Quote:
Originally Posted by Enoch Root
You don't trade an elite player on a great contract with 2 years left on it for a so-so return because you are trying to avoid having him walk away.
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...well, you can. They would be smart to, if they don't think they're going to win in the next two years (which they almost certainly won't).
And I don't think Johnny has the value of an elite player. Erik Karlsson was the last "elite" player in Johnny's contract situation to be traded and he mustered one first-round pick and one second-round pick, both of which were expected to be low. The Sens also got a couple of depth roster players and (at the time) a mid-level prospect in Norris.
Certainly no Kotkaniemi or Caufield-type pieces in there. And I think Gaudreau has much less value than Karlsson did, at the time.
Gaudreau walking for nothing is
the worst-case scenario. It has to be avoided at all costs. Domi + a 1st is hardly the be-all and the end-all target but it's a start. Certainly not on the level of the tosh they got for Iginla.