so if Juolevi is at risk of being selected by Seattle, and Graves is "a lock to go and dont lose him for nothing"
Why are the avs trading the better dman who really isnt a lock to be selected, for a guy who could be picked aways in Juolevi.

That doesnt make any sense to them, a 3rd round pick doesnt do a thing if that means they downgrade Graves to Juolevi and then still lose Donskoi in XD. Value is fine but the logic behind it doesnt make sense

Boston might do that deal straight up if you drop the draft pick swap. The need to shore up their defense, however the $2M cap difference is hard to swallow until they determine how much Krejci, Carlo, Rask and potentially Hall will cost to re-sign.

No, we wouldn't. There are better, cheaper options in free agency. No reason to sell low on Debrusk.

"better?" yes.
"cheaper?" yes.
"better and cheaper" debatable.
The same premise of selling low from Dubrusk (which you are correct) exists with Schmidt too. If he returns to his VGK form, he would be worth it. If not, he become a salary cap strain.

Exactly. Which is why I'm not willing to take that risk. And I have a lot of confidence in him bouncing back.

Can't say I would either if I were Boston, unless I struck out in the FA market.

I get what you're saying for sure. The assumption I made was that if rosters stay as is, Graves will be selected by SEA. So with that assumption in mind, recouping a 3rd and a 23 year old 3rd pairing guy instead of nothing is better for COL. Then when it comes time for the expansion draft, if Juolevi gets selected then at least COL gained a 3rd rounder for a roster player they would have gained nothing for. If not and, using your example, SEA takes Donskoi then it is much easier for COL fill that middle 6 winger spot in UFA and for cheaper than 3.9. But based on the initial assumption, SEA only takes Donskoi if Graves isn't an option for them. So I see your take of "well then COL is without Graves and Donskoi" but if Graves is the guy SEA takes then COL loses him for nothing and it is much tougher to find his replacement for his current caphit than it would be to find a middle 6 winger.