Quoting: SwarmChair
You got him for a playoffs run and year then. So for just a playoffs run his cost should be less.
You’d think that but it is generally the opposite.
Prices are cheaper in the offseason when teams are trying to create space to sign free agents, and there are a bunch more players on the market because of free agency.
Options are much more limited at the deadline, and additionally the real money cost is much less (4.2 mill in salary for NJD to get toffoli for 1 playoff run, whereas for a deadline deal it would cost Edmonton just about 700k or so)
Deadline rentals tend to have limited ceilings, but much higher floors in terms of trade value
I’d argue that Yegor was valued as a 1st by Calgary but that’s besides the point.
Bertuzzi got a 1st last deadline, so did Tarasenko (he got a 1st+) as rentals.
Neither of them were on pace for 37 goals like toffoli is.