If only trades like that actually happened...

These are extremely optimistic from a Detroit perspective.

Van declines that deal. They aren't going to throw in Demko and a first rounder to get rid of Eriksson.

STL Declines

Vancouver declines, you can either have Demko and a pick or a 1st rounder, not both

Every team declines.

The Old School reference is kind of awesome.

I assumed that the trade returns would be considered optimistic. I guess I'm just trying to gauge what will be the market rate for taking on bad contracts with the reality of the flat cap. As a Wings fan I hope they weaponize the vast majority of their cap space by taking on dead weight contracts from contenders for future assets. Would love to hear what other folks would consider reasonable. The Marleau return sticks in my mind, hence the initial attempt w/ 1st rounders coming back.

Problem with that comparable is Carolina didn’t receive a player which is why it costed a first had he agree to waive to play there that deal would have been significantly less expensive for Toronto. Also if using that as an example don’t you think other gms would be seeing how costly that is now and really doubting it being worth doing? Carolina is now picking in the top half of the first round. Ahead of over half the league

There’s a few things that need to be broken down. First Marleau was 6.25M dead cap and roughly 4M cash for a top 10 protected first in a considered deep draft. 2021 isn’t nearly as deep or top end of a class than 2020 plus teams can always protect (lottery protected, top 10) like Toronto did to help protect themselves. Some of these players have NTCs so does that mean they are bought out for them to waive? If they aren’t, what would be considered fair compensation for them (if they are still NHL regulars) and what are they paid currently. The difference/delta between the two would determine the cost to dump them. Palat for instance is a good player in my eyes so getting a first with him would be a pipe dream. A buyout of Steen for instance would be a little less than Marleau but do you factor in COVID? Or do you throw them a 3rd to get back a first? Using rationale like that you can utilize Marleau as a base but it would have to be used on the delta and not overall cap of a player (if useful).

That's what I'm trying to get a handle on - what these teams will need to/be willing to pay to rid themselves of players whose contracts are now threatening their ability to re-sign their own guys (Pietrangelo, Tampa's RFAs, Vancouver's need to clear space for Hughes and Pettersson, etc.). What is cap space worth? It seems to me that an average/slightly above average player that is making anywhere from $4-6 million a year has negative value due to the flat cap. For instance I can't see Jake Allen being moved without some sort of sweetener even after he had a good year. Palat still has value as a player, but at $5.3 he's a cap burden. I imagine that stars are going to get their money, but the middle six/3-5 D are going to lose significant value, especially those already with contracts that pay them in that $4-6 million range.

I do actually agree with some of that however I do also think using a drastic example like the marleau is an unrealistic path to follow. The closest I think we might actually see to these types of deals taking place teams might be willing to move down a round to remove a contract not outright first protected or not. It’s just too steep by itself.

I would question the negative value talks this site is over blown when it comes to it in my opinion. Fact is I think teams look more at players than salaries and it’s just a numbers game to make it work. I don’t think as much stock goes into it as this site suggests for example as I see a lot on here Kris russell I see people packaging 2nds and 3rds just to send him out. People can say what they want about him but seems very clear the focus is on salary not how that player can help a team. It is a balancing act.

Thanks for the responses. It will be fascinating to see how it all unfolds.

I think people use it because it’s the most common recent example. You could also use Backes but that has more variables because players & picks were involved.


I think it depends on the owner and situation. Melnyk for sure is going to take on additional salary for late round picks. Russell is interesting because he had a front loaded contract so if Holland really wanted to move him it would probably need a mid to late round team that needed a 5-6D.