you can get more for hanifin

CBJ paid a 3rd to get the extra year on his contract from NJ in the off-season. Severson wanted an extra year to sign with CBJ and wasn't traded at the deadline (off season). This was literally the closest thing to a UFA sign and Trade in the NHL. Name any other player who was signed just to be traded. RFAs have had extensions signed and then traded during the year before the new contract came in place, but they weren't signed just to be traded for the other team. Since you cannot have signing conditions on picks anymore, you either trade for the rights to a player outright or can pay a team to add a year to a player that otherwise won't sign for you. If Calgary trades Hanifin before the deadline the acquiring team can sign him to the extra year because he was on the roster prior to the trade deadline. After that, it's 7 years. So sign and Trades are literally the rarest transaction in the NHL. Offersheets are accepted more than sign and trades.

This trade makes Calgary pay a 5th just to facilitate a deal for a prospect who isn't even listed in the top 100, and maybe gets a 1st, likely a 3rd. Not to mention the retention. As good as you may believe Lohrei is, Conroy would be doing a disservice to the Flames if he didn't get a 1st and a bluechip prospect for a 26 year old defenseman with a manageable cap hit at the deadline.

Player, not players. Steen has no value. Lohrei and a 3rd is the return for Calgary to retain, and pay another team to retain with a 5th.

There's plenty of precedent that a high-end NHL ready prospect can have more value than a first round pick. That's Lohrei. In his first pro year he's gotten 27 NHL games, and looked very good in them, though certainly still some growing pains. If it weren't for boston having a really deep blue line, he'd be a no brainer mainstay in the everyday lineup. If Calgary prefers a late first and a third, more power to them. I think most NHL GMs would much prefer Lohrei to that sort of return.

Yes Rakell was very unlucky in those games. If you actually watched, which you clearly didn’t and I did, you’d see that. Yeah he had 4 assists in those 17 games. Now let’s look at his linemates. Geno: 18pts in 17 games with Rakell, 19 pts in 26 games without Rakell. Smith: 12 pts in 17 games with Rakell, 8 pts in 23 games without Rakell. So yes that line was on fire.
No you trade for a player with higher upside if you are tanking. But the pens aren’t doing that. They are winning so they aren’t trading a player having a better year for “upside” during the season.
Is Rakell putting up the same points with Crosby as Rust did with Crosby? Umm yeah pretty much. Rust had 20 points in 22 games with Crosby (.91 pts/gm) Rakell has 12 pts in 14 games with Crosby (.86 pts/gm). So yeah not really a huge drop off lol.
Rust is not a net front guy 😂. You are seriously out of your element here lmao. Rust is a grinder that digs pucks out of the corners. The pens only guy who is even semi-front net guy is Carter lol. Guentzel tries to be a net front guy but gets pushed around too much cause he’s not big. The reason Rakell doesn’t get out on the left wall as a right shot doesn’t have anything to do with Sully hating him. It’s the fact that they are loaded with superstars. You’re not going to take Crosby, Geno, Guentzel, Karlsson off the 1st PP. and honestly Letang should be on it too and was kinda tough for them to justify taking Letang off just to try to put some talent on PP2. So getting Lindholm won’t make a difference cause there really isn’t anyone they will take off PP1 to put him on for. They will put him on PP2 and try to spread the talent out.