Nyi obviously decline nothing there worth giving up a first for lol

Well you have to look at the cap space, this deal frees up $3.3M next year and $5M the following year when looking at Pageau for Evans. So combined that is $8.3M.

Monahan got MTL a first for 1 year of $6.375M. Marleau got Carolina a first for 1 year of $6.25M.

It really depends on how the Islanders utilize that cap space, but the value is obviously there seeing as there is a precedent. You may also be overvaluing 18th overall - how many 18th overall picks do you think have the career Domi has (who in this example is signed with the cap space from dealing Pageau).

Going back to 1999, the clear hits at 18th overall are: Mercer, Harley, Chabot, Tuch, and Teravainen... so that's approximately a 20% chance in drafting a player better than Domi. Other players are just NHL replacement level and others are complete busts... so when you think about it they likely are not giving up too much.

islanders can shed Pageau easily without paying a 1st. Harris and Evans wouldn't make the islanders lineup ever

Good luck with that. Pageau is on the wrong side of 30 and worse than Anderson. As for Harris and Evans, well you should know, you're an NYI fan, not us.

Pageau is worse than Anderson?

9-11-20 in 78 compared to 11-22-33 in 82

Who is better there? Now, which one is a center? Now, which one is a top 10 penalty killing center in the NHL? Who is a great shutdown forward?

That is insane lol. Pageau has likely net zero value, so if a team wanted him, which plenty would, a trade would be easy