couldnt afford 2nd t
Joined: Sep. 2021
Posts: 1,014
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Zaitsev has 1.216M remaining in cap this season, and 4.5M next season. A 2nd and a future 4th is a low cost to dump 5.7M in negative cap.
Dorion has signed or acquired some atrocious contracts, but he has done a good job efficiently dumping them. He got a 3rd and Holden for Dadonov, who had 2 years remaining at the time. He paid a 3rd and a late pick to dump 75 percent of Murray's huge contract. Now he has dumped Zaitsev for a 2nd and a 4th.
You have to keep in mind that cap is a major asset. Ottawa now has 4.5M in cap (and real dollars) to go after or retain a more effective player next season. While it wouldn't surprise me if Ottawa makes another trade, I don't think dumping Zaitsev necessarily guarantees that will happen. The reason they are moving him now is that they do not want to get stuck with him in the off season. If there is an opportunity to dump him now for a 2nd+future 4th, it's never going to be cheaper. There is no point in waiting.
As far as Chicago goes, they leveraged their cap space for an asset. Ottawa is on the upswing, so it is difficult to predict where that pick could be. It has potential to be within the first 10 picks of the second round. Zaitsev can play big minutes for them while they tank. Whether or not he does a good job doesn't matter, because they want to lose anyways.
If you're purely judging this by value, Ottawa wins. Arizona for example got two 2nd round picks to take Nemeth. Nemeth was owed 5M in cap over 2 years and 6M in real dollars compared to Chicago who got a 2nd and a 4th for Zaitsev's 5.716M in cap over 2 seasons and 5.175 in real dollars. Either way, I would imagine both teams are happy.