Saad is not going to Columbus again. Been there done that. Torts doesn’t like his disinterest in back checking.

Isn't Saad UFA? Jackets are expected to trade their #1 goal of the future (at least part of their tandem) for what could be a rental?

Definitely the hardest sell here. I think that he's looked a lot more forecheck heavy in Chicago and worked on a much more physical and fast game. Not saying that it'll inherently be approved, but the trade value in of itself is fair.

If you had Elvis Merzlikins, would you trade him? Of course not

Saad isn't a UFA. And Korpi would be fine too in this trade - just after this playoffs with how insane Korpisalo is playing, I wasn't sure who they were giving up.

Korpisalo works here too, just would take away one of the picks.

Merzlikins is the goaltender that probably has the most upside. It would take something significantly more than Saad to get him out of Columbus.

Either of the goalies in Columbus are going to cost you some significant pieces. Both are very talented and on great contracts. You are going to have to offer something better than that to even come close to what Jarmo would want

Like said, I would do Korpi too, just would remove one of the picks. I agree that Elvis does have a higher upside, but with limited experience in the league, Saad at 4.5m, a 2nd and a 3rd rounder is a fair trade. I wouldn't have an issue bridge dealing Strome for a few years and trading him instead of Saad with picks for Elvis. The roster can replace the loss of Strome, and Strome has a much much higher upside as a center.

I'm saying he is a UFA after the year-pretty much a rental, how do the CBJ know they can keep him. Besides, the value is not close to being fair.

You don’t get what I am saying. The value is nowhere near what it would take to get either goaltender. Their play and contracts make them very valuable. It will cost some serious assets to get either of them. Saad is a no go.

Goalie trade values are notoriously low. Columbus has another goalie who can step in, whether the trade is for Elvis or Korpi. Retaining salary for a 4.5m top 6 forward along with a 2nd and third round pick seems a fair trade, especially if you throw in Korpi instead of Elvis.

With all due respect while Elvis I can understand the skepticism, but Korpisalo has never taken a starters load, his most recent season was below league average in terms of goaltending, and his contract isn't anything exceptionally low at 3m per year. He's having a great playoff - but I think that this trade would easily be fair value for Korpisalo.

He started this season. Early on Columbus was trying to find their way after the exodus of Bread, Dutch, and Bob. It took a couple of months but then Korpi got hot before he got a knee injury. Then Elvis took over and was carrying the load just as well before Korpi came back just prior to the pause. Both goalies are starting material

I'm not saying that they both can't start. Hell I'd trade for him AS a starter. But in terms of trade value, even assuming Korpisalo was a starter this year, he still posted a below league average s%. If you look at his #s through his career he only has a single season as a backup where he posted above average #s. Based on goaltending trade history, e.g. prime Luongo going for a few ehh players, Bishop not even a year off a vezina finalist was shipped off for less than this trade, you're far overvaluing goalies.

This statement confuses me, Saad is an excellent 200 ft player

@Stan_Bowman @Beetlejuice @chihawk @kuzystash whacha think?

Maybe he has gotten better, but I remember distinctly him getting benched by Torts because of his lack of hustle in an OT game against the Kings a few years back. Point is he is not going to Columbus.

Tbh I like it, but Idk if Jackets will accept

What if we swapped Saad for Strome and didn't sign Fast? We could still make it work and throw up Highmore as ths 13th forward cap wise.

As I said to Beetlejuice, what about Strome? Big bodied center with 60+ point potential, who could be locked down for 3 years at 3.5m or so by us then traded to you immediately after.

I'm not certain about value of Merzlikins, so thats why idk if the Jackets will accept, but I rather go after Georgiev who's will only cost us a second and has the potential to becoming a starter

Georgiev may be cheaper for sure, but Elvis gives us the cap space we need. The reason I wanted to deal away Strome/Saad was because of the cap relief! The Jackets have Vehviläinen and Kivlenieks in their prospect system for goalies, both who they believe can be starters, especially Vehviläinen. I figure it's easier for them to replace their backup/1B than NY as well. We need the cap room cleared to keep a competitive bottom 6. If we keep Saad not Strome, we can throw Saad on the first line, drop Caggs to the 3rd, move Chucky to C and let him play C to Suter and Cagguila, or rotate him with Kampf, and on the 4th line we can roll Carpenter with Kampf, etc. and bring Highmore up.

there still better ways to get rid of Strome and Saad for cap relief

What would you recommend?