Joined: Jul. 2018
Posts: 349
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I voted fair, because it's not as if it was free for Boston to dump a contract and add a good winger, but I think Boston did really well here.
They didn't fully get out from under Backes, but they are paying $1.5M for Backes and $2.6M for Kase next year, so $4.1M total instead of the $4.925M for nothing. That's basically $800k in cap savings and grabbing a forward with some good upside.
Kase has had a really disappointing season, but he is a guy who has consistently created scoring chances and shots at a rate usually reserved for higher end players. Boston should give him a place in the line up to play where maybe he can make good on that potential. If he does, and they managed to get a 20+ goal speedy winger while saving cap space, that's worth the price.
It wasn't enough to say that Boston wins this deal (as that implies Anaheim lost it), simply because Anaheim managed to get a 1st and a prospect for a player whose injuries and struggles could potentially start to drive down his value. Anaheim probably didn't have to trade Kase, but he is approaching an age where he probably isn't going to be a big part of a rebuild as this team likely has a lot of work to get back to contending. So I don't mind this trade for them.
Overall, I think Boston did a great job getting a useful player, shedding salary, and probably buying a little low on someone. This move actually creates space for an additional move if they want, and Boston is one of only a handful of teams where I think going for it hard over the next 2-3 years at all costs is completely reasonable, so giving up a 1st is almost a no brainer.