MBH
Players Play
Funny that twice in this thread I mentioned that if Yzerman asked too much Tampa would find other options elsewhere and both times I got roasted by those thinking Tampa was stuck dealing multiple firsts to Detroit. I even made the point again after the Kucherov LTIR news and still got roasted even though it was abundantly clear at that point that Tampa didn't have to move Johnson.
I'll keep reiterating my point, Detroit's cap space is very valuable, but only if they trade it for real assets. Trades always have to make sense for both teams. The Tampa-Ottawa deal makes sense for both teams. Tampa picks up some cap space for flexibility and Ottawa gets assets that makes them better now and a pick for the future. Detroit never had Tampa by the balls as so many here believed.
Fans start posturing like they're the f***ing GMs, trying to bluff and everything else. It's comical.
A few weeks ago I proposed Namestnikov for TJ and a first.
You get a player you know, who fits to a degree, and cap relief, and we get TJ and the first.
Not sure if Namestnikov would fit, but he's pretty cheap. I'd have taken the first by itself, too.