I must be missing something here, because I think this is pretty well-envisioned by the OP. I'm not at all sure that this is such a bad deal for Anaheim.
We give up:
a #1 LD
a top-6 forward playing LW for us
a former first-round pick we're currently penciling in as our future #2 C
We're getting:
a #1 RW (who is both the best player on the ice in the deal and the best contract value in it)
a young right-handed forward we can pencil in as our future #2 RW
a young former first-round pick we can pencil in as our future #2 RD
Note that Liljegren, unlike the three players we're giving up, is exempt from the expansion draft
We are dealing from positions of strength (LW and LD) to address positions of weakness (RW and RD)
We're getting three players under team control for at least 5 years each in return for one such (both Rakell and Lindholm are UFAs in two years, as is Josh Manson)
We're getting a little of the better of it on cap and payroll, too
I think my fellow Anaheim adherents (
@Salzy @HadesOfSoCal) should give this one some more thought. It seems to me that the only real downsides are having to replace Steel (if Lundestrom and Groulx aren't sufficient) and the drop-off from Lindholm to Djoos, Larsson, Guhle and others for the next 2 years.
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