Oshawa was willing to bend more than they did, we know that.
The talk of who wanted an impact D and what players were available or not is entirely speculative on your part. I'm not going to engage in that kind of conversation because neither of us know anything in that regard. Every team wants an elite defenseman.
I am not saying you are wrong. I am saying Oshawa is wrong.
Barrie wasn’t going to add Gibson. I think we can agree on that. Their defence doesn’t need it. There is no reason for them to get into that war and battle Oshawa.
Brampton and Kingston had no ‘08s to move. Kingston clearly wasn’t moving Hopkins. If they were, they’d have been involved and could have outbid Oshawa on this trade easily. IMO, Hopkins as the centre may be worth more than Smith. Maybe. At least they are close.
Niagara doesn’t have the right pieces. They aren’t trading Wassilyn. What else do they have that fits?
Brampton could do it but they had Jiricek and Hamara return to help round out their defence. They probably make more sense for K.Smith.
Erie has Challenger but by all accounts, most feel he is a bust. SSM would not look at him seriously.
Windsor has Belchetz and they aren’t moving him. I don’t think they have the right pieces.
As I said, and you pretty much confirmed, Oshawa was willing to pay more but didn’t. The reason for that is because Oshawa was negotiating against themselves and their own needs. If this was supposed to be Griffin and Smith for Gibson (delete the picks), then one could easily argue they paid less by giving Smith and picks. I think you are arguing that too. So, if they actually ended up paying less then there still wasn’t a better deal to be had out there. Which, I go back to my original stance that Oshawa was pretty much negotiating against themselves and didn’t want to call SSM bluff.
This deal is reasonable and probably a bit high considering the options SSM had. I do not think I am far off in my assertions with respect to the trade market landscape and options out there.
Oshawa REALLY needed Gibson. In a big way too. They secured him. Good for them. SSM made out very well considering the landscape. This is a win-win for both sides.