The Clarkson Horton trade was literally a case of large bank account vs small bank account. CBJ was paying 5+ mil a season for someone to sit at home. They decided to pay 5+mil for someone who could still play.... not sure how I didn't understand this. In this case Dubinsky will not be playing this year. A team that can take on the money to assist a trade might as well do it.

I just think with the cap restrictions these days teams will be forced to be creative in their trades. I hope Willy proves me wrong and bounces back with a lights out season. Even better plays competitively in the playoffs.

You got the Clarkson/Horton trade correct, but it only happened because Horton's contract was uninsured because of prior injuries. But Dubinski's contract is insured so it's not like there is a money involved to assist in a trade.
Virtually all contracts are insured or mostly insured, so really all those LTIR trades are meaningless.

I always assumed the insurance only covered a portion of it... maybe up to 50%. My bad. If that's the case then yes, LTIR trades are entirely meaningless.