Joined: Jun. 2021
Posts: 198
Likes: 71
One item nobody has mentioned is cost certainty. Conner is signed on a reasonable long term deal for an elite goal scorer who needs to develop (a ton) defensively. Tkachuck is going to be an RFA with a $9M qualifying offer that will walk him to UFA status if his team offers it and he signs it. The leverage he has built into his current deal is impressive.
If any team acquired him, they would need to have the cap space to sign him to a $8-10M long term contract. Is he worth that? Tough call...he needs to show more during the next year or so to make GMs comfortable, I don’t think he’s good value at that price point in a flat cap era.
The cap will eventually start to rise, but that could be 3-5 years before we see it go up more than a couple million.
I think the Jets would pass on this trade, though I would prefer Tkachuck at 7.5M for next 5 years than Conner at the same price. Copp would be too much to give up, unless he is signed for more than $4.2 or so.