more to Lou than he'll ever give to Holland

Two seconds or second and B prospect

McDavid and a third

As an Oilers fan, I'd be interested in a Varlamov to stabilize the goaltending situation. I'd have a tough time giving up Broberg/Bouchard/1st for a 33 year old but would consider a package of 2nds/Other picks/prospects to make it happen.

Would the Islanders be interested in pure futures that they could either use or flip? They have a deep roster with no glaring need... not sure what they'd be after in terms of immediate help.

FYI https://www.capfriendly.com/armchair-gm/team/2426388

depends on who is taken in expansion probably

In considering the responses you will get, you should be aware that there is an entire cadre of guys on CapFriendly who will point to a lengthy set of trades for B and C and backup goalies and from this, extrapolate that number one goalies (who never get traded precisely because they are valuable, not cheap) aren't worth more than, say, Vancouver's 2022 second and Kole Lind. To which I say, who would you rather have: Kasperi Kapanen, or Semyon Varlamov? And don't get me started on the list of rentals who have been deemed worth a first.

This makes a solid point. No idea what Pittsburgh was thinking giving a first for Kapanen. I think you have to account for prices going up at the TDL as teams have separated into contenders and pretenders by then and you know where your pick is. Teams like Tampa are fine with throwing that pick away because they know its 25th or later. Teams like Edmonton are a little more unsure because they might finally figure it out or we've seen it all look good on paper and go South and turn into a top 10 pick too many times.

In regards to a first, I'd be more willing to give a 2nd that turns into a 1st if the Oilers make the playoffs and Varlamov starts 30 games. That plus 3rd and a Samorukov/Lavoie/Benson. Would that be a reasonable package?

Good goalie but I personally would consider that a plan C situation for Edmonton. Nothing against him would help but given his age it seems more like a quick fix for short term since it sounds like bringing smith back the second goalie to be brought in should be someone team can get used to having around for several years. That being said if kosk can be included as part of the package that might move it from plan C to plan B avoiding the buyout certainly changes things but I don’t see islanders being interested in doing that.

I don't think that someone is going to trade a number one goalie without getting an immediate benefit, i.e., either a current draft year first or a current roster player plus valuable future assets.

It depends if the Isles are ready to throw the ball 100% into Sorokin's court. They may be looking at it as a chance to dump $5mil from Varlamov, sign a more cost-effective back-up, and then use the cap space and picks at the deadline for rentals. Islanders are a tough team to gauge, they're built on depth and don't really have a true weakness. They're just missing the game breakers to go all the way but in acquiring guys like that they'd throw their balanced cap hit/team first scheme which has got them to where they are.