I see the idea of the trade, but I think (as a Caps fan), I would rather keep Kuzy.

He is coming off of a down year (due to various things, but the biggest is coaching), but two years ago, he was stellar. I see Kuzy as having more upside than Couture and is younger/cheaper (in terms of years left on contract and $$ amount). I think with a younger coaching staff with a new style of play is going to help Kuzy a lot.

As far as the Mantha trade, I think Caps would have to add to that one. But yes, I'd accept that.

Kuznetsov for Couture would be very bad for the caps unless there was significant additional value going back to the caps. Given their ages and contract term, it makes no sense for the caps to make that swap. As far as Duclair for Mantha, caps would have to add a lot for it to make any sense for the Sharks. That being said, I would like to take a chance on Mantha bouncing back in a contract year than give up significant value for Duclair personally.

The Couture-Kuzy trade isn’t good for us due to Couture’s contract length.

Duclair is worth far more than Mantha, though.