That Pens trade is an absolute joke. Dumoulin is one of the best in the league as the type of dman he is. The conversation STARTS with a 1st and a top prospect.

??? Hello? Our top pairing dman for an overpaid bottom 6 player?

Haha, ok.

Pt has just two wings signed through next year. They're near the cap. Everyone is going to want raises. They can't keep all the wings they have. To keep some, they need to invent some cap space.

Kassian and Riikola together take up the same cap space as Dumoulin, but fill one more roster spot. That means one less wing to sign, so somebody's cap gets divided up and a couple other players can stay, if they do well.

Is Kassian any good on his own? Not really. Needs to play with a skill center to have any offense. Luckily, the Penguins have those.

I rather target a FA for cheap or let one of our young guys come up.

So would every team. That is why nobody has any cap space.

The Dumo trade is a still an absolute joke. He's one of the best in the game.

Why are we trading Kass when he's playing amazing?

I hope you're not calling him a top 20 player lmao

Because when else can anyone trade Kassian, on that contract?

Thats true on the sell high part but I think we'd rather just keep him. He brings so much energy to the lineup and is one of the fastest skaters around. tbh I've watched 2 Pitsburgh games so idk how good Dumolin is

For the type of Dman he is, he's top five.

Left-shot defensemen on the Penguins this year?

For a shutdown PMD he's elite.

Yeah. For a guy that doesn't get power plays, his offense is consistent. He plays steady minutes. Gets a lot of top pair time. I do think he's what Oilers fans want to see a little more of, on their blue line. His plus minus has been up there at times, but he's also played on some good Pens teams. I think he's more valuable than Kassian, but I don't think the Oilers are going to start talking, like, Puljujarvi on him, any time soon.

What type is that?

He's far more valuable than Kassian. The Dumo/Letang pairing has been amongst the top pairings in the league for years and he's a 50/50 on why that pair is so good.

Now, a Puljujarvi/Dumo straight-up swap would be fair value. I mean that for reference, not a trade idea. Kassian, while his physical game is liked by coaches and gm's, he's highly overpriced and teams would probably want a little incentive to take him. If he was like a $2M player he'd have better trade value.

A Kassian deal with Dumo would need to look SOMETHING like this...

TO PIT: Kassian + 1st + Lavoie (that level of prospect)
TO EDM: Dumo

Look back up.

Setting aside the outrage among some Penguins fans, I'd like to respond your question regarding the moves you've proposed.

I don't think Ken Holland plans to move Barrie or Kassian, and Shore appears to be decent insurance for the Oiler bottom six forwards. McDavid, Draisaitl, RNH, Hyman, Puljujarvi, Nurse, and Bouchard are the long-term core of the Oilers. Yamamoto and Foegele might play their way into that long-term core, but I don't think either has done that yet. They, along with Kassian, Ryan, Barrie, and Ceci are the next tier on the roster, players who are critically important, but not vital to the organization for the next two or three seasons. Keith, Ryan, Koekkoek, and Shore are all around next season, and they play different roles in helping with the transition of younger players and prospects who will eventually supplant them in the lineup; guys like Samorukov, Broberg, Niemelainen, Holloway, and Lavoie. Smith will play out his contract in Edmonton.

Contracts for Russell, Turris, Sceviour, Perlini, Benson, and Koskinen expire at the end of the season. With the exception of Koskinen, those are role players who provide organizational depth. I think Holland is still looking for an opportunity to move Koskinen, if he can find a way to acquire a better goaltender. However, four of those five role players are the most likely candidates to be moved via trade or waivers, should Holland feel the need to tinker with his roster. At the moment, toughness might be an area of need, by the TDL that need might be experience.

Great explanation.

I think all three guys I gave the Oilers have lots of playoff experience. But I'm not sure either Pit or WSH needs a Kassian or Barrie until the offseason, when their UFAs depart.

That's true, however I think the Oilers will keep Kassian, he's the only guy they have who can do what he does, he looks to be starting a rebound season, and he has been one of their more effective playoff performers. Besides, if they traded Dumoulin for Kassian, Pittsburgh would be creating a massive hole in their roster in order to address an area of lesser need. Its unlikely Washington would have interest in Barrie, they should not have problems producing offense, but may be interested in improving their defense. A player like Barrie might appeal to a team with an anemic offense and struggling power play; that team will also need cap space to absorb Barrie's cap hit for the next couple seasons after this one. That describes Arizona, and right now perhaps Columbus. Another fit, if the deal was structured accordingly, might be Chicago.

It is difficult to envision the Coyotes or Blue Jackets having a suitable RHD they'd be willing to part with in an exchange for Tyson Barrie. Arizona's Stralman seems to be the closest fit, but his cap hit is greater than Barrie's and he has the protection of a modified no-trade clause in his contract. Chicago has Calvin de Haan. If he can stay healthy he could be a very solid, if unspectacular, RHD for the rest of this season and into the playoffs. There might be some debate regarding additional assets going one way or the other. Barrie has a greater cap hit and more term, but he's also a more impactful player on a contract that is actually decent value. From my perspective, de Haan and Strome would be a nice return for Barrie. Chicago fans will ague differently, as they should.

The RHD leaving WSH as a UFA in my above trade is Justin Schultz. He's getting pretty good at defense, these days. I don't think they would trade him mid-season, after moving out a couple of good defensive defensemen in the offseason, in Dillon and Chara. But if they can't afford him as a UFA, and Edmonton trades the Caps a replacement, then Schultz would hit the market.

Washington has a rapidly aging core and is trying to maintain its championship aspirations, I'm not convinced they would have interest in acquiring Barrie because Schultz might test free agency at the end of the season. Schultz is reasonably affordable, is capable of providing good secondary offense behind Carlson, has championship experience, and might be prepared to sign a team friendly contract extension in order to stay put in the later years of his career. Barrie is a bit more expensive, even more one-dimensional than Schultz, and doesn't have the experience of winning a Stanley Cup.

There is a market for Tyson Barrie, but I don't think it is in Washington. Anyway, that is where my mind is at with this.