I agree that this fills all the Canucks needs and is the price the Bruins would pay for EP40.
Carlo is pinned to Hughes for the next 7 years, Zacha/Coyle take his spot on the 2nd line, Frederic slots into the top six or a dominant third line and then they draft in the Bruins and their own positions which would also be around their pick.
Suddenly, they could have two picks in the first round in a row, a deep top nine and their top four locked down for years to come.
I'm trying to think about teams that would be interested and able to beat that offer...
ANA - already have too many C's
BUF - Not giving up Thompson. They could do Byram and Cozens but Cozens is a risk at $7m with his production trending down the last couple years.
CGY - Andersson would be a good fit, but VAN isn't going to want Kadri, another temperamental, 30+ center.
CAR - No need
CHI - No 2c to give up
COL - Can't learn $11m without gutting their team.
CLB - Monahan has a full NMC. Would they give up 22 year old Kent Johnson AND a D?
DAL - No need
DET - No 2c to offer, but if they were really willing to part with Edvinsson that would be a heckuva headliner.
EDM - No need
FLA - No need
LA - I don't think they'd part with Kopitar or Byfield.
MIN - They could offer Rossi, and they have the depth on D to offer a top4. They might have trouble making the cap work, but they could be a good fit.
MTL - Matheson would be a good fit but again, no 2c to offer.
NAS - O'Reilly or Stamos are their C's. VAN doesn't want a rental and NAS said they're not trading Stamkos (and he has a NMC).
NJ - No need
NYR - They want Miller. They offered Zibanejad and were rejected. They could offer Trocheck and one of their good young D. They'd have to make the cap work but that seems like a potential good fit. Although Trocheck has a NMC.
NYI - If they were willing to give up Barzal and Dobson the deal would probably be done already.
OTT - No need
PHI - No top6 centers
PIT - Not moving Sid or Gino
SJ - No 2c
STL - Schenn and Faulk maybe? But those guys are old
TB - No need
TOR - No need
UTAH - Are they going to give up Logan Cooley before they know what he can do?
WAS - No need
WPG - Namestnikov and? Do they have a top4 D they can spare before the playoffs start?
That's obviously a quick look, but at first glance I'm not seeing a ton of headliners or wow offers. Even the deals that beat us have hurdles (like NMC's). Again, if Vancouver wanted futures there are teams out there that could make amazing offers, but if they're looking for roster players it seems like a tougher sell. I heard Raycroft say in an interview yesterday that he didn't think anyone had fair value for Pettersson in a hockey trade, and I can see what he meant.
Maybe all that means JT Miller is the more likely guy to go, because he'd be less expensive, but the flip side of that is that JT has a NMC and is an ornery SOB, so if they can't make a deal with the Rangers work, then what?