Why wouldn't Seattle take Vanecek???

Devils are sellers, not buyers. And Seattle takes Vanacek

Not sure Ottawa does it. Kempny will be 31 and coming back from a devastating Achilles injury and missing a full season. And, with the cap frozen for next season and possibly beyond, Ottawa could probably put that $2.5M towards a more intriguing UFA.

Yeah I realized they had a lot of cap space so a trade there worked with that and they wouldn't have to give up much in return. I envision him more as a depth pickup and not a big move which Ottawa can still make with cap space for that bigger UFA you were talking about.

Sellers at the deadline. But in the offseason, they'd probably need to pick up guys (especially if you part ways with guys like Zajac and Palmieri). That being said, they have money to spend so they can absolutely get bigger fish in the UFA market. But it's a low risk, decent reward trade.

And for Vanecek, I think that's a solid no. Goalies exposed in the draft will be guys like Holtby exposed instead of Demko, Georgiev exposed instead of Shesterkin, Varlamov instead of Sorokin, Fleury instead of Lehner, Bishop instead of Khudobin. Lots of goalie talent to choose from over Vanecek.

Oh I thought that was a deadline trade. I still think the Devils pass. They have a lot of guys coming from the AHL and in their prospect pool. Holtz, Mercer, Foote, Boqvist, Thompson, and more.

Vanacek has been very good this year. Holtby is older and has been much worse this year so Seattle passes. Shesirkein and Sorokin are both exempt (if you look at Seattle Expansion Draft Simulator). Vegas isn't participating in the Expansion Draft. Khudobin is the only goalie that would be taken, but they would also want a younger option

Because there are better goalies to take. Vanecek is cheap and young so that's about the only reason why I think they take him. But if a team exposes a Stanley Cup champion who has scored over 20 goals in 4 of his last 5 season (not including this shortened season yet) and has ties to the area, it's hard to pass up.

No worries lol. I forgot about Vegas' exemption. And sorry if that was confusing but I meant that Sorokin would be protected (or even exempt) instead of Varlamov, same goes for Shesterkin instead of Georgiev. Vanecek is definitely possible for being cheap and young, but I think the opportunity to get a first line RW, 20-goal scoring, Stanley Cup Champion (who would be good candidate for being a captain if they decide to go that route) with ties to the area is difficult to look past

NJD says thanks but no thanks

It's probably more to do with luck than scouting but Ottawa seems to do quite well with their late round picks: Stone, Dzingel, Condra, Greening, Brian Elliott, Lavoie, Jaros, Daccord, Guenette, Kastelic... YES, I'm cherry picking, but it's still an impressive list for 6th and 7th rounders. Just because Ottawa has the cap space doesn't mean they should spend it. With Tkachuk, Batherson and Zub getting new contracts we are not worried about reaching the floor. If it's just a depth move there are going to be SO MANY guys hitting waivers with the cap frozen and teams desperately trying to comply. It just makes no sense for Ottawa to do this. I'd prefer to see them overpay for two years of UFA Alec Martinez who'd be a rock on the 2nd pairing and an excellent VET for the entire D to learn from.