Vanek is having a great year for the Wild, and probably due for a rate increase, but we wanted to shake things up while A: getting younger, and B: shed some salary. (we have a few guys who will get a hefty raise next year, so the $1.5M savings will help towards that)
Schenn will never know, but he was the 3rd person we tried going after in exchange for Vanek. The first was a similar deal, but with a higher 1st. I thought it was still a win for the other team, but it turned into a counter with us losing Allen, and that isn't happening. The 2nd GM didn't reply, so that was an easy one to move on to and Spike was easy to deal with.
Adding the pick was necessary to sweeten the pot and get a younger return on a nicer contract. Schenn is on pace for a career year in Philly, and we're hoping any worries about his consistency are put to rest moving forward.
Thanks for the talks Spike!
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