Quoting: athrin
OTT underpaid for chych, EVERYONE on the planet said so at the time . every single analyst on ever single platform
True also, mostly because Arizona didn't want to take any bad contract in return. But was a good trade for OTT, I give you that.
But that still doesn't answer that why should anyone be paying more than that? Back then he had over 2 years, 3 playoff runs left on his contract with reasonable cap hit. Now it's one year left for pending UFA looking for a career contract. Just an example:
Noah Hanifin (50% retained, pending UFA) <-> most likely lateish 1st, Miromanov + conditional 3rd ( might become 2nd), was considered good for both, A for Vegas because Flyers is retaining another 25% for 4th.
Yes, was a deadline deal and Hanifin didn't want to extend to Calgary. Chychrun is about the same level player as Hanifin, you don't know if he wants to stay there.
I said that late 1st, Grans (a lot more valuable than Miromanov) + 3rd is closer than top prospect + late first. Without retention.