My immediate question would be why wouldn't Dallas risk Khudobin as their backup since he's got less of a downside ... the buyout?

Khudobin is 36 and finished in the A. He’s done.

Dallas is taking the worse buyout for nothing. Sure.

Mrazek isn't young and the Leafs waived him last season. Again, neither of those really answered the question of why Dallas wouldn't keep the goalie who's less of a risk.

Mrazek is 30.

So the Stars are going to risk a higher cap hit and a worse buyout because he's a few years younger? Not very convincing.

They aren’t taking a buyout. They’re taking a back up. And the cost is a $3.3m contract they buried in the minors.

We have two injury prone cap dump goalies. Only difference is that Mrazek has more term on his contract and he costs more.

Very easy no for Dallas.

Maybe this whole thing will make more sense when you wrap your head around the Stars not buying out Mrazek but using him instead.

It will make more sense when you answer my original question, why would they want to use Mrazek as a backup rather than Khudobin when Khudobin is less of a risk...the buyout?

Honestly this isn't ridiculous, but I still think Dallas just takes the one year left with Doby or just buys him out themselves and maybe keep Wedgewood for cheaper.

Khudobin is worse than Mrazek’s bad year and he finished buried in the minors. At least Mrazek has the possibility of bouncing back with a change of scenery.

Based on what? Khudobin has recently had very successful seasons including a long. cup finals, playoff run. If we take the last 3-4 seasons, Khudobin has actually outshined Mrazek. Him ending the season in the minors doesn't really mean much when Mrazek would have spent a long time in the minors as well if Toronto had a 3rd option like Dallas did.

Why not Dallas just buyout Doby ? Makes literally no sense.

Based on numbers.
That cup run was the 19-20 season. He’s 36 and just finished 9 GP 3.63 GAA and 0.879%
Mrazek’s bad year was 20 GP 3.38 GAA and 0.888%
Prior to that he had 3 straight seasons with 2.05-2.69 GAA and 0.905-0.923%
Tell me Doby’s the better option with a straight face.

Khudobin's 3 prior seasons: .907 2.54, .930 2.22, .923 2.57

You didn't even look before posting this did you?

The reality is that neither are good options but with the lower cap hit, less term and easier buyout, Khudobin's better worse case scenario makes him the better option by far.

Yes, Dallas can just buy him out themselves, but then they’re left with dead cap and a roster spot to fill. They still need a back up.
It’s risk/reward. If Mrazek bounces back and plays like the goalie he’s been in the past, it’s a win. All it cost was a $3.3m dead contract. If he struggles again, then the buyout situation was delayed by a year. Not a win, but not a loss.

Again, who is more likely to bounce back after both having bad seasons: the 30 yr old or the 36 yr old?
If Mrazek bounces back, it’s an easy win. If he struggles next season, then the buyout situation was just delayed by a year.

Who's more likely to bounce back, the goalie who's been playing for the same team for a long time and had a down year or the goalie who went from one of the best defensive teams in the league where every goalie has overperformed in recent history(see Mrazek, Ned, Freddy) to a more questionable defensive team and had a bad year with them. It's the one with the same team. Not only is he the one more likely to bounce back, he's also the one with a better situation for the team if he doesn't.

Talking about bounce backs is pretty pointless, even though Khudobin is still the better option when we account for it, because you are basically saying this is a bad idea for Dallas in doing so. The idea behind moving Mrazek is his contract is bad and he's not expected to bounce back. If you believed in his chances at bouncing back, you wouldn't be moving him to start with.

Mrazek is bad, and they would rather buy out AK and then sign Oettinger and maybe Holtby and have better goaltending for a little more, rather than have Mrazek who is also an injury prone bad goalie.

Dobby either goes on LTIR or gets buried in the AHL. Enjoy that term on Mrazek’s contract. This swap isn’t close. Toronto would absolutely add

These are both bad goalies with bad contracts - age and ability to bounce back aren't really that pertinent, because if you truly believed Mrazek was capable of it you wouldn't be trying to dump him.

Dallas has the goalie with the lower cap hit, less term (so a cheaper buyout) and who's also recently had a hip surgery with a minimum 6 month recovery period - i.e., a guy that they have a good likelihood of being able to bury on LTIR if needed. If you want them to take on the bad goalie with the bad contract who has an extra year of that bad contract, you need to give them a reason to say yes. Toronto adds.