Quoting: handsomeIAN
Look, NO ONE would trade for someone with this salary and term and harbour him as a SALARY DUMP. That is the unrealistic scenario. The only teams trading for Zaitsev will necessarily be one that believes he IS a rosterable D, hence they will be expecting to pay SOMETHING. If a Zaitsev deal gets done, there is zero chance you will see it getting done where a team takes him on as a salary dump; something will come back as a hockey trade.
GMs often have different thoughts then a fanbase or an analyst. This is not unusual or prohibitive of a deal and history demonstrates this clearly.
"Salary dump" and "rosterable" can be put in the same sentence (Though 'rosterable' isn't a word, so it probably shouldn't...). I would never say that 100% of cap dumps don't still end up in the NHL, because they often do.
Here's a short list of reasons why he's a cap dump though:
-Toronto needs to shed cap. In this case, Zaitsev is the mediocre player that you're shedding, and he's owed a ton of money. Therefore, he's a cap dump.
-Nobody is going to step in to save the Leafs from themselves. If Zaitsev is moving, it's because the Leafs need to move him. Therefore, he's a cap dump.
-Zaitsev is a bottom pairing dman on any team with a solid D core. If this is the case, he's being overpaid, and is therefore a cap dump.