Quoting: GreatWhiteNorth
Then you won’t get Zadorov.
Call him a 6th or 7th d-man all you want, but he splayed top 4 in his career and he brings the physical element that teams covet for playoffs. Am I saying he’s worth a 1st? No. But when multiple teams are going to be bidding on the same player it increases the price (as I mentioned), so you have to beat any other offer to get him.
Merrill isn’t going to be useful for Calgary. They already have guys on their roster looking for ice time, plus probably another 3 that aren’t playing that they could give a shot. What use does Merrill have to them? Minnesota can look to move him in another deal or place him on waivers to assign him to the AHL. If that’s a non-negotiable for them, well sorry it’s no deal for Calgary. They’ll have plenty of other deals that offer a better fit and better value than this.
Again, it's been 2+ seasons since he's played in a top 4 role. The fact he has in the past, is entirely irrelevant. He doesn't play there now. Furthermore, when he is going to be acquired by any potential team to play on their bottom pair, and NOT in their top 4, they aren't paying top 4 prices.
Jake Middleton has played in the top 4 for two different teams for his entire professional NHL career. Playing with the likes of Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson, and Jared Spurgeon as his primary D-partners for that entire timespan.
He is
unanimously considered a 3rd pairing talent by everyone at large and plays in teams top 4 strictly because of his size and physicality.
Sound familiar?
There were at least 4 teams openly known trying to get him at the time he was traded to Minnesota. In the end, he was traded for Kappo Kahkonen and a 5th round pick. That was the extent of the *bidding* war.
A *bidding war* probably only gets Calgary back a 2nd and a solid prospect in the absolute best case scenario. Even then, none of which likely carries close to near Firstov's potential as a top-six foward.
Finally, NHL GM's do NOT move or make additional trades when they don't have to. They're not about to create any additional work for themselves if they can't help it. Guerin isn't going to trade Merrill separately just to acquire Zadorov.
Conroy is in a different position however. He's in the position that he's looking to acquire assets. Whether they be young potential top-nine forwards, to strengthen his scoring depth, or further give himself draft capital. He's fully capable of taking on Merrill, as a favor to Guerin to help keep Minnesota cap compliant, a favor that Guerin now owes to Conroy. Then either waiving Merrill himself or flipping him for another low round draft pick.
This sucks for Merrill, but it's win-win for both Guerin and Conroy.