If the best Columbus could get for Bjorkstrand was a 3rd and 4th, you certainly aren't getting positive value for 2 years of Bailey

To move Pacioretty, a guy that was nearly a point per game player last year when healthy, it cost Vegas a 24 year old dman with solid numbers. I really can't see Anaheim paying for, let alone taking for free, a multiple years of Bailey without being well compensated to do so.

well Vegas isn't known for making the smartest trades

Just because that move was made does not mean it was a good one. It has been widely agreed upon that Vegas got fleeced in that trade

Regardless of what Vegas does, you can pretty much count the teams who have 5 million in available cap space on one hand at this point. Most of the teams that appear to have cap space also have RFA's to sign. Teams like Dallas, Jersey, Calgary, and even Ottawa are going to eat through most or all of their remaining cap on those contracts. That significantly reduces the market for a player like Bailey.

It's a pretty solid example of the fact that unloading cap is simply not as easy as saying "Well Anaheim has space! They'll take him!"



Sure, and just off the top of my head, Columbus got fleeced moving Bjorkstrand. And Toronto got fleeced dumping Marleau. And the Isles got fleeced moving Toews. And Florida got fleeced dumping Stralman. And Philly got fleeced dumping Gostisbehere. And Vancouver got fleeced dumping Loui, Roussel and Beagle. And so on, and so on...You want cap space? You pay for it.

Acting like it's as simply as saying "Here, take this bad contract" is funny. There are realistically 3-4 teams that seem like they *may* be willing to take on a dump or two, while at the same time there are currently 10 teams (11 if you sign Kadri to that deal) that are over the cap. Granted, there are a few of those teams that have the issue dealt with through LTIR, but that's a lot of teams looking to dump cap, and not a lot that are willing to do so.

Exactly. And you can subtract a few of those teams that are simply going to be cap-floor teams this year (ie. Buffalo/Arizona).