That Seth Jones trade is awful. They would sooner just keep him around than take an offer like that. The rest is fine I guess.

I’d trade Jones^2 for Benn and Harley tbh. Just to get that 8 year deal off my books. I wouldn’t even want Seguin cause that contract isn’t even much better than Jones. Taking both is insane tho.

The problem with Jones is very misrepresented by A LOT of people, though. The real problem is what we gave up to acquire him, and not just what we gave up but when we did it. If Bowman hadn't done that, the CHI rebuild would already be in a much better position, and we'd only be looking at 3 years tops most likely. Also, CHI was supposed to starting a rebuild, and all of a sudden Bowman threw a wrench in it to try and make a cup run, and what made it even worse is that a roster that was absolutely a playoff team on paper ended up being awful and having horrible chemistry/coaching/drama/etc. Other than that, he is still absolutely a number one defenseman and is maybe overpaid by a million or two. But in a few years when the cap ceiling starts going up again, his cap hit will be more than palatable. Plus, in the interim his contract helps CHI hit the cap floor. Because, in two seasons we have almost nothing on the books.

Just like every other fan of hockey, I love the thought of P. Kane dishing the puck to McDavid or Draisaitl. But I also don’t like giving up 2 first round picks for a rental forward when Edmonton’s obvious flaw Is defence. Does P. Kane win them an extra round in the playoffs? I think they lose their next series because of goals against, so they’d be better off spending those assets on a defenceman with term in more of a hockey trade.

He still should be traded tbh lol

Well yeah. What need does a rebuilding team have for a player like him? But he isn't the bad contract or awful player everyone makes him out to be. He just doesn't make sense for CHI in the least bit, other than hitting the cap floor.

That’s fair. Moving him is about the last four years of his deal tho.

Sure. But according to NHL execs, the cap should be steadily going up by a substantial margin after the 24-25 season. By the time he is in those last 4 years, his 9.5m cap hit won't look so bad and if he is playing bad enough hockey, his buyout cost will be very low since buyout penalties don't include signing bonuses and most of his salary will be through signing bonuses at that point.

In fact, if he is bought out with four years remaining on his contract, his contract would only have a cap hit of $866K the kicker at that point would be the term being 8 years. But by then the league minimum will probably be like $850k anyway.

Jones trade is bad for both teams. Chicago would be swapping one bad contract for two. And Dallas would have way too much cap invested in defensemen

The signing bonuses can’t be bought out and make his contract buyout proof. His cap hit will actually be around 7.5M for 4 years and then have a penalty of 850k for 4 years after. There’s a buyout calculator on this website, just set the date to 2026.

Delete me

Possibly as soon as after the 23-24 season, in fact. The 24-25 season could see an $87+M cap.

If Toews wasn't so banged up he might be worth that, but right now he isn't.

The thing is, he really isn't that banged up. He was recovering from Covid and then CIRS (chronic immune response syndrome). But after missing the entire 20-21 season, by the second half of the 21-22 season he had made huge strides. And he says he feels even better now than he did at that point. So, if possible, it would probably be smart to buy now while his price is this low. But it's sounding like both him and Kane are planning on starting the season in CHI and no moves, if any, will be made until some point during the season. Toews was playing great hockey before he got covid, he had a career season just a year or two before all of that happened. If he is back to 100%, I think his price is going to be a lot higher than people are anticipating. This trade proposal would look like a steal. But at the same time, no one is going to take that bet, and that is perfectly reasonable too. I do have a feeling Toews is going to bounce back in a big way and has way more to show at the NHL level, but I wouldn't bet on it. But I'm also not a betting man.

That is the cap hit buyout penalty. The actual cash cost is only around $866k per year. Signing bonuses are not factored into the actual cash buyout cost. It would still make it a little harder to keep things under the cap at that point, but I doubt CHI will be in any sort of cap trouble anyway. Also, at that point he will only be 31 still most likely playing very good hockey, the cap ceiling will be a lot higher, and $9.5m will be a fairly standard cap hit. So, buying out his contract shouldn't even be in the conversation at any point. I think as long as he stays healthy he will still be an impact player, and when he isn't healthy, he will be on LTIR and not count toward the cap at all.