Edited Apr. 25 at 2:41 p.m.
Quoting: Joblow
You arr not getting 2 bluechip assets in a deal for Zegras. Historically even the best of the best that have been traded haven’t gotten those kind of return. Taylor Hall was traded at 24 for Adam Larsson. Taylor Hall and Zegras early career are very much the same. Both where on super bad team, both high draft pick, both producing at a similar pace.
The 2024 Mtl draft pick would be more then enough in term of value, depending on is Anaheim have a player the value at the position Mtl will speak. Mailloux have been a riser from the day he got drafted. He is consider a one of the top NHL prospect. Anaheim ain’t getting those kind of assets combine. Historically it haven’t happened. Zegras isn’t the second coming of the great one. Lower your expectation or it will be brutal if he get traded.
Taylor Hall was traded for an established top 4 RHD that was taken at 4OA. Mallioux was taken 31st, and has established nothing.
It's a weak draft, the absolute best case scenario for the player taken at 5OA is that he manages to achieve a similar career to Zegras, assuming absolutely everything goes right, then you add the fact that there's the risk of busting with that pick. Furthermore, Mallioux is not a blue chip piece.
If you had a similarly aged top 4 RHD that had shown they're not a bust at the NHL level, you could argue that 1 for 1 trade is appropriate, but you don't, you have prospects and picks that carry risks.
Yeah, if both Mallioux and 5OA turn out to be studs at the NHL level, Anaheim would hands down win the trade, but that upside for Anaheim is covering the risk that neither could be impact pieces at the NHL level, that's how trades work.