I feel like buyout is the only option with way how Dion is playing right now. Just like Alzner..

what would you want from habs for phaneuf?

As Leafs GM, Lou earned his money by trading that cap drain of 7m Phanuef. Convincing Michelak to waive his NTC to go to Toronto and then burying him with the Marlies...hard nosed genius.

Kings problem was signing Gaborik to long term contract after acquiring him as a TDL addition. Should have saved their money. Then the only way to rid themselves of Gaborik's contract was to exchange for Phanuef's.
It's like herpes, you think you have found the cure but it really never goes away.

bottles that have holes in them.

Alzner vs Phaneuf ?

I would rather just not make the deal. Phaneuf is a loser. He may be alittle better then Alzner but just not worth it.

Phaneuf's contract is fairly buyout proof. He would only have two years remaining on his contract, and the recapture cap hit of the buyout of the second year would be $3.75M. Not sure the Kings want to extend his time on the books by two years to regain only $1.5M worth of cap space. They're better off trading him with a sweetener and retaining $1.5M of his contract.

I'd do it, if only because Alzner doesn't have a NMC and can be buried in the minors. Phaneuf cannot be removed from the Kings roster without his permission, and therefore the Kings can't mitigate $1M of his salary like they could with Alzner. He also wouldn't clog up a roster spot that a young defenseman could fill.

However, I'm not sure that Montreal would be on Phaneuf's 12-team list, so it might be moot. He didn't waive his NTC when asked by Toronto or Ottawa, so there's no reason to believe that he would do so for LA.

Dion is buyout proof, LA gets hammered. Alzner is similar. Gaborik was not great but at least he'd go on IR for Stone cap relief. He'd be playing 4th line minutes with Kovalchuk if he were still around. IMO, Kings have to pay someone to take him. Clutterbuck's contract is fairly bad abs taking that on helps the NYI absorb the hit and get something else in return. Kings might have to sweeten it, so be it.