Connor and Laine are both trigger men. I'm not sure they will be placed on the same line (at least not as rookies). Merrill would be an intriguing pick up for LHD.

In what world is trouba worth that. Rielly signed for much less and has proven more at the NHL level

Yea, i don't understand all this Trouba or Dumba or Jones love either

With Trouba, the hidden value is meanness (truculence in Toronto terms). Scott Stevens never lit up the scoreboard but other teams hated playing against him. Trouba is 6'3" and battles hard. PK minutes and top line matchups. Finishes his checks. His game is more akin to Vlasic's in SJS than Reilly. Burns and Byfuglien get all the headlines but Vlasic and Trouba do much of the heavy lifting. Too many armchair gms base valuation on points scored only. Great for fantasy hockey but not when building a team. If games were won on paper, the Oilers would be pacific division champions.

*Slow clap*

With that said, if your paying that much for Trouba you best believe the 8th year will be included. Even though, his demands show him wanting roughly around 7M/per, of course he will over price himself. They will negotiate a cheaper contract that will bring him closer to being UFA sooner if not. Trouba has no negotiating rights at the moment. So just because he says he wants 7 doesn't mean he will get it. I think getting him closer to 4.5-5.5 is much more realistic but that may mean only signing him for 4-6 years instead of a possible 8. See below link.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/Maata-contract-hints-at-Troubas-true-value-370445081.html