I'm not sure anyone looking to make trades now would be in that spot. Maybe Winnipeg. I'm not sure they beat the offer though. Maybe they give up their first, but what's more valuable today, a guy in Timmins or Kaut that has shown at the NHL level, or a first in a draft you can't scout like you want to due to the pandemic?

Maybe I'm off, but I think it's a decent offer and comparable to the Muzzin trade.

Ya, I know. But when losing a guy like Ryan Graves is a best case scenario (which I agree it would be), you're in trouble.

I agree Nashville won't want expansion draft eligble players. Rasmus Sandin for Ekholm isn't bad, but if Nashville wants more than Rasmus, it should be a no. Liljgren plus could also work.

While the idea of Ekholm to Colorado is good in theory, it doesn't make much sense because he or Devon Toews, or a valuable forward (Landy, Bura, Kadri) would go to the Kraken, and that's provided Johnson waives (if not the avs have a major mess on their hands).

It's not a best case scenario. Best case would be Seattle taking Compher.

Worst case would probably be if the took O'Connor as we could do with his cheap contract next year.

Avs don't have a major mess on their hands even if EJ doesn't waive.

They can go 4+4 and expose Burakovsky, who only has 1 year to UFA anyways. It would be a loss, but that $4.9m could be used to resign Saad instead of letting him walk in UFA. Newhook and Ranta can get opportunities in camp to take Bura's spot too.

Alternatively you just simply buy EJ out. It would be annoying to have $2m in dead space for 4 years, but that $4m can ho towards resigning Saad again.

On the expansion draft, I really don't think that's a reason not to do this. In either case, the result is essentially the same:

Johnson waives: Seattle picks between Graves, Donskoi, Jost (and now Ekholm). Let's say they pick one of Graves and Ekholm. Well, you still have one of them and can either keep them or trade them to recover some assets.

Johnson doesn't waive: Seattle picks between the above, as well as Jost and Burakovsky. You still get to keep a player you wouldn't have otherwise.

So the whole don't do it because of the xdraft doesn't add up.

That was more of a sidetrack onto why Avs fans aren't worried about it as it stands. The main argument to not doing it is still relevant though, it's more that you open up more options to Seattle.