As others have pointed out, it goes both ways. The point is that Kuzmenko is more attractive on paper, objectively speaking.
Well the Canucks need to move salary in order to add Lindholm. I believe Kuzmenko had positive trade value so I think he could have been traded without us having to "pay" to move him, but that doesn't mean we could trade Kuzmenko for a draft pick without taking on any salary. I think we overpaid Mik thinking he could be a top 6 fit in the first place (which has since been admitted to be a mistake by Allvin) but with Mik's knee injury, age, and term left on his contract, I'm am not confident Mik had the same trade value as Kuz. And again, I don't know if we could trade Mik without taking on some salary. I think the Lindholm trade happened in large part because Calgary wanted Kuzmenko and there was no salary retention involved so it worked out for both teams.
I do recall thinking at the time of the Kuzmenko trade that he appeared to be the odd man out. I did think at the time that Mik was a better fit given Tocchet's issues with Kuz. So I agree with you that Mik's game/value cratered after the trade. I also did have some confidence that Mik would be better as he recovers from his knee surgery. In hindsight, I would have preferred to move Mik instead but I don't think the same deal is there.
I ask you again, what exactly are you saying the Canucks should have done?
Kuz is more attractive in person as well
Nucks paid a big price and paid early. They should have either used Mikheyev + in his place, or paid to move Mik elsewhere, and paid for EL in purely picks and prospects. OR, left themselves with a sure fire deal to acquire a winger to take Kuzmenkos spot after. Simple. If neither option works, then walk away, and keep the roster you have that is currently top of the conference.
They're almost certainly gonna be paying someone to take Mik now anyway, so that price is built in, and it wasn't really hard to forsee. Kuz was very involved in not just EP's production, but Mikeyevs as well. No surprise it fell off so hard.
With all the rumors surrounding EL to Boston, EP to Canes, unloading Mikeyev to fit in Guentzel, it's clear that things didn't go to their plan, and they tried to fill the gaps they left. This wasn't some clean 1 for 1 trade that was to be the final staple heading into the playoffs. That's why they left themselves so much time pre-deadline. It was a mess, and now we are left with what's likely to be a big turnover, without much dry powder, a cap crunch, and a thin list of options.
Really wasted a good Lindholm effort.
