily they aren’t asking for that much. Hoping my Pens go all in for him.

I don't know what @Wqrrior was going to say but he is right. Gusev is unproven at the NHL level. Most teams will protect themselves from that. Couldn't imagine anyone giving up a pick higher than a second without conditions on performance.

Thats probably why you are not a GM, Teams were offering a prospect and a 2nd and that was clearly not enough or Vegas would have traded him.
If Vegas has no intention of signing Gusev they would have no need to have traded the Clarkson contract, they could have placed him on LTIR like the Leafs will do now. The reason for trading it was they would have only gotten 4.20m in cap relief if they signed Gusev, where they would have gotten the full relief of 5.25m if they traded him.

The report the Knights were asking for a 2nd and a prospect were not accurate, Granger (who reported it for the Athletic) clarified that it was what other teams were offering, not what Vegas was asking for.

That is why Vegas ends up signing him

Islanders absolutely decline that deal. We are not trading one of our top prospects and a 2nd round pick for a guy who has never played a game in the NHL and is more likely to be a bust here than the next PPG player.

Yeah I was very surprised when I heard that was what they were asking for. The guy is going to be an elite player in the league by December but there are so many ignorant people afraid of the “Russian factor”.

Go back a couple years and imagine what teams would have gave up if they know how good Panarin was going to be? Gusev is very similar to Panarin. Less goal scoring ability but better playmaking.