NSH has no interest in that deal. It gives them too many defenseman to protect for expansion and the prospects aren't good enough to get Forsberg. PIT just doesn't have the futures to trade for high-end players right now.

I'd accept that from Wings pov

Wings accept

It also leaves the pens with too many forwards to protect. They’d have to basically leave one of Zucker, Forsberg, Kapanen, Rust, or Guentzel exposed. I think for the pens, they would have to look at a rental. Someone like Gusev, Zajac, Hall, etc if they want top 9 forward help. Which I think they have pieces to get those types of topish end players

Who would you be protecting over those forwards other than Crosby/Malkin? That is 7 forwards right there, and PIT would be poised to go 7-3-1. I don't see the issue. Marino and POJ are exempt, so only Letang, Dumoulin, and another D would need protection.

Crosby, Malkin, Guentzel, Zucker, Forsberg, Kapanen, Rust, Blueger, McCann, ZAR, Tanev are all protectable. Although, as the pens are now, I think it’s gonna be Crosby, Malkin, Zucker, Guentzel, Kapanen, Rust, and Blueger. I think they leave McCann exposed as bait to stay away from ZAR and Tanev (although I think his contract my do that itself). I know they would not want to expose Blueger because of lack of center depth and the year he has had. That buzzsaw line is insanely good and underrated.

over pay on Ryan
Forsberg is a 1 1/2 year rental here. I don't think he resigns because he know the plane is running out of runway. He's never won
So I don't see them giving up all those future assets. They need quantity of good young players at this point. Not just 1 super star.

But you would never leave one of the forwards you mentioned in your other post over McCann or Blueger in the first place. So I don't see how the expansion draft would even be a consideration for you if you're adding a player like Forsberg and then losing a McCann or Bleuger to the draft. Sure they're useful forwards to have in your bottom 6, but they are replaceable if you can get a player like Forsberg.

I would think if NSH trades Forsberg, they will probably trade Ekholm too? I think a Top 6 prospect, another prospect, a younger Top 4 D-Man and a 1st round pick is pretty close to what it would take to get Forsberg.

the problem with losing Blueger is they only have 2 centers in the whole organization period. Everyone else is a 4th line guy at best. Most are really wingers.
This team has no depth. There is nothing in WBS to even call up really. They got some depth on the blueline and no where else other than what is in the CHL currently.

So you move Blueger and you are scrambling to over pay on the FA market for a C that you can't afford.
They can't really afford to lose him.

I would be fine with exposing Zucker if it meant landing Forsberg.

The pens don’t have time to wait to build a new 3C. They would almost guarantee protect Blueger over Rust, Kapanen, or Zucker in that situation. And that’s just an absolute waste and terrible asset management to let one of Blueger, Rust, Kapanen, or Zucker go for free. The only reason McCann is expendable is because Poulin should be ready next year and the ZAR-Blueger-Tanev line is too good to get rid of. And I’d hardly call McCann a bottom 6. He is a middle 6 winger lol.

NVM i guess he has a NTC

And if they trade Ekholm, they would still have to protect 4 D, which I doubt they'd want to do if they're trading Ekholm (Josi, Ellis, Fabbro, and in this case Pettersson).

When you write it like that, sure it sounds like a good mix for Forsberg, but the mix that PIT actually has to offer just isn't quality enough.

Bottom 6 was just easier to say when talking about both players (McCann + Bleuger) since he plays on the 3rd line, which is the bottom 6 of the forward group. I agree he's a middle 6 winger, but I wasn't taking a shot at McCann. I wouldn't get hung up on semantics -- the point was that he is replaceable if you trade for Forsberg.

What do you think he'll resign for?

I guess it would come down to what management in NSH thinks of Poulin. I wrote it like that because that's what PIT is giving up in the trade. Like Pharrow said, Forsberg is a 1.5 year rental. I think it's a lot for PIT to give up, but if they win a Stanley Cup because of it then it's all worth it.

That’s fair. But at the same time, NSH needs to maximize their return for their (probably) most valuable trade asset. Ultimately, I hope NSH just keeps him.

He is, However Blueger isn’t. And I would be willing to bet that if anyone of those forwards are exposed, including blueger, they would take them leaving the pens McCann. Which would be an issue for the pens and terrible asset management. Just like you guys trading Ekholm and getting MP in return. It makes no sense. If the trade included maybe Zucker instead of MP. Then you get a top 6 forward that’s less than Forsberg but get a good top 9 prospect, a 1st in a deeper draft, and another prospect that could be a decent 4th liner. Since you’d hope they just keep Forsberg and protect him anyway. You’d just protect Zucker to replace Forsberg and get a decent haul added to it. Then I think the pens would think about pulling the trigger and it might make a little more sense for Nashville too. Or they could just flip Zucker too and get more picks/prospects.

That seems fair. If they actually did get someone like Forsberg, Zucker would be the odd man out anyways. I still think Pettersson is being undervalued a bit by other teams. He's a young cost controlled Top 4 D-Man. The emergence of Joseph makes him expandable for the Pens if they want.

They don’t really have to though. They would be trading MP at a loss tbh. Because even though Matheson is having a good year, he isn’t having a good enough one to quantify Seattle taking him over McCann, Tanev, ZAR, etc. so if they were to trade MP this year, they would basically be forced to protect Matheson or Riikola who Seattle won’t take regardless. Pens could get better value for MP or even Dumo if they want to go the younger and cheaper route in the offseason after the expansion draft when teams wouldn’t have to worry about protecting them.

I would be completely fine with not moving Pettersson. I just think if the Pens are going to go all in this year, they need top 6 help. If Zucker is gonna be back I wouldn't make a big trade. I'd go after Bobby Ryan to play on Sids wing. I really liked the Tanev, McCann, Kapanen line too, they need to keep that in tact. I would keep Guentzel and Rust with Malkin and play Zucker and Ryan with Sid if they can swing a trade for Ryan. Either way, I think they are at least 1 top 6 forward away from having 4 solid lines. Ideally they should want to find a better 4th liner than Jank or Lafferty too.

I don't think it's per say the amount. It's the team. Why does he stay here in 2 years when the team is basically gray and done.

Sorry, I meant Blueger.

2 range.