Quoting: kohnsharkosz
Hockey players want to win. That is not going to happen in SJ until at least the 26-27 season, at which point Dvorak will not be part of the Sharks plans. And if he is all about sun and beaches, the NTC becomes a limiting factor when the Sharks want to flip him. And regardless, the pick options and deferring down the road does not hold much value. A #42 vs a 60-64 is about twice the trade value. VS a #82-90, where that Van pick is likely to land, its 4 -5x the value. This becomes extremely important to a team that may very well be looking to use that draft value to package with 14 and 33 to trade into a spot to draft a Buium or Paracek. Dovarak and Kovacevic just don't provide that kind of value.
Jedi mind tricks.
Kovacevic is NOT young. He will be 27 at the start of the 24-25 season. That is a player that is somewhere in the vicinity of their ceiling. There are other options for much less draft capital.
Then there is Dvorak. Same story but older. Look through the pending UFA's. Guys like him are all over that list and cost no assets. And the salary retention means nothing to the Sharks who will be closer to the floor than the cap.
We will take Dvorak and Kovacevic, but for Montreal prodigal son Marc-Eduard Vlasic.
Dvorak - If the deal is that they take him to flip him, he'll go. Monahan signed with the Habs with the intention of redeeming himself and being traded to a contending team. WIN were in the race and were, in fact, a good team during the season. Hence the move, and Monahan got a chance to go into a series team. Same could be said for Monahan. If you actually read what is in my comments, the retention isn't for the Shark's benefits, its for the second flip at TDL for a contending team which Dvorak would most likely go for to up his value. Dvorak 50% retention by Habs, then another by SHarks brings him into the 1.2 to 1.5M$ hit.. He's suddenly very attractive for other teams given he's now healed from his injuries.
Kovacevic - Defensemen get better with age, and most become the player they are when they hit 28-30 up until 34-35. I'm not saying he's goin to be top 4. But on the third pair, you get a solid defenseman who'll save you minutes for your two pairs. And a solid Dman gets you a 3rd pick or 2nd.
You're talking about the deal as if I was proposing Dvorak + Kovacevic vs a 2nd and don't even check out the 3rd pick that's included in the deal. Yes that is the deal, Dvorak + Kovacevic + 3rd round vs a 2nd round.
And given that it ain't a huge gap from those picks, it's just a bump up for Mtl who have enough RHD and SJS that would need some in their lineup since they have 3 real RHD in their lineup including AHL.