couldnt afford 2nd t
Joined: Sep. 2021
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Good trade for the Flyers to kick off their rebuild. Who knows, maybe Cal Petersen bounces back and they can get something for him next year with retention.
The Kings moved out a ton of salary. They did not pay very much to do so. I am skeptical they would have found a taker for Sean Walker without salary coming back. They obviously were not going to find a taker on Petersen.
Provorov has struggled the last few years. It's an interesting move for Columbus, because they almost traded the same assets they got from Gavrikov to replace him with Provorov. Gavrikov did not want to stay in Columbus, so keeping him wasn't an option. The retention on Provorov gives Columbus some more flexibility if they want to move on from Provorov at the 2025 trade deadline, because with retention his cap hit could be brought down to 2.3625. They were in on Chychrun last year, so they clearly have been looking for a mobile LHD for a while.
The Flyers got great value, but it's always easier to "win" trades as the rebuilding team who is seller. If the Kings sign Gavrikov to a huge AAV as rumoured, I suspect people will not like this trade for them, since this trade opens up the cap space for the Kings to make that move. I don't think this is as bad for Columbus as people might make it out to be. Provorov is signed for 2 more years at what is now a more appropriate cap hit for what he brings. Columbus has a difficult time attracting free agents or retaining players because players perceive that it isn't the most ideal city to live in. So you can't just say "why not sign a UFA for free", it's probably not applicable. If Provorov is not a good fit and doesn't stay in Columbus, odds are that they will recoup some value on him at the 2025 trade deadline.