Ugh, damn you... I HATE that Kassian contract, but for Puljujärvi, we'd have to consider that...

This deal forces Detroit to trade away some other pieces but it could well be worth it.

Does anyone like that Kassian contract other than Kassian and his family?

Hawks decline. We'll keep Keith if that's the deal. Swap Neal for Koskinen and change the pick to a 6th and we can talk.

I agree, Koskinen as the cap hit going back for Keith makes a ton of sense. Hawks can either keep him as a backup for the season or buy him out cheap (1.5 mil for 2 years).

3.6M for a NHL caliber defensemen versus 11M broken one trick pony.

Real dollars don't mean anything except for the cheapest of the GMs and the poorest of the organizations neither of which these teams are. Cap hit is what matters.



Kieth was statistically one of the worst defensemen in the league last season. I don't think Koskinen going back is enough.



Keith requested a trade to the west coast to be closer to his son in Vancouver who he didn't get to see last season. This isn't a value trade for the Blackhawks its a message to their players about how they treat their veterans.

That’s pure speculation, we’ve seen instances where deals clearly wait until SB is paid or forced pre SB. Like it or not, it’s still an organization and that matters even more now with Covid economy.

Edmonton and Chicago aren't teams that are broke. Cap hit matters a lot more than real dollars for almost all teams. (Ottawa because of Melnyk and Arizona are the only exceptions I can think of).

One benefit of James Neal's cap structure is that he provides more savings from being bought out over the next 2 seasons.

I never once said AAV wasn’t a factor. I’m bringing up the financial difference which does factor into decisions. We’ve seen numerous move where teams buyout players for savings (eg Abdelkader) when they weren’t going to use the cap space. We’ve seen teams trade player before SB we’re paid like ROR. The difference between those two contracts is rough and at least one of them is serviceable in the NHL like I said.