Tampa didn't blow a first on Goodrow because they got a couple Cups back. What the hell are you on about?
And while many have gotten dealt. A guy like Ferraro gets dealt for a mid-round pick at best... not a first. Teams shell out firsts for deadline additions because if you think they can win you a Cup, you care a whole lot less about moving it.
You're not getting a first round pick back for Mario Ferraro with two years left at 4.5M. Were he a $2M player? Maybe. But honestly, he just doesn't profile as a D that anyone is going to overpay for. Guys with offensive flair get dealt for more than is justifiable.
It isn't the same principles as all. The whole reason that Tampa went balls deep on trading for Goodrow, Coleman, Hagel, and Jeannot was that they were capped out hard and needed cheap adds that could push them over the Cup line. They paid a high price precisely because Goodrow (925k for two years), Coleman (2 years at 1.8m), Hagel (1.5m for 3 years) and Jeannot (league minimum, extended for 2x2.667) were all cheap as f***in dirt and filled specific niches they needed and the team was all-in because they had their core locked up and it was still relatively young. Please, don't use what Tampa did as "Oh, guys like this have gotten dealt for this type of return before." Because, quite literally, they haven't. Tampa was doing the same types of trades that teams like the Wings did before the salary cap, when they were trying to trade a 1st for 4th liner Paul Gaustad. Those simply are not trades that occur anymore for guys who don't fill this cheap as dirt or six week rentals at the TDL.
You're looking at Jonny Boychuk, Nick Leddy, Jeff Petry returns for Ferraro. 2nd round if you're very lucky and more likely a 3rd or 4th. Because Ferraro is a worse player than the first two at the time they were dealt and Petry got dealt for like a sixth.