As a Hawks fan, I still lament the loss of Johns, even tho he never got an opportunity with the big club. Sigh.

Dallas trade is a strong no. We could sign him at the end of the year as a FA

From a Dallas perspective, Colton Point is pretty much untouchable. He's far and away the best goalie prospect in our system, and he's looking more and more like the guy that could replace Bishop withing 2-3 seasons. Johns also brings a much needed physical presence to our blue line. Gardiner is a good defenseman, but I don't see Dallas pulling the trigger on that deal of that magnitude for a guy who is under control for only one more year

That's an awful lot for Connauton... Nielsen has potential to be better than him.

(a) so you're going to go the whole year with Methot, Lindell and Heiskanen on the left side? Good luck with that.
(b) You have a better chance to sign Gardiner if he spends the year playing with you.
(c) Your undervaluing a 2nd round pick that might elevate to a 1st.
(d) Nevertheless, you're right that this is a deal that the Stars should decline because I went too far into their farm system. See my reply to J_Sand3rs, below.

Well, that's the reason I wanted him, but you're absolutely right. Even before I posted this team, I knew I was asking for Stephen Johns and one of the organization's two prime goaltender prospects. Since the point of the exercise was to acquire Johns, I shouldn't have been so greedy. It should have been for Johns and a prospect like Rope Hintz.

Yeah, the trade should be for only two of those three elements. I haven't decided which piece is too much.

Considering the role that Johns plays on the team, and the role that Gardiner would play, I could see Dallas offering up Julius Honka instead of Johns. For Dallas, it would essentially upgrade Honka, and for Toronto it would give them another RHD that is far cheaper and under control longer than Gardiner. The Stars would have to add a prospect/pick to the deal as well, but Dallas would be better off keeping Johns and trading Honka in this scenario.

Axe the 2022 2nd, and get rid of the condition on the 2020 pick. Nielsen and 2020 2nd for Connauton... maybe get a 4th or 5th from ARI.