That's an unbelievably terrible deal for Ottawa.

Hey, I'm taking back Zaitsev, and it's not like Brannstrom really holds any value

Dont see the value for OTT... Myers has a worse contract, but for the sake of the argument, we will say they cancel each other out. Brannstrom and Holden for Poolman and 4th.. That really doesnt make sense for OTT.
The 1 for 1 swaps are interesting, but I dont think they happen.. also dont think VAN gets the extra picks.
That SEA trade doesnt seem great for VAN.

This is how I see the trade:


Zaitsev for Myers ... Fine

Brannstrom for Poolman ... ?????

Holden for a 4th round pick ... Fine


Ottawa declines.

The Myers deal is worse than Zaitsev's, and Ottawa is taking back a second awful contract in Poolman. I'd also disagree strongly with your point about Brannstrom. He's already a good NHL player and has the talent to be a great one.

Absolutely not from the isles. We want Casey and at best Dickinson is similar value.

Ok everyone's talking about Ottawa but that Seattle trade 🤢.

Boeser AND Miller for spare parts And a 2024 first

I break down the Ottawa trade something like this: Myers + Poolman for Zaitsev + Holden. Myers contract isn't very good, but he's still a decent no. 4/5 defenseman, and Poolman is actually a decent 6/7 defender even though his contract is iffy, but it's not back breaking. Myers and Poolman's contracts aren't nearly as bad as everyone makes them out to be, they're both useful players, just not top of the lineup guys. If you'd bother to watch the players actually play rather than just looking at the teams record, you'd see. Holden is just a throw in to make the cap work. Last but not least, there is the 4th for Brannstrom

The Seattle trade is for a 1st, 2nd, two 4ths, and some quality depth pieces, they are anything but spare parts

With where the Islanders are at, I don't see how any of their bottom six players still remain untouchable, and Cizikas's contract has an absurd amount of term on it