Could be nice for a couple years but he is to expensive for to long

They got some defenseman that will be getting 10+ Million

OEL has had a resurgence this year as a defensive defenseman and his offensive play has improved in the 2nd half of the year. However, his lengthy contract is likely to become an issue in later years. It's an albatross that Vancouver will need to resolve one way or another sooner than later. OEL's agent has also stated his personal distaste for the Vancouver market, and OEL has recently made comments about how moving on from Arizona was necessary because he didn't want to be somewhere where he wasn't wanted... It makes me wonder if that sort of break down could occur again between Rutherford's management group and OEL's camp.

Detroit could use a fellow swede to help mentor Simon Edvinsson into the league and help him fully develop into a top-tier defenseman. The intent here is not really to garner a return. It's to clear the contract off of Vancouver's books.

Definitely true. But that is still two-years away for Seider, and three-years for Edvinsson. By that team the salary cap ought to be going-up due to the new TV deal and Seattle revenue.

And each of those players could be bridged instead of long-term deals. By that point OEL's buy-out with such cap retention would only be around ~3.5m for one or two years. Which is hardly the most onerous buyout a team has had to make in recent years.

It is not just Seider and Evidsson, but Raymond, Larkin, Bertuzzi, Ned all will need new deals in the near future. Makes zero sense to take that contract on for the next couple of years as young talent comes up and some of the better players will need new deals. Yzerman is not going to hamstrung the cap with a contract that as you said, will become a problem down the road.