We likely get a 3rd for Kulikov and have no interest in swapping him even for Dumo

We want to keep Lundeström as our 3C and even 4C at worst for the future as he would be a very very solid 4C if that happens

Lundestrom is not on the block, and the 4th only pays for Kulikov, not dumping Dumolin as well.

I look at virtually every ACGM you post and am therefore pretty familiar with your knowledge and insight, so I can say with assurance that this one isn't up to your usual standard.

Just in isolation, DuMoulin is an expensive UFA and therefore of no practical use or probable interest to a rebuilding team, especially one in the bottom 4 of the League. Moreover, he's had a bad year so far and as a result he's close to a pure cap dump, particularly for a team near the ceiling like the Pens.

Isac Lundestrom is the most valuable player in the deal. He's pretty well proven that he'll be a capable #3C for us in the future. He was drafted in the first round in 2018 and has played in 180 NHL games and will finish out this season playing in every game for which he is healthy, so he'll have over 200 games on his resume when the season's over. Hallander was selected one round later in the same draft and has played in exactly three NHL games, and he's currently in the minors. The gulf between them is probably more than a second-round pick. Dimitry Kulikov is worth a third-round pick on his own.

My feeling is that if you took Kulikov and DuMoulin out, Anaheim would still reject the offer; if you took Kulikov and the fourth out and made the second a first, a Ducks acceptance would still be unlikely. In short, neither of those Pens players has much value to us, whereas Kulikov has transitory value and Lundestrom has permanent value.

I havent really watched Lundestrom, but was just looking at his stats more. I guess he is worth more to ANA than his stats may show. I know Dumoulin carries almost no value, but the Penguins are a cap in, cap out team, so he needs to be there for cap.

He is sadly a victim of circumstance this season with who his line mates are. He has been saddled with Silfverberg who is just a really bad player to match him with, their skills sets do not compliment each other, rather both their tendency to risk aversion and Silf's hand being gone leads to Lundestrom having to go for a stroll with the puck in the O zone waiting for offense to open up, no one coming into the zone, a puck battle against the board, and a turnover.

Funny enough, the two guys he plays really well with are Max Jones and Pavol Regenda, when that line combo is together their stats all jump.