$8 million off the books ? We are talking an elite 26 years old forward we just lost for nothing and we even had to add a pick like we were in a cap crunch
There was still almost two months before the season begins, I can’t believe this is the best we could get
Only he appears to be one that's healthier and a little more steady on a lower contract. Bean and Boqvist (Who I really liked actually) were overpaid for their value. It isn't ideal to end up with a 4-6 guy in this situation but he's a NHL defenseman and sounds like he's a little more well rounded than what was removed. We'll see I guess.
Exactly, getting 8 million off the books with tons of flexibility on how we choose to spend it means much more than people care to realize. We literally have 18 million available.
He hasn’t been an elite player since before the pandemic. Hes an incredibly flawed player with Zeus’ lightning bolt for a shot.
Can you explain me how? He worked his contract honestly (I don't count last season, concussions don't help anyone), he improved a lot in all ways the season before last.
So I hear what you're saying and yeah, feel like this is the kind of stuff we do (or have to do) that keeps us being the laughing stock of the league. But here's my counter, I'll bullet point them so everyone can have at them:
That could be said about literally all of our forwards last year, two years prior to that he was PPG. That should certainly be worth more than a third pair d man with us sending a 2nd pick back as well
I don't know... having a malcontent on a team that already had an identity and function behavioral issue removed? He didn't want to be here. He's not been Elite for 5 years. He played 52% of games in Columbus for the past 3 years (129 of a possible 246). Sure, he could be a boon for this team, but he hasn't been and you're treating him like he was a great player. The old phrase "The best ability is availability" comes into play here.
I personally really liked Harris in his 2 years here with the habs, he wasn't in trade suggestions because he was bad just that the habs have a bunch of young defenders on the left side that are coming mostly at the same time.
Surely I didn’t expect us to get an elite level player in return but I was hoping we can get a slightly overpaid but true top 4 d man in return even if he was 30-32 year old like Matheson, in this case Laine is nothing but a cap dump as we could probably get Harris for a 2nd pick
I already watched about 15 Montreal games last season because of Slafkovsky, now I'll watch more...that is if Montreal doesn't play at the same time as Columbus, of course. 
Can’t like this enough
if the trade is meant to adds cap flexibility, it's not a bad deal, provided they actually use the cap flexibility. if it's just about saving ownership $18m, that's a different story.
I cannot imagine any scenario in which that cap space gets used anytime within the next year.
I mean we shouldn't use it just to use it.
