Quote:
Originally Posted by AC
But Tkachuk wasn't an imminent UFA at that time, he was only about to enter his last season. He forced a move early so it made sense to maximize his return with a sign and trade.
In reality a sign and trade for a pending UFA hasn't happened. Trading for someone's rights to get the exclusive negotiation has, but you only get 7 years max that way. Not sure Tampa or Florida would care about the 8th year necessarily.
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Tkachuk was an RFA, so the Flames still had control over him, but his contract was expired. If he still had a year left, Florida could have traded for him straight-up and signed him to an 8-year deal without the Flames involvement.
Last year, Damon Severson was a sign-and-trade between New Jersey and Columbus as a pending UFA. The Devils signed him to an 8-year deal, then traded him to Columbus. In the end, they didn't get much compensation for doing it -- only a third round pick (that they later flipped to Calgary in the Sharangovich trade).
It's possible that Vegas flips Hanifin to Tampa in a similar deal after the season ends, but the return will likely be more like what the Devils got for Severson rather than the haul the Flames got for Tkachuk.