That Wild trade is absurd from a NYR perspective. Brodin is a massive disappointment at a huge cap hit. Stepan is a legit 1B /2 right shot C and Hayes is worth the 1st rd pick alone. Stars trade is nearly as bad. Kreider is worth more than Lucic if he were an UFA. I get that Staal contract might be a drag, but Kreider alone could fetch a tidy return that would make hanging on to Staal worth it if your scenario is the alternative. While you've grossly undervalued the Rangers in the above trades, you grossly overvalued Girardi in the Lupul deal. Despite cap equivalence, Lupul is much more valuable at his cap charge than Girardi.