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Old 03-08-2024, 05:01 PM   #712
SuperMatt18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dgibb10 View Post
Tom Fitzgerald should be fired if he trades Mercer+1st for Markstrom.
Not if it comes with 50% retention.

If they made this trade a month ago it would have been 2.5 years of Markstrom for $3.0M.

Markstrom @ $3.0M gives New Jersey a better chance at winning a cup over the next 2.5 seasons (when you have Hughes and Nemec on ELCs) than Mercer + 1st would have.

Retaining 50% of Markstrom over those 2.5 seasons is worth a 1st on it's own according to cap valuation calculators.

So really to me that works out as:

Mercer for Markstrom
1st for $6.9M of cap savings (had they made the trade a month ago)

I get they don't want to move Mercer...but I honestly think it would have been moving from a position of strength for New Jersey.

You have Hischier and Hughes as your top 6 centers for the foreseeable future...Mercer isn't taking a role at center.

On wing they had Bratt, Meier, Toffoli (if they trade for Markstrom a month ago he's likely a Devil still), Palat, Holtz, etc.

So it's a position of strength for the Devils. It would be a slight overpayment, but with 50% salary retention it gives them a great chance to win a cup.
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