A lot to unpack here.

Edmonton: Why would we trade Dickson for a cap dump in Foegele and Niemelainen who's really a AHL player and a position where we are deep with prospects at?

Vancouver: Myers is a massive cap dump and we are giving up prospects for that? Myers alone will cost Vancouver a 3rd just to move his cap hit, so in your scenario you're giving away players for free.

Minnesota doesn't touch that

Philly: Philips is a good prospect and hawks are rebuilding. There is a zero reason for Philly to move Atkinson and a 3rd for Philips and there is a zero reason for the Hawks to acquire Atkinson unless they can retain half and flip him for more than Philips is worth which about a 2nd rounder.

NJD won't give up that much

Bluegar is not very good. Foligno has no business on a rebuilding team. Ryan Graves for a rebuilding team? Why?

You are missing all the Blackhawks prospects from this list. The intent of the rebuild is also bringing up prospects and getting them used to playing in the NHL without the Hawks caring about wins and losses. Maybe you aren't familiar with all the prospects, but Hawks have a lot of them and a handful will surely be brought up next season instead of plugging in guys like Graves, Myers, Bluegar, and Foligno. Maybe they bring in a couple vets to flip at the TDL, but they are more than likely to do that in positions that don't take away from prospects.

I could see Atkinson being of some interest to the Devils but would likely have to be all the way to 50% retained and the Devils giving up a little less in the trade.

If I’m unaware of the readiness of these defenceman I’ll plead ignorance but almost always a defenceman takes a while to break into the league. Korchinski, Allan, and Del Mastro don’t seem to be near NHL ready yet. That’s why I went with adding a guy like Graves who could play a couple years of that deal before being traded for more futures. Chicago went with some prospects in the college system and those kids take time to develop.

The only player I dealt here that I’d have second thoughts on is Ian Mitchell, who looks like he’s ready to see more NHL ice time. I can tell you Joey Anderson is an AHLer. The Leafs are my team and he’s not going to be a piece of the Hawks rebuild. Hillis was a Habs prospect but they seemed content to move on from him and I didn’t think of him as a major or even minor asset. I’d also think of Philips in a similar sense, so sending him to Philly for a player that can be flipped for better futures in picks seems like a smart move. The Devils trade is more about the picks. Blackwood is a player I’m sure they are ready to move on from. Smith is just filler and not making or breaking the trade. You are right to ask for more of Edmonton and I’m sure they could pay more.

The second sentence is inaccurate. Korchinski was almost brought up this season because he is very ready and way outplaying the competition in the Juniors. He's probably the best or top 2 defensive prospects in the juniors and college. Kaiser is a shoe-in to sign a pro contract this season and may be brought up as soon as the NCAA season is completed but definitely next year. Del Mastro and Allan both may or may not be brought up next year, but if not next year than certainly the following. However, you are forgetting some guys in the AHL who've been developing nicely. Vlasic, Roos, Phillips, Regula, Mitchell all whom have had tastes of the NHL this year and will get more opportunity next year. This is also without considering Galvas who's looked good in Rockford and Caleb Jones who may be resigned why others are developing. Point is, there is a massive logjam of good to very good prospects, and they need to flush through them to determine who's a part of the future all while the point of tanking is allowing these kids to develop and assess them in the pros without concern for the wins versus losses record. The Athletic just published an article about the kids in the NCAA and juniors and said Kaiser and Korchinski are basically a lock ((this article didn't even include the aforementioned names in the AHL...Vlasic (who's a lock), Phillips (who's already in the NHL), Roos, Regula and Mitchell)). You don't bring in vets to block slots; again this team is not competing for anything next year and with Seth Jones and murphy they have their vets to help the young guys transition.

Up front, you have the Hawks trading assets for older players...totally unnecessary. Prospects and draft picks are extremely important to a team rebuilding. Maybe they look at one trade for a vet to flip, but as they did this past offseason, you acquire guys in free agency you can retain on and flip at the TDL not give up picks and prospects. Throwing in the towel on Mitchell and Phillips for a chance to acquire a vet that the Hawks have a chance to retain and potentially flip is just not a great strategy.

can only retain up to 3 contracts

Flyers aren't paying for someone to take a top 6 F