I like

beautiful team

If the cap works this is not bad at all

My thought would be that it's around the deadline and the cap hits are reduced, if my thinking is wrong or I have the rules wrong Calgary can add a touch to the deal and take the retention off or have a third team involved as a broker for the cap, a lot of ways to go about it that a lot smarter people than myself could handle!

Schmaltz has all the same flaws as Monahan but not as good a goal scorer

Cheaper, cost controlled for 5 more seasons with Gaudreau, Tkachuk, Mangiapane needing contracts, right shot, better 200 foot player, can skate well enough that he doesn't drag a line. I take Schmaltz 10 out of 10 times over Monahan right now and going forward.

I dont think you have watched a lot of Schmaltz, he is not a strong 200 foot player and his skating is definitely below average. As I said above, same flaws as SM just not as good at scoring.

While I like Marchessault, Schmaltz does not improve the team to a contender

I've seen enough to know that he can skate much better than Monahan. His underlying numbers are also better. Monahan without Gaudreau has been dreadful, getting him off the roster and ensuring that Gaudreau is not strapped to him would be worth it alone. We are going to agree to disagree here.