Edmonton declines. Add another 10 1sts. Still no.

What if the Bruins suck in about 5 years because they're up against the cap and aren't picking in the 1st round until 2034 or whatever it would be? About half of those picks could be top 5 overall

Can't happen. Only 3 years after the trade picks can be traded. So if its 2022 only up to 2025 picks can be traded

You get McDavid for 5 years assuming you can't re-sign him. If you don't re-sign him then you have tons of cap space. If you do, you still have McDavid so you don't finish bottom 5 unless the city of Boston itself becomes the new Buffalo or maybe sinks into the Atlantic (it's a 0lace guys want to play). Even then, top picks over a 10 year period probably doesn't get you a player as good as McDavid. Eichel, sure. McDavid, probably not.

If he isn't worth $13 million per year, he isn't worth 13 first-round draft picks.

Lol, the max allowed contract is $14 M. Conner is worth *more* than that. Peter Chiarelli basically gave Conner a blank check but said he wanted it for the max 8 years. Conner decided on a bit of a discount as good will and left money on the table to help the GM pay for the rest of the team.