Vegas declines

We better be getting something back for taking on that contract

Copp is not the right move

What contract? Martinez is still a solid Dman and only making $5M for 2 more years....

He's abut to be 35. He's clearly slowed down. Contract ends when he's 37, by that time you have Johansen, Wallinder, not to mention Edvinsson who will need time on the left side. We'll need a sweetener to take this deal

haha, two of those dudes prob wont even be NHL ready or caliber.

Martinez is not a cap dump. Try again.

Then why doesn't Vegas just keep him?

They will, unless they get a legit offer.

-Vegas likely trades Martinez for cap reasons. Probably for a 3rd or 4th.
-Detroit should hold onto Smith IMO. He’s a solid young player who can play a 4th line role well.
-I’d prefer signing Edler and Cole in FA rather than trading for Martinez

Eh, Smith is a 24 year old with a career total of 0.5 point shares (never exceeded 0.2 in a season) and 14 points (never exceeded 7 in a season) over 3 seasons. He's physical, which is an element we aren't great at, but he also takes too many penalties. He's as replacement level as it gets. If you have to clear room, I think he is the guy traded or waived.

I would be happy to change out Smith for a 3rd or 4th, but thought maybe Vegas would want a cheap roster player more than a 4th round pick.

I think we are at the point in the rebuild where you don't leave open roster spots of need or plug them with terrible players for a year at a time in anticipation of every decent prospect working out. I agree Edvinsson, Johannsson, and Wallinder are all good prospects. There is also a pretty good chance that at least one of them never transitions successfully to the NHL. If it happens with #1 overall picks, it can happen with Wallinder. As much as I think they are all good, there's a good chance that one just doesn't work out, injuries or game just doesn't translate as well as we hoped, who knows.

For Copp, I covet his ability to play all three forward positions, especially as we expect to keep transitioning to younger players. Rather than sign a 2C and wonder what to do when Kasper gets here, we can slot him to whatever position we need at the time. Pretty good faceoff man (better percentage than Trocheck who I would also love to sign), but usually plays wing. Good two-way player. Michigan ties.