We can get a 3rd from the Rangers in the most agreed trade on CF

Why would we want a lesser puck along with a cap dump?

We expect to get a 2023 third-round pick for Kulikov, either from the Rangers, or the Maple Leafs, or someone else. You don't even have one, so we're going to take some persuading to accept your 2024 third. Combine that with wanting to dispose of Andreas Johnsson, and the prospect we should be getting is Seamus Casey, not Case McCarthy.

Mack has been much better than Reimer this year

Kulikov was moved for a 4th a few years ago. Seems like he’s bound to be his own comp here, in what’s been a down year by his standards. I agree the dump would make it more costly, but I can’t see Kulikov netting a 3rd when he didn’t get that return while younger and providing more, and definitely wouldn’t cost a. top D prospect to dump

It'll take more than a guy you might not even give an ELC to and can walk since he went 4 year NCAA route.

We'll meet in the middle at Walsh.

There’s nothing that has suggested Casey would do the 4 years of college to go UFA.

Walsh makes sense though. He’s not getting younger, and doesn’t belong buried in the AHL. He should be on an NHL roster

By the same token the Ducks really aren't needing to move him for a 4th and a cap dump forward. Someone has to play defense between the TDL and the end of the season and it can easily be Kulikov. I liken it a lot to the Deslauriers trade to MIN. He would have continued to be a useful player for Anaheim with a trade value of a 4th. But the Wild wanted him bad enough to cough up a 3rd to which the Ducks weren't going to say no.

So you either want Kulikov bad enough to pay a 3rd or you don't. Makes no difference to me either way.

And FWIW, that D prospect in this trade is basically garbage.

He didn’t need to be moved before either, and I mentioned that the cap dump deserves some sort of value moving the other way (though I really don’t understand the cap dump from OP in the first place when the price for Meier is more than enough to get 50% retention)
Maybe a team does want him bad enough, but he is playing worse than he did when he was worth a late 4th a couple of year back. Hard to justify paying much more than that price for a worse version of the guy

McCarthy did his 4th year of NCAA and probably walks, not Casey.

I think though we can agree on Walsh, gives the guy an opportunity on an NHL roster where the Ducks have an opening paired with Vaakainen.

I'd love to get Meier in but that's about one 1st rd pick too much for him.
Your suggested return is twice that of rental wingers, it probably even exceeds the value Eichel returned to the Sabres when he got traded.

Also, I cannot see Kulikov being either worthy of such a return nor an upgrade on any of Brendan Smith, Okhotiuk, Bahl or even Walsh.
Rather just keep the assets in that case.