The only way Pittsburgh gets close to that trade even being a draw would be if both Zucker and Rask were at 50%.

I'm guessing you haven't been paying much attention to the rumor mills this week. As of Monday it sounds like there is a deal in place for Kessel + JJ for Zucker and Rask and it doesn't sound like there is any retention at all. Right now the only hold up is that the Wild are not one of Kessel's 8 teams. Kessel is still contemplating it. I get that Zucker is no where near as good as Kessel offensively but Zucker has the potential to be a 60+ pt player and approximately break even with +/-. I get that Rask sucks, but he could bounce back, but even if he doesn't he is a lot easier to shelter than JJ is. It's not a great return for Kessel, but the return for Kessel is likely going to be considerably less than what you think it will be.

Rumors are worthless. Who leaked the deal? The Wild? So that everyone would know that a star player doesn't want to go to the team? The Pens? So that everyone knows that the player is being tough to deal with therefore dropping his value? Or a click hunting "writer" that is just trying to pad his hit stats?

C

Kessel $6.8x3 >> Zucker $5.5x4
Johnson $3.25x4 >> Rask $4x3
PIT doesn't even get real cap savings.