This trade looks puzzling at first but makes more sense if you look at the details. Ryder is a pending UFA and Dallas probably knows they can't re-sign him, so they trade him now for a temporarily slumping star in Cole who has 2 years left at a reasonable cap hit.
Good resource management by Nieuwendyk since he gets Cole who is probably good for 25 goals per season in exchange for Ryder who will most likely walk away for nothing if he's not dealt.
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