If you can get Dubois but don't really want him Calgary might be willing to swap Huberdeau for him. The problem is he has a full NMC so that probably won't happen. In fact all 3 players have a full NMC.

Yea that’s the problem with these types of players, cause when they’re contracts become an albatross the teams become willing to move them but the player probably doesn’t wanna move again. It’d probably have to be a player from a bad team so he has an incentive to move and win.

Definitely wouldn't be an underpay but I feel like Kuzmenko would slot into that top 6 really nicely. Mangiapane might be another option to consider. If they decide to shift to a rebuild rather than a retool I think the Isles' best bet would be to do business with the Flames.

The reality is all these players would require retention to
make them worth their salaries. Use DuBois as an example, my perspective is he could get 6.5m as a free agent. 2m per year for 7 years is probably worth a mid first rounder. Just curious to see whether LA trades him before his NMC kicked in

Gaudreau is not considered overpriced. He was paid based on expected 0.8ppg season production and that's what he's getting.

Gaudreau would be my #1 choice due to the term not being as long
Any team trading for PLD loses since they have to have PLD on the team
Hubby maybe Barzal and Horvat can unlock that spark again but to much AAV

I’d be down with bringing in Dubois so long as the Isles also bring back the fisherman jersey. If this is going to be a cluster**** then at least do it right. 🤣

I think you're looking at the wrong type of overpriced players. All those players won't move for the duration of their contracts. More players in this category: Nurse, Bobrovsky, Skinner, Meier(?), Trouba, Couture...

Players you might want to target, that could benefit from a change of scenery: Chabot, Norris, Kotkaniemi, Zegras.

Dude, 7x2M is two 1sts in value, at least. If anyone would actually do it.

Seth Jones & Zack Werenski.

From a talent perspective, PLD is still a 25 year old who has scored a lot of points, is big, and skates well. He’s obviously not worth $8.5m. LA is screwed because he’s not good enough to play more than a third line center and he’ll never justify his salary in that position.

This tool says 2m over 7!years is a mid first. Not sure if a team would do it, but it’s at least based on historical data

https://puckpedia.com/CapRelief

No it's not. Show me one example of 14M in retention only fetching a 1st. Marleau got a 1st for 1x7, and that was like five years ago. I can't even think of an example where someone retained 7x2M or 14M in total.

And then you factor in that the Kings are not a rebuild with tons of cap space. They're trying to contend and spend near the cap every season.

Zach doesn't deserve to be catching strays here, his cost/point ($184,294) is better than guys like Burns, McAvoy, and Chabot. He's a very good 1D, and usually the best player on the ice for Columbus. If he could stay healthy and played in a bigger market for a contender, he'd be in the elite conversation.

The closest comparable I can think of is Hertl and that gets lost in the value of the player relative to what they paid. I would assume that would happen with PLD as well.

A decent former first round and a late first rounder with two high thirds coming back. I’m not sure what Vegas paid for the retention.

Frankly, he’s an actualized version of Dawson Mercer who carries significant value and he is less than one year removed from being traded for significant assets. It’s easy to crap on him just like last year when fans were saying JT Miller wasn’t worth his salary.

When the rumors of him with a pick to Boston for Ullmark were matriculating, I could see the rationale even if I hoped it wouldn’t happen.

Werenski is him. I’d offer Dougie Hamilton+1st for him if both him and dougie would waive

Werenski-Marino
Hughes-Nemec
Siegenthaler-Casey

I love Dougie, too, and that D-core could easily be top-3 in the league, but there's no way Columbus trades Z. He's one of the few that signed specifically to stay in Columbus; it's likely he'll be the next captain/all-time franchise leader in every defenseman category.

100%. I'd just love to see Werenski in NJD even tho I know it isn't ever gonna happen