Oh, I mean, I'm going to spend the day at work and check in twitter here and there. Used to get amped for deadline day, but always left disappointed.

Oh, I mean, I'm going to spend the day at work and check in twitter here and there. Used to get amped for deadline day, but always left disappointed.

It gets worse each year. My favourite deadline day was in 1999 when Detroit acquired Chelios, Clark, Samuelsson and Ranford.

That's so clever man. They got three 1st round picks (+ a recent 1st round prospect) for second-tier players last year when they were having their worst season in history

I'm still shocked that the year my beloved Ducks won the cup, they picked up a 1st round pick from Tampa at the deadline, in exchange for Shane O'Brien, and that it ended up being 16 OA

Unfortunately, in typical Brian Burke fashion, he ended up drafting a bust. Getting Brad May at the same deadline was underrated AF.

Burke always loved Brad May. One of his favourites.

Matheson is playing great.
Edmundson has been dealing with health issues all season.
I'm not saying either is worth a 1st, but yes there is a time when they were or may be. Probably not right now.

Every team has a number of players worth a 1st. Sellers just have more of them that they are willing to part with.

Physical rental D are always at a premium at the deadline regardless. It's fine to consider that an outdated philosophy, but you can't deny the fact that GMs overpay for certain player types at the deadline.

You have to consider context. This proposal for example, involves Edmonton getting cap relief on top of a top 4D as well as an affordable 4th liner. It's not just Matheson for a 1st.
Anderson does not need to be moved. It's going to take a significant offer to make that happen. Same with Dvorak. Same with Savard.

For actual rentals, Montreal has 1 who might have returned a 1st. Monahan healthy with full retention was a possibility, but now it's seen as too much of a gamble. A conditional 1st is still possible, but unlikely.
Everyone else either has term or is obviously not worth a 1st.

2 Years of a healthy Edmundson would have raised his value, especially with most proposals including retention, now that extra year actually reduces his value. Things change.

This idea that every player on Montreal is worth a 1st is people being willfully ignorant of the context of those valuations. Case in point, Matheson + Pezzetta + $5M of unwanted contracts, is not Matheson being valued at a 1st. There's added value not being considered.

As THE OP, I will slightly disagree and say that yes I AM taking salary back to facilitate this deal, but based on his play and his contract I think Mike Matheson is worth a late 1st. His season last year and his play so far this year despite his injury to his abdominal muscle warrants it. He's playing a good 2-way game if not a physical one and for a team that wants Erik Karlsson because he's a fast skating offensive player and wants to lean into offense rather than play the traditional defence-first playoff game, Matheson can be a good and cheaper plan B.