Ah, Lou gave up 13 OA for Romanov...now you're going to get a legit top 4 for a 2nd and a dump? Can't imagine.

Love the thinking that Girard, a top-4 defenseman on any team, is somehow a cap dump

This is a candidate for deletion.

Obviously Girard is worth more than a 2nd and Panik. The AVS easily say no, and Girard is also not a target for the Isles anymore with the acquisition of Romanov.

Girard would cost us significantly more than this, he's not just some cap dump, he's a legitimate proven top 4 guy.

Also, MAJOR low-balls on Dobson and Romanov. Dobson bridge will be closer to 4.25x2 and Romanov 3x2.

Except there is a thing called leverage when you have a team up against the cap crunch trying to retain other players. You guys know a Devon or two about that!

Yes, the Avs extended Nuke, Lehk, and Manson so that the Isles and sweet Lou could come in and take Girard for nothing. Seems plausible...

The Avs currently have just under $4 mil in space, with 1 roster spot to fill. The Isles currently have $11, with 3 to fill, which you did by low balling Dobson, addressing the offensive issues (kidding, you didn't do that...), and by paying less for Girard than the Florida Panthers did for Ben frickin' Chiarot.

They've got 11 F/8 D/2 G signed right now with $3.9M in cap space available. They can easily grab a couple guys on one-year deals to fill the forward holes and keep some cap space in reserve for the deadline without having to make any moves.

Next summer, might be a different story with MacKinnnon, Byram, & Newhook needing new deals and needing to find replacements for Compher, Cogliano, and Helm (not to mention only one more year til UFA for Toews) so I could see them being more amenable to moving Girard then. But for now they're going to say "you just gave up #13 for Alex Romanov, Girard has a longer track record of success, is only 2 years older, and has an affordable contract with term. Pay up."