Who adds what?
Joined: Jul. 2017
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NYR passes. You can't win in a salary cap league without first round picks.
Four years of the top three rounds, plus Kakko, and that's it. Pittsburgh have to add Schultz and Jarry, retain 50% on Malkin, and take back Namestnikov, Strome, Staal, Smith, and Lundqvist, to make the cap work. Then the deal nearly falls apart, because Lundqvist hears what he's being traded for, realizes it doesn't help his Cup chances, and declines to waive.
The deal is saved when Pittsburgh agrees to flip Lundqvist to Columbus for Bemstrom and a 1st. Lundqvist signs off on the new three-way deal. With a goalie who's decent under pressure, to go with their excellent defense, Columbus wins the next two Stanley Cups, and Lundqvist finally retires, assured of a first-ballot entry into the Hall of Fame.
New York leads the league in regular season goals for, but their defense and goaltending aren't enough and they don't make it past the conference finals. Frustrated about lack of ice time, Panarin moves to the KHL after Crosby and Malkin retire. In the meantime, the extra sellouts and TV ratings in one of the biggest TV markets in North America help the NHL double its TV revenues, and no team ever worries about going bankrupt, again. GMs initially were confused about what Pittsburgh was going for, here, but after four years they get back to the playoffs, and remain profitable, indefinitely. Along with the picks they got for Murray, Letang, and Hornqvist, they develop a completely unrecognizable squad around Kakko, and it comes out better in five years than they'd be without this trade, or without the next four lottery picks they get in the basement of the league's toughest division.