Mercer is a good one.

Texier isn't worth that as the Pens pick could be top40. Unless you think that they are overpaying with that game in France to be confirmed for the 2025-26 season, he's a 3rd rounder at best in return. You can probably get Boeser at a cheaper price as the Canucks need to decide between Boeser and Hronek next season.
Hell, Bjorkstrand went for less and he's a much better player than Texier. The cap exists and the market dictates the price.

ya JG Pageau is basically a kid.

He was targeted to upgrade pick to flip to get Mercer

Not even close to value for Mercer. Devils can use next year's 1st if they needed, but not giving up Mercer for a mid 1st just to move that. There is like one goalie (Swayman) we'd move Mercer for...so adding in a 3rd as a kicker doesn't make any sense.

Yeah Anaheim is going to pass

Barron isn’t an upgrade for us

No shot NJ moves Mercer for a mid first and a 3rd.... I really don't think MTL and NJD are even the slightest match for trade partners.. Both teams are valuing young players, Devils probably a year or two older than MTL. Any price NJ would want for Holtz, Mercer, etc. is a nonstarter for MTL and vice versa. NJ values Mercer like you'd value Caufield and Holtz like MTL values probably Hutson.

NJD isn’t moving Mercer for that. Maybe we’d move holtz but still probably not

Works for CBJ.

He is! Difference is, that trade was made with CBJ under cap duress, and Texier is (being generous) going to make 1/4 as much as Bjorkstrand. CBJ *needed* to make a move and probably made the wrong one, since they were also betting that a younger Texier would have a higher ceiling.

This probably leans slight overpay for Tex, but I'd just be cautious about making a comparison to the Bjorky trade, given the cirumstances.

Doesn’t matter the new circumstances for CBJ. There isn’t a world where Texier gets a top40 pick with better forwards available on the market. The market dictates the price not Columbus salary structure either good or bad at any point in time. they’ll be a half dozen teams with cap problems such as CBJ at the time of the Bjorkstrand deal and why I mentioned Boeser whom the Canucks must dump if they want to resign Hronek.

This is inherently self-contradictory, because Columbus's salary structure dictates a significant portion of how the market responds w/r/t Columbus assets. To wit: when GMs (the market) know you're drowning, they'll throw you anchors rather than lifelines.

Which is why I even said this leans overpay for Tex?



Exactly. Thinking otherwise is a very linear way of viewing the trade market.

"Bjorkstrand was worth a 3rd and 4th in 2022" should very much not be viewed as a baseline for measuring a player's value in 2024/25.

It's the exact same reason at damn-near every trade deadline some team overpays for a B6 F/B4.

I mean (and not a 1-to-1 comparison per se), would any of us really say that Bjorkstrand's value is near Andrew Peeke's?

Your point being what? You countered to say something that would be obvious to anyone. We all knew that Bjorkstrand was traded for cap reasons. You didn't say anything new. That was my point. You can find players at cheaper prices. That what is called a market and no one is paying CBJ a 2nd and 4th for something you can find anywhere and everywhere.

FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK!
As neither of you seem to understand what a market means.

No, the market dictates the price not your own circumstances WHETHER you are disabled OR not OR a team in a cap crunch