Sens don't want Pageau unless you retain at least 2 million.

Zegras isn’t on the block and the islanders do not have the pieces to acquire him. This isn’t remotely interesting for ANA

youve been linked to him since the offseason so I dont think youre right but okay lmfao

Huh?

I haven't seen one single source say that the Sens are linked to Pageau.

Pick 11 - 15, future second, and a smurf is nowhere near enough for Trevor Zegras.

The first in the DeBrincat trade was 7th overall and the second was known. Here, the second is a speculative future.

Can't be spending $5M on someone who's gonna play 4C for us... Retention is the only way Pageau gets moved to Ottawa

in a deeper draft. youd rather a mid 2nd in a weak draft or a 2nd in a stronger draft?

he was in the DeBrincat talks

You want the Blues to retain for 3 years and send you picks for 2 barely NHLers…

Yes, and the Sens said no for a reason.

Ah, yes, the fatuous "weak draft" vs. "strong draft" fallacy.

It doesn't make any difference what other teams do in a draft (i.e., whether their picks succeed, and it becomes a "strong draft" -- at least for them -- or their picks don't pan out, in which case it becomes a "weak draft" for them, multiplied across the League) if the guy you pick at #79 turns out to be Brayden Point.

And even if you buy into that idiocy, yeah, I'd rather know where the second is now than discover next summer that the pick is in the bottom half of the draw.

This certainly does make Verbeek want to move Z

We will want quality and this isn’t that

There was a source that said new York had offered pageau in a DeBrincat deal. There was never anything suggesting Ottawa wanted that

The Islanders just do -not- have the horses to keep up in any deal for a star-level player at this point. There's nothing in this Zegras deal that wouldn't immediately be beaten by the other 30 teams in the league, even the ones who don't have a need for Zegras. Same goes for any trade for Shane PInto, Elias Pettersson, Noah Hanifin, or whomever else you want to talk about.

What they should be doing this deadline is finding a way to cash in some of their longer term deals and eating the cash to do so if they have to. Pageau is the perfect example - I can't see anyone really biting at his full $5M cap hit, but retain him down to $2.5M and I think someone will give you a late 2nd/early 3rd and a lottery ticket prospect for him. It's basically the same cost as buying him out minus the two extra years of cap penalties, plus you can actually potentially get something useful for him.

Ottawa isn't going to pay Pageau that kind of money. It was why we traded him to the Islanders in the firsty place. He's older now and still expensive... Ottawa already has Stutzle, Norris, Pinto, Greig, & Giroux who can play center in the top 9. Pageau won't be going to Ottawa so the Isles will have to figure out another way to unload that contract.

Cat is also a winger, Zegras a center.
Center tax is a thing.

Right, and last I checked DeBrincat is not on the Sens anymore...

The Islanders can offer us Pageau every day until 2045, we're still not taking him at face value.

Not at 5mil, but I'd be all over him as a fit. Exactly the kind of forward Ottawa could use in their bottom six

For sure, but they'd have to retain around $2 million to make it worthwhile.

True, but DeBrincat is probably more highly valued than Zegras since he's a better goal scorer.

Wrong. Line drivers are more valuable than snipers. Assist donors can feed even moderately talented wings and still get results; without a distributor, a sniper withers on the vine.

Assist guys are more valuable than goal scorers? OK. Sure.