You're gonna need much better bait, to catch the big fish. Everyone declines.

If they trade Hall it will be for forward prospects and draft picks. They don’t need Engvall at all.
If they trade Ullmark which is doubtful again draft picks and forward prospects.

Detroit isn't a charity. Why would we retain that much cap for a measly 4th rd pick?

Plus we have 4 or 5 guys on our own team we need to retain on

2 questions:

How much does Detroit retain?

What is Detroit's compensation for that retention?

Roughly 500k on hall and 400k on ullmark of deadline space. So the 4th is more than enough.

Unless Detroit can't retain anymore salary because they have retained on 3 of the following players that are most likely to be traded at the TDL: Staal, Bernier, Nemeth, Ryan, Glendening and Merrill.

Retaining almost a million on 2 different players which ties up 2 of a teams 3 retention slots is worth more than a 4th. It's worth at least a 3rd.

It's a moot point anyway because Detroit almost certainly will retain on 2 of those players listed above.

I agree that it is unlikely, 900k retention isn’t worth a 4th let alone a 3rd. Toronto got less than a 5th.

In the COVID world where every team is losing money, 900k might be a lot more of an ask than before. I don't think there's an accurate comparable because of the current situation.
Also, I don't think salary retention can be retained more than 50%, even between multiple teams.

Sure there is... and it’s with detroit. They took on marc staal’s 5.2m for a 2nd. It was an early 2nd so that lines up with “business as usual”. Everyone tries to make a big deal out of everything. The last 2 years it’s been Covid. Everyone preaches big returns that just don’t come.

That was also before the flat cap had been established, and before every team knew they were going to be losing money for another full season. Still not an accurate comparison. Retention may not fetch an early draft pick, but it still doesn't necessarily make owners want to open their wallets for a player that will be a longshot to make the NHL.

Wrong....

I gave you a perfect example and you come back and lie.

So, out of morbid curiosity, what do you think I'm lying about? Marc Staal was a cap dump at a position of need for the Red Wings. Staal is playing for the Wings the entire season, so deadline retention is not an apples to apples comparison. Also worth noting, all retention at the deadline was about half of what was proposed here for around the same price.

Marc staal was traded after the flat cap was known.

San Jose retained for janmark 5th and foligno 4th and detroit a 4th for savard. what the hell are you talking about?

I was spot on right. You were wrong.

No, you misunderstood me. When I mention the flat cap, I'm not talking about this season only.
https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-nhlpa-ratify-cba-extension-through-2025-26-season/c-317377214
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/bettman-nhl-salary-cap-will-remain-flat-near-flat-immediate-future/
The flat cap was announced as part of the return to play plan last year. The wording stated that the cap could increase if hockey-related revenue was high enough. This left many (myself included) hopeful that the cap could increase for next season. Last month, Bettman stated that the cap will likely stay flat for the "immediate future," pretty much guaranteeing that the cap won't rise next season. That's what I was talking about.
The trade above has Detroit retaining $2M for a 4th. San Jose retained $1.375M for a 4th, $562.5K for a 5th, and Detroit retained $1.0625M for a 4th. Considering what actually happened at the deadline, the proposed trade is bad value.