Quoting: JordanCM
...Calgary traded a first to get rid of Sean Monahan. In what fantasy land is Ottawa trading a second to acquire him???
TDL in his Trade's Comment section stands for Trade Dead Line
If you have to keep reading past here i'm going to assume its your first TDL
In that case yearly its supply vs demand often with 16 teams buying and atleast 3-6 teams selling
TDL means depending on your position specifically Center and Right Handed Defenseman go for huge deals.
Center's in the past even on IR have got huge yields for a variety of reasons.
Martin Hanzal is always going to be my favorite example of this as DAL primarily bought him so CHI couldnt have him (1st,2nd and 3rd round picks i believe).
Center's having their worst seasons to date but still strong in the faceoffs circle even get picked up for runs like Thomas Plekanec (2nd and 2 AHL prospects the MB Flipped for Kulak)
What about Defensmen?
Kimmo Timmonen spent all year on LTIR wasnt even guaranteed to be ready before a Playoffs (barring any setbacks)
Walked away with two 2nd round picks in the deal and Timmonen won a Cup
Martinez a Left handed D who's always played RD got two 2nd round picks in 2020 showing that value remains consistent for lefty's
The Value of being a Right Handed Shot though shoot that value up to a 1st round pick at the TDL though as seen with David Savard a #4/5 RD with no potential for a greater role.
He still got CBJ a larger return based on the position he played as Right Handed D at the NHL level arent common, every team doesnt have 3-4 high quality RD (Really only LAK have that)
I can keep listing Example's but it would all be a Moot Point if i didnt emphasize the importance of Supply vs Demand in a Free Market situation.
With 16 contenders for those 16 playoff spots competing hard down the final stretch a lot of teams enter the TDL final days really banged up.
It's why teams will give up 4th rounders for Joe Morrow and Jakub Jerebek playing 7th D or Kulak in a #5/6 D situation getting a 2nd round pick and a RFA
History both Recent and more Seasoned are full of Examples
You just got to remember the TDL value has very little to do with deals
Cap is everything as only 2-3/16 teams are still shopping for big name players
Most are happy with thei rcore and just looking for depth pieces incase of injury who might not play much if at all
Jerebek for example got a Ring in WSH and he was basically a player who practiced with the team and thats it
Its why teams gamble on nobodies and AHL call up's even when the Market is Low with few team's selling (happens once every 6-7 years or more)
Check out any for Steve Dangles Trade Deadline video's where he breaks down why TML overpaid for someone
He'll cover most of this in the Post Muzzin trade and his reaction to the price.