Not even close on Hertl. You would need a far better prospect and pick combo. Sharks dont need a backup goalie and a bottom pair D

Hertl is worth more than that. And then you get to little for Strome

1) Massive underpay for Strome.

2) Hertl 2 years of team control. Rangers aren't winning the cup next year. Why are you trading the future for a player gone in 2 years when you already have a top line C that's also a UFA in 2 years?

It's just poor foresight and asset mgmt here.

First of all I dont think you are getting much more for Strome, the kid above you said the exact opposite as you...So that makes me think I am spot on.

Second, I will be resigning Hertl. After 2 years, who says I have to let him walk? The point of getting Hertl and trading Strome (who is a an RFA this year and a UFA after this next contract) is that Hertl is much better, and Strome is an RFA that is gonna demand money and years that he is not worth. Trade For Hertl and sell high on Strome and resign Hertl when we have the cap space after Lundy, B smith and Shattys buyout are off the books.

So my foresight and asset mgmt is just fine. Instead of holding onto Strome and pay him more than he's worth I will flip him now and get a better all around 2C

LOL

Really? San Jose is getting a young cheap controllable starting goalie that they desperately need. A first rd pick in one of the best drafts in years and an NHL ready young cheap defensemen. Seemed fair but I could send a better prospect (robertson maybe?) instead if I have to but you get the jist of the trade.

As for Strome his worth is all over the board. Some think he is just an object of Panarin being on his line. So I flipped him for a 2nd rd pick and a good young defender that can step right in next year and improve. Seemed accurate but I guess I could change the prospect to someone like jokiharu instead

Just going to game plan this out for ya, since you might not have gone through the trouble.

Going into 21-22. You got some guys to resign.

Igor's looking at 5-6 mil on a long term deal. That puts you at 60 mil cap hit. Lindgren is going to cost you another 2-3 for a bridge, around 4 for a long term deal. That puts you at 62. Pilut the same thing. You're at 64. Buchnevich will cost around 6 mil to keep. Now you're at 70 mil. Chytil has to be resigned, Howden has to be resigned, Gauthier has to be resigned. Collectively that puts you around 76-80 mil if you bridge em all. Now you bring up Huska or Wall to be your backup. You're at 81. Let's say cap is restored back around 85-86 mil so you have 5 mil cap room. If you don't sign Buch, you have about 10 mil cap room.

Now you have to resign Mika, Hertl, Kaapo, Kravtsov, and Fox. Mika will probably cost around 10 mil to resign, Hertl probably 8-10 mil and Fox around 7-10 mil to sign long term. and you're screwed. Your only 2 ways to legitimately cut cap at that point are Kreider and Trouba and both of them have NMC's. Even if you choose to not sign Buch and bridge Fox, and bridge all of your RFA's next season, you don't have the cap to keep Mika and Hertl....

By that point you will have a bunch of other young guys coming in that will take those guys spots...Robertson, Miller can go in and we can trade Lindgren or Pilut or both...Buch probably move on from so Kakko/Kravstov/whoever we draft in 2020 lottery will all be looking for bigger roles.

Noone is going to trade a top 6 Center with more than 2 or maybe 3 years of control and they can make the cap work. I would prioritize Hertl and Mika and then the rest they can trade or bridge.

Regardless its the same issue with Strome down the road and I would rather run into that issue with Hertl after 2 runs at the cup with this team. Plus Hertl is already making 6 mil so bumping him up to 8 or 9 is only 2-3mil AAV. Really not that much.

Here’s the lack of foresight:

1) Presuming that 2 LHD’s with no NHL experience are going to be ready for top 4 mins by next year
2) Presuming that you're just going to let one of your best top 6 play drivers walk in a season so he can be replaced by ... 2 guys under 21. Neither of whom shown they can handle top 6 mins...one hasn't shown he can handle NHL mins.
3) It is weird to see you say that no team controlled options are available for middle 6 C's and then see Dylan Strome and Max Domi's name pop up everywhere.

After all, the cost to acquire either of them will be about half of what you're giving away if not less. And then consider the cap. Domi signed for 6 years will come in around 36 mil. Strome at 6 years around 28 mil. Hertl at 2 years + 4 year extension (which in practice would need to be about a 7 year extension that takes him until he's 35 and most likely a major cap burden) is over 50 mil. Now Hertl might be be better than Domi and Strome, no disagreement there. But you'd be crazy to choose the option of giving up significantly more assets, paying about on average 3mil more annually and being forced to sign a player well past his prime and into his breakdown years just for a marginally better player.

To each his own I guess but I would much rather have Hertl than those other two. And I have a hard time agreeing that Strome is a play driver. Panarin Drives that line IMO. But your opinion is fine but I did my HW on this andpersonally think Hertl would be one of the best options at 2C and we really didnt give up much. Igor is our goalie and we still have our lottery draft pick. Then replaced Hajek with Pilut.