Quoting: drmantalban
Yeah I’m of the opinion that we should be looking to trade Zucc next summer regardless. I’ve had a lot of wild fans disagree with me on that, but I find him to be dispensable next year given his contract.
If Minnesota is trading for Eichel, the only way it works year 1 is if a player like Fiala is in the deal realistically. I would rather have Greenway myself because he's younger and cheaper, but Minnesota is going to need young big and cheap, but Fiala with Rask in a trade is the only way it works financially for year 1.
But in regards to year 2......if you are trading for Eichel.....you're looking to go for the Cup.....and you're doing so hoping that he's the missing piece. Eichel with Kaprizov would be a terrorizing combination.
I don't see a Minnesota deal working personally without Fiala, or Zuccarello in a three way deal where he gets traded.....Buffalo is going to have to help you financially
The problem though and I agree with your scernario is that in year's 2 and 3.....the team is probably going to be blown up because of the dead money. I'm assuming in the summer of 2022, you are probably looking at trading or buying out Zuccarello, maybe trading Foligno, and you're looking at young guys taking a step like Beckman, Dewar, Khovanov, Boldy etc....
A trade can definetly work, but years two and three will be a step back....year five (Eichel has one year left) is a big rebound year....but the question here is can you re-sign Kaprizov?
Personally, that top six is still rock solid with Eichel, Kaprizov, JEE, Fiala or Greenway (whichever is moved), and Boldy and Zuc if you can keep them. If young guys come up and make an impact in the bottom six, Minnesota can still be a playoff team with Eichel and Kaprizov alone....especially if Boldy lives up to the hype