Edited Jan. 30, 2023 at 4:33 a.m.
Quoting: poeticentropy
OTT didn't want to pay Mark what he wanted and they went to arbitration to end up in the 7s for 1yr when he wanted 9 with a UFA expiration. SJ will give Meier the money and term he wants and the numbers are more palatable than they were in 2018. Teams have the option to match the QO when you don't with a UFA, but probably doesn't come to that because he can be talked to before the potential trade. He's not a rental.
Okay, but what happens if Meier doesn't wanna extend for a retool / rebuild in San Jose?
What happens if Meier is only interested in doing a sign-and-trade with just the one team?
Meier's 10m QO makes his situation eerily similar to that of a pending UFA, in fact for all intents and purposes he is one, because no team trading for him would be interested in signing him to his qualifying offer.
That's not to say he is a rental, he is unlikely to be one, but not being a rental =/= not being a pending UFA.
You actually say it yourself here:
Quoting: poeticentropy
but probably doesn't come to that because he can be talked to before the potential trade.
How is this what you said any different for Mark Stone, or any other pending UFA you are given the option to talk an extension with before the trade goes down?
The foundational principles of supply and demand, prior comparables, market competitiveness and (most importantly in the context of the NHL) game theory doesn't just vanish because Timo Meier is the current flavour of the TDL.
It's not like I don't get from a Sharks fan's perspective.
Trading star wingers away sucks, you're almost never getting the same returns as you think you'd get and especially so when compared to RHDs and Cs.
I felt very defensive about the return Hall 'should've' gotten vs the one the Devils ended up with for the longest time, but ultimately it is the reflection of the realities of the NHL.