I know rumors say the Jets are considering buying Wheeler out but, that trade is extremely generous to a division rival

It's basically a copy of the Ryan Johansen trade

Yeah, well personally I'm surprised Nashville did that with a division rival, why trade a player to a team you'll see 2-4 times a year, I'd of sent him out East
I would make that deal as Winnipeg with an Eastern team that I only play 2 times, that's me though, I think Trotz owed Sakic a favor

Does Evan want to sign in Winnipeg? You could just say "future considerations"

Maybe nobody our East was interested? Or CMac talked to Trotz first? Nashville won't really be competing while RJ is with the Avs so, who cares?

Nashville will still compete for a playoff spot and no teams fans want to see an ex-player beat them with arguably the best team in the league and probably have a huge bounce back year playing with Rantanen

Simple answer is that GMs don't really care about in or out of division. If they find a deal that makes sense for their team, then they take it. Why narrow the options?

Need to consider the fans, let's not pretend it's not important. Fans don't like seeing good or ex-good players that have been with the team a long time having a great time with another better team that is a rival.