That wont work for Calgary. Kylington is going to get a decent raise this summer

Dude, Kessel half-retained can't even get Arizona a 3rd right now.

Kessel 50% PLUS taking Koskinen. Kessel has been relatively productive this season as well.

Lol imagine prioritizing Kylington over Chychrun

Taking Kosko on for less than half season does not boost value from a 4th (which is the most Hot Dog Phil can fetch right now) to a 1st. PLUS you also took a B prospect back... kinda left that part out.

Having a team take on Koskinen for half a season is worth at LEAST a 2nd round pick on its own.
Not sure where you get the idea that Kessel is worth a 4th round pick even at 50% retention, quite ridiculous.

1- Uhh no. A team would need to eat 5-6M to get back a 2nd. This deal requires eating about 2M. It's not even close.

2- From the Athletic. Corey Pronman's "Who says no?" column last week. And I quote:

"15. Penguins get Phil Kessel (ARI retains 50 percent). Coyotes get Alex Nylander and a 2023 second-round pick. — Shawn O.

Kessel has been rumored in trades pretty much since the season began. He’s putting up reasonable numbers for Arizona but the question is how much of a market will there be for the 34-year-old?

Exec: Penguins say no, almost zero percent chance you get a second-round pick for Phil Kessel. The Coyotes have offered him around for a third-round pick while retaining 50 percent and haven’t gotten a buyer yet."

Koskinen is signed at $4.5M, not $2M. This helps Edm clear space to add a goalie separately through another trade. Last season, Detroit picked up a 4th round pick for eating just over $1M on David Savard's contract. Nick Foligno netted the Sharks a 4th for around $1.35M in retention as well.

Taking back $4.5M in cap in full is most definitely worth at LEAST a 2nd round pick at the deadline (AKA Lavoie). As for Kessel's value at 50% retention, keep this in mind: Kessel's production at 5v5 has remained steady despite playing for an extremely poor Coyotes team. (1.88 PTS per 60, even ahead of J.T. Miller, the prize of the trade deadline). If that's the case for his trade value at the moment, I'd definitely expect that to pick up closer to the deadline

Dude... Kosko's salary for the WHOLE SEASON is 4.5M. Both Edmonton and Arizona have now played 49 games, or right about 60% of the season. That leaves 40% of his salary left to pay, or 1.8M. So it's actually less than 2M that Arizona would be covering if he was traded over today. And every game that goes by with him still in Edmonton drops that number by almost $55K. If the trade doesn't happen until the deadline, that would be 13 more games Edmonton plays, meaning the salary for Arizona to cover would be down to 1M and change. In other words, nowhere near a 2nd.

Besides, Stevie Y fleeced the crap out of them with that deal. Do not expect every retention deal to go this way. If you want to go to trade comparables, the usual going rate is for 7M retained to garner about a 1st. So 4.5M ain;t no 2nd, and 1M and change sure as hell ain't remotely close to a 2nd.

As for Kessel, keep this in mind: none of this production talk means anything. NO ONE in the NHL is willing to pay as much as a 3rd for him half-retained at this time. Arizona tried. Even if it "picks up" (don't hold your breath), nobody is paying a 1st for him.

I'm well aware of how the cap works in terms of games remaining, it still doesn't change the fact that two teams were each paid a 4th AT THE DEADLINE last year to retain $1-$1.35M on an annual basis, while Koskinen will require wiping $4.5M on an annual basis.

Huh? What annual basis? He's a UFA at season's end. The FACTS are in the math I posted above. Surely you have a calculator on your PC or phone, feel free to check the math. At this exact moment, acquiring him would require 1.8M in salary to be covered. At the deadline, it will be just over 1M. End of story.

Thats not what I did

I would suggest you use a calculator as well and take another look at the two trades I referenced from last season

Good lord, how are you still clinging to this glaringly obvious error? We're done here.

Error? You clearly have no clue what you're talking about or cannot read. Might be both to be honest.

Says the guy who, despite repeatedly being shown the obvious/basic math, somehow imagines that acquiring Kosko now/nearer the deadline would put Montreal on the hook for his full 4.5M salary this season... how anyone could not get this is light years beyond me. I actually feel sorry for you at this point. But sure, go ahead and insult my intelligence. Whatever gets you through the day, man.

Ok so you don't know how to read. It's settled.