value-wise it's fair, but I think SJ would need an overpay to use their last retention slot at this point

Play Noesen vs Duclair. Noesen may not be the career guy Duclair is, but he provided pivotal play last year. Deserves the time.

That'll be a low 30s pick. I think this might be fair.

Pass on duclair. His Achilles injury has slowed him down and hurt his game.

We don’t pay that much for a Backlund rental.

Did you watch the playoffs? He came back from injury and was flying out there. He hasn't slowed down at all

Yea I watched it. He wasn’t the same

Backlund is great fit in Carolina, but I don't think that type of package gets him. Flames would probably rather just keep him and hope an extension could be worked out instead

fair, but have to use last retention spot wisely. Might make more sense on a guy like Labanc or Hoffman because they have more aav, so more retention is possible.

I think you're right about using the retention spot strategically to facilitate trades. But, I would rather watch Labanc and Hoffman walk as UFAs because their current AAVs make them untradable if it means we can get as close to a 1st rounder for either Duclair or Barabanov with retention. I think one high draft pick in the 20s-30s is worth more than a few mid-range picks that we could get by retaining on Labanc or Hoffman and trading Duclair/Barabanov at their actual cap hit.

yeah I agree, if retention is the difference between a 2nd and a 1st then yeah, better to do that than just get a 4th or something for Labanc/Hoffman w/ retention. I would just doubt that 1.5 in retention would make up a big difference like that.

I reconsidered what I said before and having a 3rd team facilitate the trade by retaining 1.5M would probably only cost a 4th or 5th round pick. Forgoing those types of picks aren't a deal breaker.

The retention might be crucial for getting a deal done with a team like the Bolts or Canes.

Of course this all hinges on how the players perform through the year.