Quoting: ural740811
Well, first of all, it’s not entirely correct to give an example with defenders Hronek and McCabe, after all, we are talking about a striker. Then look how much Chicago got for Kane at the last deadline, Kane is clearly not inferior to Guentzel in terms of skill, and this was the late 2nd round and late 4th round. So I wouldn’t unequivocally say that my offer is bad, because it’s just a loan, and not a productive striker with a contract for a couple of years.
For example, they got the 2nd round for Niedereiter, and he had another year plus on his contract, and of course he is a different kind of power forward, but still productive in the middle six.
And for Oreilly and, in addition, the legitimate 4th center, Assiari received two current AHL forwards and the 1st, 2nd, 3rd round of the draft. I may add another 2nd round draft for good measure.
And for Tarasenko (also not the last man in the attack, at that time 38 games 29 points) and in addition Mikkola, the legitimate defender of the third pair received a cap reset in the person of Blaze, because for 1.5 million he did not play, AHL defensive defender, late 1 1st and 4th round.
I dare to suggest that your desires are slightly at odds with reality.
Let's break this all down.
If the Guentzel trade is specifically a loan, than it isn't happening purely for the fact that teams who want to keep him long-term will be willing to pay more for him. So it's not in Pittsburgh's best interest to consider it.
The 2nd in the Kane trade was a conditional 1st, the conditions weren't met. Saying it was just a late 2nd is disingenious. Additionally, Kane was in the middle of the worst season he'd had in a decade, had a $10.5M contract to maneuver around, and had complete control of where he ended up. All of those things lowered Kane's trade value, and none of them are true of Guentzel.
Some of the same things can be said for the Tarasenko deal: a down year compared to the previous season and a full NTC that lowered his value. Throwing in the rest of the trade doesn't really add to your case. Blais wasn't good in NY, Hunter Skinner isn't an AHL lineup regular and probably won't ever see NHL action, and Mikkola wasn't all that legitimate until this season. The trade basically boils down to a mid round pick for Mikkola, a 1st for Tarasenko, and Skinner/Blais thrown in to stay at the same # of contracts and make the cap work.
O'Reilly, unlike the last two, had no trade protection. That meant a bidding war, which meant he went to the team that was willing to pony up the most. That would definitely be the case if Guentzel became available, and Dubas will be drowning in better offers than yours. Oh, and (again) ROR had a down year with STL before he got traded.
Niederreiter isn't a fair comparison to any of ROR, Kane, or Tarasenko. Middle six players go for a 2nd or more at the deadline pretty frequently. Granlund, Domi, and Eller all did at the same deadline as Nino. The difference in impact between middle six wingers and stars like Guentzel or Kane is significant.
What you are getting in Guentzel is one of the most consistent scorers the game has had for the past several years, the best winger Crosby has ever had, and a player good enough to make Sid better. He was leading the NHL in even strength points for a couple months and is still tied for 2nd, and is outscoring Draisaitl. It'll take more than a 1st and some expendable prospects, even as a rental.