Canucks pass imo

No, Canucks take that and run

I also think that the Canucks have to take that. The $2M in cap space is too valuable to say no.

Giving up Lassi sucks but Garland over Joseph is decent

Yes we save 2M but then we have a 4th line winger making 3M, and still have too many wingers if we take back Joseph. It doesn’t make sense to take him back. It makes us worse, doesn’t save much cap room, and doesn’t help clear our logjam at winger

Canucks accept that. Rathbone isn't making the NHL as a regular, but Thomson will be a 3rd pairing d-man. Garland is better than Joseph, but $2M of cap space would be nice.

"4th liner" but at the same time, has averaged 31 pts per 82 games the last 2 seasons. He's good defensively and has elite PK metrics

Still worth it for Ottawa as Garland could help fill out the top-9 better

Gotta use that cap space to try and make the forward group better and Thomson won't really have an opportunity in Ottawa anyway

Good trade for both sides IMO

Our wingers in the top 6 would likely be Kuzmenko, Mikheyev, Boeser, and Beauvillier. Podkolzin and Hoglander also need consistent top 9 time this season for development. So he’d be on the 4th line unless another winger is moved or one of the young guys flame out. Yes he’s great in the PK which would be nice, but not for 3M

Would it be better to have Garland on the 4th line?

That's the thing, a trade like that gives you the opportunity to save 2.0 per season, for 3 years. You obviously don't absolutely need Garland. No one would take him for free right now (like Joseph)

The 2.0 would make out for MOST of the difference between the 2

Sens aren't deep enough at wing to bump Garland down to the 4th line. 3rd line is the lowest he'll play on the depth chart for you guys

Joseph fits the more of the mold of the skillset that Allvin and co. want to deploy on the wings, even if the contract is somewhat rich for his actual contributions

I wasn't talking about Ottawa's 4th line... I was quoting a post talking about the Canucks situation...

He wouldn't play lower than 3rd line on Vancouver either

That was a bit of the point. Poster mv21227 didn't mention him as a top-9 winger, means there's one too many guys

Probably, but I'd say it kinda depends on Greig and Kubalik. We don't really know what version of either player is gonna show up next season

I can't say for sure about Kubalik, how he adapts to a new team, new teammates, etc but Greig doesn't have many "version", he's such a smart player, in the Jaden Schwartz mold

Oh yeah, not questioning his upside, just that Greig can't be expected to make up for all of the outstanding inefficiencies that the forward corps still has

What do you mean the "outstanding inefficiencies that the forward corps still has"?

Stutzle
Tkachuk
Norris
Giroux
Batherson
Garland
Greig
Pinto
Kubalik

This would be a very good Top-9 forward group. And Kastelic + Joseph on the 4th line is pretty good as well

I suppose, although Joseph on the 4th line isn't very efficient at 2.95M. Also, Norris and Batherson aren't elite players, they're high-end at best. Kubalik could be a 3rd line caliber forward worst case scenario. Sens are arguably one more elite forward from completely legitimizing their forward corps. Not sure if Greig is the answer, but we'll have to wait and see, but a couple of those guys in the top 9 are most definitely just stop gaps as oppose to actual long-term solutions.

- Doesn't matter if Joseph is overpaid for the 4th line, if it fits on the cap it's a luxury to have

- Never said Norris and Batherson were "elite" players but also depends how you define that word. Is it top-32 at their position? Because Norris is certainly a top-32 center and Batherson a top-32 Right Winger

- Before last season, Norris scored 47 goals in 91 games, which was like 12th best GPG in the NHL during that period of time.

- Before Dell's cheapshot, Batherson had 13 goals, 21 assists for 34 pts in 31 games. He was Ottawa's best player and in the middle of a major breakout season. It has not been as good since but he's still young enough to recover better from that injury. Who knows if he can get the injury and the WJC scrutiny behind and get back to the player he was becoming?

- No doubt Kubalik is quality enough to be a 3rd line winger on any team

Here's what these 9 forwards averaged per 82 games the last 2 full seasons they played :

Stutzle : 77 pts (was still 19 y/o when 2021-22 started, 90 pts last season)
Tkachuk : 76 pts (broke out to another level last season, 83 pts)
Giroux : 75 pts (looks to be aging like old wine ala Alfie)
Batherson : 68 pts (see above)
Norris : 61 pts (had to take his 21 and 22 y/o seasons)
Garland : 51 pts (only 15 of his 98 pts on the PP)
Kubalik : 39 pts (includes a down year compared to his 3 other NHL seasons)
Greig : 37 pts (only 20 games though)
Pinto : 35 pts (career PPG, 99 games)

This is what could happen (and it's pretty conservative) :

Tkachuk (80) - Stutzle (90) - Giroux (70)
Kubalik (50) - Norris (65) - Batherson (65)
Greig (40) - Pinto (35) - Garland (45)

It's very good no doubt, just not really sure it's the finished product of a championship top 9

Only time will tell. I personally think that this question won't start being answered this season because Dorion and DJ Smith are still there. At least there's movement regarding the ownership