It's not great, but within two years $7.5M isn't gonna be the cap hit for "Great" either.
Realistically, when you've got a guy who was Top 40 even strength in 23-24, you've gotta put into perspective that that makes him the #2 even strength scorer on most teams. Did he regress this season? Yes. The entire team did.
If I were a team like Toronto that has to spend their cap wisely, hell no I wouldn't trade for him. When you're a team like Montreal who already has several players locked down on steal contracts, and isn't in any danger of losing their upcoming big UFAs, to me, you eat the overpay for 1-2 years and reap the benefits of him being underpaid for the last 5-6.
I just don't think Laf is a 45 point player on most other teams. Montreal included.